Behind the Screen
25 episodes - English - Latest episode: over 4 years ago - ★★★★★ - 3 ratingsPodcast by Behind the Screen
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Episodes
Episode 26, Janelle Jimenez, Product Management
February 08, 2020 02:21 - 1 hour - 75.5 MBIn this episode, we talk with Janelle Jimenez, best known as a Product Manager/Producer for Riot Games and most notably the product lead for some of League of Legends' most successful skin lines, such as the K-pop inspired "K/DA" release. Janelle has taken a winding road to get into the games industry, rolling through such places as JET, Vocativ, High 5 Games, and the Permanent Mission of Japan to the United Nations. We chat about Janelle's globe-traveling journey of self-discovery that led h...
Episode 25 - Drew Pierce, Customer Support
January 17, 2020 03:23 - 1 hour - 73 MBIn this episode, we talk with Drew Pierce, Director of Customer Success at Chicago-based Lightstream, an company whose mission it is to help empower gamers share their love of gaming with live audiences through powerful tools, integrations, and a feature-rich video production suite. Drew's journey in the games industry has taken him to many places, including EA, Trion, KIXEYE, and Humble Bundle, and along the way he's learned a ton working within and leading teams of customer support professi...
Episode 24 - Victoria Rose, Games Journalism
November 23, 2019 00:38 - 1 hour - 181 MBIn this episode, we chat with Victoria Rose, freelance journalist working in games who’s written for Esports Express, PC Gamer, ESPN and Polygon. She worked as site lead for The Flying Courier, Polygon’s hub for all things Dota 2, and currently has a gig writing about games as Fanbyte Media’s Morning News Correspondent. We chat about what it takes to break into the business of writing for games, some of the unique challenges that have specifically popped up with e-sports journalism in recent ...
Episode 23 - David Lee, Community
September 22, 2019 00:14 - 1 hour - 197 MBIn this episode, we chat with David Lee, now Community Manager at Bend Studio, developers of action-adventure survival horror game Days Gone, but who has been a multi-year veteran of the industry, working in roles at IGN, Playstation Haven, BANDAI NAMCO, Activision, and together with Frank at Gazillion Entertainment on Marvel Heroes Omega. We follow David on his journey from passionate Ragnarok Online player and community rep to his days working with influencers in the Fighting Game Community...
Episode 22 - Amber Green, Producers/Management
August 30, 2019 00:44 - 2 hours - 272 MBIn this episode, we chat with Amber Green, currently a Senior Technical Product Manager in a large non-gaming company, but before that a battle-hardened games industry veteran, working Social Media for Activision, Game Testing and Live Operations and BioWare, and an eventual rise to being a Live Producer and then Infrastructure Program Manager for EA. We talk about many wide-ranging topics in being a Producer and a Manager in games, from how the process for persistently online and live games ...
Episode 21 - Aeyvi, Screenography
July 18, 2019 23:02 - 1 hour - 156 MBIn this episode, we chat with Aeyvi, a variety livestreamer and artist from the United Kingdom who does screenography for the Elder Scrolls Online and other titles. Her beautiful environmental screenshots have garnered her a place on the Elder Scrolls Online's community stream team and a growing community on Twitch. We talk to Aeyvi about what's involved in being a screenographer, how she discovered a greater appreciation for environmental design in games because of her work, and the physical...
Episode 20 - Judy Barbosa, eSports Events
April 19, 2019 18:55 - 1 hour - 200 MBIn this episode, we talk with Judy Barbosa, a voice actor, community manager, and events host who heads up the NYC League of Legends group and the Order of Gamemasters for D&D enthusiasts. We talk about how Judy got into voice acting and how she grabbed the reins of NYCLOL to build it into a thriving and welcoming community with events for watching professional League of Legends. We also hear from Judy about the challenge of building credibility for holding e-sports events in venues usually d...
Episode 19 - Sam Chen, Product Management
March 28, 2019 22:27 - 1 hour - 188 MBIn this episode, we talk with Sam Chen, Senior Product Manager for Subscriptions at Twitch, about how he went from working in the trenches with Frank for anime conventions to helping oversee the product pipeline at Amazon and then for one of the most well-known and popular livestreaming platforms in Twitch. We talk turkey about what exactly it means to implement products for Twitch such as gift subscriptions, tiers, emotes, and more, how Sam's own livestreaming experiences and regular interac...
Episode 18 - Ben Bertoli, Journalism/Bookwriting
February 15, 2019 00:06 - 1 hour - 157 MBIn this episode, we talk with Ben Bertoli, and accomplished journalist and author who has written for Kotaku, Polygon, IGN, Mashable, and more and wrote “101 Video Games to Play Before You Grow Up”, a guide and achievement activity listing of some of the best games for kids to play. We chat with Ben about his path into being a freelance journalist for games, how he integrates gaming into his day job as a teacher and mentor, as well as his struggles and triumphs writing about games in general....
