# Obsidian's Josh Sawyer's Thoughts on Creating Engaging RPGs

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/game-maker-s-notebook-410178/obsidian-s-josh-sawyer-s-thoughts-on-creating-engaging-rpgs
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/game-maker-s-notebook-410178/obsidian-s-josh-sawyer-s-thoughts-on-creating-engaging-rpgs.md
Podcast: [Game Maker's Notebook](https://stenobird.com/podcast/game-maker-s-notebook-410178)
Published: 2025-11-17T13:00:00+00:00
Episode link: https://interactive.libsyn.com/obsidians-josh-sawyers-thoughts-on-creating-engaging-rpgs
Audio file: https://pdcn.co/e/dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/pscrb.fm/rss/p/traffic.libsyn.com/secure/interactive/JOSH_SAWYER_GMN_.mp3?dest-id=590891
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JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/game-maker-s-notebook-410178/episodes/obsidian-s-josh-sawyer-s-thoughts-on-creating-engaging-rpgs
Duration seconds: 4130

## Resource

Alexa Ray Corriea chats with Josh Sawyer , Studio Design Director at Obsidian Entertainment . Together they discuss his thoughts on developing RPGs; what he learned from working at legendary studio Black Isle Studios; how to successfully adapt Dungeons & Dragons to video games; writing for games with dialogue stacks; parsing and implementing feedback while keeping true to your creative vision; and balancing RNG to improve player experiences. This episode is supported by Xsolla iam8bit Episode Host: Alexa Ray Corriea 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 . Follow us: linktr.ee/AIAS Please consider supporting game dev students with: AIAS Foundation

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## Transcript

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