WipeJoust

WipeJoust

From Aftermath Hours by Aftermath

March 20, 2026 · 1h 37m · Episode 107

About this episode

The episode features a discussion with game developer Samantha Kalman about her new game and the challenges of securing funding in the current gaming industry climate.

On this week’s episode, Nathan and Luke are joined by Samantha Kalman, a game developer who’s worked on everything from experimental indies to Apex Legends , to discuss her very cool-looking new game, Verses: Hyper-Kinetic Aerial Joust , and the fraught industry climate surrounding it. What does it mean that even somebody with such a proven track record has been unable to secure funding via traditional channels? And can a Patreon, a podcast, and a dream really keep an inventive idea afloat in such choppy waters? More broadly, what will the games industry—or games industries , considering how many different types of games there are—look like when it rises from the ashes of this increasingly unstable moment? Questions far outnumber answers, but nobody could’ve predicted that games as we know them now would emerge from the industry crash of 1983, so some kind of future awaits us. What it will look like is anyone’s guess. Also, Samantha tells us about a truly wild Mega Man novelization in which the blue bomber becomes a real boy. Credits - Hosts: Nathan Grayson, Luke Plunkett, and special guest Samantha Kalman - Podcast Production & Ads:  Multitude - Subscribe to&nbsp…

People in this episode

Hosts: Nathan Grayson, Luke Plunkett

Guest: Samantha Kalman

Topics covered

  • game development
  • funding challenges
  • video game industry
  • indie games
  • Patreon
  • podcasting

Keywords

  • game development
  • funding
  • indie games
  • video game industry
  • Patreon
  • Apex Legends
  • Verses
  • Mega Man

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Apex Legends

Books & works: Verses: Hyper-Kinetic Aerial Joust, Mega Man

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