Rise and Play Podcast

According to studies in the US and Europe in 2021, 1 out of 5 of your employees are experiencing a diagnosable mental illness, 53% are saying that their work or work environment negatively impacts their mental health.While it is an uncomfortable topic for company leaders, we cannot ignore the fact that it is happening on a global scale. What can we do about it and where is the line to draw between an employer and employees? In this episode, we tackle with Songya Why mental health issues happen and creep into the workplace. Impactful and durable changes happen from the top, so we will provide in this episode tools for leaders to first understand what mental health is about and how they can reflect on their own mental health. We will provide directions on how they can support the mental health of employees through the company environment they create.Songya Kesler is an EXECUTIVE COACH who is PCC-accredited through the International Coaching Federation, Songya works with business leaders on (1) personal development, (2) leadership, and (3) business strategy. Contact her for coaching inquiries: https://www.songyakesler.com/Reports and data sources on mental health:https://www.mindsharepartners.org/mentalhealthatworkreport-2021https://www.kff.org/coronavirus-covid-19/issue-brief/the-implications-of-covid-19-for-mental-health-and-substance-use/who.int/europe/publications/i/item/WHO-EURO-2022-6108-45873-66068Thank you to our sponsor Game Refinery: https://info.gamerefinery.com/riseandplay to get a free product tour. Build better games + live events with leaner teams.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

Netflix has been in the spotlight since it announced its game platform. How do you approach building a portfolio of games for an entertainment platform? What are the skills required as a Publisher vs a Developer? How do you select the game developers who will be the best partners from the point of view of a publisher?Leanne Loombe has extensive career developing and publishing games over the past 18 years, working on iconic franchises such as Magic the Gathering, Need for Speed, and League of Legends. She is currently heading up External Games at Netflix and helping to change how we play games through Netflix. In this episode, Leanne shares her learning on Publishing, coming from the lens of a game developer.Additionally, Leanne is a passionate ambassador for Women In Game and focuses on encouraging women to join the industry and creating diversity in teams through mentorship, panels, and events.Thank you to our sponsor Game Refinery: https://info.gamerefinery.com/riseandplay to get a free product tour. Build better games + live events with leaner teams.Don't forget to subscribe to Rise and Play: https://www.riseandplay.ioMore info on jobs at Netflix Games: https://jobs.netflix.com/team?slug=netflix-games-studio 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

DEI has been a buzzword over the past few years. It has been overused as an employer branding strategy or an attempt to correct inequality in the workplace. But implementing a DEI department, DEI initiatives or training won't resolve the root of the inequality gap. Durable changes start at the company's core (and top): Why do you exist? What is your mission and why caring about DEI will support your mission and values? Only then, you can identify where DEI must be implemented as part of your processes, to reflect the culture and mission you support. We will cover in this episode with Laura the concrete steps to incorporate DEI in your company: to be part of your hiring process, career development process, and feedback culture.Laura is an organizational researcher and the former Head of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at Bolt and the current founder of VALIDEI, a research agency specializing in assessments of DEI and scalability. Laura applies a data-informed approach to supporting viable businesses and ways of working.Thank you to our sponsor Game Refinery: https://info.gamerefinery.com/riseandplay to get a free product tour. Build better games + live events with leaner teams.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

We meet again in this episode with Joakim Achrén, founder of Elite Game Developers, to break the myth of the stressful busy entrepreneur, and that it is actually not good for you. Why is this so hard to talk openly about mental burnout among entrepreneurs and leaders? Why are we holding on that image of control? What's happening under the surface, and what are the long-term consequences in the long run of suppressing negative emotions?  We'll address in this episode:- The definition of burnout. What are the signs? Joakim and I will share our personal experiences.- What can you do once you know you are in a burnout or depressive state? How can therapy help? - What are still the blockers for leaders to seek help and therapy?Thank you to our sponsor Game Refinery: https://info.gamerefinery.com/riseandplay to get a free product tour. Build better games + live events with leaner teams.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 Fun.  In those episodes, we will be sparring thoughts with Miska, reflecting on our leadership work at Savage. Full video of the talk: https://youtu.be/HwlPik-s8kkKicking off this segment, we tackle in this episode "How to plan your next career moves?"  How do I approach my career and nurture my Zone of Genius  How did I make the decision to join Savage (instead of building my own company? or continuing my former studio at Voodoo)? It. comes down to the question "How do I want to spend my time? Who do I want to spend time with?"  How does Rise and Play fit into my mission and career growth?  How did I ensure an effective integration at Savage, even before I officially started?  How do you develop your personal branding? And why does it matter? - Why developing your relationship capital is fundamental in growing to leadership roles?Thank you to our sponsors. Game Refinery: https://info.gamerefinery.com/riseandplay to get a free product tour. Build better games + live events with leaner teams. Appodeal: https://appodeal.com join the all-in-one growth platform for mobile app creators of any size.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

