Meet the Team: Chris Gregan
It’s been a little while since we’ve had a ‘Meet the Team’ post and we thought the blog was well overdue for a few more. This week, we are happy to introduce Chris Gregan, PlayFirst’s Chief Architect working in Dublin, Ireland.
(Yes, we have an office in Ireland! Cool, right?)
1. Can you briefly describe your role here at PlayFirst?
My job title at PlayFirst is Chief Architect. The role involves a lot of research and development into new games technology. I work closely with the rest of the team to find new ways to improve the gameplay experience for our customers. I also manage a fantastic team of game developers based here in Dublin, Ireland.
2. What's your favorite part about your job?
Having the opportunity to work with and learn from some of the most talented people in the industry. It's also really cool to see the games we've worked so hard to create topping the charts!
3. Who is your favorite PlayFirst character?
The fire-breathing Bridezilla from Wedding Dash. I love my old Godzilla movies!
4. What's life like in Ireland? (compared to what you've heard/seen of the U.S)
I think we have a lot in common with the US. People are generally friendly and relaxed and there's a strong sense of community. It's a good place to live and raise a family. Like the US, we've had a tough few years with the economy but there's a growing feeling now that the country is getting back on it's feet.
5. What part of St. Patrick's Day is your favorite? (ie. Food, parade?)
Bringing the kids down to the local parade and meeting up with the family is always great fun. The organizers don't have any money to spend on fancy floats or marching bands but it's really just about meeting up and having a good time.
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Thanks to Chris for letting us interview him last minute!
Hopefully we can introduce a few more of our Irish team in the coming weeks.
Written by Chris
Meet the Team: Kristina Cheng
In celebration of our Valentine’s Day update for Mall Stars, we’re going behind the scenes to interview Mall Stars Product Manager, Kristina Cheng!
1. Can you briefly explain what you do here at PlayFirst?
As a Product Manager, I get to see how players interact with our games in order to figure out how to make them more fun and engaging!
2. What's the favorite part of your job?
Developing and releasing a game often requires the hard work of a whole lot of people, and what's cool about my role is that I basically get the opportunity to work with them all-- from design to engineering to marketing and much more, it's so interesting to be involved in each part of the process.
3. What hobbies/interests do you have outside of work?
Fortunately PlayFirst is located in San Francisco where there's so much to do-- on my free time, I like taking my bike out around Golden Gate Park, checking out museums and shows in the area, and playing video games, of course!
4. What type of games do you like to play?
For me, there's a time and place for all types of games. I like to pass time on the train ride to work with a tricky puzzle game, or I'll relax in the evening with something more cinematic and story-driven. Then there are times when I'm compelled to load up an action game where I can hack and slash/shoot/blow stuff up. 
5. If you could design your dream game, what would it be?
It'd be an adventure with both stealth and action components. The story would be driven by mystery and criminal intrigue, starring Freddie Mercury (my cat, not the musician), with cameos from a few of my favorite things-- such as baked goods and Thor.
Thanks to Kristina for participating! Join us next week and meet another PlayFirst team member!
If you haven’t updated to the latest version of Mall Stars, download it free now!
Written by Chris
Meet the Team: CEO Marco DeMiroz
In the last few interviews, we’ve been interviewing a variety of team members who have worked on, managed or overseen the production of Hotel Transylvania Dash. This week, we are proud to present our interview with PlayFirst Inc. CEO, Marco DeMiroz.
We caught up with Marco this week to learn a little more about him.
1. Could you briefly explain what your role here as CEO entails?
It’s a combination of many responsibilities: setting the vision & strategy, building the executive team, translate the strategy into operational objectives & milestones and then driving the execution together with the rest of the company.
2. What is your favorite part about working at PlayFirst?
The awesome team we have! Our team is super smart, driven and funny! We focus on our collective success model where our achievements and corporate success are a result of our collective efforts and cooperation. We work together and have fun at the same time to build the next big game company.
3. What do you like the most about Hotel Transylvania Dash?
It’s a great combination of a wonderful story by Sony and the super addicting game play of our Dash platform.
