We work at times and days of the week that suit the convenience of our staff. … As long as the work is done. If you want to mow the grass at 2 p.m., do it. Face punching is definitely not common in this industry. For most, it’s a regular job, about 35 hours a week.
My relatives seem to think that I play games all day… But I’m not. A lot of my job is strategy, people management, planning, product decisions, and making sure our teams have what they need to actually build something great. A lot of the unglamorous work happens behind the scenes: meetings, roadmaps, hiring, problem solving, and more. Playing games is usually just a small part of it.
The long-standing debate that video games promote violence… Something I have never purchased. Decades of peer-reviewed research have found no causal link between video games and real-world violence. It’s a simple headline, but it’s meaningless. In fact, gaming is a great way to socialize and relieve stress. They are used in therapy, education, and even pain management. And it’s honestly a shame that the media so often criticizes the creative industry like this, even though it’s not relevant. As with any form of media, context is important, but blaming violence in games oversimplifies a larger, more complex set of issues.
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The biggest advice I can give is… make something Instead of waiting for the perfect opportunity, start building something, a mod, a prototype, a little game, a tool, whatever. You learn far more by doing than by watching. With the advent of AI, learning and experimenting are easier than ever.
I truly believe that AI will be better, not worse… It’s powerful and efficient, but at the end of the day it’s just a tool to help people move faster and focus on being creative. Sure, it’s destructive, but there’s no question about it. This is the case with all major changes in technology. But when used properly, AI can amplify creativity rather than replace it. Eliminate busywork, speed up iterations, and give your team more space to experiment.
The trick to making a good game is… It needs to be something you really want to create, not just something you think will work well on a spreadsheet. Don’t play it safe. The best games come from teams that pay close attention and are willing to take risks. When that passion comes through, the players feel it too.
Games can be expensive, especially at the high end… But it doesn’t have to be that way. If you have the time and curiosity, you can create a solo game for free. Many big indie hits come from passionate people building things in their spare time. That’s how I first started. If you pay enough attention and invest the time, the barrier to entry is lower than ever before.
A great place to start is by modifying an existing game… It teaches you how the systems work together without having to build everything from scratch.
Games are made up of millions of lines of code, all working together. If one person lets go, the whole thing may collapse… Honestly, it’s a small miracle that they can run any game, let alone evolve and ship new content as regularly as we do.
Mario is a masterclass in design… Simple controls, instant readability, and pure fun. You can give it to almost anyone and they will pick it up right away. This kind of accessibility and depth is rare and honestly timeless.
But then there’s World of Warcraft… I have yet to find another game that quite matches the feeling of that first “WoW”. When I logged in, saw Ironforge was full, and discovered the zone for the first time, it was magical. The scale of WoW in 2004 was just unreal. It was grand, huge, and completely unprecedented at the time. It mashed together so many parts of the games I already love – exploration, progression, social play, raiding – all into one living world.
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We’re not really competing with Sony or Activision in the traditional sense… We are playing a different game. Indie studios tend to be more ambitious and take risks, allowing them to move faster, try out weird ideas, and ship things that don’t hold up to AAA. [a term used to classify high-budget, high-profile games] green light process.
It’s an incredibly competitive industry… Many studios would close up shop after just one release, but games cost a lot of money to make. The result is a large amount of burn and churn.
We seriously read community comments from everywhere… We never ignore them. Sometimes they hurt us, sometimes they inspire us, but they are always important. Even if it doesn’t look like it from the outside, there’s a tremendous amount of engineering, iteration, and care going on behind the scenes.
One of the biggest things I learned was… The people who can speak the loudest or the harshest are often the most passionate and dedicated members of the community, but they don’t always say it in the right way. As the years go by, you begin to realize that most of your anger comes from your investments.
The biggest lesson for me is… Take time to step back and look at the big picture. Are we building the right thing, for the right audience, at the right scale, with the time and money we actually have? If you’re not confident the answer is yes, you need to change course early. Because the longer you leave the path, the more painful it will be.
If I could go back, I would… Nothing changes. Every day is a learning experience and I wouldn’t be where I am today without making mistakes along the way. Every decision, good or bad, teaches you something. It’s all part of the journey. Make sure to put people first along the way because that’s what matters most.
