Stupid Little Games with Jess Pardue

Uno Reverse - With Jess Pardue (& Gabe Koscky...)

On this week's very special episode, Audio Engineer Gabe has taken the reigns and interviews Jess for a change! Jess is completely comfortable with being on the other side of the microphone . . . yeah let's go with that. 
They chat about Gabe's two rules for his Baldur's Gate 3 characters (Spoiler alert: one of them is being naked at all times), how Jess went from retail in SC to video games in NYC, and how operations management skills translate so well to being a good producer. They also wax poetic about making this very podcast.
Then they play a Stupid Little Game all about cats in video games! (He's really perpetuating the "Jess is a crazy cat lady" stereotype. What did we expect from Jess' nemesis?)
Great job hosting this week Gabe, but you still suck ass. You've gotta belv in youself.
Special thanks to today's sponsor:
Phantoms, Ghosts, & Other Heartbreaks - a debut novel by Beth Morton. You can find it on Amazon paperback and kindle. Available now!
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Stupid Little Games is a podcast all about gaming from the inside out!
Each week, I (Jess Pardue) sit down with an insider from various parts of the gaming industry, from indie to AAA. We talk about our current gaming obsessions, tell stories from projects past and present, and then play a Stupid Little Game I write especially for each guest.
Thanks so much for listening!

Not That Type of Freudian - With Deborah Hendersen!

Hey y'all, onboarding is hard...
So this week Jess sits down with Xbox Principal User Researcher and onboarding expert Dr. Deborah Hendersen! 
They talk about the psychology behind onboarding for all types of games, Dark Souls being a bastard (but that's a good thing!), and the importance of playtesting, playtesting, playtesting. 
Then they play a Stupid Little Game about the psychology of playground games, and Jess learns about the concept of puppyguarding. (Spoiler alert it's the rated G version of teabagging...) 
You can follow Deborah on LinkedIn or, if you are a game developer of any kind (indie to AAA) and would like to help shape the future of Xbox game development, you can sign up here! United States - International.
_____________________
Stupid Little Games is a podcast all about gaming from the inside out!
Each week, I (Jess Pardue) sit down with an insider from various parts of the gaming industry, from indie to AAA. We talk about our current gaming obsessions, tell stories from projects past and present, and then play a Stupid Little Game I write especially for each guest.
 

Drawing Outside the Lines - With Natalie Asport!

New episode alert! 
This week Jess sits down with the amazing Natalie Asport - former Avalanche hard surface and weapons artist and current senior prop artist making badass Mortal Kombat assets at NetherRealm Studios!  She's also an adjunct professor at NYU Game Center teaching the next generation of 3D artists.
They chat about predatory puzzle game ads on Instagram, having the discipline to actually hone your craft when you just wanna *play* games, plus the thrill (and stress!) of working on iconic characters.
Then they play a Stupid Little Game that asks the question, "What if Freddie Kruegger was in a movie with Chun Li?"
Follow Natalie! IG: @guitartist93, @natalieasportmusic; LinkedIn, or Bluesky: guitarist.bsky.social
Follow Jess! Bluesky: @caketease.bsky.social; IG: @cake_tease, LinkedIn
Shout out to today's sponsor:
Bean Sidhe: the new narrative walking sim from Sealbee Games. Available now as pay-what-you-want on Itch.io with all proceeds going to trans and Palestinian mutual aid. 
_____________________
Stupid Little Games is a podcast all about gaming from the inside out!
Each week, I (Jess Pardue) sit down with an insider from various parts of the gaming industry, from indie to AAA. We talk about our current gaming obsessions, tell stories from projects past and present, and then play a Stupid Little Game I write especially for each guest.

Satellite Cattle Auctioning - With Jon Lander!

On this week's episode of Stupid Little Games, Jess welcomes former Bethesda and CCP games exec Jon Lander! They chat about the importance of networking (especially these days), crowd-surfing at Fanfest, and the quest to get the game industry to grow up, just a teeny little bit...
Then during the Stupid Little Game they answer the question, "Would you rather be kidnapped by Bowser or Donkey kong?"
Which would *you* choose?
You can catch more from Jon on LinkedIn or his new venture Square Corners Consulting.
Thanks so much for listening! Please consider leaving us a review on Apple or Spotify. It really helps out.
Special thanks to today's sponsor:
Outreach Program - the sophomore album by Brooklyn indie rock band Social Robot. Visit socialrobotmusic.com for more info!
_____________________
Stupid Little Games is a podcast all about gaming from the inside out!
Each week, I (Jess Pardue) sit down with an insider from various parts of the gaming industry, from indie to AAA. We talk about our current gaming obsessions, tell stories from projects past and present, and then play a Stupid Little Game I write especially for each guest.
 

GDC Ya Later!

