Inside the Mind of a Game God, with Steve Meretzky

Playmakers - The Game Industry Podcast

In this episode:

Jordan interviews the legendary Steve Meretzky, a game designer and producer, best known for creating Infocom games. Steve was recognized as one of PC Gamer’s “Game Gods” and is renowned for his work on beloved text adventures like Zork, Planetfall, and Leather Goddesses of Phobos. He’s also held senior creative roles at companies such as King, GSN, and Disney/Playdom. Steve shares wisdom from his long career in the gaming industry, covering everything from IP development, narrative and character design, puzzle creation, and more.

Topics covered:

• Steve's career journey and early days at Infocom
• How to identify if a game project is on track for greatness
• Moderating creative ambition to manage team resources
• The story behind the creation of Leather Goddesses of Phobos
• What should come first, the story or the puzzles in an adventure game?
• Choosing the right IP for a game project
• Steve's thoughts on game writing and character development
• A valuable story about the dangers of not leveraging successes when you have them

For more game industry tips:

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• Visit www.playmakerspodcast.com for the full blog post and more!

Timestamps:

[03:16] Steve’s entry into the game industry and Infocom

[07:05] Writing and designing Planetfall

[10:23] How Planetfall made players cry

[12:30] Identifying a successful game in development

[15:25] Technology challenges and risks: The Unity and Facebook project

[17:14] Balancing creative ambition and resource management

[21:00] Game writing and storytelling: Challenges in nonlinear mediums

[23:12] Her Story and innovative game storytelling

[26:00] Puzzle design in text adventures

[28:44] IP development: The story behind Leather Goddesses of Phobos

[35:25] Leveraging IP and sequels: Mobsters and Gardens of Time

[40:28] Steve’s approach to working with existing IP

Resources & media mentioned in this episode:

Connect with Steve Meretzky:

• LinkedIn

Games & companies mentioned:

• Infocom
• Playdom
• Disney Interactive
• GSN
• King
• Planetfall (Infocom)
• Leather Goddesses of Phobos (Infocom)
• Zork series (Infocom)
• Mobsters (Playdom)
• Gardens of Time (Playdom)
• Her Story (Sam Barlow)
• The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (Infocom)
• Blackwood & Bell Mysteries (Playdom)