E017: Sam Carlisle | Senior Director - External Partner Relations, Microsoft

In this episode of the Creative Leaders Podcast, host Stephen Scott sits down with Sam Carlisle, Senior Director of External Partner Relations at Microsoft, to discuss his journey into the world of gaming. Sam shares how he initially pursued art and had a passion for comics before eventually finding his way into the games industry in his thirties. Despite facing challenges in finding work, Sam's involvement in behavior analysis during his time working with his father played a surprising role in shaping his career. Timestamps: [00:01:24] Art and comics in the 80s. [00:05:00] Lara Croft advertising poses. [00:10:49] External development challenges. [00:12:45] India's contrasting poverty and wealth. [00:18:06] External development community. [00:22:11] External development importance. [00:28:11] What external partners should consider. [00:31:01] Production management and trust. [00:36:10] Games never truly finished. [00:39:22] Pre-production in movies. [00:42:27] Polishing by addition in games. [00:46:26] Limitations and creativity. [00:50:08] The loneliness of outsourced management. [00:53:33] Lack of support in industry. [00:57:04] XDS and the external development community. [01:02:23] Gaming industry's unexpected origins. Follow Sam here: ⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠ Follow Stephen here: ⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠  We’re a podcast that focuses on in-depth conversations with leaders, founders and top creative talent working in animation, gaming and beyond. Hosted by Stephen Scott and Powered by Bigmouth Audio. Follow us: ⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠Linkedin⁠⁠ Our website: ⁠⁠https://bigmouthaudio.com⁠