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Innovating Trivia with Education, Diversity, and Images! Insights from Mind Body Trivia Creator Lesley Nagy
56 Plays6 months ago
In this episode of the Player Engage podcast, Greg welcomes Lesley Nagy, the founder of Mind Body Trivia, a unique mobile game that combines health, fitness, and wellness with engaging trivia gameplay. Lesley shares her journey from being a TV host to creating a women-led startup that is making waves in the gaming industry. She discusses the inspiration behind Mind Body Trivia, the challenges of developing a game without prior experience, and the importance of inclusive and diverse content. Lesley also highlights the role of community feedback in improving the game and her commitment to supporting other women in the gaming industry.
Key Takeaways:
- Innovative Trivia Gameplay: Learn how Mind Body Trivia uses image-based answers and modern pop culture references to make trivia fun and educational.
- Women in Gaming: Discover Lesley's experiences and insights on the importance of women supporting women in the gaming industry.
- Building a Game from Scratch: Hear about the challenges and solutions Lesley encountered while developing her game without a background in coding.
- Community Engagement: Understand the role of community feedback in shaping and improving Mind Body Trivia.
To dive deeper into Lesley's inspiring journey and the unique features of Mind Body Trivia, listen to the full episode. You'll gain valuable insights into the intersection of gaming, health, and community building. Don't miss out on this engaging conversation!
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Transcript
Introduction to Mind Body Trivia
00:00:07
Speaker
Hey everybody, welcome to the Player Engage podcast. Greg here. Today we're excited to welcome Leslie Nagy, founder of Mind Body Trivia, a mobile game that raises awareness about health, fitness, and wellness through fun magazine-style gameplay. Leslie's women-led startup is making waves of inclusive and diverse content.
00:00:24
Speaker
featuring trivia with image answer choices and rewards for walking.
Inspiration and Concept of the Game
00:00:30
Speaker
We'll discuss the inspiration behind mind-body trivia, the role of women in gaming, and how the game promotes health and wellness. Plus, we'll explore her transition from TV to gaming and strategies for building an engaged community. So first off, Leslie, thank you so much for joining us today. Is there anything I missed that you want to share about yourself? No, thank you. That was a great intro. Very lovely. Thank you.
00:00:52
Speaker
I'm so excited to talk about mind body trivia. You know, I think the fun thing is is how how can trivia really boost your well being and be inclusive. And so we tried to do trivia in a whole new way. So I don't want you to think of your old trivia games. I want you to think of fun, exciting trivia. Well, I love that. First of all, I think trivia games are some of my most entertaining because I could sit there and play with my wife or whoever's in the room and we can all play around.
Leslie's Journey into Gaming
00:01:18
Speaker
And it's a very
00:01:19
Speaker
engaging way to kind of play a game with multiple people who are around, but I'm really curious that you have a background in TV and you're an on-air host and doing stuff like that. How did you end up in gaming?
00:01:33
Speaker
No, you know what? Don't challenge me in pop culture because I will win. I'm a trivia fan, always been a trivia fan and a good player. And I really wanted to know why it wasn't updated, why it didn't have images, why it wasn't full of the stars of today, why I kept playing the same thing again and again.
Creative Process and Challenges
00:01:55
Speaker
And so it was a conversation with my twin sister over dinner.
00:01:58
Speaker
You know, like all good conversations have, you know, what could we do to really update trivia and make it talk to us and relevant to me, you know, as a mom, a woman, as a someone who loves pop culture, could we make it fun and actually kind of teach something at the same time because
00:02:16
Speaker
My sister is super smart. She has her PhD. She's an epidemiologist. So she was like, why doesn't it teach anything? So we were joking. We were like, yeah, why don't we have celebrities and health? Why don't we say, for example, what does Oprah have? Hashimoto's disease? What does Hugh Jackman have? Skin cancer? And then we were like,
00:02:36
Speaker
Yeah, you're right. Why doesn't it teach something? Because right, we're not alone in health challenges. We all have something. But then you go back to my television, I'm like, but we have to make it fun. So we kept going back to the, but how do we make it fun? So yeah, let's use a modern celebrities. Let's use sports, but not just sports that we always see. Why not golf and tennis and running and cycling? What about fitness and working out?
00:03:01
Speaker
What about all these topics that relate to now that are, I want to say neglected in trivia, but not in our trivia. They're there. And so could we incorporate all that and make it fun and exciting? And that was using images. So we're the first trivia game with image-filled answers.
