E88: Why Eastern Game Dev Might Be The Future with Rob Wynne and Clark Kosene

What if the next great game studio doesn’t come from the West? In this episode, Ben chats with Rob Wynne and Clark Kosene from Rising Tide Studios—an unannounced AAA-inspired indie team taking a bold leap: building a game that truly bridges Eastern and Western audiences. We dive deep into why the moat of Western AAA game development is disappearing fast—and how China, with more devs than the U.S. and EU combined, is already playing on equal footing. Rob and Clark share the untold story of how Rising Tide’s founding team (ex-Activision and former Soulslike directors) aims to skip the slow forming-storming norm and go straight to "performing" with their next-gen isometric action roguelike. Why are Western games losing ground? Can a game truly appeal to both Western and Eastern markets?  How do you create narrative depth without sacrificing gameplay flow?  Why creativity thrives on constraints—and how Rising Tide harnessed it Clark also reflects on transitioning from screenwriting to games, and the team’s surprising approach to embedding story: real-time commentary inspired by Chinese crosstalk comedy. Their goal? A game where narrative flows during gameplay—not in between. If you're interested in global game dev trends, narrative innovation, or the future of indie-AAA (triple-I) development, don’t miss this conversation. Stay Connected: Ben Carcich (Host, Building Better Games) LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/benjamin-carcich Substack: https://bencarcich.substack.com Website: https://www.buildingbettergames.gg YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@BuildingBetterGames Rob Wynne (Co-founder, Rising Tide Studios) LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robwynnestudiofounder Website: https://projectgreatwall.com YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@RisingTideOfficial Clark Kosene (Narrative Lead) LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/clark-kosene-25745227 Website: https://kosenecreative.com YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@kosenecreative4589 Rising Tide Studios Website: https://projectgreatwall.com YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@RisingTideOfficial Get full uncut episodes & behind-the-scenes content: https://www.patreon.com/buildingbettergames