Marie Mejerwall has an extensive career in gaming and design. She started in esports in 2001 and in game development in 2008 and has been involved in both ever since. During her career, she worked at studios such as Ubisoft, Warner  Bros, Eidos, and Capcom and climbed to become a game director.Today, she is an advisor to game studios, publishers, and esports companies, and a popular host and event speaker. Marie shares her journey of building her own path in gaming, from engineering, to game design, to game direction, leading teams to building her own business. We talk about women (or the lack of them) in E-sport, what skills are expected of a Game Director, why game design is still such a young and evolving field and how to stay on top of it.Thank you to our sponsors. Game Refinery: https://info.gamerefinery.com/riseandplay to get a free product tour. Build better games + live events with leaner teams. Appodeal: https://appodeal.com join the all-in-one growth platform for mobile app creators of any size.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

Perfect timing for this episode, ending the year with reflection thoughts and taking a step back on your life vision! In this episode, we discuss with Tom Hammond (serial entrepreneur in games) a few exercises to help you gain clarity on your life vision: Why do you work, what do you live for? What are your priorities in life (when you are not working)? How are you building a company that will outlive you? Here are a few tools we are sharing in this episode: value and life vision examination every 6 months, priorities and plans in the 5 core areas of your life (the 5F), envisioning your Ideal Day, life reflection from the deathbed, create accountability in your life change, timeline and moodograph...More about Tom Hammond: Tom has been an active contributor to the Live Ops community with his podcast Mastering Retention and recently the UserWise Academy. Tom is sharing his entrepreneurial journey in creating his two companies TheoremReach and UserWise, his company culture and values, and what led him to create the Mastering Retention podcast. To "give back" to the community.Thank you to our sponsors. Game Refinery: https://info.gamerefinery.com/riseandplay to get a free product tour. Build better games + live events with leaner teams. Appodeal: https://appodeal.com join the all-in-one growth platform for mobile app creators of any size.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

Isabelle Henriques has an impressive track record in games: 15 years of experience in management, operations, strategy, and production in the gaming industry. She is Brazilian and has a diverse background in gaming, previously acting as Studio Director and Lead Producer at Maxis and Electronic Arts, and has worked on multiple AAA blockbuster franchises including The Sims, Call of Duty, and Madden.With solid experience in large AAA companies, Isabelle took a new journey as the co-CEO and COO of Klang Games, one of the best-funded gaming start-ups in Europe and is also acting as the Executive Producer for SEED, an MMO society simulator being developed at Klang.In this episode, we cover the exciting challenges of joining a startup in a growing phase. How to integrate a leadership team that has history before you and build trust in a sustainable way? What is the pace of change when you come in to improve the culture, organization and process? I can relate a lot to Isabelle's challenges as I joined Savage Games and faced similar challenges. That's what we cover and debate about in this episode!Thank you to our sponsors. Game Refinery: https://info.gamerefinery.com/riseandplay to get a free product tour. Build better games + live events with leaner teams. Appodeal: https://appodeal.com join the all-in-one growth platform for mobile app creators of any size.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

Forest Swartout-Large is the co-founder & COO at Twin Suns Corp, a new fully remote, global video game studio developing action games for console and PC, leveraging existing IPs. Previously, Forest worked on Tomb Raider, Inside, and Hitman, and most recently shipped Hitman III as the Executive Producer. With their new company, Forest aims to make AAA game development more ethical, inclusive, and sustainable. In this episode, learn from Forest how to build large AAA teams who embrace remote work from the start, with no crunch. What are the processes to make such a remote team of 50+ people collaborate well,  work in a healthy way, and trust each other? Thank you to our sponsors. Game Refinery: https://info.gamerefinery.com/riseandplay to get a free product tour. Build better games + live events with leaner teams. Appodeal: https://appodeal.com join the all-in-one growth platform for mobile app creators of any size.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

Should the leader of today be a coach? That's what we cover in this episode with Aaron and Ben, ex-leaders at Riot Games. They are now running a consultancy organization called Valarin to grow holistic leaders across companies and our industry because better leaders make better games.  Sharing the same mission as Rise and Play, that's how the three of us met in this episode. We are going back to the basics to remind the mission of a "Leader" vs a "Manager". How a Leader differs from a Manager, and why being a Leader requires different skills such as influencing, setting a vision, managing change, and active listening. What can you learn from being coached or being a coach? Why is it a competitive edge for you to grow your coaching skills now to become the leader of tomorrow?Thank you to our sponsors. Game Refinery: https://info.gamerefinery.com/riseandplay to get a free product tour. Build better games + live events with leaner teams. Appodeal: https://appodeal.com join the all-in-one growth platform for mobile app creators of any size.Don't forget to subscribe to Rise and Play: https://www.riseandplay.ioTo get in touch with Ben and Aaron, visit Valarin website here: https://valarinconsulting.com/ 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