In the second episode of Dev to Dev – the podcast about everyday video game developers and why they do what they do every day – I sit down with Leyla Mamedova, a cinematic pipeline manager whose career path has been anything but ordinary.

Born in post-Soviet Russia, Leyla’s introduction to games came through contraband consoles and unlikely movie tie-in titles – learning pieces of English by lip-reading through Hercules and Chicken Run on PlayStation, and later falling hard for the melodrama of JRPGs on her beloved PS2. What began as a childhood obsession with soap operas, anime, and sprawling RPG storylines set her on a trajectory toward animation school, with dreams of working at DreamWorks.

Leyla shares fascinating insight into how personal struggles can fuel growth, how ADHD has shaped her professionally and personally, and why she now views her systems-oriented mindset as a superpower, doing it all with wit and honesty. It’s a funny, heartfelt, and eye-opening episode about resilience, identity, and the hidden systems behind both games and the people who make them. It’s everything this show is about!

Thank you for listening and I really hope you enjoyed this episode. Please subscribe in your Podcast App of choice to keep up-to-date with each new episode when it lands. And if you would like to keep the Podcast ad free please consider joining the Patreon. Think of it as a Virtual Tip Jar at a minimum, with the option to upgrade for additional benefits such as:

• Video Versions of each episode

• Occasional additional Shows

• Direct access to me and the show

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Also please reach out if you have any questions, thoughts, comments, guest suggestions, or ideas!

DevToDevPodcast@Gmail.com

Find Leyla at:

• Leyla Mamedova | LinkedIn

• https://bsky.app/profile/leylses.bsky.social

• https://medium.com/@leylamamart

• (00:00:00) - Dev to Dev: Layla Mamedova's Story
• (00:04:08) - Gaining English Through Playing Video Games
• (00:05:28) - What drew you to JRPGs?
• (00:09:31) - Zombie on Xena: The Story of Animation
• (00:14:34) - How I Flunked Out Of School
• (00:17:48) - How to Manage a Cinematic Pipeline
• (00:25:02) - Having ADHD, Managing a Team's Systems
• (00:29:40) - The Importance of Murderbot The Diaries
• (00:36:38) - The Perfect Employer
• (00:41:35) - Making The Transition From Animation to Video Games
• (00:44:01) - On Working With Game Developers
• (00:47:45) - In the Elevator With Steven Spielberg
• (00:51:35) - How Does Your Family Relate To Your Work?
• (00:55:54) - Has Going To Film School Affected Your Gameplay?
• (00:59:30) - Interview with Alex Borromeo