Directing the Art of Games – Andrew Navaro, Episode 30

Andrew Navaro, Art Director for Fantasy Flight Games.

It’s one thing to create the beautiful pieces of art that grace the pages and playing pieces of Fantasy Flight Games’ products. It’s another thing entirely to ensure that each image not only fits with the tone, themes and atmosphere of not just a given product but also a whole line of products.

Artist and tabletop gamer Andrew Navaro is the leader of a team of art directors at Fantasy Flight. It’s his job as art director to oversee the art direction of Fantasy Flight’s lines and manage the relationships between Fantasy Flight and its roster of freelance artists.

In this chat, Andrew and I discuss his love of gaming, how he came to work at Fantasy Flight Games, just what his job involves and the current state of art in the tabletop gaming industry!

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS

Continue reading →

Putting Yourself Out There: Voice Work

Leave a reply

Over on my personal web log, I revisited some of the issues that stop me – and a lot of us – from getting stuck into the things that, if I gave myself a chance, could lead to my earning a living wage out of the things I’m honestly interested in and enjoy doing.

But from that post alone, you’d think I’ve not been making any progress. I’d like to apologise for that impression.

Because in the last couple of weeks, I managed to score myself a freelance gig.

Continue reading →

Pursuing Sweet Dreams of a Bakery Career: Vanessa Musi – Episode 29 / Brazen Episode 2

Leave a reply

UPDATE 13 June 2014: Vanessa has just unveiled her new web site where she offers coaching to fellow foodies looking to start their own businesses!

It’s my pleasure to announce that the second episode of The Paid to Play Podcast produced in conjunction with Brazen Careerist is live – and it’s also my pleasure to announce the all new home of The Paid to Play Podcast, here on paidtoplay.com.au!

My guest for this episode is Vanessa Musi, who is on the way to opening her own bakery, the Edit Bakery, specialising in gluten- and sugar-free pastries. We had a fantastic chat about Vanessa’s journey all the way around the world from Mexico to the US!

Pursuing Sweet Dreams of a Bakery Career (Podcast) – The Brazen Careerist

As with the first episode, can I ask you all to write your comments on the Brazen Careerist blog post, please?

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS

Marketing Classic Games: Trevor Longino, Episode 28 / Brazen Episode 1

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS

You’ve probably noticed the headline that announces this episode as the first Brazen one. That’s because the Paid to Play Podcast has joined forces with Brazen Careerist!

They even made me up this neat logo, too! Now I just have to figure out how get it into iTunes…

The folks at Brazen and I have a lot in common. We both want to help folks get the most satisfaction out of their working lives as possible. Brazen’s team of bloggers – including my guest for episode 15, Kelly Gurnett – give out tips on how to thrive in the modern workplace without compromising what’s important to you.

Which, I reckon, is a pretty good definition of my guests on Paid to Play.

Once a month, I’ll contribute an interview to Brazen; I hope that my interviews can add to Brazen’s already massive library of work-life wisdom.

The first of these is already up; my chat with Trevor Longino, head of marketing and public relations at game distributor GOG.com. Formerly known as Good Old Games, GOG.com has expanded its mission from bringing classic computer games from the nineties back to life on modern operating systems into offering newer titles from indies like FTL to mainstream games like The Witcher DRM free.

Trevor and I discuss the classic video games of the nineties, just what marketing and PR involves in this social media age and how Trevor has handled relocating from the US to Poland in order to work for GOG!

Turning a Passion for Classic Video Games Into a Career (Podcast) – The Brazen Careerist

Can you leave any comments and feedback on the episode’s blog entry on Brazen, please?

Continue reading →

Resurrecting Great Games: Lukas Litzsinger, Episode 27

Leave a reply

We talk a lot about career plans and focusing on goals when we think about where we want to be. But sometimes, you discover an opportunity that takes one of your side interests and shoves it off the pedestrian pavement and straight into your career path.

For Lukas Litzsinger, that opportunity was a job vacancy on the website of tabletop game publishers, Fantasy Flight Games. The vacancy was on the team behind his favourite game (A Game of Thrones – The Card Game), and though he’d studied journalism and copy writing in college, he pursued it – which led him to a career in game design and the chance to resurrect one of the best collectable card games of all time, Netrunner, in a new form.

Lukas took the time to sit down with me over Skype for a chat about how he came to work for Fantasy Flight Games, what designing games as a day job involves and just the recent explosion in interest in tabletop games means in this era of smartphone game apps and massive online multiplayer experiences – not to mention some mutual gushing about how awesome Android: Netrunner is!

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS

Continue reading →

Ultimate Freedom through Internet Entrepreneurship: Michelle Ward, Episode 26

Leave a reply

I’ve listened to a fair few life-change and small business podcasts in the last year or so, and a lot of them talk about Financial Freedom as an aim and an achievement. It’s one thing to hear podcasters in the States talk about it, though, and another thing to meet an example of it.

