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Kiwi Talkz

Kiwi
Kiwi Talkz
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209 episodes

  • Kiwi Talkz

    #211 - Andrew Kim On Naughty Dog, Uncharted, Marvel, Film, Concept Art, Sony Santa Monica

    20/06/2026 | 1h 3 mins.
    Andrew Kim is a freelance concept artist who has worked on video games, tv and film. Hes done numerous concepts for games in the MCU and he did concept art for Uncharted 2-4
    #uncharted #uncharted4 #uncharted3
    ANDREWS WEBSITE IS HERE https://www.andrewkimart.com/

    TIMESTAMPS
    00:00 - Intro
    00:34 - Differences Between Working In Video Games & Film/TV
    04:41 - Getting A Job at Naughty Dog
    07:20 - Working With The Designers On Concept Art For Uncharted
    09:03 - The Process Was Similar Between Uncharted 2,3 & 4
    10:46 - Leaving Marvel/Being A Freelancer On Uncharted 4
    12:30 - Why Andrew Left Naughty Dog
    15:30 - How Film Union Works
    18:23 - The Challenges Of Being A Freelancer In The Film Industry
    20:55 - It’s Not What You Know, It’s Who You Know
    21:30 - How You Network In The Film Industry
    23:10 - ART CONCEPT REEL - Uncharted 2
    33:40 - Sony Santa Monica Has 6 Hour Interviews
    35:30 - Naughty Dog Interview Was 20 Minutes
    36:19 - Interviewing Process In The Game Industry Now
    37:49 - Andrew Would Work On Uncharted 5 If Asked
    39:20 - Andrew Had Limited Interactions With Amy & Bruce
    40:17 - ART CONCEPT REEL - Uncharted 3
    42:39 - Uncharted 3 Piece Got Andrew His Job At Marvel
    44:00 - ART CONCEPT REEL - Uncharted 3
    59:36 - Where To Follow Andrew
  • Kiwi Talkz

    #210 - Quentin Cobb Interview On Uncharted 4, The Last Of Us, Naughty Dog, Ironroot Games

    06/06/2026 | 1h 4 mins.
    Quentin Cobb is the CEO and Co-Founder of Ironroot Games, he was previously a designer at Naughty Dog on Uncharted 4 & The Last Of Us and did a 5 year stint at Zenimax before on a cancelled project he was laid off.
    #uncharted4 #uncharted #thelastofus
    SOCIALS
    TWITTER - @QTrainCobb
    INSTAGRAM @qtrain.cobb/ @I
    IronrootGames https://ironrootgames.com/

    TIMESTAMPS
    00:00 - Intro
    00:30 - Why Quentin Cobb Loves Wutang Clan
    01:37 - Crunch On Uncharted 4
    04:02 - Working On Lost Legacy
    04:40 - Why Quentin Left Naughty Dog
    06:07 - Was It Harder To Salvage Uncharted 4 Rather Than Creating A New Game
    07:36 - Quentin Worked On Chapter 8 In Uncharted 4
    09:00 - Puzzle Sequences Were Difficult In Uncharted 4/Bruce Straley
    10:35 - Difficulty Of Making Puzzles
    11:50 - Shifting Mindset From Single Player To Multiplayer
    13:39 - Why The Last Of Us Was A Life Changing Experience/Working With Bruce Straley
    19:30 - Sony Executives Didn’t Believe The Last Of Us Would Succeed
    20:30 - Naughty Dog Was Shocked How Well The Last Of Us Was Received
    22:30 - Overcoming The Trauma Of Project Blackbird Being Cancelled
    27:00 - Indie Dev Community Are Kind & Supportive
    28:01 - Ironroot Games New Action-Adventure Project
    29:40 - Naughty Dog Teams Were Well Connected/Small Team Sizes
    32:00 - AAA Is All About Trends As Opposed To Making Games With A Heart
    34:00 - Creating A Unique Game Can Be Tricky
    36:30 - Advice From Bruce Straley/Pacing In Games
    40:17 - Microsoft Pulled Funding For Bruce Straley’s Indie Game
    41:40 - How Devs Try To Get In Front Of Layoffs/AAA Industry Isn’t Stable
    43:04 - Naughty Dog Layoffs/No One Is Safe
    44:00 - Last Of Us Part II/Quentin Is Glad He Didnt Work On It
    45:39 - Working On Last Of Us Part 1 Was Nostalgic
    46:30 - Intergalactic/Meeting His Old Naughty Dog Colleagues
    48:05 - Quentin Didnt Work Much With Amy & Neil
    48:58 - Q+A - Why Was India Chosen For Lost Legacy
    50:17 - Is It Easier To Make A Story First Or Design Mechanics First
    51:30 - Q+A - How To Get A Design Job At Naughty Dog
    54:30 - A Portfolio Is More Important Than A Degree
    57:19 - Q+A - What New Things Were Possible Going From PS3 To PS4 For Uncharted
    58:55 - Diminishing Returns With The Next Hardware
    1:00:30 - Padding In Open World Games
    1:03:05 - Where To Follow Ironroot Games & Quentin
  • Kiwi Talkz