4. Who is your favorite Hotel Transylvania Dash character?
Dracula is my #1 choice with Frank as a close 2nd.
5. What do you like to do outside of work?
Anything with my family, especially going to the beach, playing all sorts of mobile games, soccer and tennis plus watching the 49ers!
6. Do you have anything you wish to say to our dedicated fans?
We love and appreciate our fans! They make PlayFirst happen! We are humbled by their loyalty and we are dedicated to developing super fun games that will entertain and engage them.
If you’d like to keep up with all the Hotel Transylvania Dash updates, sign up for our subscriber list!
Written by Chris
Games in this post: Hotel Transylvania Dash
Meet the Team: Emma Kumakura
This week we bring you the third interview in our ‘Meet The Team’ series. We’re proud to introduce Emma Kumakura, Senior Director of Production on the Hotel Transylvania Dash game!
We caught up with Emma this week to learn a little more about her.
1. Can you briefly explain what you worked on for Hotel Transylvania Dash?
For Hotel Transylvania Dash, I played the Producer role, leading stand ups, making sure everything is in order....ordering sounds and updating the Game Design Doc.
2. What is your favorite part of your job?
As a producer, I love the whole process of making games and the amazing talent we have. As the Sr. Director of Production, I enjoy working across titles and working with even more groups of teams and talent.
3. Who's your favorite Hotel Transylvania Dash character? Why?
My favorite character would have to be Murray the Mummy. The smile in the movie with all the tiny, long teeth is hilarious and the game also shows the goofy smile.
4. What types of games are you into? Examples?
One hobby I have is playing in digital and mixed media art. I love digital painting when I get the opportunity. I am actually looking forward to joining some circus aerial classes.
5. If you could design your dream game, what would it be?
Honestly, I would probably make some tongue-in-cheek, edgy games with funny animations, much like the Adult Swim games that are out there.
If you’d like to keep up with all the Hotel Transylvania Dash updates, sign up for our subscriber list!
Written by Chris
Games in this post: Hotel Transylvania Dash
Meet the Team: Lars Edwards
This week we bring you the second interview in our ‘Meet The Team’ series. We’re proud to introduce Lars Edwards, another artist on the Hotel Transylvania Dash game!
We caught up with Lars this week to learn a little more about him.
1. Can you briefly explain what you worked on for Hotel Transylvania Dash?
My focus was primarily the character design and animation.
2. What is your favorite part of your job?
I love that I get to design, problem-solve, and animate. I like working on all aspects of a project--so our process really appeals to me!
3. Who's your favorite Hotel Transylvania Dash character? Why?
I haven't had a chance to see the film yet, so my experience with the characters was based largely on the trailers. I thought Murray the Mummy was a lot of fun to animate--he's so round!
4. What types of games are you into? Examples?
I like puzzle games a lot--those are the games that really engage me. Sword and Sorcery, Lost Winds, Angry Birds, Bejeweled, Diner Dash, any Zelda games.
5. If you could design your dream game, what would it be?
I have always been a big fan of elaborate narrative puzzle games--though it's dated, I still love the thought and challenges presented in a game like Riven: Myst 2. I think if I had the opportunity, it would be amazing to create an entire world based on intricate clues.
If you’d like to keep up with all the Hotel Transylvania Dash updates, sign up for our subscriber list!
Written by Chris
Games in this post: Hotel Transylvania Dash
Meet the Team: Marianna Polyakova, Product Manager
This week we bring you a special Mall Stars edition of our Meet the Team series, featuring team member Marianna Polyakova.
1. What is your position here at PlayFirst?
I am a Product Manager here at PlayFirst. I make sure our games are fun to play and spend a lot of time thinking about how we can make our products better for our fans!
2. Which Mall Star is your favorite? Why?
I really like Walter Wily (the old grandpa!) because he is very cute and comical!
3. What is your favorite part about your job?
I very much enjoy being part of a team. At the end of the day, we all work collectively to create something that we hope brightens your day! Also knowing that I am a part of something bigger and that I get to create awesome games every day with my wonderful colleagues!
