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ideaplatz.com
Ideaplatz
@ideaplatz.com
21 followers 3 following 21 posts
Ideaplatz: a design education company founded by Cheryl Platz in pursuit of empowering today’s designers to build tomorrow’s experiences. Talks & workshops based on Cheryl's books Design Beyond Devices and The Game Development Strategy Guide. ideaplatz.com
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ideaplatz.com
In S1 Episode 7 of #EnduringPlay, a #GameDev podcast, we get to discuss the thorny topic of AI in video games with @caeriehouchins.bsky.social, Chief Technology Officer for @wickedfoxgames.com. Caerie’s take on the role AI is playing and firm stance on where it stops is an important conversation.
Caerie Houchins on Episode 7 of Enduring Play, a Game Dev podcast hosted by Cheryl Platz: “The artists are generally the ones making these AI images using their own prompts to make comps. We asked them to make something, but we’re like, “It doesn’t really matter, we’re going to throw this away.” So we’re not taking the jobs away from anybody here. And that’s super important to me. I really don’t want a lot of these new techniques to have a negative impact on the creatives that actually are the geniuses behind these games in the gaming industry.” Available on Apple, Spotify or Enduringplay.com
October 25, 2025 at 6:17 PM
ideaplatz.com
In Episode 5 of #EnduringPlay, a #GameDev podcast, @brightwhitney.bsky.social levels up our understanding and appreciation of #narrative design and narrative direction - and how they differ from writing - drawing from award-winning experience on #videoGames like Holovista & TTRPG Bluebeard's Bride.
Whitney Beltrán on Season 1 Episode 5 of the Enduring Play Game Dev podcast hosted by Cheryl Platz: "Game narrative is not game writing, right? To be super clear, narrative is delivered through every element of a game. For instance, when I was narrative director on a big AAA Dungeons & Dragons game a few years ago, I had not just meetings with the narrative team, but the audio team, the combat team, the cinematics team, the engineers. Really anything where anything got communicated to the players." Listen now on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or more at enduringplay.com
September 25, 2025 at 3:03 PM
ideaplatz.com
In Episode 4 of #EnduringPlay, a #GameDev podcast, @gamedeventura.bsky.social from @ichigoichiegames.bsky.social gets candid about the ups & downs of running indie studios; from the dark moments to the satisfaction of sustainable hours for quality games. Listen at enduringplay.com + other platforms!
David Ventura on Enduring Play: A Game Development Podcast hosted by Cheryl Platz, Season 1 Episode 4: "And yeah, we're not the biggest, most money returning studio in the world, but everybody can go home. There is no overtime really worked here. And then people leave at like 4:00, 4:30, 5:00 and they can be with their families or they can go do the things that they want to do outside of work hours. And I think we still produce pretty good content without having those situations. So it's entirely possible." Available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, enduringplay.com, and other platforms
September 23, 2025 at 4:20 PM
ideaplatz.com
In Episode 4 of #EnduringPlay: A #GameDev Podcast, @gamedeventura.bsky.social of @ichigoichiegames.bsky.social shares his insights on being an open-minded creative director in games adapting based on player feedback Listen now at enduringplay.com: www.gamedevelopmentstrategyguide.com/enduring-pla...
David Ventura in Episode 5 of Enduring Play, A Game Dev Podcast: "You can't just shut your eyes and put your head in the sand and say ‘No, I'm not going to make the narrative system skippable,’ or ‘I'm not going to make the game have save points because that's not the way it was in 95.’ Even if you're making a retro inspired title, you need to stay in tune with what the consumer wants today and be able to follow those best practices to make an even better title that's more accessible for everyone." Hosted by Cheryl Platz. On Apple Podcasts, Spotify and Enduringplay.com
September 21, 2025 at 11:56 PM
ideaplatz.com
The slides, reference materials, and link to video from Ideaplatz founder Cheryl Platz's recent #DesignMattersTokyo 2025 keynote "Future Sight In Design" can now be found on the Game Development Strategy Guide website! #uxDesign #gameDev www.gamedevelopmentstrategyguide.com/author-chery...
Cheryl Platz, author of "Design Beyond Devices" and "The Game Development Strategy Guide," stands in front of a slide "Gates Foundation: Results and Impact" with a chart shown onstage during her keynote "Future Sight in Design" at Design Matters Tokyo 2025. A slide from the Future Sight in Design talk, with Ideaplatz branding, with a photo of Nostradamus that reads "Why does it seem like some designers can predict the future? The Apples of the world - how can they release products time and time again and get it right? And if you can see the future, how can you convince others you're right?" A slide from Cheryl Platz's Future Sight in Design keynote, which shows a picture of a Gates Foundation "Teams Meetings are here!" internal poster and the text "I convinced the Gates Foundation to upgrade their global teleconferencing systems and service design... which launched fully just 2 weeks before the COVID-19 closures." The cover slide for Cheryl Platz's "Future Sight in Design" keynote talk at Design Matters Tokyo 2025.
September 21, 2025 at 11:50 PM
ideaplatz.com
In Episode 3 of #EnduringPlay: A #GameDev Podcast, Executive Design Producer Amy Kalson talks about the curiosity-driven philosophy she uses with development partners to get to better outcomes in #videogame development. Listen now on your favorite platform or enduringplay.com.
