Alternate Worlds Podcast #8: Josh Kermond, EP & GM in the gaming industry
In this episode, Brian reconnects with longtime game industry colleague Josh Kermond for a candid conversation spanning game development, parenting, community building, creativity, AI, Magic: The Gathering, and the changing realities of the games business. What begins as a lighthearted discussion about raising children and choosing family TV shows evolves into a thoughtful reflection on twenty years in games and what creators owe to their communities.
Note from Brian:
Josh Kermond got his start making RTS games, then shifted to Zynga and was Game Producer on CityVille & FrontierVille, before shifting to become an EP on DomiNations.
Josh was the GM of the flagship product at Captain.tv, Stream Raiders, and knows a ton about rallying teams to create & deliver great games.
He’s currently on the board for Baltimore’s IGDA, and is also a natural community builder, which I personally love. :)
Topics Covered
* Parenting, family life, and raising multiple children
* Demon Slayer, The Simpsons, and family entertainment choices
* Early careers in the game industry
* Big Huge Games and the Baltimore game development scene
* Zynga’s explosive growth and the development of CityVille
* Leadership turnover and startup culture
* Social games versus traditional games
* Magic: The Gathering and early collectible card game experiences
* AI-assisted game creation and content generation
* Community building and local engagement
* The challenges facing today’s game industry
* Creativity, storytelling, and independent projects
* Why people create things and share them with the world
Memorable Moments
* Josh’s observation that “the only insane number of children is one more than you already have.”
* A detailed retrospective on CityVille’s constantly changing leadership structure and the realities of hypergrowth game development.
* Josh explaining how social games expanded his understanding of what a “gamer” looks like.
* The story of receiving an entire box of Fallen Empires boosters and nearly quitting Magic as a result.
* Brian and Josh debating whether AI can meaningfully accelerate creative work without sacrificing quality.
* Josh’s thoughtful argument that people should invest more energy in improving their local communities than obsessing over distant problems they cannot influence.
