Chris Novak’s Post

"𝗕𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗲𝘅𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗼𝗿𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗿𝘆." It’s the aspiration of anyone involved in a creative endeavor and the stated mission of 𝗡𝗭𝗫𝗧, where the belief that “anyone can be a PC gamer” drives the culture. 𝗡𝗭𝗫𝗧 has welcomed people to the PC gaming community since 2004 and, early this year, welcomed me as an Advisor to CEO Johnny Hou. Having just returned from 𝗡𝗭𝗫𝗧'𝘀 new HQ in Monrovia CA, I figured it was time to share that update. I was moved by many of you reaching out after reading some of the posts about the journey I embarked on when I left my role as Head of Xbox Research & Design two years ago. When I noted then that “whatever’s next will be informed by this shared journey,” I didn’t know how that journey would influence my future; the creative collaborations, memories, and learnings from that period were profound, and my appreciation for that that goes to many of you! I want to continue spending time with companies where I know user focus is sponsored at the highest level and at the core the innovation process, and that’s certainly the case with 𝗡𝗭𝗫𝗧. It’s magic when the CEO is a designer. Thinking about the user experience is simply in the company’s DNA. I was thrilled to be asked to be part of it. LinkedIn is many things, and above all, it should be a celebration of a shared journey and how that can help all of us answer “what’s next?” If there’s one thing I can give back, it’s the confidence in giving a big thumb’s up to the culture 𝗡𝗭𝗫𝗧 has built around user focus—it’s second to none. If you’re looking for the next step in your own journey and career—or to build the extraordinary—then come join me! 𝗝𝗼𝗯𝘀 𝗟𝗶𝗻𝗸: https://lnkd.in/gBhk-YY9 -Chris #nzxt #videogames #gamejobs #pcgaming #design #userexperience

𝗜 𝘄𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗰𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗯𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗙𝗿𝗼𝗺𝗦𝗼𝗳𝘁𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗲’𝘀 𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝙎𝙝𝙖𝙙𝙤𝙬 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙀𝙧𝙙𝙩𝙧𝙚𝙚 𝗗𝗟𝗖 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝙀𝙡𝙙𝙚𝙣 𝙍𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝘁𝗼𝗱𝗮𝘆. It’s one of two games I’ve enjoyed the most in the past decade, both as a player and as a designer. This is an outlier post for me (and I have no affiliation other than being a fan), but considering 𝘌𝘭𝘥𝘦𝘯 𝘙𝘪𝘯𝘨'𝘴 personal impact and what it’s done in the industry, I just wanted to say 𝗝𝗢𝗕 𝗪𝗘𝗟𝗟 𝗗𝗢𝗡𝗘 to everyone involved. Seriously. As an accomplishment and experience, 𝘌𝘭𝘥𝘦𝘯 𝘙𝘪𝘯𝘨 is bonkers-on-fire-amazing. 𝙀𝙡𝙙𝙚𝙣 𝙍𝙞𝙣𝙜'𝙨 𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗰𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗹𝗼𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝘀 𝗼𝗳𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗿𝘁𝘀. It’s not simply the scale and “having a big world” but rather the true sense of needing to be careful everywhere in that world – 𝗱𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗵 𝗶𝘀 𝗮 𝗽𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗳𝘂𝗹 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗿. The cadence of resting versus adrenaline is second to none. For me, it’s not the story or the combat or any number of other things it does well which is the real draw, it’s the way exploration raises the hair on the back of my neck. If you want a game where you’ll find things that make the Doof Wagon and its flamethrower-wielding guitarist from Mad Max feel sedate, this is it. 𝗜𝘁’𝘀 𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗹𝘆 𝗮𝗻 𝗲𝘅𝗮𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗯𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝘂𝗺 𝗼𝗳 𝗶𝘁𝘀 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁𝘀. In any given moment, some systems could be easier to use or more contemporary as isolated components – but when you sit back, you realize it’s a memory-making machine as an overall experience. Its ability to generate personal “hold my beer” stories is wonderful, especially when shared with friends. I know for many of us in the industry, it’s easy to “see the math” in games you’re playing, but all I feel in 𝘌𝘭𝘥𝘦𝘯 𝘙𝘪𝘯𝘨 is awe. 𝙀𝙡𝙙𝙚𝙣 𝙍𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝗶𝘀 𝗮 𝗺𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗽𝗶𝗲𝗰𝗲, 𝗳𝘂𝗹𝗹 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗽. Considering the previews, I have to imagine so is 𝘚𝘩𝘢𝘥𝘰𝘸 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘌𝘳𝘥𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘦. I can’t wait to play. #shadowoftheerdtree #eldenring #videogames #gameofthedecade #fromsoftware

