The Valued Cultures Podcast

Maybe it’s no shock that young Jerk Gustafsson–now leader of MachineGames–was a fireplace designer before he was a video game developer:  Afterall, when you grow up in the Land of the Midnight Sun, designing chimneys is a great way to learn about the alchemy of art and engineering.  But it may be more of a surprise to learn that Jerk’s first computer wasn’t the Amiga that his older brother brought home, but the relatively late purchase of a Pentium with $400 he won sports betting.   Jerk details all this and more in his conversation with Daryl Ogden.  He explains how a 7-person team travelled to Dallas to secure the rights to work on the Wolfenstein IP, and how the playbook they developed there over several weeks not only served as the foundation for that game, but lives on in their continuing focus on first-person, immersive experiences.  He talks about how under the Zenimax umbrella they have consciously and intentionally grown their team, and why Sweden may be such a prominent maker of video games.  And he and Daryl explore the important work they have done together in building MachineGames’ managerial capacity. Level Up Game:  Elder Ring

Today we are joined by Garrett Young of Empty Vessel.  We get pretty deep into his 25-year “journey in gaming”, and explore some of the facets of the various studio cultures he experienced at Microsoft, Activision and Disney.  He describes moving from developing software to building teams to founding a studio–as well as the continuities and discontinuities he experienced along the way. And we spend some time on the lazy river that winds through Empty Vessel’s–and Garrett’s–home town of Bend, Oregon, an incipient gaming hub.

Brian Fargo founded Interplay 45 years ago.  He founded inXile nearly 25 years ago, and sold it to Microsoft in 2018.  Why is he still–happily–making great games? “I'm pretty sure that Ridley Scott has enough money to quit,” he tells our own Daryl Ogden, in the way he often frames games in the context of other media.  “What is he, 88 years old and he's still making films?”    Fargo tells Daryl how the years of running ever-growing companies–Interplay reached 500 game makers at one point–never dimmed his love for developing games,, for pursuing creative ideas, for nurturing creative teams.  He tells of how working for Microsoft has freed up both him and his team to focus on the game, and to not worry overly about the business.  And he explains as well how a focus on the player allows them to compete with an ever-burgeoning plethora of alternative consumer experiences, all in competition for the ever-shifting attention of the market.   Level Up Games: Red Dead Redemption 2 Little Nightmares and Little Nightmare 3 Ball x Pit Whispers from the Star

Starting a new studio is always challenging, but what does it mean for two people who had never even met before?  Oksana Kubushnya and Travis McGeathy of Seeker Entertainment tell Daryl Ogden how they joined forces, built trust, and developed a studio culture in support of their yet to be launched game.  They explain why they emphasize passion for games and the game-making process when hiring new studio members, and what it means to focus on winning rather than not losing.  And what do mushrooms have to do with it?  So take a trip with us to the burgeoning game center of Bend, Oregon to meet these new founders!   Level up Games: Dead as Disco Kaizen: A Factory Story

Speaking with Jason Della Rocca is a trip:  an actual journey through the years and around the world.  Starting out as an accountant at PWC, Jason went on to developer network jobs at SGI and Matrox before leading the IGDA–both internationally as Executive Director as well as becoming a founder of the local Montréal chapter.  He then launched both the incubator Execution Lab (devoted to a small cohort of incipient studios) as well as the related Gameplay Space (serving a broader range of studios with an “open door” approach).   Armed with knowledge both local and international, Jason now works as an “Ecosystem Strategist”, advising governments at every level about best approaches to building a burgeoning game industry.  Join us as Jason brings us the gaming news from all over the globe:  Australasia, the Middle East, and Africa.  Finally,  find out why launching an incubator in the desert may not be a great first step, and discover how you may be better off trying to first serve the world rather than your own regional market.

Today, our Co-Founder Daryl Ogden speaks with Gordon Bellamy, who serves as Professor of the Practice of Cinematic Arts at USC and is a long-tenured veteran of the video game industry.  They discuss Gordon’s “brute force” approach to entering the game industry, what mentorship meant to him then and what it does now, and how “digital civics” might play out in today’s game culture.  Finally, they explore how Gordon’s own quest to live and work as his full, true self–as well as his desire to give back to a field that has nurtured him–finds expression in his work with Gay Gaming Professionals and the Collegiate Games Challenge.   Level Up Games: Donuts! Smoke Break!

