THE PLAYABLE WORLDS TEAM
The Executive Team
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Raph KosterCEO
Raph Koster
[Pronouns: he/him] Raph Koster is a veteran game designer who has been professionally credited in almost every area of the game industry. He’s been the lead designer and director of Ultima Online (one of the first MMOs to reach $1B) and Star Wars Galaxies. He founded a successful metaverse company called Metaplace, sold to Disney Playdom and he’s widely respected as one of the greatest social designers of sandbox games. His book A Theory of Fun for Game Design is one of the undisputed classics in the games field and was recently revised for a 10th anniversary edition. In 2012, he was named an Online Game Legend at the Game Developers Conference Online. Founder/CEO of Metaplace; executive at Sony and Disney. - OPEN
Eric GoldbergPresident
Eric Goldberg
Eric has been a pioneering online game designer (including MadMaze, the first online game to draw 1MM players), a game company executive, and a founder of multiple start-ups. He’s a long-time advisor and board member in games, virtual worlds, edtech, social media, and monetization. Recent nine-figure game exits include Pixelberry, PlaySpan, and Playdom. He speaks frequently at conferences on the next generation of games and on venture investment.
Team
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Aaron HamiltonSenior Environment Artist
Aaron Hamilton
[Pronouns: he/him] Aaron is an environment artist that has worked on a variety of different MMO projects over the last eight years. He loves creating unique, visually compelling worlds for players to explore, and enjoys collaborating with other team members on bringing the game’s space to life. Outside of working at Playable Worlds, Aaron stays inspired by playing tons of games, traveling, reading fantasy series, and working on a variety of personal creative projects. - OPEN
Arthur LittlefieldClient Engineer
Arthur Littlefield
[Pronouns: he/him] Arthur has been creating interactive software for over a decade, from consumer products to military applications and until now had only worked on games for fun. For fun he plays DND, works on game jams, and practices bass guitar at his home in Portland with his wife and two cats. - OPEN
Brandon HooksTechnical Animator
Brandon Hooks
[Pronouns: he/him] Brandon is a technical animator with a passion for animation and is excited at making characters come to life. He is a newcomer to the games industry but is no stranger when it comes to video games. He is always ready for an adventure and looks forward to new challenges. In his free time, he enjoys going camping, playing video games, reading, learning, and watching films. And now for something completely different, he is also a fan of Monty Python and anything made by Mel Brooks. - OPEN
Brian YounLead Concept Artist
Brian Youn
[Pronouns: he/him] Brian Youn is a concept artist with ten years of professional experience creating wondrous environments at companies such as Blizzard and Gameloft. He enjoys his free time playing video games, watching movies, or collecting and/or assembling Gunpla. - OPEN
DAMON OSGOODTechnical Architect
DAMON OSGOOD
[Pronouns: he/him] Damon has been programming games since the Vic-20 days, and was making online games before the public Internet became a thing. He has worked with Kesmai Studios (Battletech 3025), Maxis (The Sims Online), Sony Online Entertainment (Star Wars: Galaxies), and Bioware (Star Wars: The Old Republic). Most recently, Damon has been a Technical Architect for Blizzard Entertainment, where he helped build and run the Battle.net game service. Despite being a technical generalist, Damon is particularly interested in audio programming, and holds a Masters degree in Computer Music Composition from the University of Virginia. - OPEN
David GeorgesonGame Director
David Georgeson
[Pronouns: he/him] David Georgeson has been a creative force in the games industry for over three decades. Some of his favorite projects include “Tribes 2”, “Planetside”, “zOMG!”, and acting as creative head of the “EverQuest” franchise of games, including the world’s best building game, “Landmark”. He also created a company developing disinfection devices for hospitals and government agencies during the pandemic before returning to the industry as the Game Director for Playable Worlds. - OPEN
John BrownPrincipal Animator
John Brown
