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Reece “Kiwi Talkz” Reilly

@kiwitalkz • 11,164 subscribers

Game Developer Interviewer -Interviewed 150+ Game Devs Known most for my Retro Studios/Valve/Bethesda/Rockstar/Naughty Dog Interviews. 18mill+ views on Youtube,

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Uncharted 4 & Lost Legacy is a big reason why so many devs left Naughty Dog, the crunch was the worst of any project at Naughty Dog by a mile. Quentin did 60-80 hour weeks for months on end with a few weeks of 100 hours, this is ultimately why he left the studio.

Uncharted 4 & Lost Legacy is a big reason why so many devs left Naughty Dog, the crunch was the worst of any project at Naughty Dog by a mile. Quentin did 60-80 hour weeks for months on end with a few weeks of 100 hours, this is ultimately why he left the studio.

158,738 views

This was trippy being mentioned by Colin Moriarty in the latest PlayStation Podcast because of my Gabriel Betancourt interview. Thanks Colin, very humbling🙏

This was trippy being mentioned by Colin Moriarty in the latest PlayStation Podcast because of my Gabriel Betancourt interview. Thanks Colin, very humbling🙏

26,068 views

FUNNY STORY So during my interview with Heather Cerlan she told a story about Todd Howard basically fanboying over Neil Druckmann. In my head I remember thinking "omg Luke Stephens is going to love this". Sure enough, his reaction was priceless😆 Much love Luke!

FUNNY STORY So during my interview with Heather Cerlan she told a story about Todd Howard basically fanboying over Neil Druckmann. In my head I remember thinking "omg Luke Stephens is going to love this". Sure enough, his reaction was priceless😆 Much love Luke!

24,461 views

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Here's a bittersweet story about Gabe Newell. During the development of Portal 2, Gabe realised he was a victim of the George Lucas effect, where he could no longer be involved in a team developing a game because people would just agree with him because of his status so he made the decision to step back and just be the CEO. I very much worry about the day when Gabe is no longer in control of Valve/Steam

Here's a bittersweet story about Gabe Newell. During the development of Portal 2, Gabe realised he was a victim of the George Lucas effect, where he could no longer be involved in a team developing a game because people would just agree with him because of his status so he made the decision to step back and just be the CEO. I very much worry about the day when Gabe is no longer in control of Valve/Steam

Reece “Kiwi Talkz” Reilly

387,518 views • 2 months ago

Nintendo has a mandatory retirement age of 50, at which time you are taken off the frontlines and then you move into a support role to train up the next generation. That is why Nintendo is a well oiled machine.

Nintendo has a mandatory retirement age of 50, at which time you are taken off the frontlines and then you move into a support role to train up the next generation. That is why Nintendo is a well oiled machine.

Reece “Kiwi Talkz” Reilly

102,244 views • 23 days ago

Near the end of development on The Last Of Us, a Sony exec took a look at the game and didn't think the game was going to do well and gave the game a small marketing budget as a result. A number of people at Naughty Dog also thought the game would flop as well.

Near the end of development on The Last Of Us, a Sony exec took a look at the game and didn't think the game was going to do well and gave the game a small marketing budget as a result. A number of people at Naughty Dog also thought the game would flop as well.

Reece “Kiwi Talkz” Reilly

27,705 views • 8 days ago

In light of Jason Schreier's comments regarding Sony being unhappy with Naughty Dog, this made me think back to my convo with Benson Russell (Designer on TLOU & Uncharted 1-4) It's more than likely that Naughty Dog struggled to create the "it factor" for Intergalactic and the internal crunch was a way to try and find it but also...... This is their most expensive project by a wide margin, and is crazy ambitious but Naughty Dog no longer has a flat structure and has a lot of bureaucracy there now due to the studio ballooning in size and is now plagued by the same issues that studios like Bethesda have. If this game doesn't knock it out of the park, I bet there will be layoffs. Naughty Dog is becoming an insanely expensive studio for Sony to run due to salary costs in L.A.

