Schell Games

[{"content":{"text":" Chris Arnold is the general counsel and vice president of human resources for Schell Games and oversees legal affairs and human resources. He is also responsible for developing relationships with clients, handling dispute resolutions, licensing intellectual property, and managing corporate governance. What brought you to the video game industry? I really didn\u2019t know that people could make games for a living. I played games, I enjoyed games, but working in the video game industry was never a goal of mine or on my radar. My background and education is pretty diverse. My undergraduate degree is in biology. Is it really? Yes. I wanted to be a doctor. I found out that it was not in the cards however; becoming a doctor is tough if you don\u2019t like being in a lab or seeing blood. But I graduated with a degree in biology because it took me a while to come to that realization, and I quickly found myself looking for other opportunities. In the meantime, I ended up doing a bunch of odd jobs. Like what? First, I tried to be a writer. And when you\u2019re 22 years old, you really don\u2019t have that much to write about. I discovered I was not going to be the next Hemingway or Vonnegut, so I began searching for my next venture. I moved from Beaver Falls to Pittsburgh, and I got a job as a personal assistant to the CEO and CFO of Mellon Financial . I worked for Martin McGuinn and Steven Elliott, pillars of the Pittsburgh community. I was hired to get them coffee, make sure their reports were printed on the right paper, and other administrative tasks. Okay, then what? Well, one thing I always try to do, and did back then, is to keep my eyes open and learn things. In doing that job, I gained a pretty unique perspective on how corporations operate. It really changed my thinking. How opportunities could be created- or in the case of the bank- how the bank gave companies the opportunity to create, was fascinating. It was a powerful experience for me. I developed a relationship with their general counsel, a former partner of ReedSmith and we talked a lot. Part of my job was to record the minutes and notes from Board of Directors meetings, so I had a chance to read them. I became very interested. I asked the counsel questions and he, thankfully, liked when people asked questions so he answered me. He encouraged me to apply to law school. I had never considered the law as a career before. I applied to law school and was accepted. I always wanted to help people in some way- back to the idea of becoming a doctor- and I was beginning to think that law could be a different way to do it. What aspect(s) of law interested you? While I was taking classes, the idea of intellectual property was really fascinating. I discovered that my talent is suited to defending and helping individuals with creative ability to relate to the larger world. "},"id":"8e8ea15c-c64c-466d-bbfd-d6f5d420cfbd","isHidden":false,"type":"textBlock"},{"content":{"location":"kirby","image":["file:\/\/Elhl4oJCMJc7pmqG"],"src":"","alt":"","caption":"","link":"","ratio":"","crop":"false"},"id":"380137d2-95db-4143-ac51-ec422d9d079e","isHidden":false,"type":"imageBlock"},{"content":{"text":" Okay, interesting. Learning on how to protect ideas and creativity, and to use them to create wealth were topics of interest to me. From there, I got a job at law firm Fox Rothschild in Pittsburgh. I wasn\u2019t doing intellectual property law at that time, but I learned really great lessons on how to be an attorney and how to treat clients well. I learned from incredible professionals, who took time to train me, to answer my questions, and to make sure I was a fundamentally sound, good advocate for my clients. While there, I was representing doctors and physicians, and helping to create companies. Later, one of my former professors at Pitt asked if I wanted to join his law firm, Buchanan Ingersoll , one of the bigger law firms in the city of Pittsburgh, to work in their tech transactions group. That\u2019s when I got started in intellectual property as the centerpiece of value in different company transactions. After that experience, I decided that intellectual property law was something I wanted to do. Later I worked on the client-side in intellectual property, and that\u2019s where I first met Jake Witherell . What did you do next? Working as the general counsel for that company, I started exploring ways to best leverage intellectual property. And somehow, I inherited the responsibilities of human resources (HR). I had no idea about working in HR. But it became clear to me very quickly that regardless what business you\u2019re in, you\u2019re in the people business. You need to respect how privileged you are to have contact with people who need your help and that you have the opportunity to help them. I like learning, so I started reading about best practices and policies that made sense. One of the things I\u2019ve always been mindful of is to never let the goals of a HR department get swallowed by procedure, and I think that it can happen very easily. From there, I went to Mylan , a pharmaceuticals company, and spent my time exclusively on intellectual property. While at Mylan, Jake, with whom I\u2019d worked for only a short period of time, contacted me and asked if I wanted to join him at his current employer. I knew from meeting Jake that he was someone I wanted to work with; he\u2019s brilliant, humble, and by far the most genuine person I have ever met. Very Cool. I was like, \u201cLet\u2019s do this.