Mudstack - Podcast Details

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Clear As MudEmpowering Creativity Through VFX and Animation: Authenticity, Trust and Finding Inspiration w/ Sarawathi ’Vani’ Balgam (Founder of Dancing Atoms)Enveloped in an aura of creative brilliance, today's guest on the Clear As Mud Podcast is the illustrious Vani Balgam. A luminary in directing, writing, and producing, she's the founder of Dancing Atoms—a visionary creator studio forging connections between Asian and North American storytelling, birthing authentic narratives for a global audience. Vani's career gleams with achievements, including her role as Head of Creative Management at Dreamworks Animation in Shanghai and her executive directorship at the award-laden animation and VFX studio, Rhythm and Hughes Asia. In this episode, Vani unwraps the genesis of her VFX jo...2023-08-1042 min

Clear As MudUnpacking Startup Culture, Work/Life Balance, and the Future of the VR Industry w/ David Tucciarone (VR Vision)In this episode of Clear as Mud, we are joined by David Tucciaronne, the Director of Development at VR Vision. David is an exceptionally fun guy with an impressive background in both leading startups to success and innovating on the most cutting-edge VR technology. We explore his personal philosophy of having a life-work balance and the importance of keeping a lean and dependable team of artists and developers to nurture success and satisfaction. We also delve into the latest trends in VR technology, discuss the impact the rebranding of Meta has had on the VR i...2023-07-2732 min

Clear As MudDeconstructing the Creative Process of VFX w/ James Adkins (Sony Playstation Santa Monica Studio)Today’s guest is James Adkins, Senior VFX Artist for Sony Playstation at Santa Monica Studio. James is a brilliant and talented artist who has worked on some amazing games and most recently the critically acclaimed God of War Ragnarok. We take a deep dive into his creative process, exploring how he finds inspiration across different media, and deconstructing what it is like to work on one of the most beloved franchises in gaming history. Also some fun facts about the Draupnir Spear (if you know, you know)! 2023-07-1134 min

Clear As MudNavigating the Landscape of Artistic Careers with Art Director Dan Fadness at Terraform StudiosGet ready for an incredible guest on the Clear as Mud podcast. We had Dan Fadness, Art Director at Terraform Studios, sharing his valuable insights on mentorship for aspiring artists. He stressed the need for strong foundational knowledge before diving into mentorship, and he gave us a glimpse into the crucial role of an Art Director in the game industry. Dan also talked about the importance of communication and problem-solving skills in art direction, shedding light on the challenges artists face. And he didn't shy away from discussing dealing with rejection, offering advice and encouragement...2023-06-0834 min

Clear As MudBuilding Community for Your Game with Dave Branco (GDWC)“Alone, we can do so little; together, we can do so much” – Helen Keller. Dave Branco, the Community Manager for the Game Development World Championship, shares his journey from working in finance to taking a bold leap, moving halfway around the world to Finland to pursue a career in the game industry. We discuss the importance of creating a positive and engaged community around your game, using creative early marketing strategies to promote your game, and the trends Dave sees emerging from the most successful games submitted to the GDWC. 2023-05-2227 min

Clear As MudBrad Myers- Lead Character Artist At ProbablyMonstersBrad has worked as a 3D artist since 2008. He has been a character artist on multiple games in the Call of Duty franchise including Vanguard, Black Ops and Cold War. Brad delves deep into the process of creating characters from a technical and order of operations perspective that shines a light on what it takes to make character models for one of the most high profile franchises in the world. 2023-05-041h 01

Clear As MudPierre Burgoni- FX Division Art Director at Digic PicturesHave you ever watched one of those CG cinematic trailers for a game online and wondered how it was made? Well, look no further. Pierre has had a hand in creating trailers for the Assassin’s Creed franchise, Rainbow 6 Franchise and working on the cinematics for Call of Duty Vanguard. We get into all that and more in this episode of Clear As Mud. 2023-04-2540 min

