Grab a stool at the studio bar and join us for a beer as we chat with the video game industry's most fascinating developers, designers, artists and tech geeks. Your host Ryan Woodland is a game developer veteran with over 20 years in the industry and your co-host Jeremy Morrison is a broadcast television and indie film producer/editor.
He's back!!! Greg Donovan! Senior Producer at Zenimax Online Studios, and a 25+ year veteran of the video game creation industry,(Saints Row, Red Faction, Agents of Mayhem) and D3 Alumni returns to the D3 bar to share another pint of brew, wisdom and war stories with Ryan and Jeremy!
Tonight's topic..."Crunch Time"! Listen in on with the guys as they try to dissect and repair this most diabolical of eventualities in the video game producing industry and the horrible side effects it has on it's game creators, such as: Home-wrecking, Angry Girlfriends, and the legendary "EA Wife", not to mention, long hours, sleep deprivation, and the dreaded "Death Marches"!
So, If you plan to set foot in the digital jungle of video game development, don't miss out on this "crunchiest" of D3 episodes! It just might save your life! (and marriage!)
23 Jun 2020
From QA Queen and killing machines to Live Services Manager at Zenimax Online, meet Sammi Weeks!
When a game gets pushed out to the digital seas from Zenimax Online for your gaming pleasure, there are a lot of moving parts running at full steam ahead to make sure that happens. Numerous teams need to work together efficiently, various departments deliver code and assets to one another, racing towards a release date. It can get pretty chaotic!
With all the different gaming professionals depending on one another, someone needs to keep that ship on course, and Sammi Weeks, Live Services Manager at Zenimax Online, is the Captain of that ship! But it wasn't always that way. Starting her career in the gaming industry in QA (Quality Assurance) Sammi used this stepping stone to move further into video game production, and then from there, even bigger opportunities awaited her.
Join the D3 gang at the bar and welcome Sammi Weeks, a true Baltimore Native and key member of the Zenimax Online Studios team, as she shares her thoughts on her humble video game beginnings with Frogger, her life and times at Zenimax Online Studios, and equally important, her thoughts on the positive effects of women in leadership roles and more diversity in the modern video game creation industry, as well as the still present challenges that come with this new growth.
And remember kids, if you want to break into the gaming industry, take a page from Sammi's playbook. QA is a good way to do it!
Enjoy! ~ D3MJ
P.S. Here's a few links to some of Sammi's recommended game development groups mentioned in this episode!
https://developer.microsoft.com/en-us/games/community/
https://igda.org
Check it! ~ D3MJ
13 Feb 2020
PRO BASEBALL, VIDEO GAMES, PURPLE VELVET, AND PRINCE'S MUSTARD COLLECTION. MEET SEAN DUNN!
Currently the Business Director on 'DOOM ETERNAL', Sean Dunn has seen it all for his 25+ years in this crazy industry! He's been a Technical Director, a Creative Director, a studio head, and a lot more! He's even been a pro baseball pitcher, and once got to hang out with Prince! Yes, that PRINCE!
This truly is an ear opening episode and a must listen that not only gives you a large look at this pro developer's journey through the ranks to the top of the game, but sheds light on how things have changed over the years and the way the gaming business thinks now!
So Grab a stool at the bar and join us as we discuss with Sean all that he's seen...and DUNN! (pun intended! ;^)
30 Oct 2019
01 - From Hezbollah to Harbor Craft: Get to know your D3 co-host, Jeremy Morrison
How do you go from High School Teacher to Senior Producer of ‘Civilization’, one of the largest video game franchises of all time? Ditch famed author Emerson, take a page from EGM and Game Pro Magazine and start in QA! That’s what Northern Virginia native and Firaxis Senior Producer Andrew Frederiksen did! Tune in to this week's D3 Podcast and listen in to Andrew’s amazing adventures in video game development that led him to “San Fran”, back to “NoVa”, and ultimately to Firaxis Games in Hunt Valley, MD…over cold drinks with the guys of course!
