This week, Nigel welcomes writer, designer and educator James Wallis to unpack the story of his journey from Suffolk into tabletop game design James has seen the games industry grow up since his start and brings an extraordinary amount of knowledge and perspective for aspiring creative professionals to learn from.
We talk about the mindset needed to make a living in the games industry, why being perfect doesn’t matter and the depth of storytelling in early Sonic games! This is a must-listen conversation for anyone looking to make a start in game design whether in tabletop or video games.
Show notes:
Visit James Wallis’ website – http://www.jameswallis.com
James’ latest book, Everybody Wins: https://aconytebooks.com/shop/everybody-wins-the-greatest-board-games-ever-made-by-james-wallis
James’ earliest book, Board Games In 100 Moves, my earlier book: https://www.dk.com/uk/book/9781465485755-board-games-in-100-moves
The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles RPG: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teenage_Mutant_Ninja_Turtles_%26_Other_Strangeness
Itch.io is a free online storefront that anyone can use
Cheap/free alternatives to premium software https://alternativeto.net
Subscribe to the Story x Story podcast wherever you find podcasts – https://anchor.fm/mayamada
Discover the World’s First Manga Network! You can find our own stories online – https://mayamada.com/manga
Join the mayamada Studio77 Discord server and be part of the community – https://discord.gg/b5fmnuT
Get involved in the “Do I Look Like A Gamer?” diversity campaign and help change the narrative around video games – https://looklikeagamer.com
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A big thanks to Fisayo Karunwi for our into, outro and transition music:
https://soundcloud.com/fisayokarunwi
A big thanks to Aly Graphix for designing the podcast logo:
https://alygraphix.wixsite.com/designer
Send us questions and feedback on feedback@mayamada.com.