Amy Kalson on Season 1 Episode 3 of Enduring Play: “Try to not come in with solutions without context. Instead of saying, I've played your latest build and it sucks and here's what you need to do to fix it,' it's much more effective if you come in and say, 'Okay, so I'm playing the build and I'm seeing the following things. What are your thoughts around this? What is your plan for fixing this issue? I'm happy to give you some of the solutions that I thought of, but I'd love to hear more about what it is that you are planning to do.”
September 12, 2025 at 6:22 PM
ideaplatz.com
Cheryl Platz launches her book tour for The Game Development Strategy Guide TOMORROW, August 27, at Seattle’s McCaw Hall at @seattleindies.bsky.social SLICE - learn about the concepts from Ch 1 in her NEW micro talk “Modern Motivators of Play”! Press release: www.einpresswire.com/article/8431...
Cheryl Platz is a smiling blond professional woman pictured next to the slogan “I am speaking at SLICE” and near the information “August 27, Seattle WA, McCaw Hall, Seattle Indies, SeattleSlice.org” A preview of the talk Modern Motivators of Play, which shows 6 Classic Motivators (Fun, Mastery, Competition, Comfort, Immersion, Meditation) and 3 Modern Motivators (Self-Expression, Companionship, Education)
August 26, 2025 at 7:07 PM
ideaplatz.com
Episode 2 of the Enduring Play #gameDev podcast is LIVE with Carlos Figueiredo, Director of Player Trust and Safety for Mojang Studios/Minecraft. Join us to learn more about prosocial gaming, the Thriving in Games Group, Community Sift, and more! www.gamedevelopmentstrategyguide.com/enduring-pla...
The album cover for Episode 2 of Enduring Play: A Game Development Podcast, hosted by Cheryl Platz. Carlos Figueiredo is pictured smiling wearing a suit with the title “Safe and Thriving Gaming Communities” and subheader Season 1 Episode 2. The image is purple and yellow like the podcast logo with a bold black and white pixel divider in the middle.
August 26, 2025 at 2:10 PM
ideaplatz.com
Ideaplatz founder Cheryl Platz is speaking at Seattle Indies SLICE on Aug 27: See the debut of her #gamedev microtalk "Modern Motivators of Play" and learn how player behavior and motivation has changed in the last decade!

Use this link for 25% off tickets: www.eventbrite.com/e/1409496093...
A promotional image for the Seattle Loves Indie Creators Expo, SLICE. A cartoon robot is seen in front of the Space Needle holding a pizza pie chart and gesturing at holograms. The text reads "A new games industry event for Indie and AA game studios in the heart of downtown Seattle. Location: Seattle Center: McCaw Hall - 305 Harrison St. Time 9:00 - 6:00 pm, after party to follow. August 27 9AM - 6PM McCaw Hall seattleslice.org
August 6, 2025 at 4:08 PM
ideaplatz.com
Level up your #gameDev career at any stage! Now available for pre-order - The Game Development Strategy Guide: Crafting Modern Video Games That Thrive by Ideaplatz founder Cheryl Platz. Launching Sept 16, get a 15% discount on preorders direct from the publisher.

rosenfeldmedia.com/books/game-d...
Promotional image for "The Game Development Strategy Guide: Crafting Modern Video Games That Thrive" by Cheryl Platz. Save 15% when you order from Rosenfeld. Shows the book - a purple and yellow cover with a black and white pixelated checker pattern - against a purple background with a large mouse cursor near the book's title.
July 15, 2025 at 4:25 PM
ideaplatz.com
Ideaplatz has moved from our old social media home that shall not be named to BlueSky! Looking forward to contributing to the #UXDesign and #GameDev communities here, particularly inspired by Cheryl Platz's books The Game Development Strategy Guide and the 2020 bestseller Design Beyond Devices.
Ideaplatz founder Cheryl Platz wears a green and black dress while standing on the large Amuse 2018 stage in Budapest, in front of a movie screen stretched on metal posts. She gestures to her slides labeled "Deconstructing Voice UI Bias" with subheaders "Gender", "Ethnicity", and "Accent". Ideaplatz founder Cheryl Platz delivers her keynote "Opti-Pessimism: Design, AI, and Our Uncertain Future" to an audience of 1500 in Medellin, Colombia for Interaction Latin America 2019. She wears a purple dress and stands at the size of a gigantic screen made of three movie screens, two of which project her face and the center containing her slides, which read "Rule 1: Consider the human context. Surround yourself with customer context, and ask good questions of those around you." A live screenshot from a Mural participants completed during an Ideaplatz workshop at a conference. The title reads "Expand the Matrix" and there are a series of colorful boxes that represent interruption matrices as described in Cheryl's book Design Beyond Devices. Ideaplatz founder Cheryl Platz stands in front of her own storyboard sketches from the production of the Echo Look as she speaks to a packed house at UX Days Tokyo in 2019. The slide reads "Storyboards help us visualize the context of use, and help us identify existing pain points." The slide shows three hand drawn slides done with sharpies and Copic markers showing a generic human engaging in wardrobe selection using an Echo Look and a phone. Cheryl wears a black dress and holds a slide remote while stepping out from behind a podium with some audience members visible in the foreground.
July 15, 2025 at 1:22 AM