Behind the Screen

In this episode, we talk with Janelle Jimenez, best known as a Product Manager/Producer for Riot Games and most notably the product lead for some of League of Legends' most successful skin lines, such as the K-pop inspired "K/DA" release. Janelle has taken a winding road to get into the games industry, rolling through such places as JET, Vocativ, High 5 Games, and the Permanent Mission of Japan to the United Nations. We chat about Janelle's globe-traveling journey of self-discovery that led her to games, catch up on old times from her and Frank's past when they went to University together, and talk extensively about what it means to be a product manager and lead in the industry.

In this episode, we talk with Drew Pierce, Director of Customer Success at Chicago-based Lightstream, an company whose mission it is to help empower gamers share their love of gaming with live audiences through powerful tools, integrations, and a feature-rich video production suite. Drew's journey in the games industry has taken him to many places, including EA, Trion, KIXEYE, and Humble Bundle, and along the way he's learned a ton working within and leading teams of customer support professionals.  We chat about what it takes to be successful and express both personal connectivity and professionalism in games in the customer support role, how Drew got to where he is today, and more.

In this episode, we chat with Victoria Rose, freelance journalist working in games who’s written for Esports Express, PC Gamer, ESPN and Polygon. She worked as site lead for The Flying Courier, Polygon’s hub for all things Dota 2, and currently has a gig writing about games as Fanbyte Media’s Morning News Correspondent. We chat about what it takes to break into the business of writing for games, some of the unique challenges that have specifically popped up with e-sports journalism in recent years, and some of the best times had in Final Fantasy XIV.

In this episode, we chat with David Lee, now Community Manager at Bend Studio, developers of action-adventure survival horror game Days Gone, but who has been a multi-year veteran of the industry, working in roles at IGN, Playstation Haven, BANDAI NAMCO, Activision, and together with Frank at Gazillion Entertainment on Marvel Heroes Omega. We follow David on his journey from passionate Ragnarok Online player and community rep to his days working with influencers in the Fighting Game Community to his whirlwind current gig, where he's been responsible for bringing the good Community Management word to the international market for Bend. Excuse any mutual fanboying over amazing JRPGs past and present! Music credit: Geoplex - Resplendent from The Arcadium/TheFatRat

In this episode, we chat with Amber Green, currently a Senior Technical Product Manager in a large non-gaming company, but before that a battle-hardened games industry veteran, working Social Media for Activision, Game Testing and Live Operations and BioWare, and an eventual rise to being a Live Producer and then Infrastructure Program Manager for EA. We talk about many wide-ranging topics in being a Producer and a Manager in games, from how the process for persistently online and live games works, to how Amber has inspired and garnered loyalty, investment,  and a productive working environment for those working for her. We also get Amber's thoughts and insights on the industry's need to improve their diversity, cultural appreciation, and empowerment of women in games, and putting their money where their mouth is accomplishing those goals. Music credit: Geoplex - Resplendent from The Arcadium/TheFatRat

In this episode, we chat with Aeyvi, a variety livestreamer and artist from the United Kingdom who does screenography for the Elder Scrolls Online and other titles. Her beautiful environmental screenshots have garnered her a place on the Elder Scrolls Online's community stream team and a growing community on Twitch. We talk to Aeyvi about what's involved in being a screenographer, how she discovered a greater appreciation for environmental design in games because of her work, and the physical and mental challenges she's had to overcome being a livestreamer and sharing her talent with others. Music credit: Geoplex - Resplendent from The Arcadium/TheFatRat

In this episode, we talk with Judy Barbosa, a voice actor, community manager, and events host who heads up the NYC League of Legends group and the Order of Gamemasters for D&D enthusiasts. We talk about how Judy got into voice acting and how she grabbed the reins of NYCLOL to build it into a thriving and welcoming community with events for watching professional League of Legends. We also hear from Judy about the challenge of building credibility for holding e-sports events in venues usually dominated by traditional sports, what she's learned planning them for the last few years, as well as how she continues to prop up and help create opportunities and awareness for Latinx gamers and budding D&D DMs in her area and beyond. Music credit: Geoplex - Resplendent from The Arcadium/TheFatRat

