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Designer Notes

Idle Thumbs

Why do we make games? Every designer has a different and very personal answer to that question. Soren Johnson, founder of Mohawk Games, sits down with noted designers to find out by examinin...

Episodes

20 of 97 episodes

Designer Notes 97: My Perfect Console - Soren Johnson

Designer Notes is hosting a special guest episode from Simon Parkin’s excellent podcast My Perfect Console, in which he interviews Soren Joh...

01:37:14Sep 2, 2026

Designer Notes 96: Owen Mahoney

In this episode, Soren interviews Owen Mahoney, who served first as the CFO and then as the CEO of Nexon. They discuss what the transition t...

01:29:19Jul 6, 2026

Designer Notes 95: Seth Sivak

In this episode, Soren interviews Seth Sivak, best known as the co-founder and CEO of Proletariat, makers of World Zombination and Spellbrea...

02:59:27Jun 6, 2026

Designer Notes 94: Charles Cecil - Part 2

In this episode, Soren interviews veteran game developer Charles Cecil, co-founder of Revolution Software and best known for his work on Ben...

03:33:36May 4, 2026

Designer Notes 93: Charles Cecil - Part 1

In this episode, Soren interviews veteran game developer Charles Cecil, co-founder of Revolution Software and best known for his work on Ben...

01:56:49Apr 20, 2026

Designer Notes 92: Paul Kilduff-Taylor

In this episode, Soren interviews Paul Kilduff-Taylor, best known for his work on Frozen Cortex and the Frozen Synapse series. They discuss...

03:08:39Dec 26, 2025

Designer Notes 91: Tomislav Uzelac

In this episode, Soren interviews Tomislav Uzelac, best known for his work on the Unity of Command series. They discuss how he taped his fir...

02:27:46Nov 18, 2025

Designer Notes 90: Patrice Desilets - Part 2

In this episode, Soren interviews veteran game designer Patrice Desilets, best known for his work on Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, th...

01:41:60Jul 25, 2025

Designer Notes 89: Patrice Desilets - Part 1

In this episode, Soren interviews veteran game designer Patrice Desilets, best known for his work on Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, th...

01:44:27Jul 3, 2025

Designer Notes 88: Caroline Marchal - Part 2

In this episode, Soren interviews veteran game designer Caroline Marchal, best known for her work on Heavy Rain, Beyond Two Souls, and As Du...

02:02:19May 17, 2025

Designer Notes 87: Caroline Marchal - Part 1

In this episode, Soren interviews veteran game designer Caroline Marchal, best known for her work on Heavy Rain, Beyond Two Souls, and As Du...

01:52:60Apr 19, 2025

Designer Notes 86: Anton Strenger

In this episode, Soren interviews Anton Strenger, best known for his work on Civilization 5, Civilization 6, and Beyond Earth. They discuss...

03:06:23Nov 4, 2024

Designer Notes 85: Zach Barth - Part 2

In this episode, Soren interviews independent game developer Zach Barth, best known for his puzzle games, including SpaceChem, Infinifactory...

02:30:32Sep 29, 2024

Designer Notes 84: Zach Barth - Part 1

In this episode, Soren interviews independent game developer Zach Barth, best known for his puzzle games, including SpaceChem, Infinifactory...

02:39:32Aug 31, 2024

Designer Notes 83: Mitch Lasky - Part 2

In this episode, Soren interviews noted game investor Mitch Lasky, best known for his work as a venture capitalist at Benchmark, as the CEO...

01:54:05Jun 6, 2024

Designer Notes 82: Mitch Lasky - Part 1

In this episode, Soren interviews noted game investor Mitch Lasky, best known for his work as a venture capitalist at Benchmark, as the CEO...

01:53:26May 6, 2024

Designer Notes 81: Jake Solomon - Part 2

In this episode, Soren interviews veteran game developer Jake Solomon, best known for the XCOM reboot and Midnight Suns. They discuss his fi...

03:13:37Apr 11, 2024

Designer Notes 80: Jake Solomon - Part 1

In this episode, Soren interviews veteran game developer Jake Solomon, best known for the XCOM reboot and Midnight Suns. They discuss how mu...

02:42:26Dec 5, 2023

Designer Notes 79: Trent Kusters - Part 2

In this episode, Soren interviews veteran game developer Trent Kusters, co-founder of League of Geeks, best known for the strategy game Arme...

02:21:37Oct 9, 2023

Designer Notes 78: Trent Kusters - Part 1

In this episode, Soren interviews veteran game developer Trent Kusters, co-founder of League of Geeks, best known for the strategy game Arme...

02:31:12Sep 25, 2023