Recently from Gamesbriefers...

The Gamesbriefers are a growing group of industry luminaries who respond to a weekly question about free to play, game design and the future of the industry. We won’t announce who all the Gamesbriefers are, but on this page you’ll find a list of some of the members who are featured in our weekly posts.

Andy Payne CEO of Appynation

When Andy Payne was announced as the recipient of an OBE in the 2011 Honours List, MCV described him as ‘one of the most widely liked and respected executives in gaming.’ Aside from his position as owner of publisher Mastertronic and chairman of The Producers, Payne is involved in a number of community organisations such as UKIE, Bafta, charity GamesAid and self-publishing collective Appynation.

Andy Payne’s Gamesbriefers posts

Dylan Collins Executive Chairman at Fight my Monster

Dylan is one of the most experienced Internet entrepreneurs in Europe, building three companies with three successful exits over the last decade; SMS service Phorest, Demonware and Jolt Online Gaming. He is now executive chairman at Fight My Monster, the fastest-growing online game for boys ages 8-12 in the UK. He was recently named as Enterprise Ireland’s Startup Ambassador.

Dylan Collins’s Gamesbriefers posts

Melissa Clark Reynolds Founder of Minimonos

Melissa incorporated MiniMonos in 2009 out of a desire to create games that have a positive impact on children. She was one of the first two New Zealanders trained up as an Ambassador for Al Gore’s Climate Project. At Minimonos she combines her years of experience as an entrepreneur with a commitment to environmental and social responsibility, with a social game that encourages sustainable behaviour.

Melissa Clark Reynolds’s Gamesbriefers posts

Tadhg Kelly Creative Director at Jawfish Games

Tadhg Kelly been working in games for twenty years, first in table top and live action roleplaying games and latterly in videogames as designer, writer and producer. He runs the design theory blog What Games Are and is writing a book on the same topic. Since emigrating to the US in January 2013 Kelly has worked as Creative Director at startup Jawfish Games, which specialises in synchronous multiplayer online social gaming.

Tadhg Kelly’s Gamesbriefers posts

Lance Priebe Club Penguin

In 2005, Lance co-founded Club Penguin, the number one virtual world for children. In 2007 he and his partners successfully sold Club Penguin to the Walt Disney Company. Behind all of Lance’s dealings is a firm belief that great businesses should also be socially responsible. This belief is something Lance continues to pursue through his studio RocketSnail Games.

Lance Priebe’s Gamesbriefers posts

Harry Holmwood CEO of Marvelous AQL Europe

With 20 years experience in the video game and consumer electronics industries, Harry is a veteran of the European gaming space. Having worked as a programmer, designer, musician and marketer, he’s launched and sold two gaming businesses, was part of Sony’s first PlayStation team, and as a consultant at Heldhand has advised numerous developers, publishers and investors. Since 2012 he has headed the Kent, England studio of Japanese social games publisher Marvelous AQL.

Harry Holmwood’s Gamesbriefers posts

Ella Romanos and Martin Darby Founders of Remode

Remode is an interactive production and game development studio. Remode was founded in 2007 in the UK and is owned by CEO Ella Romanos and CCO Martin Darby, who set up the studio as university graduates. Ella is a board member on trade organisation TIGA, Creative Director of the Extended Play festival and Director of non-profit Designed in Devon. Remode’s work has been recognised by Develop, MCV, Edge and The Guardian.

Ella Romanos’s Gamesbriefers posts
Martin Darby’s Gamesbriefers posts

Mark Sorrell Development Director at Hide & Seek

‘Dedicated miserabilist’  Mark Sorrell has created a wide range of commercially successful projects at the intersection of TV and games at Quiz TV, Sky Games, FremantleMedia’s Screenpop and Somethin’ Else, including brands such as Countdown , Scrabble, Ben 10 and The Premier League. Since 2012 he has been working as development director at Bafta award-winning studio Hide & Seek.

Mark Sorrell’s Gamesbriefers posts

Patrick O’Luanaigh Founder of nDreams

Patrick O’Luanaigh is CEO of nDreams Ltd, a fast-growing, independent, self-funded studio focused on creating and selling innovative games and virtual items. Before that he was Creative Director of Eidos/SCi, responsible for game design, gameplay and overall quality titles including Tomb Raider Legend, Hitman Blood Money, Just Cause and Conflict: Desert Storm.

Patrick O’Luanaigh’s Gamesbriefers posts

Ian Marsh Founder of Nimblebit

NimbleBit is an American developer and publisher of iOS and Android mobile apps. Some of their popular titles include Pocket Frogs, Tiny Tower, and Pocket Planes, and their latest title is RPG Nimble Quest. It was co-founded by brothers David and Ian Marsh.

Ian Marsh’s Gamesbriefers posts

Ben Board Senior Product Lead at Boss Alien

Ben Board formerly worked at Microsoft as an account manager, and began work as product lead at Boss Alien in Feburary 2013. Boss Alien is the studio responsible for free-to-play hit CSR Racing. He was previously responsible with establishing the developer relations team for Xbox Europe and has also worked at Bullfrog and Lionhead.

Ben Board’s Gamesbriefers posts

Philip Reisberger Founder of Appflag

After working as a Managing Director at free-to-play innovator Bigpoint, Reisberger left in 2012 to found mobile games developer Appflag with his brother Tobias. The sibling team also run seed capital firm Young Brains.

Philip Reisberger’s Gamesbriefers posts

Stuart Dredge Journalist at the Guardian

Stuart Dredge is a freelance journalist and editor specialising in mobile apps and mobile content. As well as writing for the Guardian,  he is editor-in-chief of digital music publication Music Ally, and writes a daily apps industry newsletter called The Appside. He also runs a blog about apps for children with his wife, called Apps Playground. He was a mentor for the Ignite100 programme in 2011, and is a regular judge in industry awards and startup funding contests.

Stuart Dredge’s Gamesbriefers posts

Jas Purewal Lawyer at Osborne Clark

Jas Purewal is a commercial and intellectual property lawyer, focusing on the interactive entertainment and digital media sectors. He writes regularly regarding developments in interactive entertainment and technology at his blog Gamer/Law.

Jas Purewal’s Gamesbriefers posts

Oscar Clark Evangelist for Applifier

Oscar Clark is a consultant and Evangelist for Youtube-integrated social gaming utility Everyplay from Applifier. He has had many years of experience with online, mobile and console social games. Clark is an outspoken contributor at games conferences including GDC, Casual Connect, Game Connection and Develop, on topics such as Freemium Design and Monetisation.

Oscar Clark’s Gamesbriefers posts

Alice Taylor Founder of Makielab

Alice founded 3D-printed doll start-up Makielab in March 2011 after 16 years building multi-award winning digital products, mainly for children and teens, for Channel 4, the BBC, Nickelodeon, Warner Bros and more.

Alice Taylor’s Gamesbriefers posts

Andrew Smith Founder of Spilt Milk Studios

Andrew Smith of one-man-band Spilt Milk Studios is an indie iOS game developer who has built a direct relationship with his fans, self-published a mobile game, and crowd-funded his next game, Smash the Block.  In 2011 he generously shared his experiences in game development as a series of guest posts for Gamesbrief as he designed, tested and launched Hard Lines for iPhone and iPad. He is currently working on Smash the Block and forthcoming PC game Lazarus.

Andrew Smith’s Gamesbriefers posts