Clear As MudIan Saterdalen- Lead Producer at Mythical GamesIan has what every producer needs and not what every producer has- the personal touch! Throughout his work at Mythical Games, Zynga, Bioware, and 343 Industries, Ian puts his team first by getting to know them personally and professionally which in turn dictates his production style. We talk about he does this, his experience with crunch and the trials and tribulations of production in the industry. 2023-04-131h 21

Clear As MudSeth Hall- VFX, Tools, and Pipeline Technical Artist at Riot GamesSeth has worked in VFX on the film and TV side on Spider-Man 2 and Buffy The Vampire Slayer. On the game side, he’s worked on Star Wars- The Force Unleashed, the Battlefield franchise, the Dead Space franchise, Dante’s Inferno and was also on Amy Hennig’s canceled Star Wars game before the plug was pulled. He's had an incredible career. This episode is fittingly technical given Seth's technical background. We dive into these subjects and a whole heck of a lot more in a full to the brim Clear As Mud. 2023-04-071h 17

Clear As MudWilliam Gauthier- Freelance Game DesignerWilliam’s career has been built around working on mobile and casual games for companies like Ubisoft and Zynga, but now he’s at a bit of a career crossroads in the sense that he wants to work on independent titles in different genres. We dive into the reasoning behind his career change, the challenges of marketing himself to indie developers and in a rather sweet story, how he created a project at a game jam to propose to his girlfriend. 2023-03-2937 min

Clear As MudGiovani Magana- Sr. Environment Artist At Respawn EntertainmentGiovani worked tirelessly, working two jobs and attending school to realize his dream of working in 3D art. After eight years of giving himself unconditionally to his craft, he broke into the industry at Skydance Interactive. This led to him working at Sony's Santa Monica Studio on God of War: Ragnarok and now for Respawn working on Jedi Survivor. Hear how he proved that no matter what stage of life you're in, nothing beats unbridled resolve. NOTE: Mild spoilers are discussed in this episode relating to God of War: Ragnarok. 2023-03-2156 min

Clear As MudDarren Yeomans- Studio Director At Atomhawk Design LTD.Darren has worked in the game industry for over 30 years as an artist, an outsource teams manager, and now a studio director. We talk about the differences between working in the industry in its nascent stages compared to now, Darren’s experience working on 50 Cent: Blood In The Sand, and how Atomhawk has established itself as one of the premiere game development outsource studios in the world having worked on games in the FIFA series, Halo and PUBG. 2023-03-1044 min

Clear As MudFabio Corrirossi- Technical Director at Third Kind GamesFabio had to teach himself programming in order to carve out a career in the industry. He had no idea how to make games or what a game designer actually did. But curiosity, ambition and determination led to him diving fully into the world of engineering to realize his dream. 2023-03-021h 06

Clear As MudAaron Hamilton Cook- Producer At BiowareAaron takes us through how he works collaboratively with a team and touches on the core events that shaped him as a producer. We then walk through a hypothetical game pitch that Aaron breaks down and delves deep into how as a producer, he would make that game become a reality. 2023-02-2150 min

Clear As MudSeth S. Smith- Senior Game Designer At Riot GamesSeth Smith comes on the show to discuss his work on Riot’s tactical shooter VALORANT, and his goal of creating a multimedia franchise that spans games, novels, comic books, film and TV. We also talk about // Hello, World an inclusive social mixer that Seth spearheads, designed for anyone who champions representation in tech and entertainment. 2023-02-1353 min

Clear As MudMatt Wright- Environment Art Director At Bad Robot GamesMatt has worked both in the film and game industry. On the film side he worked on a ton of different movies including the Harry Potter franchise and the 2003 seafaring period piece, Master and Commander. On the games side, before he was at Bad Robot, he’s worked at Amazon, Microsoft, and Valve. We dive into Matt's experience working in film, creating the weather effects for Forza 6, his time at Valve, and his experience with being on both sides of the interview process. 2023-02-031h 09