In this episode, we talk with Sam Chen, Senior Product Manager for Subscriptions at Twitch, about how he went from working in the trenches with Frank for anime conventions to helping oversee the product pipeline at Amazon and then for one of the most well-known and popular livestreaming platforms in Twitch. We talk turkey about what exactly it means to implement products for Twitch such as gift subscriptions, tiers, emotes, and more, how Sam's own livestreaming experiences and regular interactions with Twitch streamers drive his product management philosophies, and where he thinks Twitch and its community is going when it comes to content creation. Music credit: Geoplex - Resplendent from The Arcadium/TheFatRat

In this episode, we talk with Ben Bertoli, and accomplished journalist and author who has written for Kotaku, Polygon, IGN, Mashable, and more and wrote “101 Video Games to Play Before You Grow Up”, a guide and achievement activity listing of some of the best games for kids to play. We chat with Ben about his path into being a freelance journalist for games, how he integrates gaming into his day job as a teacher and mentor, as well as his struggles and triumphs writing about games in general. We also dive into Ben's love of Nintendo growing up, his affection for the print journalism of games of bygone days, and his aspirations for future books. Music credit: Geoplex - Resplendent from The Arcadium/TheFatRat

In this episode, we talk with Jewel Daab, a mother, community builder, livestreamer, and fitness enthusiast who balances her priorities taking care of her family while also sharing with others her passion for and enjoyment of all things gaming. Having built and maintained a healthy fan-based games community on Discord in the Coven, as well as an impressive growth and outreach on social media with her gaming content on Mixer and Twitter, Jewel has shown how you can be games-adjacent and still find time for the things that matter. We talk with Jewel about her journey into games, her values and principles in shepherding gaming communities, and how raising a family has helped shape her outlook on games in the past, present and future.

In this first episode of 2019 of Behind the Screen, we talk with Nikki Greicar, a Rigger in the mobile games industry and an experienced Technical Artist who's been working in games for a number of years. A former co-worker of Frank's and Kristen's when they were all at Gazillion Entertainment together working on Marvel Heroes Omega, Nikki gives us the lowdown on the Technical Art part of the design pipeline and muses about her road into games through studying game art/design as well as networking at GDC.

In this episode of Behind the Screen, we talk with Robert Schuster, Game Designer at Wizards of the Coast, who does work on one of the most long-lived and well-known collectible card games out there in Magic: The Gathering, as well as their most recent digital version of the game, Magic: The Gathering Arena. When not working on contributions to new designs, mechanics, and Magic: The Gathering game balance, Robert is a caring father, husband, and friend to those who know him.

In this episode of Behind the Screen, we chat with James Jones, journeyman writer for the games industry and former colleague at BioWare Austin. Among James' achievements in games include co-authoring the STAR WARS: The Old Republic Encyclopedia, writing narrative and VO scripts for Blade & Soul, constructing story arcs and lore for multiple games in the action, fantasy, and sci-fi spheres, and more. Kristen chats with James about his well-traveled, sometimes difficult road in the industry, from his humble beginnings in Flint as a writer and later Editor-in-Chief of Binge Gaming, to his work at BioWare Austin's STAR WARS: The Old Republic, to the trials and tribulations of Red 5's Firefall, and much more. We also talk to him about the personal and emotional cost of being exposed to the sometimes turbulent, volatile nature of the games industry, and how his struggles and successes have shaped the narrative writing work he continues to contribute to many titles.

In this episode of Behind the Screen, we chat with Michelle Archer Waterman, an old friend and colleague from our days working on STAR WARS: The Old Republic. Michelle is currently a Team Lead for Community Management at Ubisoft, but before that, she worked for well-known studios like Bethesda and BioWare. We talk about Michelle's inspiring story of how someone who started out as a fan and a gamer turned their passion into a career, as well as about her path into the games industry, how she's developed as a leader and a mentor, and how she helps others curate communities in games.

In this episode of Behind the Screen, we chat with Joshua Singh, Art Director at Wavedash Games, the studio behind upcoming platform fighter Icons: Combat Arena Joshua Singh's journey in art has taken him to some well-known places - from Sony Online Entertainment, to 38 Studios, to Blizzard (where he worked on the project that would eventually re-work itself into Overwatch), and Riot Games. Now working as Art Director at Wavedash Games, Josh seeks to break new ground in the platform fighter genre with Icons: Combat Arena, applying his 15+ years of experience in games to a fresh and exciting new IP.