In light of Jason Schreier's comments regarding Sony being unhappy with Naughty Dog, this made me think back to my convo with Benson Russell (Designer on TLOU & Uncharted 1-4) It's more than likely that Naughty Dog struggled to create the "it factor" for Intergalactic and the internal crunch was a way to try and find it but also...... This is their most expensive project by a wide margin, and is crazy ambitious but Naughty Dog no longer has a flat structure and has a lot of bureaucracy there now due to the studio ballooning in size and is now plagued by the same issues that studios like Bethesda have. If this game doesn't knock it out of the park, I bet there will be layoffs. Naughty Dog is becoming an insanely expensive studio for Sony to run due to salary costs in L.A.

Reece “Kiwi Talkz” Reilly

65,944 views • 21 days ago

During the development of Uncharted 2, Neil Druckmann was playing Resident Evil 5 at the time and loved the truck sequence. This directly inspired the truck alley chase in Uncharted 2.

During the development of Uncharted 2, Neil Druckmann was playing Resident Evil 5 at the time and loved the truck sequence. This directly inspired the truck alley chase in Uncharted 2.

Reece “Kiwi Talkz” Reilly

108,724 views • 2 months ago

With Sony pulling back on exclusives for PC it's good to understand why Shawn Layden pushed for their games to be on put on PC in the first place. My theory on why they are doing this though is because 1. There games on PC weren't really moving the needle and selling that much, nor were they creating FOMO for people to buy a PlayStation to play the sequels. 2. They don't want Xbox's new hardware to be able to play their games through the loophole of Steam. 3. Nintendo is closing the gap with Switch 2 and seems to have somewhat alleviated their biggest weakness.....third party support, which makes them having exclusives even more important. 4. Releasing elsewhere disincentivizes people from buying a PlayStation so that's less sales within their ecosystem

With Sony pulling back on exclusives for PC it's good to understand why Shawn Layden pushed for their games to be on put on PC in the first place. My theory on why they are doing this though is because 1. There games on PC weren't really moving the needle and selling that much, nor were they creating FOMO for people to buy a PlayStation to play the sequels. 2. They don't want Xbox's new hardware to be able to play their games through the loophole of Steam. 3. Nintendo is closing the gap with Switch 2 and seems to have somewhat alleviated their biggest weakness.....third party support, which makes them having exclusives even more important. 4. Releasing elsewhere disincentivizes people from buying a PlayStation so that's less sales within their ecosystem

Reece “Kiwi Talkz” Reilly

164,512 views • 3 months ago

Jeff Kaplan says Zelda: Breath Of The Wild is the greatest game of all time. Jeff has great taste

Jeff Kaplan says Zelda: Breath Of The Wild is the greatest game of all time. Jeff has great taste

Reece “Kiwi Talkz” Reilly

134,347 views • 3 months ago

The Last Of Us Part 2 was controversial within Naughty Dog as the studio was essentially split on the decision to kill Joel. I am not at all surprised by this lol

The Last Of Us Part 2 was controversial within Naughty Dog as the studio was essentially split on the decision to kill Joel. I am not at all surprised by this lol

Reece “Kiwi Talkz” Reilly

60,373 views • 1 month ago

Every time I see a failure of a live service game I think back to my interview with Shawn Layden where he explained why these games fail. The Highguard devs provided a mediocre product that no one wanted, in an overcrowded market. It really is that simple.

Every time I see a failure of a live service game I think back to my interview with Shawn Layden where he explained why these games fail. The Highguard devs provided a mediocre product that no one wanted, in an overcrowded market. It really is that simple.

Reece “Kiwi Talkz” Reilly

133,796 views • 4 months ago

Gamers don't realise how much game devs sacrifice to make a game. The amount of stories I have heard over the years about marriages ending or coming close to ending because of devs doing crazy hours particularly at the end of a project is unfortunately very common! Here is one example, towards the end of Portal 2 the lead designers wife was threatening to leave him because he was pretty much living at Valve, so he made the decision to step back and delegate to another team member. (I've met his wife, she is lovely.) Even with my interviews my wife sacrifices a lot for me to be able to do it and it's something I struggle to balance. With great success, usually comes great cost.

