In episode 13 Susan sits down with Designer and storyteller Nick Fortugno has spent more than 20 years pushing games into new spaces on screens, on streets and in the classroom. He talks about co founding studios like Rebel Monkey and Playmatics, helping define early casual and social games, creating playful public experiences through Come Out and Play, and now running the digital game program at City College in New York while designing “games about non game things for people who do not play gam...
May 26, 2026•50 min•Ep. 13
In episode 12 Susan sits down with Lisette Titre Montgomery, veteran art director and co founder and CEO of Cornerstone Interactive, looks back on a two decade career that spans Freakstyle, Tiger Woods PGA Tour, The Simpsons, South Park and Psychonauts 2, and forward to new ways of making games feel truly handmade again. She talks about leading teams through tricky visual problems, building Gameheads Oakland for youth from underserved communities, and using AI and emerging tools in ways that sti...
May 19, 2026•41 min•Ep. 12
In episode 11 of the GGJ Podcast, Alexander Fernandez, co founder and CEO of Streamline Media Group, shares how he turned a four person apartment in the Netherlands into a global studio working on franchises like Final Fantasy, Gears of War, Bioshock Infinite and James Cameron’s Avatar. He explains his “starving up” mentality, surviving the 2008 financial crisis, closing Streamline’s Amsterdam studio to protect his team, and rebuilding in Malaysia to connect talent in the global south with oppor...
May 12, 2026•49 min•Ep. 12
In episode 10 Susan sits down with Argentine game maker Nico Castez to talk about cranking out 100 games at Avix, chasing strange ideas instead of trends, and turning that wild energy into his new studio, Goraku Club. They dig into hard‑won lessons about money, momentum, and community, plus what Nico wants the next wave of Latin American creators to build. (00:00) - Intro (01:28) - Meet Nico Castez (03:47) - The Road to Avix (13:04) - Making Games with Friends (16:23) - What it was like (20:43) ...
May 05, 2026•48 min•Ep. 10
In episode 9 Susan talks with Alexis Jolis‑Desautels, a veteran designer and design leader who has spent two decades inside some of the world’s biggest game franchises helping studios actually understand their players. From starting as a QA tester at Ubisoft Montreal to building user research labs, leading design teams on major AAA projects, and mentoring the next generation of designers, Alexis brings a rare mix of craft, honesty, and cultural insight to every conversation (00:00) - Intro (01:2...
Apr 28, 2026•46 min•Ep. 9
In episode 8, Susan talks with Darion Lowenstein, a veteran game producer, marketer, and executive who has spent nearly three decades shipping hit titles and building publishing teams across console, mobile, and emerging platforms. He and Susan dig into what it actually takes to bring a game to market at scale, why marketing and publishing strategy matter as much as design, and how he approaches mentorship, leadership, and sustainability in an industry that is constantly shifting. (00:00) - Intr...
Apr 21, 2026•52 min•Ep. 8
In episode 7, Susan talks with Lual Mayen, a South Sudanese game developer, entrepreneur, and humanitarian whose journey from being born on the run from civil war to founding his own studio shows what happens when opportunity finally meets talent and persistence.Growing up in a Ugandan refugee camp with no reliable electricity or formal tech education, he taught himself to code, created the peace-focused game Salaam, and launched Junub Games to use interactive experiences to build empathy and su...
Apr 14, 2026•46 min•Ep. 7
In episode 6, Susan talks with Terry Redfield, a veteran game developer, creative director, and three‑time founder with more than 25 years in console, PC, mobile, and live ops experience. From building worlds at Double Fine on Psychonauts, to leading live ops and skins teams on League of Legends, Terry’s career is a jungle gym of studios, startups, and platforms that she has navigated while parenting, caregiving, and insisting that games make room for grown‑up players with full, complicated live...
Apr 07, 2026•43 min•Ep. 6
In episode 5, Susan talks with Pablo Quarta, an Argentine writer, narrative designer, and game producer whose work sits at the intersection of games, politics, and queerness. From co‑founding "Matajuegos", Argentina’s first video game workers’ co‑op, to producing the award‑winning surreal documentary game "Atuel", Pablo’s journey is about using games to talk honestly about labor, climate justice, identity, and Latin American realities. Throughout the conversation, Pablo discusses "Matajuegos’" o...
Mar 31, 2026•47 min•Ep. 5
In episode 4, Susan talks with Thorsten S. Wiedemann, founder and artistic director of AMAZE, the international art house games and playful media festival that helped redefine how the world sees independent games. From Berlin bar nights and DIY talk shows to a global network of experimental, subversive, and deeply personal games, Thorsten’s journey is about building spaces where artists, punks, and misfits can treat games as culture, not just products. As A MAZE approaches 15 years, Thorsten tra...
Mar 24, 2026•42 min•Ep. 4
In episode 3 Susan talks with Limpho Moeti, South African producer, business developer, Playtopia co-founder, and the first IGDA chair from the global south, about how she’s spent her career making things happen for other developers. Limpho describes her path from theater, film, and comics into games via Free Lives and Nyamakop, where she supported community meetups, game jams, and biz dev. She advocates for developers outside North America and Europe, highlighting barriers in South Africa and a...
Mar 17, 2026•46 min•Ep. 3
Ben Kvalo on Building Midwest Games and a More Sustainable Publishing Model In this episode, Susan talks with Ben Kvalo, founder and CEO of Midwest Games and former Netflix Games production lead, about changing where games come from, how developers see themselves (creatives vs entrepreneurs), and how they are supported. Ben shares growing up in Portage, Wisconsin , his early goals, and how a university M&A capstone project led him to the business side of games. He describes mentors and cultu...
Mar 10, 2026•49 min•Ep. 2
In this episode, Susan sits down with Jenny Xu—long-distance runner, fitness instructor, Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree, and founder / CEO of Talofa Games , a studio creating games to make movement more fun through titles like "Run Legends" and " Monster Walk. " Jenny recounts what it was like to grow up as a shy kid in Cupertino, finding belonging in online communities thanks to Pokemon fan art, Neopets and her anonymous alter ego, "chibixi", as well as how she taught herself game development to be...
Mar 03, 2026•50 min•Ep. 1
In our very first episode, producer Shirley McPhaul turns the mic on host Susan Gold - educator, organizer, and co-founder of the Global Game Jam - to explore how a fine arts professor who “lost boyfriends to video games” ended up creating one of the largest collaborative events in the world. Together they trace the origins of GGJ, Susan’s lifelong impulse to build community, and the quiet labor of making things happen so other people can thrive. Susan Gold is an educator, facilitator, and organ...
Feb 24, 2026•37 min•Ep. 1
