We recently connected with Jay Shin and have shared our conversation below.

Jay, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. One of the things we most admire about small businesses is their ability to diverge from the corporate/industry standard. Is there something that you or your brand do that differs from the industry standard? We’d love to hear about it as well as any stories you might have that illustrate how or why this difference matters.

There are actually so many stories I could share about how we do things differently but I will choose one that had the most impact on me personally. It is a story about how I recently became CEO and Managing director and one that I think is pertinent to highlight considering the current industry sentiment on incompetent leadership teams.

On our way back from our visit to Gamescom in 2022, Ben dropped a bombshell on me by offering me the promotion to CEO and Managing director. I was pretty floored. What struck me most wasn’t just the offer itself, but the genuine humility behind it. He had been in charge since the inception of Arrogant Pixel and meant that he would be stepping back from the role he had held for years. He said that I was the leader that we needed and that he thought I would do an amazing job representing the company. He joked that everyone already thought I was CEO anyway.

It meant a lot to me because I know that it took a great deal of self-awareness on his part to recognise that he didn’t necessarily have what it takes to be a team leader. He was so full of compliments that day (he’s normally pretty grumpy and cynical – sorry, Ben). We made it official after getting on the phone with the board directors and we went out for a romantic meal to celebrate!

I will always remember that moment as the first time that someone had stepped back and let me move forward. I’m so happy and proud that it happened for me at Arrogant Pixel. It’s about recognising strengths in others and being willing to step aside when someone else is better suited for a role. Instead of clinging to authority, this act of self-awareness and trust not only empowered me but also reinforced a culture of collaboration and support within the company.

It is important to foster a culture where individuals feel valued, supported, and trusted to take on new challenges. I hope this story inspires others to push their colleagues forward.

Jay, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Everything we do is about challenging the status quo – our games aim to deliver unexpected and genre-subverting experiences with a lot of heart. I am really proud to lead my team because they constantly receive so many compliments about how creative, talented and professional they are. From the games to our company culture and I think it’s important to lead by example.

I started Arrogant Pixel with my partner Ben Simpson in 2011 after trying to making websites and applications for a few years. In 2015, we officially incorporated with some friends from University (Assad Bokhari and Ryan Callard) after the beta build of The Tale of Doris and the Dragon went viral on Newgrounds and various other indie portals. Not only was this a game series about Ben’s very real late grandmother, Doris but an exploration of a game narrative design that featured an elderly protagonist. It hadn’t been done before – or was rare enough to be novel and interesting. I really loved working on it. Something about this silly, pixel-art adventure about recently deceased Doris and her loyal, inexplicably scouse Dragon friend, Norb, captured the heart of netizens and achieved 100,000+ plays and downloads across the internet.

Currently, we have two games in production: Terratorial, a cute and cartoony, real-time strategy game built for PC and console set in space and Traders of the Silk Road, a physical card game about becoming the richest merchant in the 14th century by betraying your friends (Now on Kickstarter – Prelaunch!) – I’m really excited about both of these projects. I hope to be able to talk more about them soon. On top of all this, we are also devoted and lifelong educators; we work with incredible clients to develop game prototypes and offer a range of media, content creation, animation and art services.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

I’ve pivoted multiple times in life. I started my career in the music industry, first as a performer but later as an artist manager booking shows, managing acts and generally working in live events. I still love music but I hated the realities of working in the industry. The hours, the environment and the pay made it completely unsustainable to have a full-time career.

Fortunately, I had the foresight to start learning graphic design software and became proficient in Photoshop and Illustrator at the same time my partner had started working at a website development agency. I supplemented my income from designing websites and teaching part-time.

I decided to defect completely to games when the Tale of Doris and the Dragon blew up on Newgrounds. It was the best decision I ever made.

Do you have any insights you can share related to maintaining high team morale?

Some advice I have for managing a team and maintaining high morale is to prioritise autonomy and trust. Giving team members the freedom to make decisions and take ownership of their work not only boosts morale but also encourages creativity and innovation.

Agency is also crucial. Every team member, regardless of their position, should feel like they have a real impact on how we run the company. I make it a point to seek input from everyone before making major decisions, and I take full responsibility for the outcomes, whether positive or negative.

Honesty and transparency are non-negotiable. Keeping the lines of communication open and being transparent about company goals, challenges, and decisions builds trust and fosters a sense of camaraderie among the team.

Remote working has provided us with the flexibility to accommodate everyone’s schedules while maintaining productivity. Good communication remains paramount in this setup, and we’ve found that it can even enhance productivity compared to onsite work.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.arrogantpixel.com
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jayshin-gamedev/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/jaywshin
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4QAsNNORPknfsFGuJuEWzA
• Other: https://store.steampowered.com/app/516840/The_Tale_of_Doris_and_the_Dragon__Episode_1/ https://store.steampowered.com/app/632590/The_Tale_of_Doris_and_the_Dragon__Episode_2/