GGJ Podcast

About GGJ Podcast

The GGJ Podcast brings the spirit of Global Game Jam to your headphones, with people from around the world sharing how they found their way into game development. Each week, Susan Gold talks with developers, studio founders, and festival organizers about the twists, risks, and side doors that shaped their paths and communities. You will hear honest stories about creativity, collaboration, failure, and the messy, beautiful reality of making games.

Publisher

Susan Gold

Category

business · technology

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

24 Feb 2026

Latest episode

14 Jul 2026

Latest episodes

21 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   14 Jul 2026

   Architect of Possibility | Fawzi Mesmar

   In our final episode of the season, sponsored in part by Sony Playstation’s Hero Project and the Knight Foundation,  Susan talks to award‑winning creative director, game designer, and author Fawzi Mesmar about what it means to turn a childhood dream of Japan and video games into a multi‑continent career, and then use that journey to demystify creativity for an entire region. Drawing on early years moving between Saudi Arabia and Jordan with an Atari 2600 and MSX, his decision to study computer science and Japanese when almost no one around him believed game development was a viable job, and leadership roles at studios like GameLoft, Atlus, DICE, King, and Ubisoft, Fawzi shares how writing Resident Evil walkthroughs in his school notebook first revealed the invisible hand of game design, why seminal books by Raph Koster, Jesse Schell, and Eric Zimmerman turned “ideas guy” myths into hypothesis‑driven craft, and how being repeatedly promoted at his teams’ request shaped his view of leadership as servitude. From composing music for a tiny Game Boy Advance team in Amman to authoring the first Arabic‑language game design textbook now used in universities across five countries, creating free courses with partners like the Queen Rania Foundation, and collaborating with Global Game Jam organizers across the MENA region, he talks about placing himself in destiny’s path, saying yes when the train stops, and why he now sees his role as being the mentor he never had so aspiring developers in Arabic‑speaking communities can feel that their dreams are possible too. (00:00) - Intro (01:53) - Meet fawzi Mesmar (03:28) - Japan (05:21) - Imagination (06:36) - From Fun to a Career (08:59) - The Realisation (11:59) - Japan (13:05) - Doors Opening (17:10) - Jumping into the Abyss (19:11) - Leadership (21:43) - Design as a Science (24:06) - Sponsor: PlayStation Hero Project (26:45) - Mentors (28:13) - Effort and Luck (30:03) - Sense of Responsibility (33:03) - Impact (36:40) - Worlds of Influence (39:30) - Arab Stories in Video Games (43:05) - Curiosity before judgement (45:02) - Where to find Fawzi (47:40) - Outro Guest Bio:  Fawzi Mesmar is an award winning Creative Director, Game designer, author and public speaker who has been in the gaming industry for over two decades in a career that spanned the middle east, New Zealand, Japan and Europe working for companies such as Ubisoft, EA, Activision Blizzard, Gameloft and Atlus to name a few. He has worked on many titles that have been enjoyed by millions of players worldwide including entries in Beyond Good and Evil, Mario Rabbids, Battlefield and Star Wars franchises. He is also the author of "Al-Khallab in the art of game design" the first Arabic language text book on game design and “demystifying creativity on originality in game development”. Fawzi was also the recipient of the Ambassador award in 2024. Join our Substack - https://tinyurl.com/GGJPodcastSubstack (https://tinyurl.com/GGJPodcastSubstack) GGJ Podcast Sponsors: (https://com.miami.edu/department-of-interactive-media/)https://www.playstation.com/en-in/india-hero-project (https://www.playstation.com/en-in/india-hero-project/) https://www.playstation.com/en-in/china-hero-project (https://www.playstation.com/en-in/china-hero-project/) https://www.playstation.com/en-in/mena-hero-project/ (https://www.playstation.com/en-in/mena-hero-project/) https://com.miami.edu/department-of-interactive-media/ (https://com.miami.edu/department-of-interactive-media/) Wishlist Meteora: The Race Against Spacetime now on Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1155220/METEORA/

2. 