Episode 17 - Jewel Daab, Community Building
February 08, 2019 01:20 - 1 hour - 170 MBIn this episode, we talk with Jewel Daab, a mother, community builder, livestreamer, and fitness enthusiast who balances her priorities taking care of her family while also sharing with others her passion for and enjoyment of all things gaming. Having built and maintained a healthy fan-based games community on Discord in the Coven, as well as an impressive growth and outreach on social media with her gaming content on Mixer and Twitter, Jewel has shown how you can be games-adjacent and still ...
Episode 16 - Nikki Greicar, Technical Art
January 25, 2019 01:20 - 1 hour - 136 MBIn this first episode of 2019 of Behind the Screen, we talk with Nikki Greicar, a Rigger in the mobile games industry and an experienced Technical Artist who's been working in games for a number of years. A former co-worker of Frank's and Kristen's when they were all at Gazillion Entertainment together working on Marvel Heroes Omega, Nikki gives us the lowdown on the Technical Art part of the design pipeline and muses about her road into games through studying game art/design as well as netwo...
Episode 15 - Robert J. Schuster, CCG Game Design
November 30, 2018 02:28 - 1 hour - 179 MBIn this episode of Behind the Screen, we talk with Robert Schuster, Game Designer at Wizards of the Coast, who does work on one of the most long-lived and well-known collectible card games out there in Magic: The Gathering, as well as their most recent digital version of the game, Magic: The Gathering Arena. When not working on contributions to new designs, mechanics, and Magic: The Gathering game balance, Robert is a caring father, husband, and friend to those who know him.
Episode 14 - James B. Jones, Narrative Writing
October 26, 2018 00:59 - 2 hours - 270 MBIn this episode of Behind the Screen, we chat with James Jones, journeyman writer for the games industry and former colleague at BioWare Austin. Among James' achievements in games include co-authoring the STAR WARS: The Old Republic Encyclopedia, writing narrative and VO scripts for Blade & Soul, constructing story arcs and lore for multiple games in the action, fantasy, and sci-fi spheres, and more. Kristen chats with James about his well-traveled, sometimes difficult road in the industry, ...
Episode 13 - Michelle Archer Waterman, Community
October 12, 2018 00:34 - 1 hour - 175 MBIn this episode of Behind the Screen, we chat with Michelle Archer Waterman, an old friend and colleague from our days working on STAR WARS: The Old Republic. Michelle is currently a Team Lead for Community Management at Ubisoft, but before that, she worked for well-known studios like Bethesda and BioWare. We talk about Michelle's inspiring story of how someone who started out as a fan and a gamer turned their passion into a career, as well as about her path into the games industry, how she...
Episode 12 - Josh Singh, Art Direction
August 31, 2018 02:46 - 1 hour - 204 MBIn this episode of Behind the Screen, we chat with Joshua Singh, Art Director at Wavedash Games, the studio behind upcoming platform fighter Icons: Combat Arena Joshua Singh's journey in art has taken him to some well-known places - from Sony Online Entertainment, to 38 Studios, to Blizzard (where he worked on the project that would eventually re-work itself into Overwatch), and Riot Games. Now working as Art Director at Wavedash Games, Josh seeks to break new ground in the platform fighter ...
Episode 11 - Belinda Zoller, Community
August 20, 2018 03:39 - 1 hour - 153 MBIn this episode of Behind the Screen, we talk with Belinda Zoller, Community Manager for Extra Credits. Belinda Zoller is a multi-talented individual, currently serving as Community Manager for video games learning series Extra Credits. Belinda was driven enough about their passion for games that they not only taught themselves coding but started a game dev organization in college, which eventually led to them becoming a Conference Associate for the Games Developer Conference, a gig they’ve ...
Episode 10 - Tad Leckman, Art Academia (ft. Michael Maurino)
July 19, 2018 20:31 - 2 hours - 220 MBIn this episode, we talk with Tad Leckman, a multi-talented artist who is now teaching and guiding new art students into their future careers. With a background both in entertainment and education, Tad Leckman has spent the past twenty years focused on the learning and development of artists, designers, writers and engineers. After a successful career as a digital artist and supervisor at Industrial Light and Magic, Tad changed his focus to teaching full-time, and has taught at Academy of Ar...
