CoffeeWithCross
@coffeewithcross.bsky.social
Studio Game Director. Career from Warcraft 2 Tides of Darkness to Silent Hill Ascension. Watch my podcast Brain Arcade. Let’s accelerate the indie revolution.
CoffeeWithCross.com
https://linktr.ee/coffeewithcross
CoffeeWithCross.com
https://linktr.ee/coffeewithcross
So fun even Joe is enjoying his own voice. 🤣🤣🤣
October 2, 2025 at 3:51 AM
So fun even Joe is enjoying his own voice. 🤣🤣🤣
External development teams are often the key to shipping games, but how do we invest in these partnerships and empower them to do their best work?
🎙️Janyl Lambee Tanoy joins Brain Arcade to talk building trust, clarity, and synergy with external dev teams.
Listen here!
buff.ly/YAwNIRM
🎙️Janyl Lambee Tanoy joins Brain Arcade to talk building trust, clarity, and synergy with external dev teams.
Listen here!
buff.ly/YAwNIRM
September 9, 2025 at 11:05 PM
External development teams are often the key to shipping games, but how do we invest in these partnerships and empower them to do their best work?
🎙️Janyl Lambee Tanoy joins Brain Arcade to talk building trust, clarity, and synergy with external dev teams.
Listen here!
buff.ly/YAwNIRM
🎙️Janyl Lambee Tanoy joins Brain Arcade to talk building trust, clarity, and synergy with external dev teams.
Listen here!
buff.ly/YAwNIRM
What does it take to ship an indie game in 2025?
Joe Mirabello walks us through creating Battle Train and surviving 4 years of dev, funding, growing a company, and finding the right publisher to successfully make a 9/10 on Steam!
🎧 buff.ly/WqvtYDH
#BrainArcade #GameDev #IndieDev #battletrain
Joe Mirabello walks us through creating Battle Train and surviving 4 years of dev, funding, growing a company, and finding the right publisher to successfully make a 9/10 on Steam!
🎧 buff.ly/WqvtYDH
#BrainArcade #GameDev #IndieDev #battletrain
September 2, 2025 at 6:26 PM
What does it take to ship an indie game in 2025?
Joe Mirabello walks us through creating Battle Train and surviving 4 years of dev, funding, growing a company, and finding the right publisher to successfully make a 9/10 on Steam!
🎧 buff.ly/WqvtYDH
#BrainArcade #GameDev #IndieDev #battletrain
Joe Mirabello walks us through creating Battle Train and surviving 4 years of dev, funding, growing a company, and finding the right publisher to successfully make a 9/10 on Steam!
🎧 buff.ly/WqvtYDH
#BrainArcade #GameDev #IndieDev #battletrain
The layoffs keep coming! We need to talk about what happens when spreadsheets and creativity meet. Steve Hoffmann joins me on Brain Arcade to talk game history and the business of creative industries.
🎧 Join the convo!
buff.ly/CmVXsVq
#Gamedev #Indiegamdev #Brainarcade #Gamepodcast
🎧 Join the convo!
buff.ly/CmVXsVq
#Gamedev #Indiegamdev #Brainarcade #Gamepodcast
August 28, 2025 at 6:24 PM
The layoffs keep coming! We need to talk about what happens when spreadsheets and creativity meet. Steve Hoffmann joins me on Brain Arcade to talk game history and the business of creative industries.
🎧 Join the convo!
buff.ly/CmVXsVq
#Gamedev #Indiegamdev #Brainarcade #Gamepodcast
🎧 Join the convo!
buff.ly/CmVXsVq
#Gamedev #Indiegamdev #Brainarcade #Gamepodcast
I hire designers who make sound effects 🎶
Sounds ridiculous but sound design and game design truly go hand in hand. Jon Ontiveros talks how audio can shape a player’s heartbeat, heighten tension, and build terror.
🎧Listen Now!
buff.ly/iNEAlot
#GameDev #IndieDev #BrainArcade #Sounddesign
Sounds ridiculous but sound design and game design truly go hand in hand. Jon Ontiveros talks how audio can shape a player’s heartbeat, heighten tension, and build terror.
