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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Gary Arant — Ascending the Ranks at Stone Blade: From Intern to COO, Designing Iconic Card Games, and Challenging Assumptions in Game Development (#47)
Jamey Stegmaier — Kickstarter Beginnings, Revolutionizing Rulebooks, Mastering Solo Gameplay, and Balancing Game Design with Time Management (#46)
Matt Fantastic — The Indy Game Ethos, Punk Rock Designs, Navigating Success Beyond Sales, Collaborative Dynamics, and the Power of Empathy in Game Design (#45)
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Isaac Vega — From Humble Prototypes to Bioshock Tables, Navigating Unexpected Successes, and the Freedom of Forging One’s Path in Game Design (#44)
Sean K. Reynolds — Crafting Legendary RPGs, Building Worlds & Teams, Valuing Writer Voices, and the Anatomy of Game Design (#43)
Ben Brode — From Pizza Delivery to Hearthstone's Helm: Crafting Digital Card Games, the Essence of Decision-Making, Building Trust in the Gaming Industry, Innovating with Marvel Snap (#42)
Alex Watkins — From Evolutions in Mechanics to Shaping the Future of Organized Play, The Journey of Crafting a New Gaming Experience in Soulforge Fusion (#41)
John D. Clair — Crafting Award-Winning Games, Navigating Legal Pitfalls, Lessons from Downfall, and Innovating with Kinetic Design (#40)
Luke Peterschmidt — From Dungeons & Dragons to Bakugan: Leveraging Game Design in Marketing, Teaching, and Global Phenomenons (#39)
Phil Walker-Harding — Crafting Accessible Games, The Journey from Self-Publishing to Global Success with Sushi Go!, and Mastering the Art of Core Game Mechanics. (#31)
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Alan Phan — Charting New Territory: From First-time Game Ideas to Million-Dollar Kickstarters and The Power of Nostalgia in The Grand Archive (#37)
Richard Bartle — Pioneering Virtual Worlds: From M.U.D. to MMOs, Understanding Player Motivations, and Navigating the Ethical Maze of Online Interactions (#36)
Alan Gerding — From Core Principles to Kickstarter Success: The Psychology and Strategy Behind Crafting Mothership: Sci-Fi Horror RPG (#35)
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JT Smith — Crafting the Game Design Journey: From Prototyping with Game Crafter to Navigating Digital Playtesting and Harnessing the Power of Audacity (#32)
Richard Garfield — Crafting Game Legacies: The Evolution of Unique Deck Games, Innovating SolForge Fusion, and Deep Dives into Procedural Generation (#31)
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