Joining us on the pod today is Jen MacLean, Co-Founder and CEO of Dragon Snacks Games.  She speaks with our own Co-Founder Daryl Ogden who has known her since she was heading up partnerships and business development at Xbox.   Jen speaks to her rich, varied career in games–one which began as a play tester– with a focus on why she recently decided to take the plunge and start her own studio, including a life-defining story of a friend who asked her what she wanted to be said in her eulogy. She explains why she believes there is an opportunity to serve Gen Z and Gen Alpha, that the market is demanding a studio where, in her words, “players don’t just exist, but connect, create, and build something lasting.” Finally, she goes on to walk us through the culture that she and her co-founders are building to deliver on that opportunity.   Level Up Game:  Metaphor:  ReFantazio

Today Ed Fries joins us on the pod.  Ed is a long-time veteran of gaming, having founded Microsoft Game Studios, and been there at the birth of Xbox.  He is now a founder of 1Up Ventures which funds and supports independent game developers globally.    Ed tells us about his early days in gaming, which actually started in high school on an Atari 800!  After the game industry crash of 1984, he began working as a programmer for Microsoft Office, and only then moved over to games.  We discuss the differences in work and culture between these two experiences, and go on to explore how he thought about integrating studios he brought into Microsoft, as well as how 1Up seeks to build community amongst its portfolio studios.      Finally, Ed provides a characteristically optimistic view on the state of the games industry.  We all left feeling a bit better.   Level Up Game: Star Rail

Today Daryl Ogden and Mike Merrill speak with Lizzie Mintus, founder of the boutique placement firm Here’s Waldo, now celebrating their 4-year anniversary.  Lizzie explains how an off-handed conversation led her to a career in recruiting and to eventually founding her own firm, one based in the deeply customer-centric experience that she learned in her early work at Nordstroms.     Daryl and Mike explore with Lizzie what she’s seen in the four years of Here’s Waldo’s existence:  From incredible growth during the height of the COVID pandemic, to a slowing market now, and why and how she stays optimistic about the future.  They discuss evergreen themes of recruitment:  For example, how a studio needs to carefully define what they are looking for, but stay open to a variety of people. And they speak as well to current considerations:  Notably, how RTO affects both applicants as well as employers.  Finally, they consider what new technologies mean for the job market today.   To learn more about Here’s Waldo:  https://hereswaldorecruiting.com/   To download Valued Cultures’ report, “Winning Game Studio Culture in the Post-pandemic Era”: https://www.valuedcultures.com/game-studio-culture-report/  

Kicking off a new year of pods, Daryl Ogden speaks with Tanya Short, the co-founder and creative director of Kitfox Games. Tanya and Daryl dig into how her team accomplishes so much with limited resources, notably a very tight team of studio members.  In addition to developing games like “Streets of Fortuna” & “Boyfriend Dungeon”, Kitfox serves as a publisher for other small studios. As you'll hear, that's the result of a relentless eye on efficiency, the deployment of resources for multiple purposes, and judicious use of procedural generation.   Level up Games: Against the Storm Crypt Master Download our report, "Winning Game Studio Culture in the Post-pandemic Era".

When you take on the head role of a studio in the wake of the founders departing, how do you not only maintain the “DNA” of the studio, but even build upon it?  That is the challenge that Ninja Theory Studio Head Dom Matthews explores with our own Daryl Ogden.   Dom started out thinking he wanted to be a sports agent, but quickly found himself pursuing a marketing career within the games industry.  How did he end up leading a studio that would go on to win 5 BAFTAs for "Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice"?  And what does it take to lead a studio filled with unparalleled technical and artistic talent?  Finally, how do you keep that “Ninja” DNA alive as part of a broader Xbox portfolio? Level Up Game:  Costume Quest   To download our report, “Winning Game Studio Culture in the Post-Pandemic Era”:   https://www.valuedcultures.com/game-studio-culture-report/

How does a gamemaker’s gamemaker transition to being a builder of an organization that cultivates studios?  That is the story of Matt Booty, a veteran gamemaker–starting with pinball machines at Midway in Chicago before he moved on to Xbox in Seattle.  He now serves as President of Game Content & Studios at Xbox where he oversees the dozens of games that constitute the Xbox portfolio. Matt speaks with our own Daryl Ogden, who has worked with Matt over many years at Xbox.  Their conversation provides hard-earned insight into gaming then and now. Ultimately, Matt addresses a challenge that many in gaming (and really any creative or technical endeavor) have to face:  How do you build up your management and leadership skills while maintaining the creative juices that established you in the craft in the first place?   Level up Game: Luigi’s Mansion 2   To download our report, “Winning Game Studio Culture in the Post-Pandemic Era”:   https://www.valuedcultures.com/game-studio-culture-report/

We’re back for Season 2 of the Valued Cultures Podcast, and we’re welcoming Julian Maroda, co-Founder and CEO of Norsfell, a Montréal studio with a mission to forge new genres that bring people together.  The studio’s best-known game, Tribes of Midgard, is enjoyed by over 4.5 million players.   Julian speaks with our co-Founder, Daryl Ogden, about his youth in Belgium, an impactful trip to Australia, and his immigration to Québec–all with a focus from his earliest day on making games.  Julian and Daryl dig into the values that define the quality of Norsfell games, including: a focus on learning and mentorship; a deeply iterative philosophy that informs everything from weekly sprints to evaluation grids; as well as Julian’s own (productive) stubbornness and impatience!   Finally, Julian and Daryl discuss the broader macroeconomic trends affecting the game industry today–and where they see it going in the near future.  Join them as they navigate the golden, smokey halls of dancing bear warriors! Level up Game:  Trombone Champ