🎧Listen Now!
buff.ly/iNEAlot
#GameDev #IndieDev #BrainArcade #Sounddesign
August 12, 2025 at 10:13 PM
I hire designers who make sound effects 🎶
Sounds ridiculous but sound design and game design truly go hand in hand. Jon Ontiveros talks how audio can shape a player’s heartbeat, heighten tension, and build terror.
🎧Listen Now!
buff.ly/iNEAlot
#GameDev #IndieDev #BrainArcade #Sounddesign
Sounds ridiculous but sound design and game design truly go hand in hand. Jon Ontiveros talks how audio can shape a player’s heartbeat, heighten tension, and build terror.
🎧Listen Now!
buff.ly/iNEAlot
#GameDev #IndieDev #BrainArcade #Sounddesign
Can’t find the MMO you want to play? David Siddock couldn’t either, so he’s building one.
We talked nostalgia, what we're missing today, and what MMOs could be next.
Listen here:
buff.ly/iNEAlot
#indiegamedev #MMORPG #gamedev #BrainArcade
We talked nostalgia, what we're missing today, and what MMOs could be next.
Listen here:
buff.ly/iNEAlot
#indiegamedev #MMORPG #gamedev #BrainArcade
August 5, 2025 at 10:44 PM
Can’t find the MMO you want to play? David Siddock couldn’t either, so he’s building one.
We talked nostalgia, what we're missing today, and what MMOs could be next.
Listen here:
buff.ly/iNEAlot
#indiegamedev #MMORPG #gamedev #BrainArcade
We talked nostalgia, what we're missing today, and what MMOs could be next.
Listen here:
buff.ly/iNEAlot
#indiegamedev #MMORPG #gamedev #BrainArcade
Blockchain? Yeah, I know some of it's crazy😅 but knowledge is power so let's talk about it! Is there a way small teams could use it to build trust and transparency?
Episode here: buff.ly/nHMQHsq
#IndieDev #GameDev #BrainArcade #NewPodcast
Episode here: buff.ly/nHMQHsq
#IndieDev #GameDev #BrainArcade #NewPodcast
July 28, 2025 at 9:31 PM
Blockchain? Yeah, I know some of it's crazy😅 but knowledge is power so let's talk about it! Is there a way small teams could use it to build trust and transparency?
Episode here: buff.ly/nHMQHsq
#IndieDev #GameDev #BrainArcade #NewPodcast
Episode here: buff.ly/nHMQHsq
#IndieDev #GameDev #BrainArcade #NewPodcast
I’ve got notebooks full of small multiplayer game ideas but the server costs always killed them.
Talking to Ken Anderson about serverless, peer-to-peer games felt liberating!
No servers. No sunsets. Just games that could live forever.
🎧 Listen in—Ken’s always a great guest!
buff.ly/I9RBvNG
Talking to Ken Anderson about serverless, peer-to-peer games felt liberating!
No servers. No sunsets. Just games that could live forever.
🎧 Listen in—Ken’s always a great guest!
buff.ly/I9RBvNG
July 15, 2025 at 6:25 PM
I’ve got notebooks full of small multiplayer game ideas but the server costs always killed them.
Talking to Ken Anderson about serverless, peer-to-peer games felt liberating!
No servers. No sunsets. Just games that could live forever.
🎧 Listen in—Ken’s always a great guest!
buff.ly/I9RBvNG
Talking to Ken Anderson about serverless, peer-to-peer games felt liberating!
No servers. No sunsets. Just games that could live forever.
🎧 Listen in—Ken’s always a great guest!
buff.ly/I9RBvNG
What can indie teams learn from Spider-Man?
Veteran Art Director, Art Manager, and Lead Artist Jason Priest talks building smarter with procedural modeling, modular assets, environment storytelling, and the illusion of realism.
🎧 Listen Now!
buff.ly/I9RBvNG
#GameDev #BrainArcade #GameArt
Veteran Art Director, Art Manager, and Lead Artist Jason Priest talks building smarter with procedural modeling, modular assets, environment storytelling, and the illusion of realism.
🎧 Listen Now!
buff.ly/I9RBvNG
#GameDev #BrainArcade #GameArt
July 9, 2025 at 5:00 PM
What can indie teams learn from Spider-Man?
Veteran Art Director, Art Manager, and Lead Artist Jason Priest talks building smarter with procedural modeling, modular assets, environment storytelling, and the illusion of realism.
