Interview with David Ballantyne and Josh Unsworth

Meet The Team is a podcast series to introduce the people behind Old World, the historical strategy game by Mohawk Games. Rob Honaker, the host, sits with members of the team to discuss their journey.

In this episode, you’ll meet David Ballantyne, Writer and Josh Unsworth, Designer/Writer, listen to them share their stories and discuss their work writing events for the game.

David Ballantyne

Writer

I am David Ballantyne, I hail from Ayr Scotland where I grew up among the dairy cattle while playing in the woods. I am the oldest of six brothers, and that is where I started learning to tell tall tales. In my youth I wanted to get into the game industry but it seemed a long shot so I went to to study Network Engineering at Glasgow Caledonian University, but the call of games was too strong, so I joined the team at Paradox Games

I spent nearly a decade writing events for their titles, starting with Victoria II through Stellaris and Hearts of Iron. I took some time off to travel, but with the pandemic I chose a puppy instead and moved to Östersund where some times of year the sun does not set. I saw the amazing work being developed by Mohawk and joined the team to bring titillating events to life in Old World.

Josh Unsworth

Writer/Designer

I am Josh Unsworth of Rickmansworth, outside of London. I studied ancient history, with a focus on Egypt, at the University of Birmingham and then went on for my Master’s in Game Design and Development at NFTS. I spent four years developing games at Three Knots, a small indie studio, before it closed due to covid. When I am not hiking, gaming, and thinking about design, I am writing the historic events that bring Old World to life.