Clear As MudMartin Annander- CEO and Co-Founder At Spagank!Martin has worked as a designer, a teacher, a leader designer, and a design director and now has started his own game studio. We discuss Martin’s approach to running a studio, game development, and systemic design in all its forms. 2023-01-261h 05

Clear As MudShaun Bell- Art Director At Bonfire StudiosShaun Bell takes us through his time as art director for Treyarch. He worked on numerous Call of Duty: Black Ops games from 2011 until last year. We unpack a ton of information in this episode including what it’s like to make a multiplayer map in Call Of Duty, how Shaun guides younger artists, diversity in the game industry, and how his team overcame the COVID 19 pandemic during the development of Black Ops: Cold War. 2023-01-201h 21

Clear As MudMatthew Medina- Advanced Narrative Designer At Arena NetMatthew has worked in the industry for over 30 years now as a QA tester, 3D Artist, Narrative designer, and Mission Designer. In addition to working at Arena Net, he's also worked at Ubisoft and EA. Matthew breaks down the greatest qualities and detriments of narrative in games, what a Narrative Designer actually does, and how integral they are in the creation of a game that features a narrative. 2023-01-111h 19

Clear As MudAgata Inventio- Senior XR Designer & Design Director at FitXRAgata takes listeners behind the curtain of developing games for VR and Mixed Reality, the challenges of dealing with people’s negative preconceptions of VR, and how Mixed Reality could take us into a brave new future that goes beyond entertainment. 2023-01-0455 min

Clear As MudJamal Coleman- Lead VFX Artist At Lightforge GamesJamal Coleman takes us through the ins and outs of working on VFX in the game industry, the new company he's working at, Lightforge games, and what it was like working on World of Warcraft. Graham also pitches Jamal a hypothetical game and asks him to break down how he'd approach each phase of development from a VFX standpoint. 2022-12-1657 min

Clear As MudMallie Rust- Brand Manager Of DC Universe OnlineMallie Rust knew she wanted to be creative, and her self professed pragmatic nature brought her into the world of marketing, where she's able to flex her creative muscles while continuing to build the DC Universe Online brand that has been going strong for well over a decade. Mallie brings a new perspective to Clear As Mud from the marketing side of things. She provides great insight on working hand in hand with developers on creating content for the game, the value of being transparent with the game's community, and how to successfully begin marketing an independent g...2022-12-0956 min

Clear As MudSydney Adams- Senior Game Designer At Intercept GamesSydney Adams was Creative Lead on The Black Is Magic- Magic The Gathering release and is now a Senior Designer at Intercept Games. She tells us her thoughts on storytelling, nostalgia, working in the industry and what she hopes to accomplish to compliment and continue an already amazing career. 2022-12-011h 29

Clear As MudCameron Rich- Lead Game Designer At ArenaNetCameron Rich is certifiable proof that dreams can come true. Armed with nothing but hope he journeyed from Jacksonville to Seattle with the aspiration of working for his dream studio- ArenaNet. Cameron's story epitomizes serendipity, heart and a whole lot of tenacity. 2022-11-171h 26

Clear As MudRyan Gallini- CEO Of Dillo InteractiveRyan Gallini is creating a game that could change the fortune (literally) of the world's youth. The Four Money Bears- Berryville attempts to teach financial literacy to elementary school age children via a farming simulator that truly shows what the value of a dollar is. It's a unique and innovative project that's still in development, and appears to have a bright future. 2022-11-071h 24

Clear As MudHasraf ”HaZ” Dulull- Founder/Director of HaZimationHaZ Dulull has done it all in the film industry. From working on visual effects for films like The Dark Knight and Hellboy II, to directing his own science fiction pictures (The Beyond, 2036 Origin Unknown), to simultaneously making an animated feature film (Rift) and game utilizing the Unreal Engine, there's nothing that HaZ won't do to continue making the projects he wants to make on his own terms. 2022-10-281h 37

