#297 Gerson Da Silva Talks Kingdom Rush

Dirk and David are joined by Gerson Da Silva, Director at Ironhide Game Studio and co-founder of Totem Games. Gerson is best known for his work on the Kingdom Rush series, as well as Water 2050. This episode delves into alternative paths into game design, as well as how to adapt a game to audiences of different investment levels. Topics include the benefit of reaching out to subject experts, innovating on a genre, choosing a market, and how to leave design space for variety and maximizing mass appeal.

Episode Outline

0:00 Beginning of Show

1:09 End of Intro

1:15 Da Silva’s Path into Game Design

3:48 Totem Games 

9:06 Realities of Alternate Paths

15:44 Kingdom Rush

17:51 Interactivity in Kingdom Rush

20:42 Designing for Tension

25:29 Mobile Market Transitions

32:38 Hero Gameplay and Monetization

37:25 Leaving Room for Design to Grow

42:47 Advice for Listeners

43:54 Outro

44:56 End of Show

In this Episode

Gerson Da Silva - gerson@totemgames.org, totemgames.org
David V. Heron - @davidvheron
Dirk Knemeyer - @DKnemeyer