Brunette Games has been nominated for the Business of the Year Award sponsored by our Mid-County Chamber of Commerce, of which we are a member. About the award:

Established in 2011, the Chamber Business of the Year Award is an award that recognizes a Chamber business who demonstrated an exceptional contribution to their industry or community within the past year. Nominated businesses should be a model business, with a reputation of excellence in one or more of the following areas: Industry Achievement, Revenue Growth, Outstanding Customer Service, Innovative products and services, creative marketing endeavors, and community involvement.

We're honored to receive the nomination and proud of our Chamber membership. Through a very difficult year for many small, local businesses, we've been impressed by the communal spirit, innovation, and unflagging entrepreneurship of our fellow Chamber members as they've weathered lengthy lockdowns and a host of new processes and procedures during the pandemic.

We're also proud to support St. Louis as a place for game industry jobs and of our role in providing valuable employment locally, as cited in our nomination letter:

Brunette Games has [nearly] doubled its revenue in the last year and hired local students from Webster University and St. Louis University. The opportunity to get experience in the exceedingly lucrative game industry is a huge opportunity for local students.

You can VOTE for Brunette Games by December 9. Wish us luck!

Our head honcho here at Brunette Games was recently named a 'top influencer' in the game industry by UserWise. Lisa Brunette was included in a roundup of experts, along with the likes of Rovio lead designer Harshal Karvande and industry vet Lloyd Melnick. "Gaming experts know it takes business, math and engineering skills to make a great game," writes author Mike Moran, "but the real pros have made the industry into an art form." 

A couple of corrections to the piece: She hadn't quite logged 30 years (more like 15) in her career by the time Nintendo drew her to the game industry, and that was in 2009, not 2007. If those two things were true, she'd be positively ancient today, which she isn't, although she's certainly logged enough experience to be considered a veteran game professional. Moran highlights a longtime trajectory in interactive writing and design, beginning with a science exhibit back in the late 90s and culminating in the narrative-focused work we do now at Brunette Games.

"It's an honor to be included," says Lisa. "Especially as the only woman of eight to be named as influencer." It's a distinction Moran highlights:

She has game-writing credits on hundreds of titles (not to mention a trilogy of novels) and has been leading the way for women in a male-saturated world for years. 

Read the full article over at UserWise.

Brunette Games Founder Lisa Brunette recently co-authored an article with popular industry analyst Om Tandon of UX Reviewer on the subject of why and how narrative fuels the rise of many blockbuster casual mobile games. "Power of storytelling in blockbuster casual games" is part of a series in which Om takes a deep dive into what makes top tier games in this space tick. In part 1, Om looked at how to crack the match-3 code, part 2 featured an interview with the Playrix team behind the Gardenscapes and Homescapes phenomenon, and here in part 3, Om interviews Lisa.

You can read the full article at GameRefinery, but here's an excerpt:

It's like the old saying goes: Trying to design a major hit game is like trying to capture lightning in a bottle. If there were one sure formula, everyone would have a hit, right? While many ingredients make a game popular with players - from a well-designed match-3 puzzle to the right blend of customization and progression pacing in the decorating element - it's our opinion at Brunette Games that a quality story is key.

With so many match-3 games on the market, and so many decorating games as well, story could be one of the key distinguishing factors you have at your disposal.