4. What do you do outside of work? Any hobbies or interests?
I have a pretty hectic job so naturally I gravitate towards activities that are relaxing/calming. I practice Yoga and work out almost every day. I find being active mellows me out quite a bit. I also enjoy learning and reading about a variety of topics in my spare time.
5. Anything you wish to say to the Mall Stars fans?
We put many long hours into Mall Stars to ensure players have an enjoyable and fun gaming experience, and will continue to put many, many, many more hours into Mall Stars - we want to ensure Mall Stars is and continues to be a high quality game! Most of all, we want it to be a fun experience. We care tremendously about you guys having fun and want you to enjoy your time playing Mall Stars. If something is not fun in the game, we will work very hard to ensure it gets changed immediately. You guys rock!
We hope you have enjoyed another interview in our Meet the Team series and a big thank you to Marianna for taking time out of her busy schedule to let us interview her!
If you haven't yet checked out Mall Stars, what are you waiting for? It's FREE and available right now on iPad and iPhone!
Click here to download Mall Stars.
Written by Chris
Meet the Team: Chris Newman, Social Media and Customer Service Intern
Ever wonder who the person on the other side of those support tickets is? What about the guy who posts those Facebook competitions? This week you get to meet him, uhh... me.
1. Can you briefly explain what you do here at PlayFirst?
On an average day I will work my way through any customer support tickets, interact with the community on all of our social networking platforms (eg. Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest) and attend meetings.
2. What is your favorite part about working here at PlayFirst?
The team of people I get to work with and the community. I also really like the view from my window.
Slightly overcast today!
3. What do you like to do outside of work?
When I'm not busy here at PlayFirst I'm going to college and working part time. I also like to explore San Francisco when I get the chance as it's a lot bigger and livelier than my small Aussie city was.
4. What types of games are you into? Examples?
I am a big Starcraft 2 player. I organized, streamed and ran tournaments over the past few years and even competed at one point! I'm also really looking forward to Guild Wars 2.
5. If you could design a game and release it, what would you create?
If I could create any game I would design something similar to the Battlefield series only instead of soliders and guns, players would be able to pick various characters from the Middle Ages (eg. knights, archers) and battle on castles. I'd probably add some dragons too because really, who doesn't like dragons...
6. What PlayFirst character or animal are you?
I'd have to say Flo, simply because I'm so busy all the time and have to dash around everywhere!
7. Anything you wish to add?
I look forward to meeting everyone through Facebook, Twitter, The PlayFirst Blog and customer support tickets!
Next week we will have another Product Manager in the spotlight! Stay tuned.
Written by Chris
Meet the Team: Steven Chen, Associate Product Manager
Do you love Diner Dash? Cooking Dash? What about Wedding Dash? These games wouldn't be the well loved classics they are today without the awesome staff we have here at PlayFirst.
Beginning today we are going to introduce a new staff member each week and get the low down on who they are and what makes them awesome. The first team member for you to meet is Steven Chen, Associate Product Manager of the much loved DinerTown Zoo game.
Steven, can you briefly explain what you do here at PlayFirst?
I am currently working on improving DinerTown Zoo. My goal is to continuously make the game more exciting and engaging for all the zookeepers out there.
What's your favorite part about your job here at PlayFirst?
My favorite part of the job is the cross team interactions where you learn and discuss ideas. It's exciting to see features based on a different perspective.
What do you do when you are not at work?
When I'm not at work, I'm watching sports or discovering delicious local restaurants that tourists don't know about. 
I'm a foodie at heart and I appreciate great food.
What types of games are you into? Any examples?
I am a huge fan of sports games such as NCAA Football or Madden. What makes it exciting is how they put so much emphasis on getting the details and design correctly.
If you could design a dream game and publish it, what would it be?
I would create a social fantasy football/basketball game. Not sure how it would work... but it would be cool if it existed.
Finally, what is your favorite DinerTown Zoo animal?
The monkey of course!
We hope you have enjoyed the first in a series of weekly blog posts that will introduce you to the various members of the PlayFirst team. Next week, you will meet the product manager of our DASH classic games.
Written by Chris
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