GameDev Unsung Heroes https://gamedevunsungheroes.podbean.com Long time Video Game Developer Veteran Jake Simpson talks with various friends and colleagues about their years in Game Dev. Each installment is an hour long conversation with the unsung heroes of Video Game development; people who are not household names, but are still at where the rubber meets the road, when it comes to making games. Each interviewee describes their career, talking about the companies they have worked at, the games they’ve worked on, telling stories and giving previously unseen or heard background to some legendary games. And Jake himself lobs in comments and some stories of his own! Sun, 08 Mar 2026 14:41:24 -0700 https://podbean.com/?v=5.5 en Copyright 2022 All rights reserved. Leisure:Video Games 1440 episodic Jake Simpson Jake Simpson No false https://pbcdn1.podbean.com/imglogo/image-logo/13723222/Gamedev_Unsung_Heroes_Logo_2__bp34i6.png GameDev Unsung Heroes https://gamedevunsungheroes.podbean.com 144 144 Alyssa Finley Regales! Alyssa Finley Regales! https://gamedevunsungheroes.podbean.com/e/alyssa-findley/ https://gamedevunsungheroes.podbean.com/e/alyssa-findley/#comments Sun, 08 Mar 2026 14:41:24 -0700 gamedevunsungheroes.podbean.com/0a9e9201-b136-3b79-a0fa-b4900568f3f9 Alyssa Finley is another one of those names that most won't have heard of - unless you are actively in the industry, in which case you definitely will have -, but she's more than made her presence felt in the games industry. Producer to some of the biggest names - Bioshock, Walking Dead, Batman Telltale games, Tales of the Borderlands, to name a few. She's quite the powerhouse and example to us all!

]]> Alyssa Finley is another one of those names that most won't have heard of - unless you are actively in the industry, in which case you definitely will have -, but she's more than made her presence felt in the games industry. Producer to some of the biggest names - Bioshock, Walking Dead, Batman Telltale games, Tales of the Borderlands, to name a few. She's quite the powerhouse and example to us all!

]]> Jake Simpson false No 3928 12 full Caryn Vaino has stuff to say! Caryn Vaino has stuff to say! https://gamedevunsungheroes.podbean.com/e/caryn-vaino/ https://gamedevunsungheroes.podbean.com/e/caryn-vaino/#comments Sun, 08 Mar 2026 14:38:43 -0700 gamedevunsungheroes.podbean.com/883cdd6d-f329-3b47-a482-121c453482ca Caryn Vaino, aka HellChick, from Quake Clans back in the day, is now a UI expert. She's worked on some big titles over her time as a developer - Wolfenstein, Call of Duty, Quake IV, Monday night Combat are just a few of those. See? Told you she was accomplished! But she does other stuff to. Shes a knitter. And an artist. And an Alpaca raiser. Is there no end to her talents? We find out!

]]> Caryn Vaino, aka HellChick, from Quake Clans back in the day, is now a UI expert. She's worked on some big titles over her time as a developer - Wolfenstein, Call of Duty, Quake IV, Monday night Combat are just a few of those. See? Told you she was accomplished!
But she does other stuff to. Shes a knitter. And an artist. And an Alpaca raiser. Is there no end to her talents? We find out!

]]> Jake Simpson false No 3175 1 11 full Chris Busse talking Production. Chris Busse talking Production. https://gamedevunsungheroes.podbean.com/e/chris-busse/ https://gamedevunsungheroes.podbean.com/e/chris-busse/#comments Sun, 08 Mar 2026 11:37:22 -0700 gamedevunsungheroes.podbean.com/71dd3f98-2832-3d62-9648-307b3ded88ed The producer behind oh so many hits of the early 2000's - Spiderman, for Activision, being one highlight. He's done so many interesting things, and he's not stopping now! Chris' resume reads like a list of games everyone has played. Ultimate Spiderman, Medal of Honor, The Evil Within, Archangel, NHL2K3 - the list just goes on. Plus a stint as an executive at Skydance -  one very accomplished game dev executive.

