How To Make A Game, With Auroch Digital

For our last episode of the season, we highlight something Auroch has done for a few years now but never really spoken about much on the podcast – Steam Events! Since 2020, we have been running them yearly and it’s a pleasure to share that work with you all.  Auroch colleague and esteemed guest, Simon Marshall, joins Matt and Jess in the studio to talk about what Steam events are and how to run one if you are a developer looking to do your own. We cover the lows and highs (mostly highs!) and chat about why they’re worthwhile for devs and players alike.    Show Notes   If you want to check out our most recent event, you can head to the archived Steam page to check out the fantastic artwork by LadyRed, plus see the games we featured and maybe give them a wishlist!  And if you’re a developer or publisher and want to be involved in our future Steam events, you can sign up to our Steam Events mailing list where you’ll be the first to be notified of anything we run in the future!  

TIGA award nominated for Best Audio, Warhammer 40,000 Boltgun’s soundscape hits harder than a bolter, with more fire power than the Blood God himself

We take the plunge into a mini-docuseries format for this episode, taking you through the rollercoaster that is launching a game to the whole world! If you’ve ever wondered what launch day is like at a games studio, then grab a cuppa and take a trip back to 23rd May 2023 with us.  With guest appearances from the developers themselves, Matt, Jess and Tom relive the launch of Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun all over again, interwoven with live snippets from launch day itself.   Plus, find out if Jess ever did start painting minis. All in the hopes to appease the Blood God himself...    Show Notes   For even more Warhammer content, check out our previous episodes on:  Retro Warhammer  The origins of Warhammer 40,000 

Resident Neuroscientist Jess is back at the mic with another psychology themed episode – this time, it’s all about fear in gaming.  Why do we like scary games? How do our brains react to fear? What is an amygdala? (spoilers - it’s NOT the eldritch horror that can be found looming over you from the side of a church tower)  Matt and Jess go through some of the games that have scared them the most, as they try to survive this terrifying episode.    Show Notes  

October 1958; a month of incredible human accomplishments like the creation of NASA, Viggo Mortensen’s birth, and most importantly, the first videogame ‘Tennis for Two’ launched on an oscilloscope.  Fast-forward 65 years later, we reach present day, with mobile games in our pockets, 4k 120fps HDR Baldur’s Gate 3, and a vast array of consoles and controllers collecting dust in our attics (or proudly displayed on our shelves, unplugged).  In this episode, we talk with our eldest and youngest colleagues at the studio (an age gap of over 35 years!) and discuss the games that we grew up with and shaped us into the gamers we are today. How are we similar across generations of gaming, and how are we different? What is it like to have grandparents that love videogames? And what do we aspire to achieve for the next generation of gamers?    Show Notes  

In our first episode of Season 9 we wear our horns proudly, welcoming you to the new year with a dose of studio love and enthusiasm. We invite Operations Director Nina Adams back to the pod and ask her all about Auroch Digital’s first in-person, studio-wide convention – MooCon!  Find out about the origins of MooCon, why it was so important to us as a remote-first studio to organise, and what we got out of the event as a team. Plus, some live snippets from the event itself!    Show Notes   If you’re interested in joining us and experiencing MooCon yourself, please check out our jobs page for current roles.  And check out these previous episodes on our company culture  100 Game Dev Interviews  A Day in the Life at Auroch Digital  If you’re a developer and you’d like to get in touch about porting or publishing work, or other business opportunities, you can email Jess at JRutland@aurochdigital.com    

How To Make a Video Game with Auroch Digital is back with another season! We've been incredibly busy managing the immense success of Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun, and we have some incredible episodes lined up for you. This trailer will take you through all we have to offer in the upcoming season - keep an eye out for new releases in the following weeks!    Show Notes 

In our final episode of the season, Matt and Tomas peek back into the past of Warhammer – the origins, the evolution, and its impact on tabletop gaming as we know it.  They also talk about our highly anticipated upcoming title, Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun, and how the studio’s love for the franchise fed into an authentic Retro Warhammer game.  So pack up your chainsword, load up your Boltgun, and get ready to jump in – Blood for the Blood God!    Show notes  For a little more info on Boltgun, you can check out this IGN review, visit Focus' website, and Wishlist the game on Steam or console now!  

Resident Audio Designer and impeccable podcast host Matthew Walker leads this episode, revealing the secrets behind the game audio design pipeline and Brewmaster’s perfect pour. We discuss the importance of early audio integration and collaboration with other game development disciplines, the advantages of a rapid feedback loop, and how in-person production workshops have helped him flourish.    Show Notes Did Brewmaster pique your interest? You can purchase it on Steam and on console now!    

Today we gather colleagues Hannah Corcoran, Freddie Jones, Toby Draper and Aaron Parsons together to share their experiences with one of our core pillars of work at Auroch Digital – game porting and publishing.  We talk about the process of working with indie devs to bring their game from PC to console platforms like Xbox, Nintendo and PlayStation, as well as mobile, or even taking a mobile game and bringing it to PC!    Show Notes  The games we port and publish are games we love to play and that we want to share with more gamers, and we do so in a fair way for us, the devs and the players at home.  If you’re a developer and want to chat to us about partnering with us on a porting project – get in touch!   If you want to see some of our porting work, you can check out Megaquarium and The Colonists on our website.  

Today we step into the Psychology of creating a video game, in a whistle stop tour led by our resident neuroscientist, Jess. They describe the psychology behind art, music and colour within videogames, and why gaming can be so important for our mental health.   *content warning* mild discussion of struggling with mental health    Show notes  Thanks for tuning in to an episode that’s close to our hearts (and brains) here at Auroch Digital. If you’d like to read a little more about the content discussed in today’s episode, you can check out our blog post.    At Auroch we take mental health as seriously as physical health, supporting colleagues who need time off for their wellbeing, and accommodating for therapy and counselling sessions.  We're an anti-crunch studio too, and this is built into our production approach for each project to protect the wellbeing of our employees.  If you'd like to join the team at Auroch, or the wider Sumo group, you can check out the company jobs page here!  