   7 Jul 2026

   Radical Play | Salaar Kohari

   In episode 19 Sponsored in part by Sony PlayStation’s Hero Project and the Knight Foundation, Susan chats with indie game developer and Cage Studios co‑founder Salaar Kohari about what it means to build fast, colorful, anti‑toxic games while challenging capitalism and centering joy. Drawing on a childhood spent across Amsterdam, Chicago, Cairo, Philadelphia, and Los Angeles, his experience living through Egypt’s Jasmine Revolution, and a career that took him from Flash prototypes on Newgrounds to shipping AAA titles at Sony Santa Monica before striking out on his own, Salaar shares how he designs interactivity as the “whole point” of the medium, why he believes game education too often traps students in outdated, capital‑driven curricula, and how mentoring shy early‑career devs to reach out boldly is part of his practice. From cold‑booking a meeting with the God of War game director as an intern, to co‑creating co‑op movement shooters like Sherwood Extreme that bake collaboration into their systems and designing his new anti‑capitalist, family‑centered game Gun Stoppable, he talks about killing ambitious prototypes when the ecosystem isn’t ready, the mechanics that quietly turn blame into mutual support, and why he’d rather make explicitly political games that help players feel seen, connected, and “locked in” than chase neutrality in a world where everything is already political. (00:00) - Intro (01:53) - Meet Salaar Kohari (04:30) - A Supporting Family (06:09) - Growing-up Around the World (09:24) - Breaking into the Industry (11:20) - A Formal Education in Games? (14:58) - Interactivity & Immersion (17:22) - Boldness (18:02) - Sponsor: PlayStation Hero Project (19:29) - Boldness (22:02) - Between Santa Monica & Indie (24:25) - Designing Toxicity Out of Games (26:54) - The Games that didn't Make it (29:06) - Games as Political Statements (32:10) - What Would You Make? (34:14) - Creating Joyful Experiences (36:22) - What Comes Next? (37:55) - Where to find Salaar (38:55) - Outro Guest Bio:  Salaar Kohari is a game developer and engineer, cofounder of CAGE Studios, a studio that has reached over 200,000 players worldwide. Kohari began teaching himself how to develop games at just 8 years old, and earned a master's degree from an Ivy League university by 22. He worked on the God of War series before quitting to create indie games like Gunstoppable. He believes in lifting others as he climbs and has spoken at the Game Developers Conference twice and mentored hundreds of aspiring developers. Wishlist Gunstoppable on Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/3724710/Gunstoppable (https://store.steampowered.com/app/3724710/Gunstoppable) Join our Substack - https://tinyurl.com/GGJPodcastSubstack (https://tinyurl.com/GGJPodcastSubstack) GGJ Podcast Sponsors: (https://com.miami.edu/department-of-interactive-media/)https://www.playstation.com/en-in/india-hero-project (https://www.playstation.com/en-in/india-hero-project/) https://www.playstation.com/en-in/china-hero-project (https://www.playstation.com/en-in/china-hero-project/) https://www.playstation.com/en-in/mena-hero-project/ (https://www.playstation.com/en-in/mena-hero-project/) https://com.miami.edu/department-of-interactive-media/ (https://com.miami.edu/department-of-interactive-media/) Wishlist Suri: The Seventh Note on Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/4110680/SURI_The_Seventh_Note/

3. 

   30 Jun 2026

   Risk by Design | Mario Wynands

   In episode 18, Sponsored in part by Sony Playstation’s Hero Project, Susan talks with New Zealand studio founder and longtime developer Mario Wynands about what it means to help build a national game industry almost from scratch and turn local projects into globally recognized work. Drawing on his early days as a gamer and programmer in a country that was not yet known for games, his experience starting and sustaining a studio through multiple hardware generations and market shifts, and his role in nurturing Wellington’s ecosystem as it grew from a handful of teams to a connected community, Mario shares how he navigated the leap from contract and handheld projects into original IP, why regional meetups and game jams became critical infrastructure for isolated creators, and how he approaches studio leadership as a long‑term design problem in its own right. From mentoring emerging developers and collaborating with initiatives like Global Game Jam to advocating for policy, funding, and education that recognize games as both culture and industry, he talks about the emotional reality of building something that didn’t exist before, what it means to make games that feel distinctly “from here” while resonating worldwide, and why the future of New Zealand games depends on supporting diverse voices, sustainable studios, and deeper cross‑border collaboration. (00:00) - GGJPodcastMarioWynands (00:00) - Intro (01:37) - Meet Mario Wynands (05:53) - Work with your head (08:19) - Making Games (13:22) - Finding Mentors When you're the First (16:23) - Buisness Dev (19:45) - The Scariest Leap (24:28) - Sponsor: PlayStation Hero Project (28:38) - From Coder to Business (30:22) - Looking Beyond the Games (34:44) - Unusual Advantagess (37:52) - The move to Colombia (41:27) - What are the next big risks? (45:36) - Where to find Mario (47:40) - Outro Guest Bio:  Mario Wynands is the CEO and co-founder of PikPok, a leading publisher of video games for mobile, desktop, and console based in Aotearoa New Zealand. Since 1997 he has led the studio in building a successful games portfolio that includes the critically and commercially successful Rival Stars® Horse Racing, Into the Dead® franchise, Super Monsters Ate My Condo™, Shatter® and more, which have been recognized with BAFTA and DICE Award nominations, as well as included on App Store and Google Play best of year lists. Wynands is a graduate of Victoria University in Wellington with degrees in business management and computer science. https://store.steampowered.com/app/2239710/Into_the_Dead_Our_Darkest_Days/ (https://store.steampowered.com/app/2239710/Into_the_Dead_Our_Darkest_Days/) https://www.meta.com/en-gb/experiences/into-the-dead-crimson-heights/27318581554432214/ (https://www.meta.com/en-gb/experiences/into-the-dead-crimson-heights/27318581554432214/) https://store.steampowered.com/app/4638740/Into_the_Dead_Crimson_Heights/ (https://store.steampowered.com/app/4638740/Into_the_Dead_Crimson_Heights/) Just launched: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/barbie-horse-ride-rescue/id6736413272 (https://apps.apple.com/us/app/barbie-horse-ride-rescue/id6736413272) or https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.pikpok.br.play (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.pikpok.br.play) Join our Substack - https://tinyurl.com/GGJPodcastSubstack (https://tinyurl.com/GGJPodcastSubstack) GGJ Podcast Sponsors: (https://com.miami.edu/department-of-interactive-media/)https://www.playstation.com/en-in/india-hero-project (https://www.playstation.com/en-in/india-hero-project/) https://www.playstation.com/en-in/china-hero-project (https://www.playstation.com/en-in/china-hero-project/) https://www.playstation.com/en-in/mena-hero-project/ (https://www.playstation.com/en-in/mena-hero-project/)

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

Apple Podcasts (US)

4.8 / 5

4 ratings

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Guest appearances

Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.