About

Hi there! 👋

We’re Pick Three - a chilled-out game design chatcast from industry pros, Des Gayle & Alejandro Arque Gallardo.

Here’s how it works.

Each episode, we chat about games we’ve played. For all the things we like or dislike about a game, we Pick Three to talk about. There’s just one rule. If we dislike something, we must propose how we would have done it differently.

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We ❤ games

As people who make games, we know what it’s really like. The years of work. The fist-pump moments. The bugs. The boatloads of coffee.

We’re unashamed gaming fanboys. And we’ve spent our careers making cool experiences with some of the industry’s biggest names.

That’s why Pick Three is all about honest and positive game design takes, from people who’ve really been there.

Each episode, we put games under the microscope. Celebrating what makes them special. Uncovering dev secrets. Exploring their unique design philosophies.

And for every ‘flaw’ we find, we challenge ourselves to come up with a new creative solution.

There’ll be some technical stuff. Some learning. Some stories.
(And, yeah, OK, some moaning about that *one level* in Luigi’s Mansion 3...)

We ❤ the industry

Here to help us are some of the coolest people you’ll ever meet.

Across the show’s run, we’ll be inviting designers from some of the games we cover to join the conversation and give us their take on what game design means to them.

They’ll be on-hand to explore some of the decisions they’ve made, to give us their thoughts on level design, UI and game balance, and to share behind-the-scenes stories from their development journey.

(Interested in appearing as a guest on Pick Three? Hit us up via email. We’d love to have you!)

Des Gayle

Games Producer | Nintendo Enthusiast | Gamer Dad

Some of Des’ earliest gaming memories are of playing Tetris with his mum. Setting a high-score, heading to school, and hurrying home to find out if she’d beaten his record yet...

Nowadays, he’s probably best known as the Founder & Producer of micro-games studio, Altered Gene, and for his BAFTA-award-winning work on the legendary Life Is Strange series.

In a games career spanning twenty years, Des has worked with some of the industry’s biggest names, including: Microsoft, Crytek, EA, and Square Enix Collective. He helped launch the original Xbox. He was a Producer on games like Tokyo Dark & Just Cause 3. And he recently did production management wizardry for Paradise Killer.

Des is also a member of the UKIE board, the Chair of GamesAid, and an ambassador for SpecialEffect. He believes in inclusion, diversity, and using education to inspire the next generation of kick-ass game developers.

Alejandro Arque Gallardo

Game Designer | Whovian | Sushi-lover

Alejandro is a multi-talented games powerhouse, BAFTA member, and nominee for 2019’s Best Game Designer Award (GameDev Heroes).

As a Game Designer, he’s worked on a tonne of awesome projects. His work spans multiple platforms, including PC, mobile & console. He’s worked with names like Gameloft & Digital Chocolate. And his projects include everything from online shooters to racers, puzzles, and open world adventures.

As of 2014, Alejandro is a Senior Game Designer at Square Enix. There, he breathed life into the iconic episodic game series, Life Is Strange - a franchise that’s won BAFTAs, the Peabody-Facebook Futures of Media Award, and The Game Awards’ Games for Impact Award (to name just a few!)

Oh, and he’s got a totally rad Legend of Zelda tattoo.

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Big thanks to Nat Al-Tahan for our swanky branding and Alejandra Anguita for our incredible avatars!

Want to join the conversation?

We’re a friendly bunch. Hit us up on twitter @pickthreepod. Or shoot us an email via pickthreepod@gmail.com