Today our co-Founder Daryl Ogden speaks with Turtle Rock Studios’ President, Steve Goldstein.  Steve talks about what it was like to transition from serving studios as an attorney to working in-house and ultimately leading one.  He also discusses his experience with leading a studio during an acquisition and the implications of what this means to the studio being acquired.  You’ll hear about Turtle Rock's rising ambitions, and the role Daryl and Valued Cultures has been playing in helping the studio pursue these heightened goals.    To download our report, "Winning Game Studio Culture in the Post-Pandemic Era":   https://www.valuedcultures.com/game-studio-culture-report/

On this week’s pod, Rory McGuire, President of Blackbird Interactive (“Hardspace”, “Homeworld”, “Minecraft Legends”) speaks with Valued Cultures Co-Founder, Daryl Ogden.  Rory and Daryl discuss how very concrete initiatives like skunks works and 4-day weeks can be animated by core studio values such as empowerment, autonomy, and respect.  Daryl and Rory also dig into a finding from Valued Cultures’ recent report, “Winning Game Studio Culture in the Post-Pandemic Era”:  Why are studios in Western Canada even more focused on the shift to remote and hybrid work than those in the rest of North America?   Level Up Game: Balatro   To learn more about Valued Cultures’ recent report, “Winning Game Studio Culture in the Post-Pandemic Era”, click here.

“Improvise. Adapt. Overcome.” Tattooed on the arm of today’s guest, Mitch Gitelman, most recently of Harebrained Schemes, this personal motto reflects the lessons he learned in his training and apprenticeship in theater and improvisation. Speaking with Valued Cultures Co-Founder Daryl Ogden, Mitch explores the stamp his early work in these disciplines has imprinted on his approach to making games.     Citing his Harebrained Co-Founder Jordan Weisman, Mitch explains that in both theater and games, “You can tell when they’ve made it with a smile.”  And Mitch explains how his improv training influences everything from how he thinks about scaling a studio to how he hires new talent.   “Level Up Games”:   Baldur’s Gate 3 Batman: Arkham  To download our report “Winning Game Studio Culture”:  https://www.valuedcultures.com/game-studio-culture-report/

How do you create a vibrant workplace culture in a “remote only” studio?  Very intentionally says our guest today, Jen Oneal Co-Founder and Head Chef of Magic Soup Games.    Jen explains to Valued Cultures Co-Founder Daryl Ogden that when Jen and her Co-Founders J. Allen Brack and John Donham set out to found a new studio in 2022, their first step was talking about the types of games they loved, the values that animated them, and the studio that they wanted to build.  And at each step they’ve taken, they’ve drawn upon those intentions, bringing on talent deliberately with an eye always toward those initial inspirational conversations.   As Jen insists, they’re still learning, of course!  But she shares some of the most revealing hard-earned lessons she and her team have faced along the way. “Level Up” Game:  The Lamplighters’ League

Valued Culture’s Senior Advisor Shannon Loftis joins Co-Founder Daryl Ogden to share her first impressions of our forthcoming report, “Winning Game Studio Culture in the Post-Pandemic Era.”  Their focus falls on the “intentionality chasm”:  How the leaders of game studios know that they should bring more attention to studio talent and studio culture, but in the pressure of the moment, find themselves time and time again falling back on solving technical problems instead.  Shannon and Daryl go on to discuss how the pandemic exacerbated this problem, and how a post-pandemic studio landscape dominated by remote and hybrid work presents both a challenge and an opportunity for those looking to build values-driven studio cultures. For the latest on our report:  https://www.valuedcultures.com/wp-content/uploads/Game_Studio_Survey_latest.pdf

In our inaugural podcast, Chris Chancey of Manavoid Entertainment and Indie Asylum joins Valued Cultures Daryl Ogden to discuss vibrant studio cultures.  In briefly sketching the history of Manvoid, Chris and Daryl determine how a focus on ensuring market fit led Manavoid to pursue a strategy of hybridizing game genres.  They go on to discuss how Chris and his partners evaluate candidates for Indie Asylum, an Montréal-based incubator/accelerator that supports nascent game studios.  Finally, drawing upon research from the soon-to-be-released "Winning Game Studio Culture in the Post-Pandemic Era," Chris explains some of the differences Valued Cultures found in how Québec studios--in comparison to the broader range of North American studios--find the promise of remote work as well as the relative importance of the global talent pool.   "Level Up" game recommendations: Baldur's Gate 3 Inscryption