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cover art for Teddy Dief, gamemaker (Hyper Light Drifter, We are OFK).

My Perfect Console with Simon Parkin

Teddy Dief, gamemaker (Hyper Light Drifter, We are OFK).

Ep. 71

My guest today is the American videogame designer and writer, Teddy Dief. Born in Illinois, they graduated from Columbia University with a degree in music, computer science, and Japanese. Then while studying for an MFA in filmmaking and game design at USC’s School of Cinematic Arts, they worked on Pirates of the Caribbean Online, and as a designer for the Kinect at Xbox.


In 2013, my guest joined the founding team of indie studio Heart Machine as a designer for Hyper Light Drifter. Three years later they became the creative director of Square Enix Montreal. When that project was cancelled, my guest returned to the world of independent development, working as creative director of We Are OFK, an episodic game about a fictional band that was recently nominated for a Peabody Award.


My guest is also the co-founder of Glitch City, a Los Angeles-based collective of game-makers and independent artists.

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