Listen "Innovation in Game Development: A Conversation with Studio Vale CEO, Xanthos Vouldis"
Episode Synopsis
From AAA stints at Cygames, tri-Ace, EA, and more to founding his own studio, Xanthos Vouldis joins Colors of Web3 & Entrepreneurship to unpack how great games are made and why his next title is an invitation-only real-time multiplayer dieselpunk airship battle game. We dive into his design framework, team roles, and why he’s building an invitation-only game community with squad-based online battles and a single-player campaign for every ship. Expect deep systems (armor, firing angles, crew management), PC-first plans, and a release target sometime next year.Xanthos also explains pricing (a premium buy-in), natural-language NPCs that can brief you mid-mission, and a wild perk: finish a campaign and they’ll ship you a physical model of your customized airship. At the end, he also shares how early players can snag invites. ⌛ Timestamps:00:00:00 Episode trailer00:00:35 Show & guest introduction00:02:24 Why Japan & early career (Cygames, EA, Tri-Ace, DMM)00:04:05 A simple game design framework (the “chair” analogy)00:09:30 Who builds a game? Roles, teams, and pipelines00:13:29 Speedrunning solo dev: free assets & engine templates00:15:58 D&D as the best game-design bootcamp00:23:04 Founding Studio Vale; Houdini + selective AI for art00:42:14 Fixing “multiplayer fatigue” & role clarity00:46:49 Why early, ongoing player testing matters00:54:54 The future: prioritize gameplay over spectacle01:01:36 Episode outro and next episode previewFollow Xanthos & Studio Vale:Studio Vale's Website: https://stvale.com/about-us/ Xanthos's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/xanthosvouldis/ For gamers that are interested in testing the real-time multiplayer airship game, you can book a meeting with Xanthos here: https://meetings-na2.hubspot.com/xanthos Our social media: Crypto card guide: cryptocardguide.comTwitter/X: x.com/ColorsofWeb3podLinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/colors-of-web3-entrepreneurshipIf you enjoy this episode, please subscribe to stay updated on our upcoming episodes with industry experts and innovators in the Web3 and Entrepreneurship spaces. Thank you for listening!
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