00:03:19
Speaker
which seems completely normal coming from television and that it wasn't in gaming is crazy to me. So I didn't think it was really that unusual, but we're the first to do that. We're the first to include women's sports, Paralympians, again, topics that no one ever talks about or covers, but they are part of our pop culture now.
00:03:37
Speaker
So that was how it started, and it kept the ball rolling. Our first playtester, who we didn't know at all, said, it's a mind-opening game. And it was just, ah, I was like, we are onto something. And so I have that splashed, I think, at my website. But that wasn't an advertiser, anyone paying me. That was a real comment that I just thought really said, you know what? I think we are onto something. Let's keep going and make this better and
Game Development and Team Building
00:04:03
Speaker
better.
00:04:03
Speaker
You know, it's this cool thing that you did, right? You're in TV, you decide, I want to build a game. You sit down with your sister, you kind of, assume, kind of spec it out, what we want to do, how we want to do it. I'm going to make an assumption here and tell me I'm wrong, but I'm guessing you probably haven't built a game or coded much gaming in your lifetime. So how do you, and if I'm wrong, sorry, but how do you actually go and build a game?
00:04:28
Speaker
right, that was what you have to learn, right? We start off with the content because we knew how to do that. So we literally started with building out the content. And so since you have to start with what you know, I, you know, hand selected all the images, we hand wrote most of the questions because I said as we want to include women's sports or anything that meant
00:04:47
Speaker
realizing that that's not included and we had to hand write it ourselves. So now that we have all this content, how do we go about building a game, which was also a big feat to take on. But Google answers all those questions for you. And now you have to go find a great team to build to, you know, see your vision come to light and really, you know, trial and error and hitting at home and finding really talented people who could help
00:05:11
Speaker
you and I sought out women and the women supporting women movement, I will stand by it because I got a women mentor who encouraged me and really set me in the right direction. And so I would reach out to women in games
00:05:28
Speaker
And women in games responded, hey, it's great to see another woman in game. And there was not a woman who really wasn't saying, yeah, keep going for it. You can do this. Or here, try this route or contact this person. And maybe that's not the answer. But it leads you on a path that gets you your answer. So women help women and men help women. Just as excited were men helping us because we're saying, hey, we're a woman-led startup. And they're saying, yeah, what do you need?
00:05:57
Speaker
And you go, wow, I wouldn't be here without that journey of encouragement. So I'm all for it. And every time I meet another woman in games, I'm like, hey, you need advice or you need anything. You let me know. I have to pay it forward and pay it back.
00:06:15
Speaker
I'll give a shout out here for keywords. We have a big women's games initiative and priority. I'm rocking her shirt today. That's actually the only keyword shirts they sent me, but I do love the shirt. But we did a podcast with them. It's a great group of
00:06:29
Speaker
women and men that are all part of the group, right? It's all about inclusive and about kind of understanding the challenges that are out there and how you can overcome them. So I think that's great. And the way you went about it is awesome. My question, you know, at keywords, we do a lot of outsourcing stuff like that. How do you is building a game
00:06:47
Speaker
how do you know when your limitation like how do you know everyone always thinks they can do everything right like I'm gonna do everything right like how do you know when it's like all right I need to tap someone else in because this is where like my time is better spent building these questions finding the content for the questions not learning unity on how to do this right like when do you like is there a point that you realize that you need help at a certain place oh yeah you need
00:07:11
Speaker
It takes a village to do anything, right?
Role as Producer and Industry Experiences
00:07:14
Speaker
So you need constant help in a way, but you need motivation from anyone else. They have to kind of like what they're doing. And the person who started the first, you know, the version that we see now that I love and telling him my inspiration and him building out maybe the first page of the homepage, that takes, you know, it's crazy what a process that is, because I was saying, I don't want pink or purple.
00:07:41
Speaker
I know I'm a woman. I don't want pink or purple in this. Can we make this game not have that? And it was like, why? Well, the competition has that. So let's be something different. Let's just not give in to those stereotypes, right? Again, we're a woman company. We want to be a game for everyone.
00:07:58
Speaker
You know, I'm a mom. I want, you know, I'm proud that kids to grandparents can play this game. So what would appeal to everyone and not, you know, be inclusive whole down to the core because it's the right thing to do. And so really getting someone on board to design it. And once that comes together, again, that's a slow process, iterative process. So everything takes a lot of talent.