Episode 9 - Brian Smawley, Community
July 12, 2018 07:43 - 1 hour - 103 MBBrian Smawley - better known as Chef Lu Bu - is an Army veteran, talented chef, and YouTube creative. Originally born in Florida, Brian grew up in Georgia, where he lives today, working as a community manager at Battle and Brew, a unique venue that bills itself as Atlanta's first Geekbar - a restaurant and bar equipped with PC stations, tabletop gaming areas, consoles, and a steampunk lounge - as well as a social media manager for GASM Media. Brian began making videos on YouTube in 2013, pre...
Episode 8 - Marissa Huculak, 3D Animation
July 05, 2018 17:33 - 1 hour - 160 MBIn this episode of Behind the Screen, we talk with Marissa Huculak, a 3D animator. Marissa Huculak is a talented 3D Animator who’s put in work at Bardel Entertainment, an animation studio collaborating with places like Disney, Cartoon Network, Dreamworks, and more. Marissa worked on Nickelodeon’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, working with both artists and animation directors to put together a show featuring one of comics and animation’s most beloved set of pizza-loving martial-arts wielding ...
Episode 7 - Robert Daniell, IP Law
June 28, 2018 15:00 - 1 hour - 74.8 MBIn this episode, we speak with Robert Daniell, a recent graduate from Case Western Reserve, looking to tackle IP law in video games. Robert Daniell is a recent law grad, avid gamer, and a writer for Hearthhead and Hearthstone Top Decks, two of the most well-known sites for guiding you through Blizzard’s Hearthstone card game. During his time as a student, Robert’s worked with Ryan Morrison of Morrison/Lee, who’ve plied their trade being innovators and leaders in the realm of video gaming, es...
Episode 6 - Pamela Horton, Hosting
June 21, 2018 15:00 - 1 hour - 76.3 MBIn this episode, we speak with Pamela Horton, host for GameStop TV, co-creator of ToasterGhost, and Facebook Gaming partner. Pam is an effervescent personality, introduced to video games around the age of 5. She's been an avid gamer, with a special place for JRPGs, MMOs, and sandbox titles like Chrono Trigger, Final Fantasy XI, World of Warcraft, and Minecraft. She's a media professional in the industry and is best known for her hosting and live work, as well as her worth with Nintendo of A...
Episode 5 - Kat Lo, Researcher
May 31, 2018 02:13 - 1 hour - 81.6 MBOn this episode of Behind the Screen, we chat with Katherine Lo, Researcher at UC. We discuss the importance of moderation, the value of community managers, why anonymity is the wrong thing to focus on when discussing online toxicity, designing for community spaces, and where she wants to go in the future. Kat Lo is a Researcher at the University of California, Irvine, where she’s focused in part on the role community moderators play in mitigating and preventing online abuse and harassment i...
Episode 4 - Mattias Lehman, Communications
May 29, 2018 09:49 - 1 hour - 105 MBIn this episode, we speak with Mattias Lehman, Communications at Riot Games. We talk to him about what he does at Riot as well as the current political landscape. Mattias Lehman is a political activist, independent writer, games unionization advocate, and duly elected California Democratic Party Delegate, and that’s not even getting into the job he has that pays the bills as a Communications Associate at Riot Games, where he works with designers and developers to help them understand the nee...
Episode 3 - Akinola Verissimo, Hosting
April 30, 2018 06:54 - 1 hour - 139 MBIn this episode, we speak with Akinola "Blakinola" Verissimo. Ak speaks to us about what got him into voice acting, his time creating content for League of Legends, and what he is focused on these days. Akinola Verissimo is an multi-faceted talent, specializing in hosting, announcing, content creation, voice acting, and more. He’s been active in the gaming and esports space since 2012, most notably in the League of Legends community, but has also branched out to lending his voice to events l...
Episode 2 - Michael Maurino, Concept Art
March 28, 2018 06:09 - 1 hour - 162 MBThis episode, we speak with Michael "IronStylus" Maurino, formerly of Riot Games and currently of Wavedash Games. Michael speaks with us about his process, how he got into art, his philosophies on art, advice for younger artists, his time at Riot, and his personal drivers. Michael worked extensively on League of Legends, concepting champions Leona, Diana, Quinn, Graves, Talon, Xerath, and Skarner, and champion updates Master Yi, Trundle, Sejuani, Sivir, Fiora, and Poppy. He has been a part o...
Episode 1 - Kristen Fuller, Community
March 09, 2018 07:05 - 1 hour - 146 MBWe kick off Behind the Screen by interviewing the producer of the show, our very own Kristen Fuller, livestream producer and community manager. Kristen Fuller has worked at Riot Games, Robot Entertainment, Gazillion Entertainment, and BioWare Austin. She has worked with several game communities, ranging from STAR WARS: The Old Republic to more recently League of Legends. She's co-hosted two previous podcasts, co-produced the League of Legends podcast, and been the primary driver behind the L...