New Team Members: Andy Richdale and Mike Haught

Posted March 1, 2015

Coming into 2015 (Launch year!), we decided we and our game engine were ready to bring on more game designers to really add some muscle to the development. Up until now we had a single game designer whose focus was on getting the overall macro design laid down and then directing the engine development to support that design. Now that is almost complete, and so two new game designers were hired.

Andy Richdale

We’ve known Andy for some time now (Paul Abrahams and Andy are childhood friends) and so when the opportunity came up, Andy was keen to apply and we were keen to have him. Andy has had a love both for playing and creating games since a young age. As a child he would create sprawling Lego adventure games with vast dungeons scrawled in maths books. He later progressed to creating computer games on his home PC. He is also a musician and has played the drums for a variety of bands and church groups. He completed both a Bachelor of Media Arts and a Bachelor of Computer Science before starting his professional career as a Web Developer. The passion for creating games stayed with him though and he would spend large amounts of spare time working on game ideas. He is excited to now be able to pursue his passion as his vocation and intends to help make The Aetherlight into a quality game that many players will enjoy.

Mike Haught

Mike saw our advert for a game designer and eagerly applied. His previous job was in World War 2 table top games, and so he has spent many years honing his skills of translating historic events into playable scenarios. A perfect fit! Mike has a passion for history and finding out how everything connects together. From an early age to today, Mike designs board games, card games, and miniature games to explore and learn about the world around him and to have fun with friends and family. He believes that games should tell stories and that players should walk away from them having overcome challenges as well as have had an enjoyable experience. Mike’s journey has brought him from his native USA to New Zealand in 2007.

brookwarner

Brook is a learner and a thinker who loves to help bring about change. He has an MSc from Auckland University and a Grad Diploma in Applied Theology from Carey Baptist College. This interface of science and theology underscores his passion for systems, processes, people and strategy - all of which are vital for his role as Producer, which is about overseeing the team and keeping the project on schedule.