1. EachPod

XCOM Creator Julian Gollop Shares Game Design Tips, Dev Stories and More

Author
The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences
Published
Mon 23 Jun 2025
Episode Link
https://gamemakersnotebook.libsyn.com/xcom-creator-julian-gollop-shares-game-design-tips-dev-stories-and-more

Trent Kusters chats with Julian Gollop, founder and game designer at Snapshot Games. Together they discuss his legendary journey designing games from the creation of the original XCOM: UFO Defense to his studio's latest release, Chip 'n Clawz vs. the Brainioids; how to use constraint as a key design pillar; having the courage to remove features for a better play experience; and when to lean on tried and true conventions and when to avoid them. 

This episode is sponsored by Xsolla

Episode Host: Trent Kusters

Producers: Claudio Tapia and Josh Chu, The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences

If you enjoyed this episode, please consider subscribing and leaving us a rating and review.

Support the show and get all of our episodes early/ad-free: https://bit.ly/4kU34Lt

Follow us: linktr.ee/AIAS

Please consider supporting game dev students with: AIAS Foundation

Share to: