About Jane Chung Hoffacker
Jane Chung Hoffacker, an Emmy Award-winning producer for the acclaimed "Arcane" series based on League of Legends, is an incredibly accomplished jack-of-all-trades. She graduated from the Wharton School of Business with a degree in economics and then went on to get another degree in Game Design. She’s worked on everything from indy games to huge IPs like League of Legends and Guitar Hero. As CEO and Co-Founder of Incredible Dream Studios, she has channeled her passion into creating a game studio dedicated to bringing together communities through shared adventures. She’s an inspiration to me and I’ve waited a long time to have this conversation!
In this episode of "Think Like A Game Designer," we discuss the art of developing intellectual properties, thinking like you’re in a writer's room, founding an animation studio, and exploring the concepts of "Red Ocean" and "Blue Ocean" strategies. Get ready for an episode brimming with insights—you’re about to fill your notebook from the first page to the last!
Want to support the podcast and get more design lessons?
Paying subscribers enjoy an abundance of extra game design content and an exclusive newsletter with new lessons, archive access, videos, and more! By opting for a free or paid subscription, you can get the latest articles delivered to your inbox and support this podcast!
Ah-ha! Justin’s Takeaways
Avoid the Red Ocean: In the vast ocean of creativity, it’s important to steer clear of the crowded waters. Jane and I discuss how identifying unique spaces with less competition can set the stage for your success. By focusing on building a dedicated base within a niche market, you create a solid foundation that's far more manageable than massive genres from the get-go.
Adopt a Writer's Room Mentality: Gather the right mix of creative minds and align them around a well-defined "bible" that outlines your target audience, characters, and the ultimate experience you aim to deliver. This strategy is similar to the Phases of Design, a methodology I’ve taught throughout this podcast and in many of my lessons. The key is to have a solid "engine" for your game or IP, and then build and iterate to get the most value out of your creativity.
Find a way to take care of yourself in the valleys, and the peaks will take care of themselves: The journey of creativity is filled with ups and downs. This episode we discuss the key strategies to support yourself during the challenging creative phases. While we can't cover everything in this brief Ah-Ha moment, our conversation is eye-opening, offering a ton of takeaways to help you navigate the hurdles on your creative journey.
Show Notes
Introduction to Jane Hoffacker and Her Multifaceted Career (00:00:00 - 00:21:00)
"Wall Street and consulting […] they burn you hard when you're fresh out of school because that's when you got the most to offer. And so you learn a lot about what you are capable of doing at that point."
The episode starts with Jane’s remarkable journey, from producing the acclaimed animated series Arcane to co-founding Incredible Dream Studios. We dig into how each skill set you’ve developed over a lifetime can be valuable in your creative endeavors.
Producing Games, The Collapse of the Music Genre, and Genre Ecosystems ( 00:21:00 - 00:31:30 )
“The difference between Magic and Guitar Hero is the ecosystem around it.”
In this segment, we discuss what it means to be a producer. We talk about her work on Guitar Hero (for Activision) and the collapse of the music-based game genre. She shares a theory about how the ecosystem around a genre can make it or break it.
Building Lasting IPs (00:31:30 - 01:02:30)
"Great franchises can be born anywhere."
Jane shares her philosophy on creating killer intellectual properties (IPs) and the role of storytelling in connecting with audiences. She starts by working at what she calls “a scrappy little start-up called Riot.” We talk about lessons learned while working in different markets such as the US, Korea, and China. We then discuss how she built Riot’s animation studio. The impressive amount of lessons that Jane had to learn and the skills she needed to hone are absolutely mindboggling.
This section ends with a conversation about the collaborative writer’s room process and the importance of narrative depth and audience engagement in establishing an IP that lasts.
Challenges of Kickstarter Campaigns (01:02:30 - 01:24:59)
"The trajectory of your campaign tells you a lot."
The conversation shifts to the challenge of launching successful Kickstarter campaigns. Jane describes lessons learned from campaigns that didn't meet expectations, the importance of their trajectory, audience engagement, and knowing when to pivot. She talks about the challenges of bringing new ideas to life and the importance of accepting failure as part of the creative journey: "Every creator needs to be prepared to be wrong."
Arcane on Netflix
Jane Chung Hoffacker — From League of Legends to animating Arcane, Rhythms of Guitar Hero, and Mastering IP Creation (#62)