Designers I speak with are often looking for relevant business information to help understand the games industry; Matthew Ball's posts are one I often recommend, and he's just written a wonderfully comprehensive state of affairs. Most importantly his summary dives into the behavioral and societal side of things (the why), where much of design lives, rather than many other commonly available reports that simply focus on dry and simple data points (the what) etc. It's a completely different class. Highly, highly recommended read, especially in a time of such dramatic change (read: pain caused by layoffs and fear generated by wondering if it will happen to you or those around you). Things in this summary may be challenging, but you will be empowered by the content. #videogames #designcommunity #userexperience #videogameindustry #design

It's been an action-packed few weeks of conferences, and I thought I'd put together thoughts from Design Matters 23: Copenhagen. #userexperience #design #creativity #videogames #designmatters23 #cdoroundtable 

I'd encourage anyone to submit a capstone project idea and partnership to UW's HCDE program. I've been fortunate to attend the showcase for the past few years, and if you can get involved with these students I'm sure they will continue to do amazing work!

I wanted to congratulate Paulie Dery and Yeti on their 2023 Innovation award from Fast Company for their “year in preview” work. I don’t know Paulie (or anyone at Yeti), but the literally forward-looking UX is something I care a lot about. Having something to look forward to—and to actually connect with others about—is hugely powerful. Three years ago in a Future of the Future Series for Spark Lab NZ I spoke about the positive individual and social effects that the simple act of having something to look forward to has, and presented some of that research. It’s literally a health benefit. I still believe technology—especially UX patterns—can accomplish a world of good if it pivoted to help people catalyze future events more. I am super excited to see Yeti take a stab at doing exactly this (I was not involved, they deserve all the accolades!) it’s exactly the direction I believe UX can benefit users the most. It’s great to see it ship, and to see it recognized by Fast Company. I wanted to recognize it too! (If you're interested in my presentation from Spark Lab, it's here: https://lnkd.in/dQTDD9aQ )

Amazon invited me and a few other design leaders to a summit about elevating design. I thought I'd share my part of what I found to be the most interesting aspect of the summit: the manifesto presentations. Thank you to Shauna McLean Tompkins for the invite. #elevatingdesignsummit #designexcellence #designinnovation #userexperience #designcommunity #elevatingdesign

Surprise! For me, the element of the unexpected in "what's next" is always the most fun. When Polygon and 💬 Khee Hoon Chan asked about the future of gaming, I was thrilled to lean in and discuss something I love so much. https://lnkd.in/du5mgv-U #videogames #xbox #gaming #design #futureofgames #designinnovation #NZXT #unity3d

#videogames #gaming #xbox #userexperience #design #designcommunity #designleadership

Over the past ten years or so, there has been a chunk of work and research done in the area of design and its use, both at the "business value" level in addition to the human level. It's been a joy to work with McKinsey as they (along with others) have progressed the body of work on this front; I've certainly leveraged their Design Index and other papers over the years! I wanted to congratulate Garen Kouyoumjian and Ben Sheppard for today's update in that series, and thank them for including me in the interview and feedback process. The structure and integration of design, as with any discipline, is valuable to map to the nuance of any org. This is an area I care about passionately, and I certainly appreciate their ongoing research and insight. Again, congrats Garen and Ben (and McKinsey) , and thank you! #design #userexperience #ux #productdesign #userresearch #videogames