Bloodworth’s Role is Changing

After 30 years of covering games, 18 of them at GameTrailers and Easy Allies, it’s time for me to try something new. This December, I will be joining the team at Ukiyo Studios and moving to more of a background role at Easy Allies. 

I’ve been on the job hunt for quite a while, talking to dozens of people throughout the industry to explore my options. By this summer, it started to feel like I was narrowing in on what I’d want to do and getting into the right circles. Then at PAX West, I met On Takahashi from Ukiyo, and he was the one who told me I should find a way to get to Tokyo Game Show where he could introduce me to some folks I’d been trying to get in touch with.

On and I hit it off right away. He helped me pick the right hotel and get to the right parties, and even after TGS, we kept chatting multiple times a week as he continued to introduce me to new people and I gave him feedback on things he was planning for next year. I jealously prodded him about how things were looking on the ground at gamescom Asia, and then one day, I realized that what Ukiyo is doing actually fits in with my goals even better than many of the jobs I’d applied to. I brought it up with On, and soon we were discussing plans for what I’ll be doing on the team. 

Ukiyo Studios is somewhat of a Swiss Army Knife of promotional services for independent publishers and developers. The biggest element of that (and how I found them) is that they put together booths at conventions such as PAX, TGS, and Bitsummit, hosting demos for games from various teams, including Critical Reflex, New Blood, and Black Lantern Collective. Remember when I came back from TGS and showed off that cool version of No, I’m Not Human that you play with a real door? It was the team at Ukiyo that got all the pieces in place to make that happen. In addition to event support, though, they also do public relations in Japan, help with localization, keep an eye out for promising indie projects for publishers, and have a range of other services, which you can learn about at their website.

For me, I’ll be able to join them at these different conventions, including shows I’ve never been to before like Bitsummit and PAX Australia, since there just aren’t major publishers flying US journalists out to cover those shows. I’ll be helping to improve the experience and effectiveness of their demos, getting more feedback from attendees to the developers, supporting sick publishers like Critical Reflex, and building up Ukiyo’s PR presence with western media. Ukiyo has a really strong foundation among Japanese companies, and this will help them to serve as a bridge, giving Asian teams more reach in the west, and also improving awareness of western games with Asian audiences. There’s a lot for me to learn on the PR side, but to put it simply, I’ll be sending codes to a lot more people now. So if you’re a writer, streamer, or podcaster interested in covering indie games, get in touch at pr@ukiyostudios.com

Ok, so what does this mean for Easy Allies? 
Ukiyo will be my full time job. I don’t have to leave Easy Allies, but I also won’t be able to manage as much as I have in the past. So, I will no longer be producing the podcast every week, I won’t be leading company meetings, and I won’t be weighing in too heavily on what the team should or shouldn’t do. Also, to avoid conflicts of interest, I won’t be giving any games a definitive score or participating in awards discussions, and if we cover games I’m specifically working on, we’ll make that clear. 

One way to frame this is to think of me like the “night manager.” You might see me flushing a raccoon out of a vent from time to time, but much of what I’m doing for Easy Allies will be from the back office. That said, once I get my sea legs, I probably will hop on the podcast desk once in a while. I’d still like to attend the occasional preview event. And when I’m out at shows like PAX East, I might make some EZA appointments to cover a few games on the side. Also, depending on my schedule, I could still be at group streams now and then. 

There’s a lot that we’re still figuring out, and much of that will only come once I actually start doing the job. The rest of the Allies will keep the good times rolling here, and I’ve got their backs in case they need help with the paperwork or finding the right people to ask for codes. In any case, I’m excited to get out there and use my experience to support developers in new ways.

It’s a new era, but as always, I want to thank you so much for backing Easy Allies over the years. I definitely wouldn’t be here if I hadn’t been out on the road covering these shows, which was only possible thanks to your generous and ongoing support. And, hey, now that I’m traveling to new places, maybe I’ll finally get to see some of you who haven’t had the chance to come to a meetup before. 

-Daniel Bloodworth