]]> The producer behind oh so many hits of the early 2000's - Spiderman, for Activision, being one highlight. He's done so many interesting things, and he's not stopping now!
Chris' resume reads like a list of games everyone has played. Ultimate Spiderman, Medal of Honor, The Evil Within, Archangel, NHL2K3 - the list just goes on. Plus a stint as an executive at Skydance -  one very accomplished game dev executive.

]]> Jake Simpson false No 3807 1 10 full Dave Taylor, indie mad scientist! Dave Taylor, indie mad scientist! https://gamedevunsungheroes.podbean.com/e/dave-taylor/ https://gamedevunsungheroes.podbean.com/e/dave-taylor/#comments Sun, 08 Mar 2026 11:34:51 -0700 gamedevunsungheroes.podbean.com/ce273c13-365e-3694-84dc-63af17d500c3 Dave Taylor, the legend of the mad game developer of Santa Monica, a man who marches to the beat of his own drum, who's work includes Doom and Quake - a seminal indie who has seen it all come and go, and yet still returns for more! Dave resides in CA, by the beach and is integral to the LA indie scene, but has definitively made his own path in the games industry. Quite the unique individual and linux enthusiast.

]]> Dave Taylor, the legend of the mad game developer of Santa Monica, a man who marches to the beat of his own drum, who's work includes Doom and Quake - a seminal indie who has seen it all come and go, and yet still returns for more!
Dave resides in CA, by the beach and is integral to the LA indie scene, but has definitively made his own path in the games industry. Quite the unique individual and linux enthusiast.

]]> Jake Simpson false No 3485 1 9 full David Johnson (DJ) - VFX Genius. David Johnson (DJ) - VFX Genius. https://gamedevunsungheroes.podbean.com/e/david-johnson-dj/ https://gamedevunsungheroes.podbean.com/e/david-johnson-dj/#comments Sun, 08 Mar 2026 11:25:48 -0700 gamedevunsungheroes.podbean.com/66a45c34-d49c-3004-a11d-1b6955436f2b DJ has been around games for sometime, and worked on some big titles as a VFX artist, and chances are, you've seen his work somewhere.

DJ has been involved in games like Halo, a bunch of the Call of Duty Games, and most recently has a whole slew of games his company have created the VFX for, like Starfield, Doom Dark Ages and Star Wars - Jedi Survivor.

So come learn about him - he's an incredible and unique character!

]]> DJ has been around games for sometime, and worked on some big titles as a VFX artist, and chances are, you've seen his work somewhere.

DJ has been involved in games like Halo, a bunch of the Call of Duty Games, and most recently has a whole slew of games his company have created the VFX for, like Starfield, Doom Dark Ages and Star Wars - Jedi Survivor.

So come learn about him - he's an incredible and unique character!

]]> Jake Simpson false No 3472 1 8 full Lee Perry, designer to the stars. Lee Perry, designer to the stars. https://gamedevunsungheroes.podbean.com/e/lee-perry/ https://gamedevunsungheroes.podbean.com/e/lee-perry/#comments Sun, 08 Mar 2026 11:22:50 -0700 gamedevunsungheroes.podbean.com/bef8bb0d-c6b4-3e68-8730-a85755ee5cff Lee has had quite the career at Epic, and was the original designer of Fortnite! He has a lot to say about his career, and interesting listening it most certainly is. Lee has been around a bit, and some of the highlights include all three of the original Gears of Wars game (where Blueprints was created, pretty much for Lee to play with!), Bulletstorm, and even Unreal Tournament! But Lee is most famous as the original designer of Fortnite!

]]> Lee has had quite the career at Epic, and was the original designer of Fortnite! He has a lot to say about his career, and interesting listening it most certainly is.
Lee has been around a bit, and some of the highlights include all three of the original Gears of Wars game (where Blueprints was created, pretty much for Lee to play with!), Bulletstorm, and even Unreal Tournament! But Lee is most famous as the original designer of Fortnite!