00:08:21
Speaker
a lot of creativity, a lot of encouragement to keep going when it gets tough, which is what happens. I remember when the images wouldn't pull, and you're like, wait, that's the whole point of the game. What do you mean? So you have to figure out problems that you didn't know you had. And that's television. My background was always figuring out a solution. And so that's what you are. You're a solution maker. And finding your answer is in someone else. It's in keep going.
00:08:51
Speaker
changing this, figuring out that, and actually encouraging your team to do that too. So being a beacon of, okay, you can't get down in the direst rates. You got to keep motivating and encouraging when it seems like, what's going on? Why can't we figure out this problem? So it's been a long journey, but it's been worth it.
00:09:13
Speaker
What would you say your average day to day is like now? Like if you were to say, Hey, here's what I do for a living, right? Like obviously you're a founder of a game, but like, what are you doing? Yeah. What do you do working on games? I feel like the title producer is pretty accurate. You produce
00:09:29
Speaker
Whatever needs to be done that day and that is actually in problem solver. That's my answer But you are just in gaming when I meet someone who's not in gaming and there's this huge shift because if you are in
00:09:45
Speaker
young, you don't even, you know the word app, you know the word game, you don't need to know anything else, no one needs to tell you anything. But if you're older, you're like, QR code, help me figure this out. You know, so our game, again, spans the genre of all those. So I'm dealing with those questions left and right. I'm dealing with, Leslie, are you a gamer? I got asked that after explaining about my game, like, wow,
00:10:08
Speaker
I think we have this stereotype that this gamer is this person who's isolated, headphones on. And that stereotype is completely wrong. Everyone's a gamer. We all have games on our phone. I have tons of games on my phone, you know, and my own game, of course. But so I'm always trying to talk to people and say, hey, play my game, try it out. Let me know what you think. We love comments and changes and
00:10:34
Speaker
updating it all the time. So it's a constant process. It's a never ending. It's like a baby. It's just growing and changing every day. So you say, what is you doing? And it's like that. It's building something every day.
00:10:47
Speaker
So it's funny. I'm going to use the word imposter syndrome here because I think everyone gets the concept of imposter syndrome that I'm not really that special at what I'm doing. And you're coming in from a different media to gaming. Was there an intimidation factor at first thinking
00:11:05
Speaker
I don't know anything about gaming, like I don't belong here. And I'd like to kind of roll that into the following question, which is going to be games beat. You went to games beat last year before your game launched, and now you went again this year with your game launch. So the idea is, A, did you feel that imposter syndrome coming into a vertical that maybe you weren't so familiar with, even though it's not that far off from from TV? And then did you experience a different feeling from one year when you didn't have a game on the market to the next year when you did?
00:11:34
Speaker
It was a full circle moment for me really it was last year when you go to an event and I want to say it's an abyss of time you don't realize like how when are we going to get into the Google Play Store when are we going to get the Apple Store when we do is the answer and so you don't realize how long that process takes it was like a month for Google Play and it was like two and a half months for Apple and I remember
00:11:59
Speaker
one of my mentors was like, Oh, that's really good. That was fast. Like, Oh, that was fast. It feels like an abyss of time. Okay, even though there's a million things to do in that time. So I wasn't there and going back to games be having a game you can show. I mean, I was so proud because it does feel like this. Oh, you made it over the edge of the cliff. And actually you have one more you have more mountains to climb. Like that's what you feel like you're like, I it's it's there's no end
00:12:29
Speaker
point in this journey. So it's like all destinations. It keeps going. There's another mountain to climb. There's more hurdles to jump through. But you say I didn't come from gaming. It feels actually very much like the same field because it's changing constantly. You always have to be updated. You're always reading about new things coming out. You want to change your process. You want to do it better, faster, harder, smarter. And for me, I stay focused on the goal.
00:12:55
Speaker
right? I knew I wanted to do it differently. And so again, when you start off doing something that you don't see done before, it's a trivia game, but it has images in answers and it now has trivia that's new and
00:13:10
Speaker
building a trivia database.
Content Creation and Community Engagement
00:13:13
Speaker
My sister builds databases, but she built a food database comparing all the foods we love based on proteins, fats, carbs, and calories. And so I'm like, okay, but not just fruits and veggies like you see everywhere. Let's do coffee drinks and snacks, chocolate, dessert, things we actually all eat. So again, you're trying to focus on solving a problem. You're not trying to say, I don't know that. You're trying to say, how do I get from point A to point B?
