Tim Schafer on Building a Team

Tim Schafer on Building a Team

Tim Schafer, the man behind Psychonauts developer Double Fine Productions, is a man of many talents. His most important talent, however, is building a team. He knows exactly how to do it and how to keep it together. "If you're not loyal to your team, you can get...
Imre Jele on Quality Vs. Success

Imre Jele on Quality Vs. Success

Imre Jele is a man who knows what it takes to build a business. Having co-founded Bossa Games, the studio responsible for Lost Skies, and now heading up Runescape, he knows what success is. Success, however, as he states, is not defined by the one who creates the...
Cliff Blezinski Offers Words of Affirmation

Cliff Blezinski Offers Words of Affirmation

On November 1, 2022, famed Gears of War creator, Cliff Blezinski released his autobiography, Control Freak, to the public. In it, Blezinski shares his life journey (so far) and shares many great stories about his time in the industry. In addition, he relates a lot of lessons learned...
G-Man from Half-Life 2 Gives Serious Life Advice

G-Man from Half-Life 2 Gives Serious Life Advice

During the opening scene of Valve's Half-Life 2, the mysterious G-Man, while explaining the story of the title, incidentally spewed life advice to gamers. "The right man in the wrong place can make all the difference in the world." Sometimes someone is in a position they'd rather not...
Reggie Fils-Aimé Makes His Debut

Reggie Fils-Aimé Makes His Debut

In 2004 Nintendo was in a bit of a rut. Sales of its Gamecube console had been less than expected, and Nintendo had begun to build a reputation as a company that makes games for little kids. When Reggie Fils-Aimé was hired as Executive Vice President of Sales...
John Romero Illuminates the Idea of Ideas

John Romero Illuminates the Idea of Ideas

On July 18, 2023, famed game designer John Romero released his autobiography Doom Guy: Life in First-Person. In it, he offers advice to those who are full of ideas, but never seem to believe they can succeed with them. “Execution is everything: Success is not defined by an...
Henk Rodgers Teaches Nintendo How To Sell

Henk Rodgers Teaches Nintendo How To Sell

Prior to the release of the Nintendo Game Boy in 1989, Henk Rodgers was simply a game developer and salesman. A salesman who knew how to get his foot in the door of major developers from whom he wished to acquire rights to titles. One of those developers...
Todd Howard Explains the Rules

Todd Howard Explains the Rules

In an interview with MTV at the 2009 D.I.C.E. Summit, Todd Howard listed the three principles that every game designer should have: 1) "An ability to leave even their favorite ideas on the cutting room floor." 2) "The capability to think smaller and keep things simple." 3) "Being...
George Plimpton Starts a (Console) War

George Plimpton Starts a (Console) War

In 1979, Mattel Electronics released what would be the first viable competitor to Atari with its new Intellivision console. In order to separate themselves from Atari, Mattel released a series of ads starring acclaimed American writer George Plimpton. In these ads, Atari and Intellivision were placed side by...
Phil Spencer Comments on the Console Wars

Phil Spencer Comments on the Console Wars

During an interview with The Guardian during E3 of 2018, the CEO of Microsoft Gaming Phil Spencer was quite candid about a variety of topics, including the "console wars." What he said puts in perspective just how unnecessary it is. "The biggest challenge I feel now is gamers’...