🎧 Listen Now!
buff.ly/I9RBvNG
#GameDev #BrainArcade #GameArt
Veteran Art Director, Art Manager, and Lead Artist Jason Priest talks building smarter with procedural modeling, modular assets, environment storytelling, and the illusion of realism.
🎧 Listen Now!
buff.ly/I9RBvNG
#GameDev #BrainArcade #GameArt
Creative, embraces challenges, and always player-first: Tatiana Funk talks designing for Nightingale in a live game environment.
If you're into game design or trying to break in, this episode of Brain Arcade is for you!
🎧New Ep: buff.ly/zLUmtfj
#GameDev #GameDesign #BrainArcade #Nightingale
If you're into game design or trying to break in, this episode of Brain Arcade is for you!
🎧New Ep: buff.ly/zLUmtfj
#GameDev #GameDesign #BrainArcade #Nightingale
July 1, 2025 at 5:21 PM
Creative, embraces challenges, and always player-first: Tatiana Funk talks designing for Nightingale in a live game environment.
If you're into game design or trying to break in, this episode of Brain Arcade is for you!
🎧New Ep: buff.ly/zLUmtfj
#GameDev #GameDesign #BrainArcade #Nightingale
If you're into game design or trying to break in, this episode of Brain Arcade is for you!
🎧New Ep: buff.ly/zLUmtfj
#GameDev #GameDesign #BrainArcade #Nightingale
Theater to Games! Jessica Woodard, Writer/ Producer Terrible Posture Games, talks building thriving indie teams and how stagecraft maps directly to game dev.
Congrats to Jess & team on Battle Train! buff.ly/njW5KDK
🎧 New Ep
buff.ly/YZBWgxM
#gamedev #brainarcade #IndieDev #gameproductoion
Congrats to Jess & team on Battle Train! buff.ly/njW5KDK
🎧 New Ep
buff.ly/YZBWgxM
#gamedev #brainarcade #IndieDev #gameproductoion
June 24, 2025 at 4:51 PM
Theater to Games! Jessica Woodard, Writer/ Producer Terrible Posture Games, talks building thriving indie teams and how stagecraft maps directly to game dev.
Congrats to Jess & team on Battle Train! buff.ly/njW5KDK
🎧 New Ep
buff.ly/YZBWgxM
#gamedev #brainarcade #IndieDev #gameproductoion
Congrats to Jess & team on Battle Train! buff.ly/njW5KDK
🎧 New Ep
buff.ly/YZBWgxM
#gamedev #brainarcade #IndieDev #gameproductoion
“Games are a series of interesting choices.”
Too many? That’s how you get analysis paralysis!
UX lead Ed Moore gives us tips about information hiding, cognitive load, friction, and designing with empathy.
🎧 Episodes: buff.ly/YZBWgxM
🧠 What game overwhelmed you?
#Gamedev #UXdesign #BrainArcade
Too many? That’s how you get analysis paralysis!
UX lead Ed Moore gives us tips about information hiding, cognitive load, friction, and designing with empathy.
🎧 Episodes: buff.ly/YZBWgxM
🧠 What game overwhelmed you?
#Gamedev #UXdesign #BrainArcade
June 18, 2025 at 5:30 PM
“Games are a series of interesting choices.”
Too many? That’s how you get analysis paralysis!
UX lead Ed Moore gives us tips about information hiding, cognitive load, friction, and designing with empathy.
🎧 Episodes: buff.ly/YZBWgxM
🧠 What game overwhelmed you?
#Gamedev #UXdesign #BrainArcade
Too many? That’s how you get analysis paralysis!
UX lead Ed Moore gives us tips about information hiding, cognitive load, friction, and designing with empathy.
🎧 Episodes: buff.ly/YZBWgxM
🧠 What game overwhelmed you?
#Gamedev #UXdesign #BrainArcade
Retro games are time machines! 🪄 They bring us back to a specific place and time. Stubbs from Retro Handhelds chats about why handheld emulation is booming, the strength of nostalgia, and lessons from old game design.
🎧 Episodes here:
buff.ly/3v6Qqrz
#GameDev #RetroHandheld #RetroGames
🎧 Episodes here:
buff.ly/3v6Qqrz
#GameDev #RetroHandheld #RetroGames
June 10, 2025 at 8:40 PM
Retro games are time machines! 🪄 They bring us back to a specific place and time. Stubbs from Retro Handhelds chats about why handheld emulation is booming, the strength of nostalgia, and lessons from old game design.
