CoffeeWithCross

Yay right on! TY for listening!

Happy Thanksgiving to all our American friends! 🦃

Taking a short break to recharge and prep some great new Brain Arcade content. Next season, I’ll be deep-diving into game dev topics across multiple episodes!

What do you want to learn about? Drop your ideas below!

#GameDev #IndieDev #BrainArcade

Leadership matters even more on tiny teams. Coach and trainer Andy Coley shares how to communicate clearly, set expectations that stick to keep scope and moral under control so you can actually… Build Better Leaders to Build Better Games

The best artists / devs don't always make the best leaders but the best communicators often do.

I talked with Andy Coley of Game Studio Training about what really makes teams work, avoiding burnout, and building trust through better conversations.

🎧 buff.ly/fxmWG2Q

#GameDev #Leadership #IndieDev

Writer Chris Knauer joins Brain Arcade to talk about his leap from writers’ rooms into Unreal Engine. We dig into what it means to treat games as a conversation with players, how art and… From TV to Unreal with Chris Knauer

Huge respect for indie devs who plan, persevere, and actually ship!

I chatted with Chris Knauer about his path from TV writer to game designer, lessons from making his own Unreal game, and how to keep scope in check so you finish.

Listen In:
buff.ly/dkV5eoF

#GameDev #IndieDev #BrainArcade

Nathan White, founder of Threeclipse Inc. joins to talk about building opportunities for juniors in game dev through mentorship and real shipped projects. We dig into what it takes to break in today,… How do Juniors Get Experience? with Nathan White (Threeclipse Inc.)

How do you get a job in games when entry roles want experience?

Nathan White, founder of Threeclipse Inc, is helping juniors get real experience shipping games with real mentors. We talk breaking in and how to ship a game with a small junior team.

Listen in: buff.ly/UaopzIA

#GameDev #IndieDev

Profit and Play: The Business of Games Returning guest Mark Netter and I dig into the business of play. From mergers and layoffs to AI-driven development and the shrinking middle class of indie studios. We look at how money,…

Mergers, layoffs, acquisitions. What do they really mean for the future of games?

Mark Netter, co-founder of ElectraCast Media, and I talk business. From EA’s $55B acquisition to how art and money shape creative industries.

🎧 Listen: buff.ly/eJwMFPU

#GameDev #IndieDev #BrainArcadePodcast

In this episode I sit down with my friend and legendary game designer Christopher “Chris” Cross ,the guy behind Medal of Honor and a career’s worth of AAA and indie projects. This wasn’t some stiff… Ep.2 Chris Cross IRL

Had a great chat with Keith Waggoner on his new podcast Keith IRL! 🎙️
We talked game marketing, creativity, and staying motivated in unpredictable industries. Always love Keith’s energy and “let’s make it happen” spirit.

🎧 Listen here:

Stephan Bugaj (Pixar, Telltale, Genvid) joins me to explore the real reasons games succeed and why traditional marketing no longer cuts it. We dig into the saturation of the games market, the myth of… From Pixar to Silent Hill: Stephan Bugaj on Storytelling, Community & Discovery

What’s the biggest challenge for creators today?
Discoverability.

I talked with Emmy-winning Stephan Bugaj (Pixar, Telltale, Genvid) about how game marketing has changed, and why finding your community early matters more than ever.

🎧 Listen here: buff.ly/g7qoADe

#GameDev #IndieDev #BrainArcade

Chris chats with Producer and previous VP of Production, Arthur von Nagel (Ubisoft, Genvid, Telltale), about how small teams build community-driven hits like Vampire Survivors, Balatro, and Cult of… Discoverability, Community, and the Death of Traditional Marketing

I say this all the time, traditional marketing is dead.
Arthur von Nagel joins me to unpack why discoverability is broken, and how indie hits like Balatro & Cult of the Lamb found their people through community.

🎧 Listen in
buff.ly/CQ5d7ht

#gamedev #indiegamedev #gamemarketing #brainarcade

So fun even Joe is enjoying his own voice. 🤣🤣🤣

Becoming a Director: Storytelling lessons from Games and Film Chris sits down with longtime friend, animator and filmmaker Joe Ksander, to trace his path from dorms of UCLA to EA’s Medal of Honor and from Hollywood VFX into making films. They talk about crunch…

Joe Ksander & I have been debating storytelling for 30+ years. From UCLA dorms to his days at Netflix & ILM, we talk perseverance and evoking audience / player emotion. So stoked we finally captured one of our chats!
🎧 buff.ly/pOd7aLz

#gamedev #Storytelling #IndieGameDev #animation

The end of an era. We’re in uncharted waters now. Will have a podcast episode soon about this.