In this episode of Behind the Screen, we talk with Belinda Zoller, Community Manager for Extra Credits. Belinda Zoller is a multi-talented individual, currently serving as Community Manager for video games learning series Extra Credits. Belinda was driven enough about their passion for games that they not only taught themselves coding but started a game dev organization in college, which eventually led to them becoming a Conference Associate for the Games Developer Conference, a gig they’ve been working for 3+ years in a row. Belinda's Twitter: http://twitter.com/theberlz Belinda's Website: https://berlz.itch.io Extra Credits: https://becausegamesmatter.com/ GDC Website: http://www.gdconf.com/ Frank’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/phoenixred Kristen’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/MiniWhiteRabbit

In this episode, we talk with Tad Leckman, a multi-talented artist who is now teaching and guiding new art students into their future careers. With a background both in entertainment and education, Tad Leckman has spent the past twenty years focused on the learning and development of artists, designers, writers and engineers. After a successful career as a digital artist and supervisor at Industrial Light and Magic, Tad changed his focus to teaching full-time, and has taught at Academy of Art University, Savannah College of Art and Design, NYU, Escape Studios and University of California Santa Cruz. In 2008, Tad returned to Lucasfilm as Director of Training, overseeing The Jedi Masters Program, staff development and internships for the company's combined animation, visual effects and game development studio in Singapore. Tad has held senior learning and development roles at Blizzard Entertainment and Riot Games. Tad is currently a Visiting Assistant Professor at UCSC, teaching graduate and undergraduate game development and professional practices classes. Tad has lectured at SIGGRAPH, SIGGRAPH Asia, The Brooklyn Art Museum, AnimFX/NZ, CG Overdrive, Games Asia, Seoul International Animation and Cartoon Festival, DigiPen, Savannah Film Festival, VES Festival of Visual Effects, National Youth Leadership Forum on Technology, Port Townsend Film Festival, QuickTime Live!. Tad's Website: http://www.leckman.com/tad/ Tad's Twitter: https://twitter.com/tadleckman Frank’s Twitter: twitter.com/phoenixred Kristen’s Twitter: twitter.com/MiniWhiteRabbit

Brian Smawley - better known as Chef Lu Bu - is an Army veteran, talented chef, and YouTube creative. Originally born in Florida, Brian grew up in Georgia, where he lives today, working as a community manager at Battle and Brew, a unique venue that bills itself as Atlanta's first Geekbar - a restaurant and bar equipped with PC stations, tabletop gaming areas, consoles, and a steampunk lounge - as well as a social media manager for GASM Media. Brian began making videos on YouTube in 2013, preparing food inspired by popular video games such as League of Legends. Since then, he's become an outspoken advocate for several social issues as well as the mistreatment of veterans.  Brian's Twitter: https://twitter.com/chef_lu_bu Brian's YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/ChefLuBu/ Battle and Brew: http://www.battleandbrew.com Frank’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/phoenixred Kristen’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/MiniWhiteRabbit

In this episode of Behind the Screen, we talk with Marissa Huculak, a 3D animator. Marissa Huculak is a talented 3D Animator who’s put in work at Bardel Entertainment, an animation studio collaborating with places like Disney, Cartoon Network, Dreamworks, and more. Marissa worked on Nickelodeon’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, working with both artists and animation directors to put together a show featuring one of comics and animation’s most beloved set of pizza-loving martial-arts wielding reptiles. Currently, she’s an animator at Wavedash Games, an independent game publisher looking to break into the platform fighters scene with Icons: Combat Arena. Marissa's Twitter: https://twitter.com/MarissaHuculak Marissa's Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/ambehr Frank’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/phoenixred Kristen’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/MiniWhiteRabbit

In this episode, we speak with Robert Daniell, a recent graduate from Case Western Reserve, looking to tackle IP law in video games. Robert Daniell is a recent law grad, avid gamer, and a writer for Hearthhead and Hearthstone Top Decks, two of the most well-known sites for guiding you through Blizzard’s Hearthstone card game. During his time as a student, Robert’s worked with Ryan Morrison of Morrison/Lee, who’ve plied their trade being innovators and leaders in the realm of video gaming, esports, and technology law, and when he wasn’t doing that, he’s been tearing it up as a high level player in popular games like League of Legends and World of Warcraft. Robert's Twitter: https://twitter.com/ArgentanLaw Hearthhead: http://www.hearthhead.com/ Hearthstone Top Decks: http://www.hearthstonetopdecks.com Frank’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/phoenixred Kristen’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/MiniWhiteRabbit