Enjoy the D3 Podcast? We need your help! Cheers to you for liking and sharing on Instagram: d3podcast, Twitter: thed3podcast, Facebook: D3 Podcast, YouTube: D3 Podcast, Website: d3podcast.com, Email: drinks@d3podcast.com. For your post audio engineering and intermission music, contact Jason at jasonk.audio@gmail.com
18 Aug 2018
Episode 13 - Ryan Woodland
Well - It's time you guys learned a bit more about the hosts of the D3 podcast, starting with Ryan Woodland. Ryan has made his way through his 25+ year gaming career mainly by drinking and punching people (or, more accurately, getting punched by people) but I suppose there may have been a few moments of intelligence in between. His career has had him working for Nintendo, Sony, EA, and Zenimax, to name a few, spanning systems from SNES and Sega Genesis all the way through to XBox One and PlayStation 4. So... let's see what he can remember about all this - hopefully it'll be coherent enough to publish!
12 Aug 2018
Episode 12 - Greg Donovan
Executive Game Producer Greg Donovan (Agents of Mayhem, Saints Row, Red Faction) joins us at the D3 bar! Ever wonder what people do who have film degrees but want a steady-ish job with a reasonable paycheck? They go make video games! Greg Donovan started out getting his Master's Degree in Film Production but ended up as a Producer for THQ in the late 90's. Since then he has clawed his way up to the Executive Producer spot at Volition in Champaign, Illinois having a hand in almost everything that came out of that studio in the last 14 years. Ever heard of Agents of Mayhem? Saints Row? Red Faction? Yeah, he was there for that. Can Greg finally answer the age-old question of what in the hell a Producer actually does? Does he remember how to speak English after 14 years in Champaign, Illinois? Crack open your beer and join us to find out!
Post audio engineering and intermission music is provided by Jason Kyriakos. For your podcast or other audio / music needs, contact Jason at jasonk.audio@gmail.com
5 Aug 2018
Episode 11 - Scott Rudi
Scott Rudi joins us during our special E3 series at the D3 Podcast bar in Los Angeles! Scott is currently the Game Director of some game called Rocket League? I've never heard of it but he swears it'll be huge someday. Listen in as he tells how he started out as the son of a World Series-winning pro baseball all-star and found his way into game production. He's been doing this for a very long time and has a ton of amazing credits to his name. Plus he's a hell of a cool guy. Get out an IPA for this one as Scott doesn't drink that cheap stuff - this journey is worth it!
Post audio engineering and intermission music is provided by Jason Kyriakos. For your podcast or other audio / music needs, contact Jason at jasonk.audio@gmail.com
28 Jul 2018
Episode 10 - Andy Beaudoin
Andy Beaudoin joins us during our special E3 series at the D3 Podcast bar in Los Angeles! Currently the Design Director at Microsoft’s Turn 10 Studios, Andy is a veteran creative leader with 20 years of experience in the industry. He’s been involved with some of the biggest game franchises of the last 2 decades. Wanna hear his story about what it’s like doing dishes with Bruce Campbell? Ever asked the question, “What happens if you wear a suit to a QA interview?" Grab a beer and listen in!
Post audio engineering and intermission music is provided by Jason Kyriakos. For your podcast or other audio / music needs, contact Jason at jasonk.audio@gmail.com
22 Jul 2018
Episode 09 - Bob Zammit
Bob Zammit joins us during our special E3 series at the D3 Podcast bar in Los Angeles! Bob is one of the Marketing Communications leads at Xbox and the guy responsible for all their PLAYERUNKNOWN'S BATTLEGROUNDS commercials. He's been a part of a ton of awesome titles such as Assassin’s Creed Origins, Cuphead, Call of Duty WWII, Battlefield 1, Final Fantasy XV, Fallout 4, Halo 5, Destiny, Grand Theft Auto V and so many more! His bio says it the best: "Pretty smart for a cool guy. Pretty cool for a smart guy. Statistically likely to be one of the best drummers in your office, but also one of the worst dancers." Ever wonder how being a punk rock drummer in your 20's can lead you into a career in marketing video games in your 30's? Bob did just that! He has one of the most unique outlooks on what he does and he's damn hilarious to boot. This guy makes a living making your games look good - probably best to listen to his advice!