]]> Jake Simpson false No 3995 1 7 full Matt Pritchard talks Age-ing. Matt Pritchard talks Age-ing. https://gamedevunsungheroes.podbean.com/e/matt-pritchard/ https://gamedevunsungheroes.podbean.com/e/matt-pritchard/#comments Sun, 08 Mar 2026 11:17:43 -0700 gamedevunsungheroes.podbean.com/f7ad880c-49f8-3116-ba75-5f46da15226d Matt Pritchard, late of Ensemble and Valve, has had a varied career, with lots of ups and downs, and work on some major titles - Counter strike 2, Portal 2, Brothers in Arms, Left for Dead, and of course, almost all the Age of series. Sometimes he got to work twice on the same game, but with a 30 year gap! Hear lots of tales of the making of the Age of Empires titles, among other things!

]]> Matt Pritchard, late of Ensemble and Valve, has had a varied career, with lots of ups and downs, and work on some major titles - Counter strike 2, Portal 2, Brothers in Arms, Left for Dead, and of course, almost all the Age of series. Sometimes he got to work twice on the same game, but with a 30 year gap! Hear lots of tales of the making of the Age of Empires titles, among other things!

]]> Jake Simpson false No 3768 1 6 full Mike Arkin presents. Mike Arkin presents. https://gamedevunsungheroes.podbean.com/e/mike-arkin/ https://gamedevunsungheroes.podbean.com/e/mike-arkin/#comments Sun, 08 Mar 2026 10:05:19 -0700 gamedevunsungheroes.podbean.com/71278a9f-57a0-3c65-9f0f-e4e6c3e7ab7c Mike Arkin, producer and studio runner, describes working for Ellen, the career of an indie, and how RTS games on console ARE possible! Mike is another veteran of Game Development, and he's got quite the accomplished resume. BattleZone : Battlefield Commander (as well as BattleZon 97 Redux), Die Hard Triology, Alien Versus Predator : Extinction, Independence Day, the list goes on and on.

]]> Mike Arkin, producer and studio runner, describes working for Ellen, the career of an indie, and how RTS games on console ARE possible!
Mike is another veteran of Game Development, and he's got quite the accomplished resume. BattleZone : Battlefield Commander (as well as BattleZon 97 Redux), Die Hard Triology, Alien Versus Predator : Extinction, Independence Day, the list goes on and on.

]]> Jake Simpson false No 4005 1 5 full Simon Cooke lurks. Sometimes. Simon Cooke lurks. Sometimes. https://gamedevunsungheroes.podbean.com/e/simon-cooke/ https://gamedevunsungheroes.podbean.com/e/simon-cooke/#comments Sun, 08 Mar 2026 10:01:17 -0700 gamedevunsungheroes.podbean.com/e41a4b1c-f27b-3d75-89ea-9e6f441cc2bb Simon Cooke, originally of Your Sinclair magazine, show runner for XFest and now of Google, talks about how he came to be a developer, his life in Seattle, and good hangover cures. Simon is one of those developers who tends to stay in the background, but I can guarantee that almost any gamer has seen his work. When working at ATG, his influence and expertise allowed many XBox games to ship better than they ever would have been, and now he's doing the same thing at Google, for Android.

]]> Simon Cooke, originally of Your Sinclair magazine, show runner for XFest and now of Google, talks about how he came to be a developer, his life in Seattle, and good hangover cures.
Simon is one of those developers who tends to stay in the background, but I can guarantee that almost any gamer has seen his work. When working at ATG, his influence and expertise allowed many XBox games to ship better than they ever would have been, and now he's doing the same thing at Google, for Android.

