Maxine “MJ” Newman joins me to chat about her leap from lawyering to senior game designer at Fantasy Flight Games. As a game designer at Fantasy Flight, MJ serves as the co-lead designer for the popular Arkham Horror card game and is also a developer on the Lord of the Rings card game. We discuss everything from her dad sparking her game design love to the Arkham Horror card game and its teamwork-boosting twists. Outside of her work, MJ is also a self-published novelist and contributing writer to publications like Dragon magazine. MJ discusses the creative differences between her career as a game designer and her work as an author, comparing the solitude of book writing to the team effort of game creation. If you're into stories of passion projects turning into careers, storytelling within card games, and how game jams can spark creativity, you'll love this talk. Tune in to hear how she's making her mark in the gaming world and beyond. Enjoy!
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Ben Robbins — World Building in Microscope, Gaming with Strangers and Writing Effective Rules (#64)
Jason Morningstar — Designing Fiasco, Emotional Risks of Creative Projects, and a Culture of Learning and Play (#63)
Jane Chung Hoffacker — From League of Legends to animating Arcane, Rhythms of Guitar Hero, and Mastering IP Creation (#62)
C. Thi Nguyen — Game Design as Art, Fish Taco Adventures, and Exploring Game Design Principles in Daily Life (#61)
Anthony Giovannetti — Crafting Slay the Spire, Nurturing Team Dynamics, Balancing Life and Launches, and Embracing the Magic of Mods (#59)
Casey Yano — Designing with Detail in Slay the Spire, Mastering the Gaming Grind, Marketing dos and donts, and Building a High Trust Company Culture (#58)
Steven Pressfield — Conquering Creative Resistance, The Craft of Historical Fiction, and the Interplay of Games and the Muse (#57)
Tim Hutchings — Thousand-Year-Old Vampire, Blending Fine Arts with Game Design, Crafting Emotional RPG Experiences, and Teaching Design Through Philosophy (#56)
Michael Borys — The Art of Immersive Gaming Experiences, Blending Storytelling with Interactive Design, and Crafting Alternate Realities (#55)
Morgan Page — Finding the Shared Rhythms of Music and Game Design, Maximizing Creative Collaborations, and the Importance of the Fundamentals (#54)
Mark Otero — The Artistry of Game Development, Navigating the Crossroads of Engagement and Economics, Reimagining In-Game Asset Strategies, and Cultivating Community Through Gaming (#53)
Reiner Knizia — Systems for Publishing 700+ Games, Crafting Profound Gameplay from Simple Rules, Innovations in Scoring and Auction Systems, and The Joy of Tabletop Gaming (#52)
Stefan Engblom — Designing games for millions of people and billions of dollars, Secrets of building game communities, The 2AM Party Principle, Reacting to player feedback (#51)
Soren Johnson (Part II) — Innovating 4X Strategy Games, Insights from Civilization IV, and Designing the Future of Gaming. (#50)
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Jon Barry — Mastering Game Accessories with Forged Gaming: From Community Insights to Crowdfunding Masterpieces, and the Role of AI in Future Gaming (#48)
Gary Arant — Ascending the Ranks at Stone Blade: From Intern to COO, Designing Iconic Card Games, and Challenging Assumptions in Game Development (#47)
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