Hey adventurers!

Thanks for checking out this week's MythForce interview with Kara Brown!

Kara is a Human Resources leader with many years of HR experience across a broad set of industries. Utilizing her background in recruitment, employee relations and strategic management, she brings a passion for cultural development and employee centric policy to her work at Beamdog. With Kara's guidance, the Beamdog team has more than tripled in size since she first landed at the Studio. Her leadership in HR ensures policies keep pace with an ever-growing team, while continuing to create space for individual voices to be heard.

What first attracted you to working in games?

I've always had a love for video games and spent a lot of time in my teenage years playing with my family and friends, so the childhood nerd in me always wanted to work in the industry. From a professional point of view, the video game industry is a place where employee-forward policies are becoming a norm. As an HR professional, that is something I wanted to be a part of and lead here at Beamdog.

What was your favorite Saturday morning cartoon growing up?

The Legend of Whitefang (Canadian-developed cartoon!) and Ducktales.

What's your favorite video game? Do you have a favorite memory of playing video games?

Tough question. I love anything with a good story or entertaining couch co-op. I also secretly love FPS games, but I'm terrible at them!

My favorite game memory is sharing a single GameBoy Color with one game (Donkey Kong Country) with my two brothers on a three-week-long road trip vacation across the country. We played that game to death and went through piles of batteries to keep ourselves entertained.

Can you speak about building the work culture at Beamdog?

Building culture isn't just about dictating what you want and forcing it to exist. It's a combination of finding what elements of great culture already exist and allowing them to flourish while building new healthy workplace values and integrating them into all aspects of the organization. It's imperative that the team as a whole believes in the values of the company so that the reflection of those values is genuine.

You've worked in other industries. What are some unique challenges that come with working in the games industry?

The games industry is unique in that there is a large spotlight on us right now. That's both because of the increasing interest in games and also because of the major news stories that put this business under the microscope. I think it's the perfect time to show that we can be leaders in building a great culture and healthy workplace practices and to be good stewards of workplace diversity and inclusion.

What's one thing you wish everyone knew about working in HR?

HR isn't scary! In a healthy workplace, the large portion of what HR works on is developing programs, benefits, and other culture adds that make an employee's life better. We are here to advocate for the employees and genuinely want to create the best workplace possible.

What's the most satisfying/challenging/unusual task you've had while working on MythForce?

Being a part of building the team from the ground up has been incredibly rewarding. It's been amazing to watch the talented people we have hired build a really great game!

Which is your favorite MythForce character to play, and why?

I'm a Maggie stan, but recently I've been playing Victoria and really like the experience, particularly in co-op play.

What is the most exciting, ridiculous, triumphant, or humiliating moment you've had while playing MythForce?

I love being able to play with the new hires. Seeing people experience the game for the first time is so much fun!

What makes MythForce unique?

For me, I can see each individual that has worked on MythForce reflected in the game. Each person has left their mark on the product and it shows.