Industry Commentary

Perception

I'm a terrible Producer. To be more specific, I'm a terrible example of a Producer. Which is amusing, as I currently find myself in the role of an Executive Producer.I've spent the last seven and a half years working exclusively on open world survival games, the last six of which continuously in the Creative Director/Design Director role.Early Whiteboard Designs for Initial DayZ Base BuildingI find myself back in a producer role, likely entirely based on my friend and coworkers perception of me - obviously influenced by what he knows me to be, what he has seen the most positive success working directly with me from. From my joining the DayZ team in 2013 through to early 2014 when he left to begin work on his next project, this is what his experiences with me were colored by. Which isn't to say this perception of me is false by any means. The decisions I make in a production role are entirely influenced by amazing Producers I have worked with in the past, those of which who specialize in Production and have years and in some cases decades of experience. Their names, and the actions they took on projects I worked with…continue reading →

Industry Leadership

I've struggled with sitting down to write this up. I've alternated between feeling like saying anything at the moment is inappropriate, and that my voice was not needed - as the victims are speaking for themselves. Other times, I've felt as if this was yet another event in my lifetime that if I stay silent I'll end up looking back on ten, twenty years from now and be ashamed that I didn't do anything.The discussion has permeated every aspect of my life lately. From late night discussions with my wife, to derailing meetings at work, and of course completely dominating social media. (At least my social media)To that end, I want to take a moment to speak to my fellow Games Industry leaders. As we have a responsibility, that I feel we have failed at for years.During last years Riot Games Sexual Harassment and Gender Discrimination discussions within the industry, I took a few moments to pull aside the few female team members I had working with me at inXile. I took time to speak to them, and let them know that their presence is valued - to tell them how I would be there to support them if they…continue reading →