Michelle Ward has been pursuing alternative income streams for almost a decade and has amassed such a broad portfolio of affiliate sales sites that she has the freedom to explore where her interests take her, whether full-time employeehood or even freelancing. After getting to know her at work, I just had to talk with Michelle about how she became an Internet entrepreneur!

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS

Continue reading →

Podcast Marketing: Tim Reid, Episode 25

1 Reply

It’s one thing to talk about getting paid to play, and another to turn your play into something that others will want to buy. But getting the word about how great your thing is and how it will help / entertain people? That’s a whole different kind of challenge, especially when you’re just starting out and your marketing budget doesn’t even have a brass razoo.

That’s where Tim Reid, host of the Small Business Big Marketing podcast, comes in. Tim is a longtime marketing guru who quit working for some huge agencies seven years ago to go into business for himself. Not only is each weekly episode a fun chat with a businessperson taking an innovative approach to connecting with his or her customers, it’s also a great advertisement for Tim’s marketing consultant and speaking services!

I have to thank my old mate Marcus Herstik for hipping me to Tim, who is the kind of guy I want to be when I grow up: Confident, relaxed, gracious and great to share one of his famous fireside chats with!

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS

Continue reading →

Improving Body and Spirit: Emazon, Episode 24

Leave a reply

When she appeared on the 2009 season of Australia’s The Biggest Loser, the red-haired, red-gloved, hooded Emazon cut straight into not only her trainees but also the audience. Emazon demanded nothing less than everything from the contestants in short, sharp sessions that took them so far out of their comfort zones that they could barely remember what comfort meant. And a lot of folks watching at home weren’t sure just what to make of this fierce being.

It’s easy to be shocked or intimidated by that sort of intensity, but it’s just as easy to forget that Emazon, known to friends and family as Emma Barbato, was putting just as much effort into drawing her contestants out of their former selves as she was into challenging their physical limits. Emma has been working to help people overcome their conflicts with themselves for twelve years now, including helping victims of domestic violence and sexual assault find or rediscover their strength.

There was no way that chatting with Emma wasn’t going to be bloody interesting, and while she mightn’t sport that crimson hair colour any more, she is no less energetic and focused than when she first made us couch-potatoes sit up and take notice! We talked about Emma’s career up to now, her plans to take her STAND program to Saudi Arabia this year – and even about how our modern culture encourages us to dislike ourselves in order to get along.

So much strength in there. What happened to it? Where’d it go? My only objective was to get it back out again.

– Emazon on training a contestant, The Biggest Loser Australia Series 4

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS

Continue reading →

Making Video Games as an Employee and Solo: Henry Smith, Episode 23

Leave a reply

Okay, you gamers out there. What’s your favourite game design studio? You know you’ve got one, just like you’ve got a favourite game platform. Wouldn’t you just love to work there, making video games like the awesome games you love to play?

Have you ever thought that even if you score that dream job, you might discover that there are things that you want to do with your passion for gaming, programming, design that you don’t have the spare time or energy to do?

Henry Smith had a pretty awesome job at BioWare, the makers of awesome games like Baldur’s Gate, Neverwinter Nights and, more recently, Dragon Age and the incredible science fiction trilogy, Mass Effect. Yet six months ago he decided to take a year off so that he could work on the personal projects that brought him joy.

I caught up with him a month or so after he released his first game, a science fiction themed iDevice app called Spaceteam, where you and one to three friends try and save your starship from utter destruction by pulling levers, twisting dials and yelling technobabble at each other. Though the game itself is free, Henry is earning enough money from the pay-to-download add-on packs to look at extending his time working solo.

I thoroughly enjoyed my chat with Henry about getting paid to play – by quitting getting paid to play!

UPDATE: After listening to this episode, please have a listen to my second chat with Henry during his (successful) Kickstarter campaign to fund a year’s worth of game development!

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS

Continue reading →

Getting a Book Published and Overcoming Affliction: Talitha Kalago, Episode 22

1 Reply

Once again, I worry about whether I’m selling my guest the wrong way. Really, the quality of the maker’s work ought to sell itself.

But again, there is that story of having one of the best explanations for not following your passion in the world and still not letting that stop you. Talitha Kalago battles a potentially fatal disease known as Stevens-Johnson syndrome. It’s a fight which could almost be a full-time occupation itself.

But while most of us only talk about getting a book published, Talitha has carved out the time to not only write but find an agent and get her work on the shelves. When I interviewed her, Talitha had just received her first royalty cheque!

This podcast, thankfully, is more about that journey to publishing that all authors face and how you can get your career as a writer started. Listen and enjoy!

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS

Continue reading →