]]> Jake Simpson false No 3290 1 4 full Tom Forsyth comes clean. Tom Forsyth comes clean. https://gamedevunsungheroes.podbean.com/e/tom-forsyth-comes-clean/ https://gamedevunsungheroes.podbean.com/e/tom-forsyth-comes-clean/#comments Sun, 08 Mar 2026 09:56:14 -0700 gamedevunsungheroes.podbean.com/43a3ea86-514b-3960-be11-5d12edfce2f9 Tom Forsyth, graphics, chip designer and VR supremo, talks about his life, his journey in the UK and then to the US, and even mentions he lived in the same town as our interviewer! Tom's been around a bit, from writing drivers and supporting code for the Sega, to writing drivers for 3D chips, building graphics engines for Muckyfoot on games like Startopia and Blade II, supporting RAD games tools Granny animation tools, building chipset instruction pipelines for Intel, and VR for Valve and Meta. Yeah, he's been around the block once or twice. And in conversation, it shows!

]]> Tom Forsyth, graphics, chip designer and VR supremo, talks about his life, his journey in the UK and then to the US, and even mentions he lived in the same town as our interviewer!
Tom's been around a bit, from writing drivers and supporting code for the Sega, to writing drivers for 3D chips, building graphics engines for Muckyfoot on games like Startopia and Blade II, supporting RAD games tools Granny animation tools, building chipset instruction pipelines for Intel, and VR for Valve and Meta. Yeah, he's been around the block once or twice. And in conversation, it shows!

]]> Jake Simpson false No 3412 1 3 full The Legend that is Tony Barnes. The Legend that is Tony Barnes. https://gamedevunsungheroes.podbean.com/e/tony-barnes-speaks/ https://gamedevunsungheroes.podbean.com/e/tony-barnes-speaks/#comments Sat, 07 Mar 2026 16:49:09 -0700 gamedevunsungheroes.podbean.com/74485760-18eb-3510-a43e-96e39649d792 Industry legend that is Tony Barnes chats about his life in games, how he came to start, where he's been and where he's going. And wherever it is, it's going to be pretty fast, given the kinds of car this man drives! Tony has been in games so long, he doesn't remember a time he _wasn't_ in games. And he's got some pretty hefty titles under his belt to prove it - Strider, Waking Mars, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, New Worlds. I could go on but I've about run out of spa

]]> Industry legend that is Tony Barnes chats about his life in games, how he came to start, where he's been and where he's going. And wherever it is, it's going to be pretty fast, given the kinds of car this man drives!
Tony has been in games so long, he doesn't remember a time he _wasn't_ in games. And he's got some pretty hefty titles under his belt to prove it - Strider, Waking Mars, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, New Worlds. I could go on but I've about run out of spa

]]> Jake Simpson false No 6452 1 2 full Les Ellis, Gamedev rocker. Les Ellis, Gamedev rocker. https://gamedevunsungheroes.podbean.com/e/les-ellis/ https://gamedevunsungheroes.podbean.com/e/les-ellis/#comments Thu, 23 Feb 2023 11:38:37 -0700 gamedevunsungheroes.podbean.com/0bd124f9-3ea2-31f2-a45d-351c35541bdb Les Ellis, ex journo and now producer extraordinaire, talks his career. Starting out in the British UK games magazine scene, and graduating to producer, and then studio runner for JAW, Les has come a long way. He's been involved in some big titles, like Doctor Who: Edge of Reality, Star Wars: Flight of the Falcon, Gauntlet: Dark Legacy and Empire of Sin. Plus, he has how own coffin. Find out more!

]]> Les Ellis, ex journo and now producer extraordinaire, talks his career. Starting out in the British UK games magazine scene, and graduating to producer, and then studio runner for JAW, Les has come a long way. He's been involved in some big titles, like Doctor Who: Edge of Reality, Star Wars: Flight of the Falcon, Gauntlet: Dark Legacy and Empire of Sin.
Plus, he has how own coffin. Find out more!

]]> Les Ellis, ex journo and now producer extraordinarie, talks his career. Jake Simpson false No 2608 1 1 full