Payment Due | Alexis Jolis Desautels

In episode 9 Susan talks with Alexis Jolis‑Desautels, a veteran designer and design leader who has spent two decades inside some of the world’s biggest game franchises helping studios actually understand their players. From starting as a QA tester at Ubisoft Montreal to building user research labs, leading design teams on major AAA projects, and mentoring the next generation of designers, Alexis brings a rare mix of craft, honesty, and cultural insight to every conversation(00:00) - Intro (01:20) - Meet Alexis (05:26) - Mentors & Inspiration (07:17) - Ubisoft (11:06) - Crunch (13:58) - Staying Sane (15:49) - RLD (21:30) - Jams (26:13) - Burnout (35:12) - The Ladder is a Lie (38:54) - Community (41:16) - Wrap-up (45:23) - Outro Guest Bio: Alexis is a designer mostly interested in new applications of science and psychology in the field of interactive experiences.  Focused on issues of creativity and design processes, but also, by using a background as an actor and journalist, developed skills as a trainer and a communicator, mostly about Game Design but also about games and digital interaction as a medium and human activity.Join our Substack - https://tinyurl.com/GGJPodcastSubstack