Clear As MudKatie Jackson- Art Director At Fusebox GamesKatie Jackson has worked as a playground designer, artist and is now an art director at Fusebox games. She's also an author with a top tier fantasy vision for her novel Omni In The Valley Of The Stars that she hopes to release in the near future. She's had a career as stunning as her artwork. Witness her journey here, on Clear As Mud. 2022-10-211h 18

Clear As MudKevin Powell- Principal Game Designer At Hi-Rez StudiosKevin Powell knew he loved technology but didn't know what he wanted to do for a career until one day his mother made him a proposition that would forever change the course of his life. This led to Kevin working at Hi-Rez Studios, creating the first levels ever for Smite, and working at Gearbox on Borderlands 3. 2022-10-141h 11

Clear As MudVu Ha- Technical Game Designer At MetaVu Ha has been working on the bleeding edge of AR and VR technology since its newest incarnation that has led him to currently working at Meta. He's also worked at EA on Sim City and has created his own company, Cosmic Adventure Squad, where he creates innovative independent titles. Vu also has groundbreaking thoughts on the future of game development based on his experience with AR and VR technology and how these experiences could make game design itself a much more immersive experience. 2022-10-0752 min

Clear As MudTramell Isaac- VP, Art Development at That’s No MoonTramell Isaac has been working as an artist in the game industry for nearly 30 years. From helping to create many of the beloved characters from the first two Fallout games that are still being utilized by the franchise today, to working on the massive Planetside franchise, to working on the infamous Duke Nukem Forever, Tramell has busting tail and taking names ever since you could pick up a controller. Discover his epic (literally) journey and his thoughts on the future of the industry in this edition of Clear As Mud. 2022-10-011h 00

Clear As MudNikhil Kashyap- Game Designer At MetaNOTE: There are a couple of times in this interview where sirens from a distant (or rather, close) passing fire truck/police car/ambulance blare and we couldn't edit it out! Apologies! At a young age, Nikhil Kashyap used games as a tool to connect with friends that would later turn into a career working for Disney Interactive, Playstation Studios and Meta. Listen to his incredible journey as a published author, interactive playwright and game designer that translates into an overall mission: create interactive experiences as a way for people to live a better life.2022-09-221h 09

Clear As MudBobby Wertheim- VP Of Partnerships At Curve GamesBobby Wertheim knew he loved video games, but didn't know a career in the industry was something he should pursue until his wife pointed out that he wasn't happy with his current job. After that life changing conversation, Bobby pulled a 180 that led him to working on games like Heavy Rain and Sonic Generations before becoming VP of Partnerships at Curve Games, a indie games publisher. Discover his journey here and learn the best way to go about pitching your game to a publisher based on Bobby's years of experience evaluating and publishing games. 2022-09-151h 21

Clear As MudDaniel Peterson- Creator of Chaos KartGraham welcomes the prolific Daniel Peterson to the show. Daniel works as a teacher, an artist at Synodic Arc, and owns his own company, Baka Bros Entertainment. This is where Daniel and his team are creating Chaos Kart- a unique and more skill based take on the traditional kart racer. Daniel breaks down balancing his busy schedule, and his thought process around design and development while creating his game. 2022-09-0856 min

Clear As MudAndrew Diatroptoff- Writer of The Lost and The WickedGraham welcomes Andrew Diatroptoff, writer of the newly released indie title, The Lost and The Wicked, to the show. The Lost and The Wicked is a brutal Twin-Stick Psycho-Thriller in the vein of The Binding of Isaac and Hotline Miami. Andrew discusses writing for a video game for the first time, the challenges of development and how to marry gameplay with narrative as seamlessly as possible. 2022-08-2552 min

Clear As MudJeff Curley- Producer At WB Games BostonGraham and Josef welcome in Jeff Curley, producer at WB Games Boston. Jeff, Graham, and Josef went to school for game design at SCAD so there's plenty of reminiscing on the good old days here along with tracking Jeff's unlikely journey into the production field. Jeff takes us through the first time he became a producer on a title via baptism by fire, how he deals with crunch, and how he always puts his team in a position to succeed through his production process. 2022-08-111h 10