Emmy-nominated comedy writer, Author, and Comedian Mike Drucker (Nintendo, Full Frontal with Samantha Bee, The Tonight Show) joins Brain Arcade to talk about punching up the comedy for everything… Comedy writing from Nintendo to the Tonight Show with Mike Drucker

What shaped your sense of funny?

We had an absolute blast talking to Mike Drucker Comedian, Emmy Nominated Comedy writer, and Author of Good Game, No Rematch. How do you write comedy without being corny? What's funny about Mortal Combat?

🎧 Join the convo
buff.ly/u6eiiJz

#GameDev #ComedyWriting

Games made in New Zealand Steam Event has begun!!!
store.steampowered.com/app/3782840/...

We’re super stoked to have Neon Knives, Snug, and Mingle alongside so many other awesome games made in Aotearoa 🫶!

You can find our 3 games here ☺️
store.steampowered.com/developer/co...

#indiegame #indiedev

i love looking at art and having horrible moments of eldritch-esque fear considering the amount of decision paths an artist /didn't/ take. someone arrived at a choice when they had infinite options, continually narrowed by constraints and then finally, their own taste or discretion.

Gumshoe Detective Agency: The First Case on Steam A missing person case straight out of 1995. Search the early internet, dig through emails and dusty floppy discs, and uncover the secrets behind the disappearance of Victoria Mason.

My indie game comes out soon and I really want to hit 5,000 wishlists! Wishlist if you like point-and-click games!

Play the Demo & Wishlist: tinyurl.com/wishlistgda

#IndieGameDev #IndieGames #SummerGameFest #IndieDev #SteamNextFest #NextFest #GameInformer #PCGames #VideoGame #PointandClick

External development teams are often the key to shipping games, but how do we invest in these partnerships and empower them to do their best work?

🎙️Janyl Lambee Tanoy joins Brain Arcade to talk building trust, clarity, and synergy with external dev teams.

Listen here!
buff.ly/YAwNIRM

Check out Joe on @coffeewithcross.bsky.social !

Thanks for coming on Joe! @terribleposture.bsky.social

What does it take to ship an indie game in 2025?

Joe Mirabello walks us through creating Battle Train and surviving 4 years of dev, funding, growing a company, and finding the right publisher to successfully make a 9/10 on Steam!

🎧 buff.ly/WqvtYDH
#BrainArcade #GameDev #IndieDev #battletrain

Congrats!!!!

Our cozy semi-idle game Plantasia just officialy released on Steam! The Full Release includes several new features: decorate your bedroom, buy and shuffle seeds, have an overview of your seed database, and more!

🌿 store.steampowered.com/app/3236330/...

#cozygame #game #indiedev #indiegame #gamedev

Gumshoe Detective Agency: The First Case on Steam A missing person case straight out of 1995. Search the early internet, dig through emails and dusty floppy discs, and uncover the secrets behind the disappearance of Victoria Mason.

My indie game comes out soon and I really want to hit 5,000 wishlists! If you like mystery games, check it out!

Play the Demo & Wishlist: tinyurl.com/wishlistgda

#IndieGameDev #IndieGames #SummerGameFest #IndieDev #SteamNextFest #NextFest #GameInformer #PCGames #VideoGame

Dude! Thanks for coming on! We’re due for tacos!

Creativity vs. Business with Game Changers Producer Steve Hoffmann Podcast Episode · Brain Arcade · 08/28/2025 · 50m

My friend and video game developer @coffeewithcross.bsky.social has a great podcast called "BRAIN ARCADE," and on MY episode, we discuss Creativity vs. Business. Chris was an important interview subject for my 8 episode HBO series about video games called "Game Changers."

Give it a listen, please!!

The layoffs keep coming! We need to talk about what happens when spreadsheets and creativity meet. Steve Hoffmann joins me on Brain Arcade to talk game history and the business of creative industries.

🎧 Join the convo!
buff.ly/CmVXsVq

#Gamedev #Indiegamdev #Brainarcade #Gamepodcast

Rad! I'll start yours today while I'm working!

I’m following and subscribing to all your pod locations.

Yay! Thank you! Hope you like it.

Rad!