After 30 years at the top of entertainment, Marko Djurdjevic reached a point where nothing in client work excited him anymore. So he shifted his focus to building an entire transmedia universe, funding it out of pocket while his wife runs the outsourcing side of SIXMOREVODKA. The Kickstarter launches February 26th alongside a free playable Steam demo.

Marko is one of the most prolific cover artists Marvel has ever had. He produced 82 covers in his first year, was deliberately placed on titles close to cancellation because his art spiked sales, and ran 23 consecutive issues on Daredevil. His concept art fed the early MCU, and his studio held a seven-year exclusive partnership with Riot Games on League of Legends.

The conversation covers why client work stopped exciting him after 30 years, what The Last Unicorn at age six taught him about storytelling, how a viral X-Men redesign brought Marvel's talent scouts to his door at the exact moment he'd met his wife, and why he believes 2008 was the last great year of cinema.

Marko shares the painful lessons from Degenesis, a cult tabletop RPG that collapsed when free PDF downloads hit 3,000 per release while sales dropped to 80. That failure shaped everything about his new franchise, Orken, which spans novels, illustrated editions, graphic novels, and a video game built with Demagog Studio.

In 16 months he's produced 1,400 edited pages, over 350 original illustrations, and six books for print. He survived two heart surgeries during production. His wife thinks he's lost his mind. His son read the first novel and pitched it back as a 10-episode animated series.

This is a conversation about creative ownership, the cost of building something that's fully yours, and why the future of independent storytelling depends on small authentic communities rather than viral moments.

Timestamps:

00:00 Building a multimedia IP from scratch

01:14 Meet Marko Djurdjevic

02:35 No books at home: drawing as survival and 80s influences

04:30 Why The Last Unicorn still hits after 40 years

05:21 What's wrong with modern storytelling?

07:15 The anatomy book that changed everything at age 11

08:41 The viral X-Men redesign that brought Marvel calling

10:15 82 covers, cancelled titles, and the art of keeping deadlines

13:10 Beyond Marvel: the MCU pipeline and building a studio

15:32 Riot and League of Legends: seven years of exclusivity

19:17 2008 was peak cinema and he never went back

20:13 Orken's visual DNA: cultures the games industry ignores

23:01 Why creator-owned work dies in large teams

25:00 Degenesis: 3,000 downloads, 80 sales, and pulling the plug

27:35 How failure shaped Orken's transmedia architecture

29:11 Novels, graphic novels, illustrated editions, and a video game

30:49 The real motivation: autonomy, mastery, and running out of time

32:54 1,400 pages, two heart surgeries, and a Kickstarter

36:39 Working with his wife while betting against her instincts

42:19 The future of indie storytelling

43:55 Closing thoughts

• Orken Kickstarter (live February 26th)
• Wishlist Orken on Steam (free demo February 26th)
• SIXMOREVODKA
• Discord: https://discord.com/invite/sixmorevodka

Host: Pete Bell

Guest: Marko Djurdjevic

This podcast is produced by Purpose Made.

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BioShock creator KEN LEVINE reveals why he spent 10 years building his most personal game yet - where relationships are living systems that track hundreds of your choices and genuinely change how characters feel about you.

Ken Levine is the creative director of Ghost Story Games and legendary founder of Irrational Games. He created the BioShock series and System Shock 2 - games that earned multiple Game of the Year awards and redefined narrative storytelling in gaming. After BioShock Infinite, he made the controversial decision to close a 200-person studio and start over with a small team, spending the last decade developing revolutionary "Narrative LEGO" technology for his new game, Judas.

In this conversation, Ken reveals:

◼️ Why his Atari 2600 was his best friend growing up - and how childhood loneliness shaped his career

◼️ The brutal truth: "We were lost for 5 years" in Judas development

◼️ How Judas characters track hundreds of player actions and genuinely change their feelings about you

◼️ The quality standard that transformed his creative process.

◼️ Why he walked away from guaranteed BioShock to risk everything on an experiment

◼️ What George Orwell's 1984 taught him about game design

◼️ The vending machine confession: why he created his most autobiographical character yet

◼️ Why games matter to people and how they provide refuge

TIMESTAMPED CHAPTERS:

(00:00) Introduction to Ken Levine and His Work

(00:59) Ken Levine's Journey and Inspirations

(03:23) The Concept of Narrative Lego

(08:13) Building Complex Relationships in Games

(09:52) Challenges and Evolution in Game Development

(14:15) Influences and Reflections on the Gaming Industry

(29:51) Philosophical and Literary Influences

(34:38) Exploring Horror as Metaphor

(35:07) Family Dynamics in Storytelling

(35:51) Political Themes and Personal Reflections

(37:29) The Role of Ideology in Games

(42:56) Character Development and Narrative Depth

(44:29) Challenges and Rewards of Game Development

(1:00:07) Adapting Games to Other Media

(1:03:59) Final Thoughts and Reflections

Follow Ken Levine:

Ghost Story Games - https://www.ghoststorygames.com/

Watch the Judas Official Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T5_r-un--bA

Ken's GDC Talk on Narrative LEGO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=58FWUkA8y2Q

Play the BioShock Series: https://store.steampowered.com/agecheck/sub/127633

Subscribe for more deep dives with legendary game creators

📺 Watch Next: The REAL Reason Hollywood Only Makes Sequels Now - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJJ29cn0XZw&t=24s

💬 Drop a comment: What game world gave you a place to escape to when you needed it most?

Ken Levine's approach to game development has always prioritized deep narrative design and player agency. From his early work on System Shock 2 to the critically acclaimed BioShock series, Levine has consistently pushed boundaries in video game storytelling. His new project, Judas, represents a decade of game development focused on creating dynamic character relationships through innovative Narrative LEGO systems. The BioShock creator's journey from Irrational Games to Ghost Story Games showcases how AAA game development can embrace experimental design while maintaining immersive sim traditions. This interview explores game design philosophy, the creative process behind building revolutionary AI-driven character systems, and why emotional storytelling in games matters more than ever.

#KenLevine #BioShock #GameDevelopment #Judas #GhostStoryGames

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