Rise and Play Podcast

How did you start your career in games? Did you also think that working hard, hustling, and reaching "success" at work would bring happiness and fulfillment? How do you reflect on those earlier years of sacrifice for work, that you will never get back? Hear the candid and personal story of the successful Game Designer and Executive Producer Ethan Levy (ex-EP at N3twork and Bioware), also known for hosting The Deconstructor Of Fun podcast, who reflects on his career in games. Ethan shares what he wishes he knew before he began his career and the feeling of regret of sacrificing his personal life for work. Is it ever worth it in the end?------------------------------Thank you to our sponsor! Visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠go.solsten.io⁠⁠⁠⁠ and mention Rise x Play for a demo and receive a free feature, theme, and art style study included with your Navigator purchase, a $20,000 value. Offer valid through 8/31/23.-------------------------------If you enjoyed today's episode make sure to rate it on Spotify, leave a review on Apple Podcasts, or simply share it with a friend. Don't forget to subscribe to Rise and Play: ⁠https://www.riseandplay.io/blog This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit riseandplay.substack.com

Getting into an emotionally charged conversation at work is one of the most uncomfortable feelings. As a leader, you cannot really get away from it. You start to feel uncomfortable and anxious about the hard conversation you need to have (i.e. dismissal, reassignment, negative feedback, project canceled, conflict resolution...). Your report can feel it too, so everyone feels uncomfortable. It doesn't help to get anywhere. -------------------------------Thank you to our sponsor! Visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠go.solsten.io⁠⁠⁠⁠ and mention Rise x Play for a demo and receive a free feature, theme, and art style study included with your Navigator purchase, a $20,000 value. Offer valid through 8/31/23.-------------------------------So how do you approach those conversations in a more serene way, while showing empathy? The work starts with you getting self-awareness of what the situation is and controlling your feelings, preparing for the talk. Learn from Julie Beaugrand (Head of Studio & VP at Rovio), Benjamin Chevalier (co-founder at Mighty Bear Games), and Sophie Vo (General Manager at Savage Game Studios), who share their experience, their learnings, mistakes, and self-management tools. Link to Julie's previous episode on Building The Next Casual Hit At RovioLink to Ben's previous episode on Building A Western Culture Studio in AsiaDon't forget to subscribe to Rise and Play: ⁠https://www.riseandplay.io/blog This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit riseandplay.substack.com

We often confuse the role of a manager and of a leader. Being a good manager doesn't imply that you are a great leader. Referring back to the episode "How To Lead With A Coaching Mindset" we recorded with Ben and Aaron, a manager's focus is to optimize the outcome of an existing system while maintaining or improving the status quo. A leader's focus is to influence others toward a common goal. A leader sets a direction or changes through influence and extremely good communication. -------------------------------Thank you to our sponsor! Visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠go.solsten.io⁠⁠⁠⁠ and mention Rise x Play for a demo and receive a free feature, theme, and art style study included with your Navigator purchase, a $20,000 value. Offer valid through 8/31/23.-------------------------------In this episode, we walk through Ioana Hreninciuc's journey from being the Head of Product at Game Analytics, to becoming the CEO of the company. What was the skill and mental switch required to fulfill the position? What can help you make the switch from "getting things done" to "influencing others to get things done"? The role and responsibilities of a C-level are not for everyone. Is that challenge the right one for you as you look to grow in your career?Don't forget to subscribe to Rise and Play: ⁠https://www.riseandplay.io/blog This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit riseandplay.substack.com

In this episode, we continue on the topic of boundaries⁠ with Maria Maunula Senior Producer at Rovio Entertainment Corporation, and Sophie Vo GM at Savage Game Studios, and how to apply those in the role of Producer. Everyone comes to you for every day's requests and problems when you are the Producer. How do you master "Saying no" more often? Learn the communication tools on how to set clear producer boundaries at work. The best producers keep focus and push back distractions to get things done!-------------------------------Thank you to our sponsor! Visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠go.solsten.io⁠⁠⁠⁠ and mention Rise x Play for a demo and receive a free feature, theme, and art style study included with your Navigator purchase, a $20,000 value. Offer valid through 8/31/23."-------------------------------Maria Maunula is currently a Senior Producer at Rovio. She has been a producer with years of experience in the games industry, working on businesses of all sizes, from small startups to big corporations such as Seriously, DoDreams, and Nitro Games.Don't forget to subscribe to Rise and Play: ⁠https://www.riseandplay.io/blogHighly recommended reads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/944267.Boundarieshttps://www.goodreads.com/book/show/53359440-boundary-bossArticle on boundaries at work from Ioana Hreninciuchttps://www.riseandplay.io/blogs/how-to-set-boundaries-at-work This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit riseandplay.substack.com

