Sacred Symbols+, Episode 446 | Thomas Mahler on Metroidvanias, Remote Work, and Dealing With Publishers (Patreon)

Please welcome award-winning director and designer Thomas Mahler to Sacred Symbols+. Mahler is the co-founder of Moon Studios, the team behind the Xbox-aligned Ori series, and is currently championing their newest project, the ARPG No Rest For the Wicked. In a wide-ranging conversation, Thomas talked to me (Colin) about a variety of topics that will be fascinating to students of the industry. How has his emphasis on obsessiveness and hard work paid off in his career? Is crunch a natural byproduct of caring? How does Moon operate with a fully-remote team, with more than 90 people spread across 43 (!) countries? What was it like working with Microsoft as a second party, and why didn't Moon embrace the potential of being purchased outright? Why is the Metroidvania genre so special, and why are Metroidvanias so difficult to make? How much should new games cost? Are subscription services destroying game devs' ability to make money? All of that -- and more! -- on the other side of the play button.