We’re entering the dawn of a new age in role playing games – or at least, so we at Auroch Digital believe. RPG enthusiasts Peter Willington and Lucy Cook join hosts Matt, Jess and Tom for this episode. They contemplate the idea of an RPG renaissance, that RPGs and TTRPGs are stronger and more varied than ever, and that now is the perfect time to invest in the wealth of joy and fun that RPGs have to offer.    Show Notes  Thanks to the Grognard podcast for giving us a great model to start this show off with

We’re back with fresh insights into the dos and don’ts of interviews within the games industry, led by our Studio Director Tomas Rawlings. Having conducted over 100 interviews, Tom is on hand to answer burning questions such as ‘do I need a portfolio?’ and ‘what should I wear?’, as well as suggest what you in turn can ask your prospective employers.    Show Notes    We’re currently hiring for various roles at Auroch Digital, so head on over to our website and check out what we have available.   If you’d like to find out more about what it’s like to work with us, you can check out our previous podcast episodes.    

How To Make a Video Game with Auroch Digital is back with another season! This teaser episode takes you on a rundown of all that season 8 has to offer - we can't wait to have you back in the studio with us.   Show Notes

It's our last episode of season 7, and what an episode to finish on! We welcome guest David Rock, AKA granitepenguin, to a conversation between Matt, Tomas and Jess about his journey with Steve Jackson Games' Ogre. David details how he started as a dear fan of the TTRPG and our digital adaptation for PC, and tells us of his experience as being a Line Editor at Steve Jackson Games. Tomas and David talk deep-strategy, and Jess and Matt remark on how incredible a journey it is to be a community member who ends up working on the very game you love. Show Notes Did Ogre pique your interest? You can purchase it on Steam now Be sure to look through Steve Jackson Games' expansive games catalogue too, for anything else you may be interested in playing!

For this episode we bring to you a fascinating 1-1 session between our Studio Director, Tomas Rawlings, and Steve Jackson of Steve Jackson Games. They talk about the origins of Ogre, the wargame centred on immensely powerful giant cybernetic tanks, and Steve Jackson remarks on the journey of bringing Ogre to the LastGameboard, a digital platform that transcends the realm between digital and physical boardgames.  Show Notes Did Ogre pique your interest? You can purchase it on Steam now Check out the Last Gameboard too, where we have brought Ogre and our other title, Mars Horizon: Blast Off! to a hybrid digital space. Be sure to look through Steve Jackson Games' expansive games catalogue too, for anything else you may be interested in playing!

Join hosts Tomas, Matt and Jess in this episode that focuses on Climate Change in Games Development. With guests Dr Benjamin Abraham and Steven Webb, we explore why it is the Games Industry is a key component in the movement against climate change. We ask what a sustainable future for the industry looks like with Ben, discuss games like our own Dark Future: Blood Red States and how they’re used as a storytelling tool to host the conversation around climate change, and talk to Steven about Sumo Group’s Carbon Neutral by 2025 pledge. Our colours may be orange, but our heart is very much green here at Auroch Digital.  Show Notes Find out more about each of the people, programmes, and resources mentioned in the show: The British Peatland Restoration Programme  Playing for the Planet Ark2030  Dr Benjamin Abraham and a link to his upcoming book 'Digital Games After Climate Change'  Sumo group Environmental, Social and Governance ESG | Sumo (sumogroupplc.com)  UKIE Green Games Guide  Joshua Aslan (2020) Climate ch

Let us take you back to the dawn of Games Workshop's infamous Warhammer 40,000. In this episode we are joined by Studio Director Dr Tomas Rawlings, who takes us through in immeasurable detail the 1st edition of 40K and his continuing journey as a passionate player of a franchise that has spanned over 30 years going from strength to strength. We ask what is it about 40K's design that makes it both so effective as a product, and enjoyable as player. Recommended (but not essential): your own miniatures to paint as you listen in.   Show Notes Please do check out Games Workshop's official site to check out the latest products, including starter kits if you're looking to get into 40K!  

Grab your best headphones and settle in, because we'd like you to join us in taking a look back at Auroch Digital's musical catalogue. We break down three of the tracks from the Mars Horizon soundtrack, really unpacking what music can make us think and feel, and how that plays such a vital part in video game design. We also discuss what the audio development pipeline is like in the studio, and Matt offers some excellent tips on how to get into video game audio and sound design - this episode really is music to our ears! Show Notes For the soundtracks discussed in today's episode: Mars Horizon Soundtrack Dark Future: Blood Red States Soundtrack  Achtung! Cthulhu Tactics Soundtrack  For the other excellent videos and features to check out on today's content: When Matt met Tom, Red Wasp appear on VGM Awesome Dark Future Audio Design Explainer  Dark Future OST featured in ‘Warhammer for Your Ears’ 

Today we’re (virtually) opening the doors of the studio and inviting you in to see what working at Auroch is like now we've adapted to COVID-19. Ever wondered what a Studio Director’s Day looks like? Or how to manage your own community as a Games Studio? We discuss this and more with our colleagues at Auroch Digital, and explain why we are now a largely remote-working studio. Show Notes Did Brewmaster pique your interest? You can Wishlist it on Steam now Check out our porting work on Megaquarium and The Colonists too, and the mentorship scheme Hannah and Ladell both took part in prior to joining Auroch: Limit Break Curious to see more of our guests? You can check out their personal socials here: Peter Willington Oliwia Janczewska Hannah Corcoran Ladell Smith