Nina Dobner

James Laird

James Laird starts most meetings with a dad joke or a pun or a groan-worthy limerick. This session I happened to distract him at the start, but at some point, if you listen in, you may be bludgeoned (to life) by a run of jokes that will make you cry out in great pain. James is a man of many tastes, and has been making games for the last few decades across Cryptic Studios (Champions Online), Pocket Gems (Wild Beyond, Episode) and most recently at Series Entertainment (various Netflix titles). We discuss LARPs, AI, the future of work, parenting in an era with distractions within distractions (within distractions) and his journey as a theater fellow & game making denizen. If you have a dad joke or pun or groan-worthy limerick you think is better than what James supplied here, please record yourself saying that joke and send it directly to James on the social network of your choice. Thanks James! Get full access to Alternate Worlds at bschneidmtg.substack.com/subscribe [https://bschneidmtg.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

Jeremy Jarvis

Jeremy Jarvis was a creative & franchise leader for Magic: the Gathering first, and later for Dungeons & Dragons as well. Jeremy is a world-building specialist who helped architect some of Magic: the Gathering’s most iconic worlds, and also has helped oversee franchise partnerships & promotions such as the D&D Movie & Magic: the Gathering marketing trailers. When I knew Jeremy, he was evolving from being a watercolorist concept / Magic: the Gathering artist to becoming a full art director from Lorwyn, on, and it’s been a joy to see his career continue to blossom. On my last day at Wizards of the Coast, Jeremy let me pick my favorite of his Magic: the Gathering art pieces as a goodbye gift, and I chose Beacon of Tomorrows, which I still have today. I was thankful then, as I am now. :) Thanks Jeremy! Get full access to Alternate Worlds at bschneidmtg.substack.com/subscribe [https://bschneidmtg.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

Henry Stern

Henry Stern is a storied game designer who has delivered in many mediums — TCG, board gaming, web2 gaming & mobile gaming. Early on, he left a career -- that he enjoyed -- as a rocket scientist, to go after his passion instead and never looked back. Gaming is that passion. I was lucky enough to work with Henry on Magic: the Gathering, which he helped steward on the game development side for over a decade, and then again at pre-IPO Zynga, where Henry materially muscled up Mafia Wars & Zynga’s chances of a successful IPO. Today, Henry lives on the Monopoly Go side of the house at Scopely, continuing his legacy of making high impact on major game franchises. Chase your passion, indeed. :) Get full access to Alternate Worlds at bschneidmtg.substack.com/subscribe [https://bschneidmtg.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

Jake Theis

Jake Theis is an INFJ, who, while I was at WotC, was a Brand Manager for Magic: the Gathering. After that, he went off to work on Gencon, became Head of Marketing at Ravensburger, then functioned as VP of Games at Wizkids. Jake has deep knowledge of the hobby gaming industry & working with great IPs (think Lorcana) & also has a fertile knowledge of the cultural influences that inform the products we design. Jake is an excellent person to talk with to understand how to position, craft & market all things game & entertainment. Very fun chat. :) Get full access to Alternate Worlds at bschneidmtg.substack.com/subscribe [https://bschneidmtg.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]

Justin Gary

The Justin Gary Gaming Journey: Justin Gary is the CEO of Stoneblade Entertainment, the author of Think Like a Game Designer, the designer of Ascension, SolForge (w/ Richard Garfield) & Solforge Fusion (w/ Richard Garfield) and also happened to be a Pro Tour Winner & US National Champion at Magic: the Gathering. Today he travels around the world, helps people launch great projects, and continually refines who he is and how he operates -- to help others grow, bond, etc. Justin & I met when we were asked to play in a Pro Tour team event together (ahem, coming up on 30 years ago now), and have been good friends ever since. Get full access to Alternate Worlds at bschneidmtg.substack.com/subscribe [https://bschneidmtg.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_4]