🎧 Episodes here:
buff.ly/3v6Qqrz
#GameDev #RetroHandheld #RetroGames
🎧 Episodes here:
buff.ly/3v6Qqrz
#GameDev #RetroHandheld #RetroGames
✨Neopets! What made this kids game so successful? Natalie Odien, Design Director, talks about her work on Neopets, the difference between designing “for kids” vs. “family-friendly” and how respecting young players creates lifelong fans.
Episodes:
buff.ly/bHndkkS
#GameDev #BrainArcade #GameDesign
Episodes:
buff.ly/bHndkkS
#GameDev #BrainArcade #GameDesign
June 3, 2025 at 10:12 PM
✨Neopets! What made this kids game so successful? Natalie Odien, Design Director, talks about her work on Neopets, the difference between designing “for kids” vs. “family-friendly” and how respecting young players creates lifelong fans.
Episodes:
buff.ly/bHndkkS
#GameDev #BrainArcade #GameDesign
Episodes:
buff.ly/bHndkkS
#GameDev #BrainArcade #GameDesign
Don't know where to start with your story? Finding the theme is really about finding the truth you're asking your audience to believe. We talk to story expert Martin Montgomery about his experience writing for Telltale and Silent Hill Ascension.
Spotify: buff.ly/Pfri5Cl
YouTube: buff.ly/6Q8ztmI
Spotify: buff.ly/Pfri5Cl
YouTube: buff.ly/6Q8ztmI
May 7, 2025 at 4:59 PM
Don't know where to start with your story? Finding the theme is really about finding the truth you're asking your audience to believe. We talk to story expert Martin Montgomery about his experience writing for Telltale and Silent Hill Ascension.
Spotify: buff.ly/Pfri5Cl
YouTube: buff.ly/6Q8ztmI
Spotify: buff.ly/Pfri5Cl
YouTube: buff.ly/6Q8ztmI
Don't know where to start with your story? Finding the theme is really about finding the truth you're asking your audience to believe. We talk to story expert Martin Montgomery about his experience writing for Telltale and Silent Hill Ascension.
Spotify: buff.ly/Pfri5Cl
YouTube: buff.ly/6Q8ztmI
Spotify: buff.ly/Pfri5Cl
YouTube: buff.ly/6Q8ztmI
May 7, 2025 at 4:59 PM
Don't know where to start with your story? Finding the theme is really about finding the truth you're asking your audience to believe. We talk to story expert Martin Montgomery about his experience writing for Telltale and Silent Hill Ascension.
Spotify: buff.ly/Pfri5Cl
YouTube: buff.ly/6Q8ztmI
Spotify: buff.ly/Pfri5Cl
YouTube: buff.ly/6Q8ztmI
Finding your audience can be tough! A lot of us are making games that we want to play and I think that's a perfect place to start identifying how to describe your player base. HUGE fan of Ayla Derrick and her voice in the indie revolution space.
Ayla's Game:
store.steampowered.com/app/3236330/...
Ayla's Game:
store.steampowered.com/app/3236330/...
April 29, 2025 at 4:04 PM
Finding your audience can be tough! A lot of us are making games that we want to play and I think that's a perfect place to start identifying how to describe your player base. HUGE fan of Ayla Derrick and her voice in the indie revolution space.
Ayla's Game:
store.steampowered.com/app/3236330/...
Ayla's Game:
store.steampowered.com/app/3236330/...
My good friend, media expert Mark Netter, sat down with me to talk about the current zeitgeist, capturing your audience, and the move from monoculture towards tribalism. Mark and I can talk for hours about this stuff!
open.spotify.com/show/4NIy0ww...
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/b...
open.spotify.com/show/4NIy0ww...
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/b...
April 22, 2025 at 3:44 PM
My good friend, media expert Mark Netter, sat down with me to talk about the current zeitgeist, capturing your audience, and the move from monoculture towards tribalism. Mark and I can talk for hours about this stuff!
open.spotify.com/show/4NIy0ww...
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/b...
open.spotify.com/show/4NIy0ww...
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/b...
Looking forward to being part of this panel today!
April 18, 2025 at 8:20 PM
Looking forward to being part of this panel today!
