Jon Snoddy is the CEO and founder of Operative Games, where he fuses gameplay with generative AI to create stories that permit the audience to interact with and engage with virtual characters. To create immersive story worlds, Jon draws on his long experience as a theme park designer, an R&D expert for movie studios, and a technologist at National Public Radio.

Co-hosts Brett King and Robert Tercek interview journalist Dean Takahashi, who has been covering innovation in the game industry for three decades. Dean gives The Futurists a post-CES roundup of new trends and genres that span a dizzying array of evolving technologies.  Games have expanded beyond a niche category of entertainment to dominate mainstream media. Games now foster new story franchises that attract tens of millions of fans daily. Dean explains how game tech is blurring the boundaries between the classic game industry and other media, such as motion pictures and television series. He tells us why game developers are most likely to lead the way into the metaverse. And he anticipates interoperable game economies where any player can also be a creator of generative worlds that are photorealistic. Topics include: core gamers, casual games, free-to-play, cloud gaming, blockchain games, VR and AR, Roblox, Fortnite, PUBG, digital twins and game communities.  Websites:  @DeanTak on Twitter GamesBeat.com VentureBeat.com