Rise and Play Podcast Sophie Vo
-
- Leisure
-
At Rise and Play, we give voice to leaders, entrepreneurs, educators and influencers of the game industry who are here to make a change. We love games and want to make this industry last through healthy team cultures, awareness and education.
Each episode will tackle a wide range of important topics such as leadership, team culture, self-management, conscious leadership, work-life balance, game education, ethics in business, equality, diversity and inclusion... brought by the different perspectives of our guests.
-
120. News Announcement For Rise And Play!
In this special episode, Sophie Vo shares a heartfelt thank you to the community for their loyalty and support over the past three years, and reveals a major personal update: the start of her new game company, Kylan. This new venture will lead to a short break in podcast content, but we assure listeners that this is just a brief hiatus!
We are onboarding new co-hosts so if you're interested in giving it a try, contact us at sophie@riseandplay.io
Workshop and 1-1 coaching inquiry at sophie@riseandplay.io
Next networking event in Berlin on April 25th: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/rise-and-play-x-starberry-x-metacore-networking-brunch-tickets-861332878827?aff=oddtdtcreator
We're back in May! In the meantime, enjoy the evergreen top content from the previous episodes:
91. Founder Jens Begemann's Retrospective on Running Wooga For Over A Decade
90. Solving the Team Culture Map Puzzle with Jen Donahoe
77. Master Emotionally Charged Conversation
59. How to Plan and Nurture Your Career in Games with Miska Katkoff and Sophie Vo
52. Running your 1:1 in a modern workplace (remote) - with Marko Kecman
43. Coaching episode: Tamara Rose Morales, On Examining Your Life Script
32. What You Did Not Know About UX- with Devon Wyland, Head of UX at Solsten
💌 Don't forget to subscribe to Rise and Play for further news: https://www.riseandplay.io/blog
⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ 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. -
119. Applying Agile Development To AAA Game Design - with Jamie Smith
In this episode, we interview Jamie Smith, a principal game designer at People Can Fly, about the challenges and insights into design leadership for AAA development. While agile development with quick feedback loop is common for mobile games, it is not for AAA! So how do you combine the mindset of agility and traditionally long and siloed AAA game development?
Jamie Smith, with over 13 years of experience working on AAA titles like Tom Clancy's The Division, FIFA, and Call of Duty, discusses his career journey, the transition from production roles to a leadership position, and the importance of team autonomy, cross-discipline collaboration, and decision-making structures in delivering successful game projects. The conversation sheds light on the balance between creative direction and the multitude of factors influencing game design, including technical limitations, publisher expectations, and market comparison, aiming to provide valuable insights for improving management skills and understanding the complexity and legacy of AAA game development.
More about Jamie's work and open AAA design learnings: https://youtu.be/q250xvbn9hg?si=kOEbYofqAGMJzVeH
02:42 The Evolution of a Game Designer, from IC to Leader
12:01 Leading Teams and Defining Quality in AAA Game Design
17:00 Navigating Conflicts and Priorities in Game Development
23:35 Adopting a Holistic Approach to Game Design
29:57 Reflecting on 13 Years in AAA Game Development
💌 Don't forget to subscribe to Rise and Play for further news: https://www.riseandplay.io/blog
⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ 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. -
118. Growing Beatstar Into A $125M hit - with Game Lead Charmie Kim
In this episode, we deconstruct the success of Beatstar, from the lens of design and company culture at Space Ape Games, with our special guest Charmie Kim, Game lead at Space Ape Games.
We explore the evolution of game development from first-mover advantages beginnings to the complex, research-driven approach necessary in today's competitive market.
Through Charmie's journey from working on Samurai Siege Live Ops to leading the highly successful music game Beatstar, we uncover insights on how to innovate within various game genres, and the importance of research, marketing, and adapting to the market. Beatstar has grossed over $125m and has attracted over 60m players since its launch in September 2021.
Key takeaways: the significance of direct player engagement, the strategic necessity of market research before genre selection, and the pivotal role of diverse team adaptability in meeting contemporary gaming demands.
01:35 Charmie Kim: A Trailblazer in Game Design and Leadership
06:00 Tracing Charmie Kim's Journey from Fashion to Game Design
15:47 The Strategic Shift at Space Ape Games: Exploring New Genres
20:32 Innovating in the Music Game Genre with BeatStar
32:06 The Importance of Market Research in Modern Game Development
37:13 Concluding Thoughts and the Future of Game Development
💌 Don't forget to subscribe to Rise and Play for further news: https://www.riseandplay.io/blog
⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ 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. -
117. Inside Paladin Studios: A 20-Year CEO Journey With Derk De Geus
We interview Derk De Geus, co-CEO and Co-Founder of Paladin Studio to explore leadership lessons learned over two decades in the gaming industry. The episode covers the genesis of Paladin Studio, its transition from a service company to a game development studio, and how it navigated challenges and growth without external investment. Bootstrapping successfully a studio is a rare story we hear of these days!
