Designer Notes

Designer Notes is hosting a special guest episode from Simon Parkin’s excellent podcast My Perfect Console, in which he interviews Soren Johnson about his career and his favorite games. In each episode, Simon asks the guest to choose five games to compose their version of a perfect console or, in Soren’s case, a perfect personal computer. Check out the show at myperfectconsole.com.

In this episode, Soren interviews Owen Mahoney, who served first as the CFO and then as the CEO of Nexon. They discuss what the transition to free-to-play meant for game design, how to make sure your company has the right type of shareholders, and how close Nexon came to buying Riot. This episode was recorded on March 11, 2026, and was engineered by Michael Hermes.

In this episode, Soren interviews Seth Sivak, best known as the co-founder and CEO of Proletariat, makers of World Zombination and Spellbreak. They discuss how he invited hover doobers, the many times Proletariat almost went out of business, and whether free-to-play still makes sense. This episode was recorded on September 13, 2025, and was engineered by Michael Hermes.

In this episode, Soren interviews veteran game developer Charles Cecil, co-founder of Revolution Software and best known for his work on Beneath a Steel Sky and the Broken Sword series. They discuss why he made a game about the Knights Templar, how digital distribution changed the publisher-developer relationship forever, and what made the goat puzzle unfair. This interview was started on April 14, 2025.

In this episode, Soren interviews veteran game developer Charles Cecil, co-founder of Revolution Software and best known for his work on Beneath a Steel Sky and the Broken Sword series. They discuss various dodgy tax avoidance schemes, what the Bitmap Brothers faxed to Acclaim, and how to teach players the grammar of adventure games. This interview was started on April 14, 2025.