Matthew Lillard has built an extraordinary career across film, television, video games, and entrepreneurial ventures such as Beadle and Grimm’s, creators of premium tabletop products, and Find Familiar Spirits, a company crafting story-driven beverages for fans. But he is also a philanthropist, most recently lending his talents to the Starlight Children’s Foundation, a charity devoted […]

Looking at a strict definition of the word, it has numerous meanings. From “an account of incidents or events” to “a widely circulated rumor,” a story can mean many things depending on the teller of the story and the listener of the story.   Many times, people are so interested in telling their story, they […]

Recently, I had the privilege of participating in the International Day of Play event with Starlight and Hasbro at Seattle Children’s Hospital. Like most of us who have worked in games for years, I’ve always believed in the power of play — but spending the day with these kids and their families was a powerful […]

About 26 years ago, I walked through the doors of Humongous Entertainment and started my career in video games. At the time, I was one of the first few marketers working on a small-but-mighty series called Backyard Sports. It was 1999, and Humongous had already found early success with Backyard Soccer and Backyard Baseball. Right […]

At The NPC Guild, we’ve watched the video game industry evolve for decades. It moves in cycles — waves of small studios breaking out, acquisitions and consolidation into major publishers, followed by new waves of independent developers striking out on their own. This rise-and-reset rhythm is part of what keeps gaming vibrant, fresh, and often […]

In today’s gaming industry, there seems to be a movement toward indie and start-up gaming companies as the big powerhouses trim away talent in the name of chasing the latest prize. Skilled designers, developers, writers, and creators are hitting the market and finding like-minded people who want to make something special. They are harnessing their […]