Luke Whittaker, gamemaker. (South of the Circle, Lumino City).

Luke Whittaker, gamemaker. (South of the Circle, Lumino City).

June 30, 2026 · 1h 31m · Episode 167

About this episode

Luke Whittaker discusses his journey as a game designer and his innovative projects in the gaming industry.

Luke Whittaker is a British game designer and creative director. With a background in animation and games design, he co-founded the BAFTA-winning indie studio State of Play in 2008, helping establish a reputation for meticulous, hands-on craft and playful experimentation. He was the creator and lead designer of  Lumino City , the puzzle adventure built entirely from hand-made paper and card models, which won a BAFTA for Artistic Achievement. Since then he has worked on a string of distinctive projects including the Apple Award-winning pinball painting game  INKS  and the paper-crafted puzzle games  KAMI   and its sequel. As writer, director, and lead artist on  South of the Circle , he even travelled to Antarctica to research a deeply human Cold War love story. Now, with  Spycraft , a 1960s spy adventure that blends a physical board with video game mechanics—and comeswith a physical gadget built to play it—he continues to blur the boundaries between digital play and physical craft. Relevant Links: Luke Whittaker & State of Play State of Play Games – official site State of Play – about the studio…

People in this episode

Host: Simon Parkin

Guest: Luke Whittaker

Topics covered

Keywords

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: State of Play

Books & works: Lumino City, INKS, KAMI, South of the Circle, Spycraft, North & South (1989), Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade: The Graphic Adventure

Places: Antarctica

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