Today on Blurred Radio, we talk to Joe Russ, founder of Mografi and co-creator of Jenny LeClue, a forthcoming multi-platform choose-your-own adventure game. We talk about the blurring lines of indie game development, crowd funding and pushing the boundaries of interactive art making.

On a more pensive note, Joe talks about the artist’s struggle, dealing with loss, and balancing “good enough” with a crippling pursuit of perfectionism. All that and more on today’s episode of Blurred Radio.

In This Episode:

• 00:50 – Jenny LeClue – A Social Choose-Your-Own Adventure Game
• 03:00 – Having the Right Team for Maximum Flexibility
• 06:10 – Stylistic Influences for Jenny LeClue
• 09:20 – The Story of Jenny LeClue
• 10:50 – On Animation as a Storytelling Platform
• 13:50 – Joe Russ’ early development: Entrepreneurship + Illustration
• 16:55 – Crowdfunding, Entrepreneurship, Risk and Getting the Word Out
• 21:15 – Creativity as a Means of Dealing with Loss
• 23:55 – Trusting Your Instincts, Being Honest and Overcoming Fear
• 27:35 – Riding the Tension between “Good Enough” and Artistic Compromise
• 29:50 – Pre-Selling Projects and the Future of Media Finance
• 33:50 – The Field of Competition in Indie Game Dev
• 35:40 – The Audio World of Jenny LeClue
• 38:15 – Timeframe for Release
• 40:15 – Advice to Beginners – How to Get Started
• 42:00 – Goodbye, Joe Russ!

Links:

• 01:00 – Jenny LeClue – http://jennyleclue.com/
• 02:33 – Unity Development Platform – https://unity3d.com/
• 06:20 – Limbo – http://playdead.com/limbo/
• 06:25 – Monument Valley – http://www.monumentvalleygame.com/
• 07:30 – Robert David Yeoman – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Yeoman
• 08:10 – Jenny LeClue push – http://jennyleclue.com/
• 12:50 – Cracked article about CGI – http://www.cracked.com/blog/6-reasons-expensive-films-end-up-with-crappy-special-effects/
• 21:20 – Fathoms – http://mografi.com/fathoms/
• 26:00 – Seth Godin “Just Ship It” book – http://sethgodin.typepad.com/files/theshipitjournal.pdf
• 32:55 – Jenny LeClue in Game Informer – http://www.gameinformer.com/b/features/archive/2015/03/06/the-very-best-indie-games-of-gdc-2015.aspx/?PostPageIndex=6
• 36:15 – Gary Schymann’s BioShock OST – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iGL1NXReHws