This week, Jess chats about her experience as a first-timer at GDC! Spoiler alert: It didn't go at all as originally planned... but it did include liquid choreography, so win-win? Then you'll hear a few Current Obsessions interviews with fellow game devs taken on-site. And finally, Jess gives a very specific (and not-at-all exhaustive) GDC Top 10 List!
Special thanks to Zach Abramson from You Too Can Woo; Jon Sato from Studio Nuggies; Camron Gonzalez from Altarea Inc, Diane Wang, creator of the award-winning Silencer; and C.J. Kershner from Polyhedron Productions for telling us all about their work and their Current Obsessions. 
Shout out to today's sponsor:
Bean Sidhe: the new narrative walking sim from Sealbee Games. Available now as pay-what-you-want on Itch.io with all proceeds going to trans and Palestinian mutual aid. 
_____________________
Stupid Little Games is a podcast all about gaming from the inside out!
Each week, I (Jess Pardue) sit down with an insider from various parts of the gaming industry, from indie to AAA. We talk about our current gaming obsessions, tell stories from projects past and present, and then play a Stupid Little Game I write especially for each guest.

Release the Kraken - With Orvar Halldorsson!

This week, Jess sits down with Minecraft creative lead and DigiPen senior lecturer Orvar Halldorsson!
They chat about taking gaming classes at 3AM, rotoscoping Liam Neeson's beard, and how Orvar's team enables Minecraft players to craft their own experiences. Then they play a Stupid Little Game about *totally* real Minecraft mods. Shout out to Butter Dog!
Thanks so much for listening! Please consider leaving us a review on Apple or Spotify. It really helps out.
Special thanks to today's sponsor:
Bean Sidhe: the new narrative walking sim from Sealbee Games. Available now as pay-what-you-want on Itch.io with all proceeds going to trans and Palestinian mutual aid. 
_____________________
Stupid Little Games is a podcast all about gaming from the inside out!
Each week, I (Jess Pardue) sit down with an insider from various parts of the gaming industry, from indie to AAA. We talk about our current gaming obsessions, tell stories from projects past and present, and then play a Stupid Little Game I write especially for each guest.

Achieving Total Clarity - With Mike Varley!

On today's very special episode of Stupid Little Games, Jess chats with true Brooklyn creative Mike Varley: video game producer, award-winning multi-media artist, and professional bagel eater! 
They discuss the latent political power of gamers, the traits that can make you a successful producer, and how to walk 7000 miles without dying. Then they play a Stupid Little Game that asks how long it takes to walk from Kakariko Village to Hyrule Castle.
Thanks so much for listening! Please consider leaving us a review on Apple or Spotify. It really helps out.
Special thanks to today's sponsors:
Phantoms, Ghosts, & Other Heartbreaks - a debut novel by Beth Morton. You can find it on Amazon paperback and kindle. Available now!
Outreach Program - the sophomore album by Brooklyn indie rock band Social Robot. Visit socialrobotmusic.com for more info!
And you can check out some of Mike's amazing projects: HIghleyVarlet.com; EverythingisEverything.nyc, and the Total Clarity Podcast!
_____________________
Stupid Little Games is a podcast all about gaming from the inside out!
Each week, I (Jess Pardue) sit down with an insider from various parts of the gaming industry, from indie to AAA. We talk about our current gaming obsessions, tell stories from projects past and present, and then play a Stupid Little Game I write especially for each guest.

QA is Game Dev - With Andre Coleman!

Hello friends old and new!
Jess is back this week with Andre Coleman - a 10+ year Senior QA Engineer who has worked with EA, Experis, Microsoft, and Avalanche Studios! They discuss turning off "QA brain" when you're playing games for fun, what QA *actually* entails (spoiler alert: it's not just playing games all day), and Andre makes us all hungry talking about New Orleans cuisine. 
Then they play a Stupid Little Game called Smarty Gras, all about Mardi Gras trivia. "Throw me something, Mister!"
Note: There are some construction sounds that we couldn't 100% remove from the background (NYC will be NYC after all) so just pretend that there's a Tom & Jerry cartoon happening in the background. Special thanks to engineer/wizard Gabe for working so hard to make this episode sound nice.
Special thanks to today's sponsors:
Phantoms, Ghosts, & Other Heartbreaks - a debut novel by Beth Morton. You can find it on Amazon paperback and kindle. Available now!
Outreach Program - the sophomore album by Brooklyn indie rock band Social Robot. Visit socialrobotmusic.com for more info!
_____________________
Stupid Little Games is a podcast all about gaming from the inside out!
Each week, I (Jess Pardue) sit down with an insider from various parts of the gaming industry, from indie to AAA. We talk about our current gaming obsessions, tell stories from projects past and present, and then play a Stupid Little Game I write especially for each guest.
Thanks so much for listening!