[Pronouns: he/him] John has been making games since the 90’s. While working one day, he overheard some co-workers discussing the troubles their Sims were going through at home after one of them burned up in a kitchen fire. Immediately concerned for the lives of The Sims, John joined Maxis and spent 18 years creating animations for Sims 2, Sims 3, and Sims 4. He even helped put the Sims on the Nintendo 3DS. After a brief stint with ZeniMax Media on Elder Scrolls Online, John found a place to contribute with Playable Worlds. - OPEN
Johnny OwPrincipal VFX Artist
Johnny Ow
[Pronouns: he/him] Johnny has been making video games and computer graphics since middle school, having no idea that people made a living doing that. He spent most of his career at Neversoft and Activision as a VFX and tech artist. After taking a break and finding his way back to video games, Johnny is very excited to work on his first MMO. - OPEN
Justin StreflingHR Manager
Justin Strefling
[Pronouns: he/him] Justin Strefling is an accomplished HR Manager and former Litigation Attorney with a proventrack record in leading HR teams and managing comprehensive compensation and benefitsstrategies. His experience spans large companies, startups, and legal environments, makinghim a versatile asset in HR. Known for his integrity and work ethic, Justin is dedicated to drivingorganizational success through strategic HR management. Outside of his professional life,Justin enjoys playing and watching sports, diving into historical fiction novels by James Rollins,and playing video games. - OPEN
Kurt LarsonLead Sound Effects Designer
Kurt Larson
[Pronouns: he/him] Kurt Harland Larson started his career in audio in the pre-MIDI, pre-computer, New-Wave days of 1982 with the formation of the all-electronic band Information Society. After recording and performing for 10 years, he made the move into game audio and has worked for and at various game companies since 1994. Kurt has held audio design and director positions at Crystal Dynamics, Electronic Arts, Slipgate-Gazillion, Nihilistic Software, and Machine Zone. He is an avid rollerskater, MtG player, and was one of the founders of Thunderdome at Burning Man. - OPEN
Light BatesTechnical Designer
Light Bates
[Pronouns: any pronouns] Light is an enthusiastic game designer with a versatile, technical skill set whose previous work includes several published games and a virtual graduation experience developed for their Master’s cohort. Nothing excites them more than a creative problem in need of an even more creative solution, and they love crafting those solutions into engaging systems and memorable player experiences. When Light isn’t busy making (or playing) games, you can probably find them geeking out with their tabletop RPG group, trying to learn a new instrument, or curled up with a good book and a cup of tea. - OPEN
Magnus HollmoArt Director
Magnus Hollmo
[Pronouns: he/him] Magnus is a veteran Art Director with over 25 years in the industry, during which he has shipped more than 50 titles. He has experience across virtually every game platform and excels inexploring new technologies and art methodologies. In his free time, he enjoys playing soccer,spending time with his family, and creating real-time graphics videos. Despite being Swedish,his favorite food is not meatballs. - OPEN
Majick RobinsonFinance/Remote Office Manager
Majick Robinson
[Pronouns: she/her] Majick is a detailed and highly ethical accounting and office management professional with over 25 successful years of combined experience in office management, accounting operations, events/meeting/conference planning, purchasing, and staff/vendor relations. She is a powerful force in the workplace and uses her positive attitude and tireless energy to encourage others to work hard and succeed. In her free time, she loves watching sports, playing video games, hiking/walking, listening to audiobooks, and playing with her critters! - OPEN
Meghann BledsoeDesigner/World Builder
Meghann Bledsoe
[Pronouns: she/her] Meghann is a designer with a passion for odd ball games and mechanics who tends to geek out over the topic to anyone around. She started out in QA and has been focusing on learning from every team she can. In her spare time, she reads a lot of fantasy adventure books and plays D&D with her fantastic group of creative friends. - OPEN
Nataly MorenoSenior Tools Engineer
Nataly Moreno