Gamers don't realise how much game devs sacrifice to make a game. The amount of stories I have heard over the years about marriages ending or coming close to ending because of devs doing crazy hours particularly at the end of a project is unfortunately very common! Here is one example, towards the end of Portal 2 the lead designers wife was threatening to leave him because he was pretty much living at Valve, so he made the decision to step back and delegate to another team member. (I've met his wife, she is lovely.) Even with my interviews my wife sacrifices a lot for me to be able to do it and it's something I struggle to balance. With great success, usually comes great cost.

Reece “Kiwi Talkz” Reilly

81,028 views • 2 months ago

If you want a glimpse into how dire the video game industry is, look no further than Rob Carr, who was an Audio Designer on L.A. Noire, GTA 5 and RDR2. He has been unemployed for over a year now and despite working on some of the most prestigious titles ever, can't find work simply because he is competing against 35 other people in his field with the same skillset. We are living through an extinction level event in the video game industry.

If you want a glimpse into how dire the video game industry is, look no further than Rob Carr, who was an Audio Designer on L.A. Noire, GTA 5 and RDR2. He has been unemployed for over a year now and despite working on some of the most prestigious titles ever, can't find work simply because he is competing against 35 other people in his field with the same skillset. We are living through an extinction level event in the video game industry.

Reece “Kiwi Talkz” Reilly

69,011 views • 2 months ago

When I say game devs are terrified of GTA 6, I am not exaggerating, they have felt this way for 2 years or so. What Filip says here is basically how most game devs feel, they just aren't as open about it lol. No one wants to release anywhere near GTA 6, it's suicide.

When I say game devs are terrified of GTA 6, I am not exaggerating, they have felt this way for 2 years or so. What Filip says here is basically how most game devs feel, they just aren't as open about it lol. No one wants to release anywhere near GTA 6, it's suicide.

Reece “Kiwi Talkz” Reilly

19,572 views • 17 days ago

During the development of Donkey Kong Country Tropical Freeze, Nintendo devs flew to the U.S. to meet Retro Studios artists and handed them pantone chips for DK's fur colour. The devs thought that was weird cause once you add lighting it won't look like that anyway lol.

During the development of Donkey Kong Country Tropical Freeze, Nintendo devs flew to the U.S. to meet Retro Studios artists and handed them pantone chips for DK's fur colour. The devs thought that was weird cause once you add lighting it won't look like that anyway lol.

Reece “Kiwi Talkz” Reilly

32,822 views • 1 month ago

Neil Druckmann is a visceral director, however on the Last Of Us 1, he received pushback on a number of his ideas. That no longer happened to the same degree on The Last Of Us Part II because Naughty Dog had ballooned in size. In a way he became a victim of the George Lucas effect, just like Gabe Newell and Todd Howard.

Neil Druckmann is a visceral director, however on the Last Of Us 1, he received pushback on a number of his ideas. That no longer happened to the same degree on The Last Of Us Part II because Naughty Dog had ballooned in size. In a way he became a victim of the George Lucas effect, just like Gabe Newell and Todd Howard.

Reece “Kiwi Talkz” Reilly

44,250 views • 1 month ago

If you want to know the difference between japanese and western publishers regarding video game development contracts, this clip sums it up. Japan is all about trust, handshakes, building a relationship and small contracts. The West is all about paranoia, distrust and creating huge legal documents with intentional loopholes to use to terminate agreements and get out of contracts😒 Jack Mathews has worked with Nintendo, Sony, Konami, Capcom, EA & Microsoft, he's a rarity in the game industry as he has seen both sides.

