Member Article

MAG Interactive appoints new Studio Manager

Mobile gaming company MAG Interactive has appointed Tone Brennan as Studio Manager to help grow the Brighton studio’s games and raise its profile.

He will also help to manage the eventual return to the office in central Brighton, when restrictions surrounding coronavirus are relaxed.

Brennan joins MAG Interactive from mobile game developer Outplay Entertainment in Dundee where was a Senior and Executive Producer. Previously he was an Executive Producer at All 4 Games for Channel 4.

Brennan said: “I love the games that MAG Interactive makes. Before even speaking to MAG I was very familiar with Ruzzle, QuizDuel and Word Domination, so when I was contacted about the role it was an easy decision to want to talk to them.

“The decision became even easier the more I found out about the company structure, and the importance of the culture that has been created at MAG. One of the most important aspects is that I felt there would be a good match between how I like to work, and how MAG likes to work. And that match seemed really clear from the very start.”

Brennan will lead the studio from Scotland remotely for now, as the rest of the team continue to work from home in Brighton.

He said: “That is going to be different, and will take its own special kind of effort. Everyone has been very welcoming and MAG has adjusted to working remotely well. The company seem to be doing a great job of looking after everyone while they’re based at home.

“There will be the more practical demands of trying to work out the best way to get the teams back working together in the studio or to see where we need to adapt or learn based on the lockdown. But even from 500 miles away, I cannot wait to get established at MAG and to get into the Brighton studio with everybody else as soon as I can!”

Brennan was attracted to MAG Interactive’s flat hierarchy and studio culture where he feels that trust and open communication are encouraged. It’s the type of culture he has always tried to create in previous roles.

He adds: “It became clear that MAG really believe in having good people and providing proper team empowerment. It’s common for studios to say that the teams have the autonomy to make decisions about the product they’re working on, but it’s much harder to make it happen in practice. MAG’s core values are based around trusting the teams, and making sure they feel safe and supported in making decisions. I find this to be pretty rare, and that was what really attracted me.”

Brennan is looking forward to stepping out of his core production role and plans to listen and learn from the team to enable him to champion them. He intends to bring a dose of practicality and humour to his role and added he was looking forward to being able to move to Brighton with his family, enjoy the warmer weather and vibrant seaside city.

Daniel Hasselberg, CEO at MAG Interactive, said: “I am very happy to have Tone join our Brighton studio. He brings a deep experience of production of mobile games and shares my view on the importance of building strong and independent teams that feel true ownership of their games. As we continue to invest in the Brighton studio in general and Wordzee in particular it is great to have Tone onboard supporting the teams in their mission to build top performing games.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by MAG Interactive .