In this episode of Growing Pains, GDL host and Games Strategy Consultant Jay Uppal sits down with Anime Producer Will Feng to discuss everything about life in Japan. Will has been in the Animation space for 20+ years and has been right on the frontlines of the recent Anime boom that has inspired some of the recent transmedia strategies in games. Jay and Will dive deep into everything from life in Japan as a foreigner to the secrets behind building working relationships in Japan.

Growing Pains is a series focusing on key business trends and people shaping the Global Games Market and their impact on the Games Industry. In this series Jay speaks with industry leaders across the Games and Gametech space; trying to demystify the industry, understand the state of leadership, and answer the all-important question ‘Is having a fun game still enough to succeed in today’s games market?’

Jay Uppal Social https://www.linkedin.com/in/jayant-uppal-18ab34a5/

Will Feng Social https://www.linkedin.com/in/will-feng-93528a3/

Episode 5 Segments:

00:00 Introduction to Episode Five

01:46 Introduction to Will

03:46 Animation in US vs Japan
11:40 Cultural Differences Working in Japan
16:40 Business in Japan is just Done Differently
24:10 Legal is Still a Nightmare
28:10 Find Your Clan (Networking in Japan)
34:00 Life in Japan as a Foreigner
40:30 Bars in Japan
44:30 Transmedia in Japan
50:50 Are Visual Novels Games?
55:00 Do the Grind
57:00 Netflix – Anime, Games, & Live Action
01:03:15 Korean Webtoons on the Rise
01:05:15 Collaborating with Japanese Productions
01:10:20 Japanese Idol Culture
01:16:20 Ending Segment

Fellow host Laura joins Oscar on his Podquest to explore the nature of professional learning in various forms from the humble webinar to interactive workshops, accelerator programs, mentoring and even peer information sharing. Why does it matter that we keep on learning? And what does someone doing that training need to consider in the ways they deliver that?

In this episode, host Nina Kim sits down with David Evans, the indie developer of Sail Forth. David delves into the creative inspirations behind his project, reflecting on the journey of building a game as a solo dev. With candid stories from his personal experience, David opens up about the challenges and triumphs he faced during development, and offers insights for anyone who is starting on a similar journey.

In this episode of Growing Pains, GDL host and Games Strategy Consultant, Jay Uppal sits down with Bastian Bergmann, the Co-founder of Solsten.io. Solsten is a Consumer Insights research firm that aims to put individual players back at the core of the game development cycle. They use psychologically backed techniques meshed with traditional behavioural research to identify the way and how behind a player’s action to offer clearer insights for decision-makers to better understand their audience and more effectively communicate with the player rather than the statistic. In this discussion Jay and Bastian delve into Solsten’s journey so far and the importance of understanding your gaming audience and their intrinsic motivations; as well as how a players psychology offers new insight into your players mindset and what that could mean for your game. Growing Pains is a series focusing on key business trends and people shaping the Global Games Market and their impact on the Games Industry, In this series Jay speaks with industry leaders across the Games and Gametech space; trying to demystify the industry, understand the state of leadership, and answer the all-important question ‘Is having a fun game sill enough to succeed in today’s games market?’ Jay Uppal https://www.linkedin.com/in/jayant-uppal-18ab34a5/ Bastian Bergmann https://www.linkedin.com/in/bergmannbastian/ Solsten 2024 – State of the Player Report: https://solsten.io/state-of-the-player Gen-Z Traits Article: https://solsten.io/blog/gen-z-traits-ideology-gap Bastian’s Blog: https://technicallyentertaining.substack.com/ Solsten Website: https://solsten.io/

Episode 4 Segments: 00:00 It’s Getting Harder to Make Successful Games 00:30 Introduction to Episode Four 02:04 Introduction to Bastian 04:07 Founder’s Journey for Solsten 13:04 Player Research: Behaviour vs Psychology 23:50 When Player Psychology Matters 32:05 How to use Player Insights 37:05 Empowered Marketing: Finding your Players 46:50 Gaming & Gender 52:15 The Startup Mentality 01:01:05 Opportunities with AI 01:05:35 Navigating Data Privacy 01:07:35 Tips for Founders 01:10:45 Solsten’s Vision & Closing Thoughts

Nina Kim from Rare joins Oscar on his Podquest to discuss the challenges of defining the multifaceted role of game designer, as well as the joys of the ever-evolving nature of design.

In this third episode, of Growing Pains, GDL host and Games Strategy Consultant, Jay Uppal sits down with Kamen Brestnichki, an AI researcher and Co-founder of Martian Lawyers Club, a newly founded Indie Games Studio based out of the UK. They dive into all things AI, discussing the hype behind the AI ecosystem and the broader ramifications of AI technologies in games and beyond. Growing Pains is a series focusing on key business trends and people shaping the Global Games Market and their impact on the Games Industry. In this series Jay speaks with industry leaders across the Games and Gametech space; trying to demystify the industry, understand the state of leadership, and answer the all-important question 'Is having a fun game still enough to succeed in today's games market?' Jay Uppal https://www.linkedin.com/in/jayant-uppal-18ab34a5/ Kamen Brestnichki https://www.linkedin.com/in/kamen-brestnichki https://martianlawyers.club/ https://x.com/MartianLawyers https://store.steampowered.com/app/2824790/GUG

Episode 3 Segments: 00:00 Introduction to Episode Three 04:45 What is AI? 12:25 Using AI to Make Games 21:47 Humans vs AI 31:05 MLC's AI Stack 34:40 Ethics of Using AI for Development 42:05 Advice for New Adopters 45:10 Do we need Intelligent NPCs? 52:15 Efficacy of No-code 56:00 State of the AI Ecosystem 01:00:10 AGI and the Singularity 01:04:35 Favourite Games 01:07:10 Ending Segment + Learning Resources

In this episode, Ioana from Mojiworks joins Oscar on his Podquest to learn everything about game development to explore how to design games meant for sharing, which is also the topic of her new book with CRC press.

This week I am joined by my friend, Nicholas, who is a narrative designer, artist, and founder of Essay Games. His artwork and games have been featured in Kotaku, Rock Paper Shotgun, Game Developer, Critical Distance, Unwinnable, The Washington Post, and The New York Times. His games are interesting, thoughtful, and delve deeply into human stories. While his last two games relied on his skill for research, his current undertaking, Bundle of Joy, draws on his recent experience of becoming a parent during the pandemic. We speak at length about creativity as a practice and what his personal go-to tools are to tell stories and create games Wishlist Bundle of Joy: https://store.steampowered.com/app/3138370/Bundle_of_Joy/ https://bsky.app/profile/essaygames.bsky.social https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicholas-o-brien-essaygames/ https://essaygames.itch.io/