Derk shares insights on the importance of self-awareness, empathetic communication, and aligning one's core being with their professional roles. The discussion delves into the pitfalls of rapid scaling, the benefits of retreats for personal and leadership development, and the significance of creating a supportive and creative company culture.
01:37 The Genesis of Paladin Studio: A 20-Year Journey
03:50 Navigating the Early Days and the Shift to Entertainment Games
09:20 The Evolution of Leadership and Business Strategy
16:14 The CEO's Dilemma: Balancing Creativity and Business and Finding Balance
23:20 Embracing Creativity Beyond Work
24:11 The Synergy of Creative and Business Minds
26:13 The CEO Role Reimagined: Co-CEO for Creative Freedom
26:25 Navigating Operational and Strategic Challenges
28:33 The Transformative Power of Retreats
35:26 Leadership as a Journey of Self-Discovery
39:59 Cultivating a Culture of Shared Values
💌 Don't forget to subscribe to Rise and Play for further news: https://www.riseandplay.io/blog
⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ 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. -
116. Inside Interior Night: Building Innovative Stories For Mature Audiences
Different teams make different games, for different audiences,
In this episode, we interview the duo Caroline Marchal and Charu Desodt, respectively CEO and Studio Director at Interior Night, to share their journey building an innovative AAA studio from scratch.
Interior Night is an independent game studio formed by Quantic Dream and Sony veterans based in London, dedicated to creating innovative interactive stories for a broad and mature audience. They are the crreators of the original interactive drama As Dusk Falls , a new take on narrative games which received unanimous reviews (9/10 IGN, 9/10 GameSpot, 9/10 Steam).
We cover the evolution of the AAA industry, the growth of representation of women in gaming, the journey of starting a new AAA studio and the significance of having a clear vision and being persistent with it. Caroline had a strong vision of a new kind of AAA narrative games she wanted to make for a mature audience (mothers, non gamers, spouses), and supported by a highly experienced diverse team, she materialized that vision successfully with their first title As Dusk Falls.
01:16 Interior Night Studio: A Female-Led Game Development Studio
02:21 The Journey of the Studio Founders: From Game Designers to Studio Leaders
06:26 The Birth of Interior Night: A Leap of Faith into Entrepreneurship
09:44 The Making of 'As Dust Falls': A Unique Interactive Narrative Experience
18:54 The Impact of 'As Dust Falls' on Players: A New Approach to Gaming
22:01 The Journey of Funding and Building a Game Studio
30:38 Reflections on Leadership and the Future of the Gaming Industry
💌 Don't forget to subscribe to Rise and Play for further news: https://www.riseandplay.io/blog
⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ 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. -
115. Laura Carter CEO's Diary: Leading A Purpose-Driven Gaming Company in 2024
In this episode, we follow the journey of Laura Carter, CEO and co-founder of TreesPlease Games, with the mission to bring a positive impact on the planet, through games. After a stellar career at companies such as Natural Motion, Square Enix, The Walt Disney Company and PlayStation Studios, Laura decided in 2019 to take a leap and bring her passion for the planet and business together and found TreesPlease Games.
TreesPlease Games raised $8M in seed funding in 2023: https://mobilegamer.biz/treesplease-games-gets-8m-in-seed-funding-reveals-debut-game-longleaf-valley/
Laura shares about the process of navigating the challenges of starting a company as an initial solo founder, raising funds, assembling a team, making a game that aligns with the company's environmental mission, and managing the operational demands of achieving the company's goals. The team at Trees Please is proud to have planted nearly a million trees through their gaming activity and first casual puzzle title Longleaf Valley. Despite various challenges, TreesPlease aims to continue creating environmentally-themed casual puzzle games, with plans to launch more in 2024.
Learn more about TreesPlease reforestation project:
https://www.treespleasegames.com/real-tree-planting
https://www.edenprojects.org/
01:03 Laura's Journey into Entrepreneurship
03:34 The Birth of TreesPlease Games
05:23 Challenges and Triumphs of Starting a Company
06:57 The Importance of a Supportive Network
07:32 Balancing Motherhood and Entrepreneurship
10:01 Building the Founding Team
10:26 Securing Initial Funding
12:23 The Journey of Building Longleaf Valley
17:35 The Impact of Longleaf Valley, planting 1,000,000 trees
36:51 The Future of TreesPlease Studio
💌 Don't forget to subscribe to Rise and Play for further news: https://www.riseandplay.io/blog
⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ 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.
Customer Reviews
Great gaming and leadership podcast
Anyone serious improving as a game developer or leader should listen to this podcast. The focus on minorities and mental challenges you need to overcome are critical to success and causes of so many failures of companies and projects. Must listen!