“Better, Faster, Cheaper, Healthier” - The Xalavier Nelson Jr. Interview

Three Black Halflings | A Dungeons & Dragons Podcast

Three Black Halflings

Leisure, Games

4.8 • 531 Ratings

🗓️ 26 March 2026

⏱️ 56 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

This week! Liv Kennedy, Candace the Magnificent and Jeremy Cobb are joined by the amazing Xalavier Nelson Jr! The Halflings go behind the scenes of what it really takes to make games, from early ideation through to release, and what it means to build a studio from the ground up as a Black creator. Xalavier shares how his identity and lived experience have shaped both his work and leadership, and why that perspective is so important in today’s industry. The conversation also explores how Strange Scaffold operates differently from more traditional studios, offering a fascinating look at how rethinking structure and process can unlock entirely new kinds of games. Along the way, The Halflings dig into building and nurturing creative communities, supporting fellow developers, and the continued rise of indie games, why they are thriving, what sets them apart, and where the future of the industry might be heading. Media Mentioned in today's episode: https://www.strangescaffold.com Also - did you miss out on our first 🎉FULLY FUNDED🎉 Kickstarter, the ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠City of the Black Rose Campaign setting⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, in collaboration with ⁠⁠⁠Roll and Play Press? Well, good news! In the next few weeks, it'll be open to late pledges and pledge manager edits! So everyone gets a chance to grab a copy of the book and any extras you'd like! Follow the halflings: Jasper William Cartwright: @JW_Cartwright Jeremy Cobb: @JeremyCobb1 Liv Kennedy: @livkennedy Candace: @candacethemagnificent Find all of our links here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://linktr.ee/tbhalflings⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ You can buy all our lovely merchandise ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here! ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠as featured on Critical Role! Connect with us on Instagram, Bluesky and Facebook @3blackhalflings, on our Discord, or email. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠megaphone.fm/adchoices⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Indeed Presents.
0:01.9	Hires, you can't afford to get wrong. Like payroll manager. Hi, I was just checking my pay slip and it's all in Japanese yen. Yes, you're welcome. Sorry? Given the exchange rate between the pound and the yen, you're technically a millionaire now. Don't spend it all in one place. I can't really spend it anywhere. This is a job for sponsored jobs. This is what happens when you don't sponsor your job on Indeed.
0:21.5	So the next time you need someone to get the job done right, get matched with quality candidates with an Indeed sponsored job.
0:26.8	Visit Indeed.com slash Next hire and sponsor your job today.
0:30.2	What happens when two people who grew up in a very strange corner of Los Angeles look back and realize just how bizarre their upbringings really were.
0:39.1	They start a podcast, of course.
0:41.1	I'm Ashley Johnson.
0:42.3	And I'm Talies and Jaffe. Before we became the internet people we are today, we spent our
0:46.8	childhoods as working actors, appearing in shows like growing pains and films like Mr. Mom.
0:51.8	And our podcast, Weird Kids, we're diving deep into our unique upbringings, our friendship
0:56.5	with each other, and all the delightfully odd interests we still carry with us today.
1:02.0	In each episode, we get to share stories of our youth, the things that bring us joy, the
1:06.7	problems that we face, and occasionally the friends we've collected along the way.
1:11.2	If you're a misfit, an outcast, or just a weirdo who loves all things nostalgic and
1:15.8	unconventional, come take a seat at our table.
1:17.6	Each week, we'll be releasing previously members-only episodes on YouTube and all major podcast
1:23.3	platforms, with new episodes dropping exclusively and ad-free on beacon.tv.
1:29.7	Hello, Halflings! It's me, Liv Kennedy, and I am joined today by...
1:36.5	Hi, hi, Halflings, it's me, Candace the Magnificent. My pronouns are they, she, and a little
1:40.9	sprinkly he, and I'm here with... Jeremy Cobb, aka Jair DMC, which stands for
1:48.2	Dungeon Master Cobb. But it is not just the three of us who are here today. And in fact,
1:53.5	I should actually say, identity seeker is the one who gave me that nickname. Shout out to
	...

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