If you want to know the difference between japanese and western publishers regarding video game development contracts, this clip sums it up. Japan is all about trust, handshakes, building a relationship and small contracts. The West is all about paranoia, distrust and creating huge legal documents with intentional loopholes to use to terminate agreements and get out of contracts😒 Jack Mathews has worked with Nintendo, Sony, Konami, Capcom, EA & Microsoft, he's a rarity in the game industry as he has seen both sides.

Reece “Kiwi Talkz” Reilly

41,682 views • 2 months ago

After The Last Of Us shipped, Naughty Dog made the admission that crunch is a requirement to make games at the level they make them and they would no longer even attempt to shy away from it. That's why crunch has progressively gotten worse with every project since and that's why you are seeing more and more devs leaving the studio. AAA development in a lot of ways is a young mans game.

After The Last Of Us shipped, Naughty Dog made the admission that crunch is a requirement to make games at the level they make them and they would no longer even attempt to shy away from it. That's why crunch has progressively gotten worse with every project since and that's why you are seeing more and more devs leaving the studio. AAA development in a lot of ways is a young mans game.

Reece “Kiwi Talkz” Reilly

35,427 views • 2 months ago

For people that are on edge regarding Metroid Prime 4's sales, don't worry!! Nintendo doesn't just look at sales when it comes to Metroid, part of the IPs purpose is to bring a different demographic into Nintendo's ecosystem. Here is the producer of Metroid Prime 2 & 3 stating exactly that, straight from the horses mouth!!

For people that are on edge regarding Metroid Prime 4's sales, don't worry!! Nintendo doesn't just look at sales when it comes to Metroid, part of the IPs purpose is to bring a different demographic into Nintendo's ecosystem. Here is the producer of Metroid Prime 2 & 3 stating exactly that, straight from the horses mouth!!

Reece “Kiwi Talkz” Reilly

57,176 views • 6 months ago

Astro Bot's Soundtrack is easily in my TOP 10 best game soundtracks ever. 𝕂𝕖𝕟𝕟𝕪 𝕐𝕠𝕦𝕟𝕘 ▂ ▆ ▅ ♥ is synonymous with Astro Bot the way David Wise is with Donkey Kong. Genius move by Nicolas Doucet to recruit Kenny to do the soundtrack on all the games. Bot Of War is a stand out remix of the GOW theme. music is the heart of any game and in this case it elevates the amazing design tenfold.

Astro Bot's Soundtrack is easily in my TOP 10 best game soundtracks ever. 𝕂𝕖𝕟𝕟𝕪 𝕐𝕠𝕦𝕟𝕘 ▂ ▆ ▅ ♥ is synonymous with Astro Bot the way David Wise is with Donkey Kong. Genius move by Nicolas Doucet to recruit Kenny to do the soundtrack on all the games. Bot Of War is a stand out remix of the GOW theme. music is the heart of any game and in this case it elevates the amazing design tenfold.

Reece “Kiwi Talkz” Reilly

22,338 views • 2 months ago

During the development of Starfield there was pressure internally at Bethesda for them to migrate to Unreal Engine 5. In the end Bethesda stuck with the Creation Engine, primarily because of the modding community.

During the development of Starfield there was pressure internally at Bethesda for them to migrate to Unreal Engine 5. In the end Bethesda stuck with the Creation Engine, primarily because of the modding community.

Reece “Kiwi Talkz” Reilly

15,012 views • 1 month ago

The reason you are seeing so many studio closures these days is because for a $100 million dollar budget you need to sell 6 million units to break even!! Absolutely crazy! This is why you are seeing so many games going multi-platform. Bryan Walker was a producer at EA, Activision and Retro Studios so he knows what he is talking about.

The reason you are seeing so many studio closures these days is because for a $100 million dollar budget you need to sell 6 million units to break even!! Absolutely crazy! This is why you are seeing so many games going multi-platform. Bryan Walker was a producer at EA, Activision and Retro Studios so he knows what he is talking about.

Reece “Kiwi Talkz” Reilly

46,315 views • 6 months ago