“Neurodiversity” explains the unique ways people's brains work. While everyone's brain develops similarly, no two brains function just alike. Being neurodivergent means having a brain that works differently from the average or “neurotypical” person. ADHD, Autism, Dyspraxia, Dyslexia, Dyscalculia, Dysgraphia, and Tourette's syndrome are all examples of neurodiverse conditions. They're diagnostic labels used to explain the diverse ways of thinking, learning, processing, and behaving.-------------------------------Thank you to our sponsor! Visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠go.solsten.io⁠⁠⁠⁠ and mention Rise x Play for a demo and receive a free feature, theme, and art style study included with your Navigator purchase, a $20,000 value. Offer valid through 8/31/23."-------------------------------As the leader of your organisation, how inclusive are you of neurodiversity at work? Your employees won't tell you that they're neurodiverse if they don't feel part of an inclusive workplace, or trust that it won't be used against their career progression and performance. How can you be proactive and supportive about it as an employer? What talent opportunities are you missing out on by excluding neurodiverse people? Learn more about ADHD and mental health conditions from Alice Bowman's testimonial, Product Lead at MAG Interactive. Alice is offering insights into the challenges of some of those mental health conditions, and how it could be a virtue at work and for leaders. Hear ideas of what you can implement in your workplace to be more inclusive for people with mental health challenges. Alice has previously worked for companies such as Trailmix, Netspeak Games, and Outplay Entertainment.Shout outs:Safe In Our World  as a great wealth of resources and support for mental health in the games industry ✨Adam Clewes-Boyne whose new community Playing Attention is dedicated to supporting folks with ADHD in the industry 🌟Dominic Shaw who is constantly advocating for neurodiverse individuals through his work with Ukie - The Association for UK Interactive Entertainment, Autistica and #RaisetheGame 💪Don't forget to subscribe to Rise and Play: ⁠https://www.riseandplay.io/blog This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit riseandplay.substack.com

You know it, you need to drastically pivot your company otherwise it will go bankrupt. So, what do you do, and how? Nicolas Godement, Managing Director at Twin Sails (previously known as Asmodee Digital) shares the exciting transformation journey of a company that started as a board game IP publisher to a PC and console game publisher. When Nicolas joined the company in 2018 to support the CEO, the financials were not good, the team morale was low. How do you start with that?Get the practical steps from Nicolas on how to pivot a company strategy, team, and branding. How do you accompany the teams throughout this uncomfortable phase? Those changes don't happen overnight if you want to them be sustainable. They usually take 2 to 3 years. Are you ready to lead that journey in your company?Thank you to our sponsor! Identify your ideal audience with today's sponsor Solsten to streamline development decisions and get to market faster. Visit ⁠go.solsten.io⁠ and mention Rise x Play for a demo and receive 30% off your first Solsten engagement crafted to your studio’s needs.Don't forget to subscribe to Rise and Play: ⁠https://www.riseandplay.io This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit riseandplay.substack.com