    #209 -Jake Kazdal Interview On Nintendo, Eiji Aonuma, Zelda, SEGA, Hirokazu Tanaka, Awaysis

    23/05/2026 | 1h 6 mins.
    Jake Kazdal is a japanese game developer who has worked on games such as Galak-Z and Skulls Of The Shogun, he has worked for Nintendo, SEGA and Square Enix and is releasing his new game Awaysis very soon. This is a rare pullback of the curtain on Japanese design.
    #nintendo #zelda #botw
    WEBSITE - http://awaysis.jp/
    https://store.steampowered.com/app/3334760/Awaysis/

    TIMESTAMPS
    00:00 - Intro
    00:45 - Differences Between Japanese & Western Development
    02:30 - Differences Between SEGA & Square Enix/Japanese Work Culture
    07:00 - Nintendo Devs Are Retiring/Japanese Devs Are Nimble
    09:15 - Kyoto’s Indie Scene/Hiring People At 17-Bit
    10:39 - Japanese Labour Laws
    11:40 - What Nintendo Devs Do Once They Retire/Retirement Age At Nintendo
    11:46 - Nintendo Dev Legends Have Playtested Awaysis
    14:11 - Playtesting With Awaysis
    16:25 - Importance Of Iterating On Tutorials/What Is Awaysis
    20:20 - Local Multiplayer Can’t Be Matched/Online Multiplayer/Covid
    23:30 - Getting Hirokazu Tanaka To Compose Awaysis/Jake Is A Huge Nintendo Fan
    25:40 - Pitch To Hirokazu Tanaka
    26:50 - Physics System Of Awaysis
    29:54 - Super Mario 64/Game Controls Are Too Tight Nowadays
    33:28 - Graphics Take Precedent Over Physics
    34:28 - The Physics System In Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom
    36:40 - Being Friends With Eiji Aonuma/The Glider In BOTW
    38:14 - Physics Limitations In Unreal Engine
    42:24 - Zelda BOTW & TOTK Are Masterpieces/Next Zelda
    43:15 - Friendship With Eiji Aonuma
    44:17 - Working At SEGA/Being Mentored By Tetsuya Mizuguchi
    46:19 - Working With Steven Spielberg On Elemeno/Mirrors Edge
    50:21 - Original Ideas In Games Are Few & Far Between
    52:30 - Oversaturation Of Indie Games/Devs Leaving The Industry
    55:11 - Devs Getting Laid Off Despite Success/The Dire State Of The Industry
    56:15 - Stability Working At Nintendo & Valve/Struggles For Funding
    01:01:00 - Gen-Z Play GAAS/Gamers Are Playing Old Games
    1:03:49 - Where To Keep Up With Awaysis
  • Kiwi Talkz

    REVIEW - Super Mario Galaxy Movie With Former Nintendo Devs!!

    09/05/2026 | 56 mins.
    I got together some of the old Retro Studios crew including Kynan Pearson (Metroid Prime 2,3 & DKCR), Jay Epperson (DKCR & Tropical Freeze), Eric Kozlowsky (DKC Tropical Freeze) and Brad Taylor (DKC Tropical Freeze), the latter has never appeared on the show before. Hope you enjoy this, cause we had a blast recording it.