\u201d I came to Schell Games and I met Jesse for the first time. I had no idea who he was, what this industry was, or anything. I was cautiously curious about this opportunity, but Jake assured me that I should look into the studio and Jesse himself. How did you get started looking into Schell Games? I went on YouTube and researched Jesse. I listened to his concepts, and learned what he believed. I was impressed with his message and the fact that he was taking big swings on big issues. When I met Jesse, I found out that not only is he brilliant but he\u2019s one of the more generous, caring individuals I\u2019ve ever met. Since that time, it has been my personal and professional privilege to represent him and the studio. It\u2019s been a joy heading up HR, trying to create a culture and environment where people can be their best selves; where people can grow and work on amazing things with amazing people. "},"id":"8ce2d09b-48a0-4e88-8764-45f9f0ad1897","isHidden":false,"type":"textBlock"},{"content":{"location":"kirby","image":["file:\/\/yTe9yxbKR5fSZgUs"],"src":"","alt":"","caption":"The principles and mission statement for Schell Games","link":"","ratio":"","crop":"false"},"id":"f62b8067-9592-44e6-b9be-581c7f3a3253","isHidden":false,"type":"imageBlock"},{"content":{"text":" When people apply to work at Schell Games, they often want to know what the benefits are. Sometimes it means health care plans, vacation plans, and those things are important. But in the grand scheme of things, those things are insignificant compared to an organization\u2019s commitment everyday to make the big and small decisions with the best interest of the employees. What I mean by that is: 1) do not over regulate things, 2) understand what is important to people and makes them happy, and 3) try to deliver as consistently as possible. Running a business is messy, and full of compromise. But one thing Jesse has never compromised is his commitment to making this place amazing and sustainable for the people here. That takes courage and personal sacrifice. It\u2019s been a lot of fun to be a part of it. Since you oversee legal and HR, there\u2019s a lot on your plate. How do you stay on the top of your disciplines? First, you need to have some humility. You will not stay on top of everything. You need to establish a network, and it can be a mix of internal and external people and resources. For me, I take one piece at a time. For the legal aspect, I need to be the point person for contractual relationships, employment relations- the things that govern all the people in the studio- all the time. When issues arise that require a nuanced approach to the current state of the law, I make sure I build relationships with those experts in those relative fields. Do you have an example of that? Sure. For instance, 2016 and 2017 have been extraordinarily turbulent times for our foreign national employees. There have been many real and rumored changes to the current immigration system. Making sure that our employees not only get information- but expert information- in a timely manner is very important. We have established a network which enables me to deliver that information in a way that is actionable to them, so they can continue planning their lives. (See Chris and other legal experts in Pittsburgh respond <a href=\"http:\/\/t.umblr.com\/redirect?z=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.post-gazette.com%2Fbusiness%2Ftech-news%2F2017%2F01%2F31%2FPittsburgh-tech-companies-Schell-Games-Duolingo-Google-Uber-Lyft-react-to-Donald-Trump-immigration-order%2Fstories%2F201701310106&t=MWI0ZGQ3YjM3NzIxNjdiNzEyMTUwMTJiYjlmMzk4ZTE0NDBmOWVkYyxYdzVOYlZxVQ%3D%3D&b=t%3AZoCSVqhZSToH64eo0NGByQ&p=http%3A%2F%2Fsglabs.schellgames.com%2Fpost%2F163253196703%2Fvisit-with-a-veep-chris-arnold&m=1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">to the February 2017 announcement about the \u2018travel ban\u2019 ) In other aspects, there are projects like Happy Atoms . We applied for a U.S. patent for the modeling set. I am an intellectual property attorney, but not a patent attorney. In order to obtain the protection and go through the application process, we retained other attorneys. Also, in my group of friends we talk, and I get information from them to make sure that I am properly fulfilling my responsibilities in the best way possible. "},"id":"6892ca90-640f-419a-9b1f-a14bc1aba153","isHidden":false,"type":"textBlock"},{"content":{"location":"kirby","image":["file:\/\/NytJaF3GzlHVUiA9"],"src":"","alt":"","caption":"Happy Atoms, a physical and digital chemistry modeling set","link":"","ratio":"","crop":"false"},"id":"05274cee-f461-40ce-86af-74f4d907bef6","isHidden":false,"type":"imageBlock"},{"content":{"text":" Okay, good deal. Now what about the HR side? For HR, I am incredibly lucky to have Lauren Reed , our HR manager. Lauren is a ravenous consumer of information. She is very connected on all national trends relating to our industry and to companies in general. It is important to make sure that you are following best practices for your employees. We are actually exceeding a number of those \u2018best practices,\u2019 The way we look at it, the \u2018best practice\u2019 is our floor. Anything else, anything that might be more flexible, or more difficult to administer, we\u2019re on it. We\u2019re in the solving business. We\u2019re not in the business to make HR easy. It takes work. It doesn\u2019t matter if it\u2019s hard for us; we want to make sure the policies and practices we adopt work for the people who work here. The trap that many HR departments fall into is trying to avoid the hard stuff. It\u2019s easy to do that. They may think \u201chow can we make this process more efficient?\u201d but efficient and effective are different words for very good reasons. They don\u2019t always mean the same thing. "},"id":"fbcdd8c5-0477-44d4-828e-c30814803c05","isHidden":false,"type":"textBlock"},{"content":{"location":"kirby","image":["file:\/\/FCSBwtkyZCclFYRt"],"src":"","alt":"","caption":"Lauren Reed speaking to a group about attracting and retaining a diverse workforce.","link":"","ratio":"","crop":"false"},"id":"ccc33053-3f2a-48c3-9df3-70ca69328cad","isHidden":false,"type":"imageBlock"},{"content":{"text":" That\u2019s very true. We aim to be effective. It\u2019s a balancing act, but we try to do right by our people with the resources we have. When we do something, you have to understand that people may not see the whole picture. It doesn\u2019t change people\u2019s expectations. And you have to make peace with that reality. If you don\u2019t, you\u2019re going to be miserable. You can\u2019t have the mindset \u201cI can\u2019t believe all these people want me to do all this..