It’s time for another episode of GDC Side Quest! This month, GDC Festival of Gaming content marketing manager Beth Elderkin sits down with the legendary actress Jennifer Hale, best known for work in the Mass Effect trilogy, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic…and the cult animated show Totally Spies?

Today Hale is swinging by the show to discuss the modern landscape of voice acting, how developers can collaborate with performers to make better games, and discuss the impact of generative AI in the aftermath of the SAG-AFTRA strike.

Learn more about GDC Festival of Gaming: https://gdconf.com/

Learn more about Jennifer Hale: https://www.jenniferhale.com/about-jennifer

Learn more about Skillshub.life: https://acting.skillshub.life/

- - - The Game Developer podcast is a bi-weekly podcast chronicling game development triumphs, catastrophes, and everything in-between, as devs from all sides of the industry share lessons and strategies fellow game makers can use to hone their craft. Learn More at https://www.gamedeveloper.com Follow Game Developer for more game dev Podcasts, News, & Interviews Bluesky: https://www.gamedeveloper.bsky.social LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/gamedeveloperofficial Music by Mike Meehan Edited by Pierre Landriau

This week on the Game Developer Podcast, Hooded Horse CEO Tim Bender joins us to discuss his journey into the world of video game publishing, what he’s learned, and why he feels many publishers aren’t doing right by developers (in a way that ultimately hurts their own business).

The landscape of video game publishing has changed immensely since the heydays of companies like Electronic Arts and Activision Blizzard. Gone are the titans funding big games from big companies, now there are a number of mid-sized publishers supporting mid-sized-and-tiny studios.

But not all publishers are created equal, and even the best-intentioned ones can leave developers in a rough spot. Bender breaks down how Hooded Horse works with its partners and makes the case for why everyone benefits if a publisher prioritizes partnerships over long-term profits.

Learn more about Hooded Horse: https://www.hoodedhorse.com/

- - - The Game Developer podcast is a bi-weekly podcast chronicling game development triumphs, catastrophes, and everything in-between, as devs from all sides of the industry share lessons and strategies fellow game makers can use to hone their craft. Learn More at https://www.gamedeveloper.com Follow Game Developer for more game dev Podcasts, News, & Interviews Bluesky: https://www.gamedeveloper.bsky.social LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/gamedeveloperofficial Music by Mike Meehan Edited by Pierre Landriau

This week on the Game Developer Podcast we’re diving into the world of co-development. Co-development is the practice of hiring external companies to support a game project.

Sometimes described as “outsourcing” or “external development,” co-development is increasingly becoming a more integrated practice, helping developers collaborate while distributing risk across different corporate entities.

As the industry looks to recover from years of layoffs, can a broader constellation of smaller studios working together continue to produce big-budget games? We’re talking to Sweet Baby Inc. CEO Kim Belair, Blackbird Interactive Rory McGuire, and Wolfjaw Studios CEO Mitch Patterson about their experiences in the co-development business, what works well about the model, and where there’s room to improve.

Learn more about Sweet Baby Inc: https://sweetbabyinc.com/

Learn more about Blackbird Interactive: https://blackbirdinteractive.com/

Learn more about Wolfjaw Studios: https://wolfjawstudios.com/

- - - The Game Developer podcast is a bi-weekly podcast chronicling game development triumphs, catastrophes, and everything in-between, as devs from all sides of the industry share lessons and strategies fellow game makers can use to hone their craft. Learn More at https://www.gamedeveloper.com Follow Game Developer for more game dev Podcasts, News, & Interviews Bluesky: https://www.gamedeveloper.bsky.social LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/gamedeveloperofficial Music by Mike Meehan Edited by Pierre Landriau