Gaming is a hits-driven business, where the biggest productions cost hundreds of millions of dollars and need to find a way to recoup their sizable investments. As a result, the companies behind these massive games look for as many ways as possible to mitigate risk, either by copying popular trends (like the battle royale craze of the late 2010s)... See more
I had countless conversations with reporters in the pre-Elon Musk Twitter era who could not fathom doing their jobs without the site, who insisted that Twitter was where sources and scoops and true insight lay. It was utterly wrong and also completely understandable in a way that made arguing about it futile: Twitter could feel like a direct... See more
A walk-n-talk works like this: gather 5-10 curious, kind, generous, patient, inspiring people and set a walking course through the countryside for a week, plus or minus a day or two. A week works well because it may take a day or two or three for people to open up, for the so-called âsituational extrovertsâ to fully emerge from their shells, for... See more
On YouTube, for instance, only the biggest YouTubers are really able to make a living off the shared revenue they get from YouTube advertising. Most other YouTubers, all the ones in the middle, are forced to find other forms of income to make up the difference.
This is why we see YouTubers encourage their followers to 'support us on Patreon'. They... See more
At a well-run seed stage startup, engineers will often describe the work experience as intoxicating . At a larger company, the best you get is "enjoyable".
My take on it is that fun comes from interacting with a system with enough depth for interesting stuff to emerge - maybe even things that will surprise you as a designer. I find that this happens when you get a few simple systems, get them working well independently, and then find as many ways as possible to interconnect them.