Clear As MudHadi Soufi- Creator Of SOAR: Pillars of TasneemGraham and Josef welcome in Hadi Soufi, CEO of Kimchi Corp. LLC and creator of the in development independent title: SOAR: Pillars of Tasneem. Hadi takes us through his experience as a programmer with no direction home until COVID hit and from strife, SOAR was born. Now, in the game's second year of development, Hadi has assembled a team of developers to help realize his vision. We get into how the game came to be, the iteration around the game's fantastic flight mechanic, and what the future holds for Hadi, his team and SO...2022-07-2853 min

Clear As MudTomáš Jech and Clarissa Bernardo- Creators of Begone BeastGraham and Lila welcome you to the inaugural episode of Clear As Mud! We have a fun conversation with husband and wife development team Tomáš Jech and Clarissa Bernardo covering their respective journeys to the formation of their company, Tandemi. Discover the moving and inspirational stories behind their careers, marriage and development of their first game working together, Begone Beast. 2022-06-281h 16

Game Dev Unchained0286: Roundtable News | The Rise of Big Tech Game CompaniesThis episode is brought to you by Mudstack & Manscaped Get started for free in just a few minutes at mudstack.com Mudstack is the only asset management and collaboration platform custom built for game studios and digital artists. Level up your game art and your art game with mudstack. Get 20% OFF @manscaped + Free Shipping with promo code GDU at MANSCAPED.com About this episode: Big tech is advancing the game industry like never before. For this decade, we are seeing Facebook, Google, Amazon, and Apple coming in swinging hard and...2021-10-261h 13

Game Dev Unchained0285: Environment Art for Moss Book II with Coolie CalihanThis episode is brought to you by AppFigures! Head to https://appfigures.com/on/gamedevunchained.com to try App figures for free. If you like it, use our special code GDU3030 to get 30% off for the next 3 months. Get started for free in just a few minutes at mudstack.com Mudstack is the only asset management and collaboration platform custom built for game studios and digital artists. Level up your game art and your art game with mudstack. Get 20% OFF @manscaped + Free Shipping with promo code GDU at MANSCAPED.com About...2021-10-051h 03

Game Dev Unchained0284: 14 Years of Development on Hanoka with Matt CaneiThis episode is brought to you by AppFigures! Head to https://appfigures.com/on/gamedevunchained.com to try App figures for free. If you like it, use our special code GDU3030 to get 30% off for the next 3 months. Get started for free in just a few minutes at mudstack.com Mudstack is the only asset management and collaboration platform custom built for game studios and digital artists. Level up your game art and your art game with mudstack. Get 20% OFF @manscaped + Free Shipping with promo code GDU at MANSCAPED.com About...2021-09-281h 05

Game Dev Unchained0283: GduX.me | Anew: The Distant Light DemoThis episode is brought to you by AppFigures! Head to https://appfigures.com/on/gamedevunchained.com to try App figures for free. If you like it, use our special code GDU3030 to get 30% off for the next 3 months. Get started for free in just a few minutes at mudstack.com Mudstack is the only asset management and collaboration platform custom built for game studios and digital artists. Level up your game art and your art game with mudstack. Anew: The Distant Light is an exciting new Indie title that is 6 years in th...2021-09-2151 min

Game Dev Unchained0282: Roundtable News | Blizzard Under FireThis episode is brought to you by AppFigures! Head to https://appfigures.com/on/gamedevunchained.com to try App figures for free. If you like it, use our special code GDU3030 to get 30% off for the next 3 months. Get started for free in just a few minutes at mudstack.com Mudstack is the only asset management and collaboration platform custom built for game studios and digital artists. Level up your game art and your art game with mudstack. Blizzard is in several lawsuits with its past of harassments is catching up to th...2021-09-141h 12