What is the one thing that the best CEOs do? They manage themselves and their time, above all. It is easy to get distracted by the everyday buzz, people's requests, emergencies, and life in general. How do C-suite and Executives manage their time and life, to make sure they keep the focus on the few important things? Managing your time guarantees a healthier and more fulfilled life.In this episode, Simonetta Lulli (CEO at GameHouse) and Ioana Hreninciuc (CPO at Homa, ex-CEO at Game Analytics) share their Monday routines and tools to ensure they stay on top of things. How do they make time for themselves, to think of the big picture? How do they juggle the demand of personal and professional life? How do they incorporate White Space into their daily routine?You don't need to be a CEO to apply those discipline tools for yourself. But you can learn from successful CEOs!Watch the video here: https://youtu.be/yG2oIWJ74vUThank you to our sponsor! Identify your ideal audience with today's sponsor Solsten to streamline development decisions and get to market faster. Visit ⁠go.solsten.io⁠ and mention Rise x Play for a demo and receive 30% off your first Solsten engagement crafted to your studio’s needs.Don't forget to subscribe to Rise and Play: ⁠https://www.riseandplay.ioDon't miss out on episode #33 with Simonetta (How To Break The Bias Of Being A Female CEO): https://spotifyanchor-web.app.link/e/rxweBnk4Lyb This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit riseandplay.substack.com

UX design is still a misunderstood field in games. Therefore, it is hard to hire great UX designers who understand games or game designers who deeply understand UX. How do we solve this human and skills puzzle?In this episode, Olga Marushchak, UX Director at King, will deconstruct what makes a great UX designer. Olga will share practical tools on how to hire and identify great UX designers, when you don't have internally the knowledge yourself. She will also prove that it is possible to hire UX designers without a prior experience in games if they demonstrate certain key skills. Last, how do you train your UX designers in games, once you found the One?Olga has been working in Game Dev for almost 14 years and has worked in various gaming companies: AAA, small indie startups, and medium-sized organizations such as Playgendary and Wargaming.To learn more about UX, check out episode #32 What You Did Not Know About UXThank you to our sponsor! Identify your ideal audience with today's sponsor Solsten to streamline development decisions and get to market faster. Visit ⁠solsten.io/contact-us⁠ and mention Rise x Play for a demo and receive 30% off your first Solsten engagement crafted to your studio’s needs.Don't forget to subscribe to Rise and Play: ⁠https://www.riseandplay.io This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit riseandplay.substack.com

In this new segment of Rise and Play, I sit down with my business partner Miska Katkoff, CEO at Savage Games, and the founder of Deconstructor of FunIn those episodes, we will share with Miska our reflection thoughts on our leadership work at Savage Games.What can you gain from being more Stoic as a leader?As leaders, we tend to believe that we are responsible for everything that happens around us: company outcomes, actions, and behavior of others. The reality is that we have very little control over what’s going on around us. It takes wisdom to know the difference between precisely what we have control over, and what we don’t.“Identify what you can change and what you cannot change. Accept the things you cannot change, and have the courage to act on the things you can change.”The only things you can really control are your perception and actions. So, how do you apply this to your day-to-day business and process of decision-making, especially tough decisions? That's what we will cover in this segment today!Watch the full video: https://youtu.be/OyIpv-cEViYhttps://youtu.be/OyIpv-cEViYThank you to our sponsor! Identify your ideal audience with today's sponsor Solsten to streamline development decisions and get to market faster. Visit solsten.io/contact-us and mention Rise x Play for a demo and receive 30% off your first Solsten engagement crafted to your studio’s needs.Don't forget to subscribe to Rise and Play: https://www.riseandplay.ioRead more about How to Lead Teams As A Stoic: https://medium.com/ironsource-levelup/leading-teams-as-a-stoic-1-2-d0045dd024d3 This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit riseandplay.substack.com

Saara Bergström is the COO at Next Games, a Finnish mobile game developer recently acquired by Netflix, known for their successful IP mobile titles such as Stranger Things: Puzzle Tales and The Walking Dead: No Man's Land. Saara has had a close to a 15-year career in advertising, product marketing and public relations. At Next Games, where she has worked for nearly 10 years, she pivoted from CMO to COO last year and started a new journey officially in an operations role. In this episode, we will walk you through Next Games' cultural journey and transformation from its early startup days, to the company's financial restructuring, to going IPO, to becoming a Netflix studio.Thank you to our sponsor! Identify your ideal audience with today's sponsor Solsten to streamline development decisions and get to market faster. Visit solsten.io/contact-us and mention Rise x Play for a demo and receive 30% off your first Solsten engagement crafted to your studio’s needs.Don't forget to subscribe to Rise and Play: https://www.riseandplay.io This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit riseandplay.substack.com