Post audio engineering and intermission music is provided by Jason Kyriakos. For your podcast or other audio / music needs, contact Jason at jasonk.audio@gmail.com
14 Jul 2018
Episode 08 - Scott Rogers
Scott Rogers joins us during our special E3 series at the D3 Podcast bar in Los Angeles. Scott literally wrote the book on game design as the author of the # 1 Amazon bestseller, Level Up! The Guide to Great Video Game Design. He’s been a game designer and creative director on more than 50 AAA games for Disney, Sony, Capcom, Namco, and THQ. In addition to having more video game credits than you can shake a stick at (ever heard of a little game called God of War?), Scott has published his own tabletop games and spent time as a Disney Imagineer. Grab a beer and listen in as Scott walks us through his crazy career and talks all things design!
Post audio engineering and intermission music is provided by Jason Kyriakos. For your podcast or other audio / music needs, contact Jason at jasonk.audio@gmail.com
8 Jul 2018
Episode 07 - Jon Knoles
Jon Knoles joins us for our special E3 series at the D3 Podcast bar in Los Angeles. Ever wondered who the creative force is behind your favorite Star Wars games? With over 20 Star Wars games to his credit, there's a good chance Jon had a hand in it. He's still going strong as Design Director on the Forza franchise with Turn 10 Studios but he took a couple hours out of his busy E3 schedule to swing by and tell us some hilarious and amazing stories from his past. If you ever wanted to hear from one of the most experienced designers in the industry - here's your chance!
Post audio engineering and intermission music is provided by Jason Kyriakos. For your podcast or other audio / music needs, contact Jason at jasonk.audio@gmail.com
30 Jun 2018
Episode 06 - Matt Knoles
Matt Knoles, Marketing Director for 2K, joins us at the bar! Matt is responsible for driving the global brand and marketing strategy for games like Sid Meier’s Civilization, and XCOM, and so much more.
13 Jun 2018
Episode 05 - Jo Burba
Jo Burba joins us at the bar. Currently the Live Director of Elder Scrolls Online, he started in games in the mid-2000's. He's not only been on the development side of things, but has also spent time in community management. Ever wonder how online games stay online? Jo knows the ins and outs of how to keep an online game alive. Ever wonder what happens to all that feedback players give in the forums? Jo has read it all. He's worked at companies such as NCsoft, 2K, Vigil and Zenimax Online Studios.
19 May 2018
Episode 04 - Morgan Godat
Morgan Godat stops by the D3 bar! He's worked on games like The Sims, Eve Online, and the critically acclaimed VR game Sparc. But his stories of crazy oiled-up Icelanders, remote controlled couches and the damage friends can do when they're too drunk should not be missed!
13 May 2018
Episode 03 - Dave Mianowski
Dave Mianowski joins us at the bar! Dave works for Microsoft working with XBox game developers to solve a whole myriad of problems for almost every big XBox game in development.
3 May 2018
Episode 02 - Ben Jones
Creative Director, Ben Jones joins us. He has been closely involved with franchises such as SOCOM, Medal of Honor, Battlefield and H1Z1.
25 Apr 2018
Episode 01 - Rich Lambert
Rich Lambert, Creative Director of Elder Scrolls Online, cracks open some beers with us and talks about his journey into the world of video game development.
Reach and audience
Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.
Apple Podcasts (US)
4.8 / 5
17 ratings
Contact D3 Podcast
Guest appearances
Books guests
Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.
Host of D3 Podcast?
Claim your podcast to manage its listing and keep your show details accurate.
Pod Engine is an independent podcast discovery and analytics service and is not affiliated with or endorsed by this podcast. Artwork and show content belong to their owners. Full legal notice.
Explore this show Podcast research with Pod Engine