I've been a studio Creative Director for 8 years and I get a lot of question about how I got here. My journey has been totally untraditional and how I got here might surprise you! This week on Brain Arcade, I share my career story and talk about the psychology of asking "why".
April 17, 2025 at 1:22 AM
I've been a studio Creative Director for 8 years and I get a lot of question about how I got here. My journey has been totally untraditional and how I got here might surprise you! This week on Brain Arcade, I share my career story and talk about the psychology of asking "why".
This week I sat down with my good friend Liam from Nova Codes to talk about analysis paralysis, player boredom, the rules of 7s, and what all this means for good game design!
Spotify: open.spotify.com/show/4NIy0ww...
Find us everywhere: electracast.com/podcast/brai...
Spotify: open.spotify.com/show/4NIy0ww...
Find us everywhere: electracast.com/podcast/brai...
April 10, 2025 at 11:30 PM
This week I sat down with my good friend Liam from Nova Codes to talk about analysis paralysis, player boredom, the rules of 7s, and what all this means for good game design!
Spotify: open.spotify.com/show/4NIy0ww...
Find us everywhere: electracast.com/podcast/brai...
Spotify: open.spotify.com/show/4NIy0ww...
Find us everywhere: electracast.com/podcast/brai...
This week on Brain Arcade we talk to the fantastic Liam McDonough from Nova Codes about the state of the games industry, business trends, and even drop some behind the scenes industry stories!
www.youtube.com/@Brain-Arcade
open.spotify.com/show/4NIy0ww...
electracast.com/podcast/brai...
www.youtube.com/@Brain-Arcade
open.spotify.com/show/4NIy0ww...
electracast.com/podcast/brai...
April 5, 2025 at 12:29 AM
This week on Brain Arcade we talk to the fantastic Liam McDonough from Nova Codes about the state of the games industry, business trends, and even drop some behind the scenes industry stories!
www.youtube.com/@Brain-Arcade
open.spotify.com/show/4NIy0ww...
electracast.com/podcast/brai...
www.youtube.com/@Brain-Arcade
open.spotify.com/show/4NIy0ww...
electracast.com/podcast/brai...
So stoked to launch this pod!
Want to know what makes games really hit? Me too! On Brain Arcade, we're breaking down the psychology of games with awesome guests every week. After 30+ years in this crazy industry, I've got some stories to share!
Find us everywhere!
electracast.com/podcast/brai...
Want to know what makes games really hit? Me too! On Brain Arcade, we're breaking down the psychology of games with awesome guests every week. After 30+ years in this crazy industry, I've got some stories to share!
Find us everywhere!
electracast.com/podcast/brai...
April 3, 2025 at 12:00 AM
So stoked to launch this pod!
Want to know what makes games really hit? Me too! On Brain Arcade, we're breaking down the psychology of games with awesome guests every week. After 30+ years in this crazy industry, I've got some stories to share!
Find us everywhere!
electracast.com/podcast/brai...
Want to know what makes games really hit? Me too! On Brain Arcade, we're breaking down the psychology of games with awesome guests every week. After 30+ years in this crazy industry, I've got some stories to share!
Find us everywhere!
electracast.com/podcast/brai...
I survived GDC!
In all seriousness, I loved catching up with old friends and meeting some new ones! It was great to finally meet Alex from Game Design Skills (check out his cool educational platform). Went to a couple events and wow, the advances in the AI game making space are moving very quickly.
In all seriousness, I loved catching up with old friends and meeting some new ones! It was great to finally meet Alex from Game Design Skills (check out his cool educational platform). Went to a couple events and wow, the advances in the AI game making space are moving very quickly.
March 26, 2025 at 6:25 PM
I survived GDC!
In all seriousness, I loved catching up with old friends and meeting some new ones! It was great to finally meet Alex from Game Design Skills (check out his cool educational platform). Went to a couple events and wow, the advances in the AI game making space are moving very quickly.
In all seriousness, I loved catching up with old friends and meeting some new ones! It was great to finally meet Alex from Game Design Skills (check out his cool educational platform). Went to a couple events and wow, the advances in the AI game making space are moving very quickly.
This steam releases by year chart is going to keep trending up.
January 2, 2025 at 2:37 PM
This steam releases by year chart is going to keep trending up.