In episode 8, Susan talks with Darion Lowenstein, a veteran game producer, marketer, and executive who has spent nearly three decades shipping hit titles and building publishing teams across console, mobile, and emerging platforms. He and Susan dig into what it actually takes to bring a game to market at scale, why marketing and publishing strategy matter as much as design, and how he approaches mentorship, leadership, and sustainability in an industry that is constantly shifting.

• (00:00) - Intro
• (01:20) - Meet Darion Lowenstein
• (04:49) - Darion's Journey into Games
• (09:05) - Taking Risk
• (13:41) - Life at Rockstar Games
• (23:11) - The Role of a Producer
• (25:27) - What Success Feels Like
• (27:17) - Recognizing the Time to Pivot
• (31:39) - Experimental and Controvertial
• (38:08) - Advocating for Games
• (39:20) - Diversity in Games
• (42:09) - Resilience Through Networking and Finding your Own Path
• (44:55) - How do you Define Yourself?
• (47:32) - Don't be a d*ck
• (50:08) - Where to find Darion

tiktok: darionl IG: darionl1

www.secretco.net

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In episode 7, Susan talks with Lual Mayen, a South Sudanese game developer, entrepreneur, and humanitarian whose journey from being born on the run from civil war to founding his own studio shows what happens when opportunity finally meets talent and persistence.Growing up in a Ugandan refugee camp with no reliable electricity or formal tech education, he taught himself to code, created the peace-focused game Salaam, and launched Junub Games to use interactive experiences to build empathy and support for refugees and communities affected by conflict.

Lual talks about life growing up in a Ugandan refugee camp with scarce food, limited infrastructure, and no reliable electricity. He shares early memories of building a life from cleared land, finding joy in community and play, and developing a fascination with electronics. He recounts how his mother saved money for years so she could give him his own laptop, the responsibility that it represented, and how he became motivated to create games about peace and conflict resolution. Lual talks about discovering video games, teaching himself coding and design without mentors or internet, and about how he shared his early APK via Facebook, leading to global attention.

• (00:00) - GGJPodLualMayen
• (00:00) - Intro
• (01:30) - Meet Lual Mayen
• (07:29) - The Life of a Refugee
• (11:02) - Introduction to Technology
• (13:26) - A Sense of Responsability
• (16:09) - Turning to Video Games
• (18:07) - Building Resilience
• (26:38) - Mentors, Mentees and Networking
• (29:56) - Impact & Milestones
• (35:01) - The Future
• (36:23) - The Foundation
• (38:22) - The Power of Sharing your Games
• (41:27) - Lual's Plans for the Future
• (43:08) - What Little Lual Would the be the Most Proud of
• (45:17) - Outro

LinkedIn
Janub Games

Play Salaam on itch.io!

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This episode is sponsored by the University of Miami School of Communications and the Knight Foundation

In episode 6, Susan talks with Terry Redfield, a veteran game developer, creative director, and three‑time founder with more than 25 years in console, PC, mobile, and live ops experience. From building worlds at Double Fine on Psychonauts, to leading live ops and skins teams on League of Legends, Terry’s career is a jungle gym of studios, startups, and platforms that she has navigated while parenting, caregiving, and insisting that games make room for grown‑up players with full, complicated lives.

Terry discusses developing Rise of Elements over a decade as a competitive match-three hybrid described as “Puzzle Quest meets League of Legends,” her early love of games from LED football to Atari and arcades, and breaking into the industry at 3DO before joining Double Fine to help ship Psychonauts, where internal jams helped the game in development. She recounts bootstrapping startups, fundraising challenges for women founders, raising millions, and pausing a launch to prioritize her family. Terry reflects on leading large Live Ops and skins teams at Riot, the stress and health impacts that led her to resign, learning to set boundaries, prioritize, and use her voice, and focusing her future work on building platforms and opportunities for others, particularly in her home: Hawaii.

• (00:00) - GGJPodTerryRedfield
• (00:00) - Intro
• (01:22) - Meet Terry Redfield
• (03:44) - Wicked Fox Gamess & Rise of Elements
• (12:32) - From 3DO to Double Find
• (14:10) - Jamming in the Office
• (17:48) - Terry the Founder
• (21:16) - Build your Network & Find your Tribe
• (25:38) - Navigating the "Unpolished" Side of the Industry
• (26:51) - Live Ops
• (29:44) - Learning to Balance it All
• (31:58) - Choose your Battles
• (34:19) - The Journey
• (41:01) - Wrap-up
• (41:55) - Outro

Find Terry online!

LinkedIn
Discord: WickedLilith

Checkout Wicked Fox Games

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