Uploaded January 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Ian Fischer, co‑founder and CEO of C Prompt Games and longtime strategy game designer, talks through his career from Ensemble Studios (Age of Empires, Age of Mythology) to Robot Entertainment (including Orcs Must Die and Halo Wars) and then founding C Prompt to return to smaller, faster teams focused on ideas he cares about.
This discussion explores the evolution of strategy games, from the technical shift to 3D and the use of major IPs to reach new audiences to the constant struggle of balancing accessibility with deep mechanics.
Ian highlights the unique challenges of strategy development - such as the difficulty of creating "vertical slices" for publishers - and the value of iterative design.
Reflecting on the long-term success of classics like Age of Empires II, the conversation concludes with why a smaller, agile team at C Prompt Games is the ideal environment for maintaining a clear, focused creative vision.
🎥 Watch the full playlist here ➡️ youtube.com/playlist?list=PLQrYLOdjwRhTEjwjuurLZt5dGibFUaKyl
📱 The Hot Seat is also on Spotify ➡️ open.spotify.com/show/6dqoPr6iktxKgv7ZrW0shC?si=TIrmTUg5Ssua5p1QwMFbxg
🏆 The Hot Seat Awards are live now ➡️ https://tally.so/r/dW9obD
Ian Fischer, co‑founder and CEO of C Prompt Games and longtime strategy game designer, talks through his career from Ensemble Studios (Age of Empires, Age of Mythology) to Robot Entertainment (including Orcs Must Die and Halo Wars) and then founding C Prompt to return to smaller, faster teams focused on ideas he cares about.
This discussion explores the evolution of strategy games, from the technical shift to 3D and the use of major IPs to reach new audiences to the constant struggle of balancing accessibility with deep mechanics.
Ian highlights the unique challenges of strategy development - such as the difficulty of creating "vertical slices" for publishers - and the value of iterative design.
Reflecting on the long-term success of classics like Age of Empires II, the conversation concludes with why a smaller, agile team at C Prompt Games is the ideal environment for maintaining a clear, focused creative vision.
🎥 Watch the full playlist here ➡️ youtube.com/playlist?list=PLQrYLOdjwRhTEjwjuurLZt5dGibFUaKyl
📱 The Hot Seat is also on Spotify ➡️ open.spotify.com/show/6dqoPr6iktxKgv7ZrW0shC?si=TIrmTUg5Ssua5p1QwMFbxg
🏆 The Hot Seat Awards are live now ➡️ https://tally.so/r/dW9obD