[Pronouns: she/her] Nataly is passionate about combining tech with art and enjoys using her skills to create or help create fun experiences for others. In school, she created AR and location-based games which led her to an internship where she worked on Star Wars Commander. She has also worked in animation where she maintained and created tools for artists. She was known for her can-do attitude, and for picking up requests that had been abandoned for years due to their difficulty, but she made them a reality fulfilling artists’ dreams. In her free time she likes to play violin, volleyball, and video games. - OPEN
Nick HandSenior Character Artist
Nick Hand
Nick Hand is a character artist and recent graduate with experience creating vibrant and exciting characters for the games industry. He has worked with companies such as Netease Games and Rushdown Revolt developing 3D characters for production. He is passionate about seeing the characters he creates come to life and become a relatable part of a larger world and experience. In his free time he enjoys exploring a variety of creative activities like 3D printing, building PCs, or playing games online with his friends. - OPEN
NIINA FUJIOKADirector of Business Operations
NIINA FUJIOKA
Niina, originally from Osaka, Japan, brings 14 years of seasoned expertise in operations, cultivated through diverse roles in law firms, Japanese tech companies, and co-founding several startups. Over the past six years, she has played a pivotal role in the success of multiple ventures, leveraging her extensive skills in legal, human resources, finance, and project management. Beyond her professional achievements, Niina finds fulfillment in cherishing precious moments with her family as a new mother, expressing her musical passion as a vocalist, challenging herself physically through competitive weightlifting, and actively contributing to the community by supporting a youth-focused martial arts non-profit. - OPEN
Rick ReynoldsMarketing Director
Rick Reynolds
[Pronouns: he/him] Rick first fell in love with MMORPGs as a beta-tester for Meridian 59 and helped convince his employer The 3DO Company to acquire the developer, Archetype Interactive. He launched Age of Conan in North America for Eidos & Funcom. He has been a marketing director for CCP Games, The 3DO Company, Infogrames, Hudson Soft, Empire Interactive, 38 Studios, and Hands-On Mobile. He led the Player Studio project at Sony Online Entertainment/Daybreak Games. He leads a null-sec alliance in EVE Online and plays Dungeons & Dragons with the same group since the late 1970s. - OPEN
Rodney HazaProducer
Rodney Haza
[Pronouns: he/him] Rodney has 15 years of experience in the gaming industry working on games ranging from the Everquest Franchise, PlanetSide, and Free Realms to console products on the PS3 and PSP. He has worn many hats over the years working in QA, CS, Programming and Production. Outside of work, he can often be found defending the world from the zombie apocalypse and playing other sandbox games. - OPEN
Samuel CorbinLead Gameplay Engineer
Samuel Corbin
[Pronouns: he/him] Sam is a linguist-turned-cognitive-scientist-turned-game developer. He got started in the industry as a MUD developer, and has always maintained a special interest in how players learn game systems and how those systems shape and interact with the social world of multiplayer games. Sam has played a wide variety of games as far back as he can remember, from MMO raidleading to competitive FPS to story-heavy RPGs and experimental indie games. He’s yet to find the game that doesn’t have something worth looking at more closely. In his spare time, when he isn’t playing video games, he’s designing and running tabletop games. - OPEN
Sean WeedenGraphic Designer
Sean Weeden
[Pronouns: he/him] Sean is an experienced graphic designer and digital marketing professional who is excited to be joining the team at Playable Worlds. His background in the consumer packaged goods industry and history as an artist has readied him to tackle branding, marketing, art, and design in the world of gaming. In his free time, Sean plays a wide variety of games (FPS, RPGs, Rogue-likes, open-world, action/adventure, MMOs, etc.), plays guitar, writes music, and is a photographer. - OPEN
Yvette HanUI/UX Designer
Yvette Han
[Pronouns: she/her] Yvette has a mixed background in tech, art, and psychology. She has worked on several mobile titles such as Love Nikki and has been actively participating in various game projects in different roles. She is dedicated to combining points of artistic aesthetics to enhance and evolve a delightful and intuitive game experience. Besides playing or making games, Yvette enjoys anime, Lolita fashion, reading, learning new skills, and volunteering to make other lives better.