    #supermariogalaxy #supermario #mariogalaxy

    TIMESTAMPS
    00:00 - Intro
    00:25 - Overrall Thoughts
    08:30 - Fox/Starfox Movie
    09:53 - Smash Bros Movie
    12:00 - Super Mario World Vinettes
    13:12 - Lack Of Story/Nintendo Are Still Learning How To Make Movies
    14:53 - Nintendo Fans Are Aging Out
    16:00 - The Movie Shouldve Been Super Mario World Instead Of Super Mario Galaxy
    18:03 - No Licensed Music
    19:46 - Should Mario Have A Deeper Story?
    24:04 - Film Critics Don’t Respect Gaming/Video Game Films
    25:01 - Peach Is OP/Super Mario Bros 2
    27:15 - Where Do They Go From Here
    30:21 - Rumored Star Fox Game/Fox Appearance
    33:38 - Kiwi’s Opinion On The Film/Hollwood Actors Being Mario Fans
    36:25 - Being An Artist And Picking Apart Art In The Movie
    39:43 - The Film Should Be Watched At 0.7 Watch Speed
    40:30 - Nintendo Are Hands On With Legacy Characters
    43:10 - Bowser Jr
    44:30 - Koopalings/3rd Mario movie/Cappy
    45:30 - Super Mario Odyssey/Original Idea For SMO’s Artstyle
    48:00 - The Soundtrack/Starfox
    49:23 - Nintendo Cross Promotion
    52:40 - DKC Tropical Freeze Original Name
    53:53 - Final Thoughts/Plugs For Nothing LOL
    54:57 - The Dire State Of The Game Industry
  • Kiwi Talkz

    #207 - Heather Cerlan Interview On Naughty Dog, Bethesda, Last Of Us, Hawthorne, Creation Engine

    25/04/2026 | 1h 7 mins.
    Heather Cerlan a former artist at Naughty and Bethesda, in this interview she shares her journey from a passionate artist to a studio founder, discussing her experiences at Naughty Dog and Bethesda, her insights on game development, and her ambitious new project Hawthorne. Discover lessons on persistence, navigating industry challenges, and the future of game art and design.

    HAWTHORNE INFO
    https://playhawthorn.com/

    #thelastofus #starfield #uncharted

    TIMESTAMPS
    00:00 - Intro
    00:55 - Being In A Rockband
    02:30 - Heather Kept Pestering Naughty Dog Till They Hired Her
    06:17 - Having Imposter Syndrome At Naughty Dog/Naughty Dog Didnt Have Producers
    08:30 - Bethesda Are About Quantity/Naughty Dog Is About Quality
    10:36 - Heather’s Role At Bethesda/Starfield
    13:45 - Pros & Cons Of Creation Engine
    15:05 - There Was Pressure Internally For Bethesda To Migrate To Unreal Engine
    16:59 - Uncharted Lost Legacy Production Issues/Intense Crunch
    22:44 - Working On The Shiva Temple
    24:28 - Heather’s View On Her Work Getting Remastered/Originals Vs Remasters
    29:28 - Working With Neil Druckmann/Lesbian Stories
    33:04 - Heather Had Concerns On LGBTQ Themes In Last Of Us Part II
    38:00 - Naughty Dog Were Split On Joel’s Death In TLOU Part II
    38:48 - The Reason Heather Left Naughty Dog
    40:04 - Work On Hawthorne/NEAR Studios
    43:41 - Bruce Nesmith
    46:00 - Hawthorne Is Skyrim Meets Stardew Valley/Raising Money/Bad Publisher Terms
    48:15 - How Naughty Dog & Bethesdas Culture Has Influenced Hawthorne
    51:16 - Q + A - Differences Between Naughty Dog & Bethesda
    54:54 - Todd Howard Is A Neil Druckmann Fanboy
    56:42 - Heather Feels Very Lucky/The Decision To Start Her Own Company
    59:18 - Overcoming Fear With Hawthorne
    1:05:22 - Where To Follow Heather & Keep Up With Hawthorne
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About Kiwi Talkz
Podcast with various Video Game developers as well as other people involved in entertainment such as TV/Film
Podcast website

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