\u201d , because yes, they do. Of course they do! Should they really understand that we\u2019re a small company, not a FORTUNE 500, and we can\u2019t do a lot of things those companies can do all at once, without the benefit of that kind of capital? No, but we do the best we can, and we make sure that when we do something that it\u2019s consistent with the type of place Jesse wants to create. Whenever there is a new or changed policy, it\u2019s not disconnected. It makes our teams better. It makes our place more fun and playful. It hopefully creates an environment where people feel free to grow. I think those are the things that we look for when we try to manage all the expectations of our people and the duties and responsibilities we have. From a hiring perspective, what characteristics do you look for in a potential hire that other companies or other industries might overlook or ignore? The thing that separates our industry from other custom software companies- especially those that I have worked with- is our lack of ego. If you\u2019re going to work at Schell Games, you have to check your ego at the door. I like the way that Jesse puts it, \u201cthis is not the place for talented jerks.\u201d You cannot be a diva, and you cannot think your ideas are precious, because the only thing that matters is the experience the team is building. It\u2019s important because our scale for success is different. How do you think it is different? For traditional software companies, or custom software developers, those companies are creating products that solve problems the user has. Look at TurboTax, for example. It has to make sure that the user\u2019s tax return is right, while also delivering an easy customer experience. So for TurboTax, getting a 10 out of 10 for customer satisfaction is important. But our scale is a 15 out of 10. We have to do everything that TurboTax et. al. do, but we also have to garner the \u201choly crap this stuff is magic\u201d response. We have to create experiences that people would rather do instead of watch TV, listen to music, or other leisure activities you can imagine. We are battling for the discretionary time of the consumer when they come across any of our products. Discretionary time is the most precious resource in the world. No government is going to require you to play a video game, or go to an amusement park. "},"id":"f4f10f6c-efac-4991-97f0-632ba817dde5","isHidden":false,"type":"textBlock"},{"content":{"location":"kirby","image":["file:\/\/g4pgOnLI9nW71B9a"],"src":"","alt":"","caption":"Screenshot of the awesome art in mobile VR game Frostbound, a Schell Games original game.","link":"","ratio":"","crop":"false"},"id":"cea2e0f1-3081-41c5-8ad6-09510ced7d05","isHidden":false,"type":"imageBlock"},{"content":{"text":" I see what you mean. How does Schell Games create that type of experience? For us to get to that \u201815 out of 10,\u2019 our products require an inordinate amount of iteration. Trying different things, playtesting again and again, and at every step there are ideas that have to change. There will be ideas that you as a developer thought were brilliant, but end up being flaming disasters. Not only do you have to be okay with that, but you have to want to know that your idea or design might not work. To do that, you have to be humble, and be willing to seek out information in a way that is typically pretty foreign to people not in this industry. When people come to interview here, I tell them that being able to collaborate with passion and humility is crucial. Our process of rapid iteration demands that people communicate clearly and give their best selves at all times. To put it simply, the people who do the best in our studio are those who can give good feedback and work well with others, while being incredibly technologically savvy. What makes the Schell Games leadership team click? Everyone has the same goals. No one is working off some different agenda. Everyone wants to make great, meaningful games and experiences together. When weighing the opportunity of a new project or policy, the leadership always thinks about all the factors that could affect the studio. While there may be differences in opinion, there are never differences in the over-arching goal. What advice would you give to those trying to get into the video game industry? Demonstrate your passion. People apply to Schell Games, and say that they \u201cwant to be in game development.\u201d That\u2019s the wrong approach. I want to see people who are already designing and developing. Show me the things that you\u2019ve been doing. I want to see the ugly prototype that you made by yourself. Tell me why it looks bad, or why it doesn\u2019t work. I want to see your thought process; how you jumped from concept to concept in your portfolio. Why did you make the changes, and what was the intention? What was your vision? Anyone can say that they \u201cwant\u201d to do something. I want to see what you\u2019re doing, and that you have the ability and willingness to grow and learn. No one is entering the industry as a finished product. You may be just starting your career. Show aptitude of your skill, potential of growth, and most importantly, put your stuff out there. I know that the prototype you made by yourself isn\u2019t going to look like World of Warcraft . I understand that. Show me what you\u2019ve made. Tell me you\u2019re going to game jams . Search out opportunities so you have a story to tell. "},"id":"efa33b00-8407-4fa3-ad36-7ed5a43a9193","isHidden":false,"type":"textBlock"}]

Visit with a Veep | Chris Arnold

July 21, 2017 · insights

Let's work together.