00:13:38
Speaker
So I didn't look at it as a different beast. I thought it would be easier. Yeah. That's the only difference. You think it will be easier and like everything in life, you keep going with what you believe and what your vision is and trying to make that happen. Something you said that kind of rings a bell in my head because I build demos for my company. We do demos and I build them. And one of the games I built was like a bubble shooter.
00:14:03
Speaker
And then I learned, oh, you got to build the next level manually, and you got to build the next level manually. And it's just like, oh my God, a demo, like I'm not doing more than two levels. But like trivia, obviously, you have databases, you have up to date questions, right? Like, how many, maybe it's not hours a week, maybe it's hours a month, maybe it's a quarter, right? Like, how often are you working on new questions and putting new content in there?
00:14:23
Speaker
Right. All the time. Because I love reading news, and that's never going to change. So every morning I'm reading about who's the next star, you know, we have a basketball category. So of course, I had to include WNBA in my basketball category. And so going, wait a minute, there's new stars coming out, there's new players, there's the new hot thing I want that in my again, I had a hand write it
00:14:46
Speaker
originally so now I know I have to hand write it now and so actually it gets easier because you have a formula you're like okay I need it short sweet I need this and that so no I love
00:14:58
Speaker
Again, content is king to me. It's what I'd love to do. So that's kind of the fun part still for me is going back to the beginning. But it never changes. I think when we talk about categories of working out and golf and tennis and running and adding those type of trivia, Olympics. I'm so excited. Okay, Olympics is coming out and we have Olympic trivia and Paralympian trivia as well and our trivia.
00:15:27
Speaker
And I'm actually just going, who are the new players? Who's going to be the new star? And so who's going to surpass these records that we get to celebrate? So that's actually, I know that's motivating. I think we should all be excited for stuff like that, that we keep breaking all these records. And that's what trivia was always good for. It was really celebrating these world feats that humans do.
00:15:51
Speaker
Yeah. And you know, it's funny, you're saying about the Olympics. I'm like, I don't know what type of marketing is being done, but I can think, Hey, you know, if you can pair up some of the most recent Olympic trivia with, with the game and like expose and advertise like that. I'm like, again, you mentioned QR codes. I'm just thinking like, Oh, scan a question, try a net or scan a question and answer and win a prize. I was like, Oh, there's some cool stuff you guys can be doing. So you say it doesn't change, but in a way it does. Right? Because last year you didn't have a game on the market. So your, your mindset is.
00:16:18
Speaker
Launch, launch, launch, launch, launch. Now you've launched, right? Now you're at this post-launch where you want to start looking at our users and understanding what's happening. Are you looking at that type of data? Are you measuring data? Are you seeing how many questions? What are your KPIs that you take a look at? It might be a weird question, but let's go with it.
00:16:36
Speaker
Always, yes. You take a look at when I didn't realize that Friday night is trivia night, that people come hound and look for trivia on Friday nights. So when through this process, you're like, okay, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday are huge trivia.
00:16:53
Speaker
nights, Thursday, Fridays, but Friday night, for some reason, it's trivia night, people are looking and playing trivia and searching us out then. So I didn't realize there are days of the week that would come into play. You know, Sundays is family day. I'm like, Yeah, I get Sundays, and no one's looking for a trivia game on Sunday. But that's okay, because we got Friday nights, and it's fun. You know, so
00:17:16
Speaker
So I guess what type of backend tools are you using? Do you use Unity for measuring things? Do you have databases? I don't know how technical you want to get here, but I'm just curious. I don't know how technical you ought to get. Right. It was built in Unity, which is great because it could go for both the Apple and Google Play Store. We do have our backend with PlayFab to pull the images.
00:17:38
Speaker
and do asynchronous play. So asynchronous play, unlike a lot of games where you play at the same time as someone else, like you can challenge someone to a round and they can play whenever they have time. And I can play whenever I have time. And again, that goes back to, you know, being able to play trivia whenever and however you feel like it.
00:17:57
Speaker
You know, when you're bored, you're waiting in line car, carpool lines, the doctor's office, you know, things like that. So that's to me how people play trivia. So I wanted the game to reflect that. So usually about halfway through the podcast, I like to do like a fireball around. I'm going to throw some random questions at you. Good to go. Yeah, sure. All right. What do you have for breakfast? Coffee and chocolate. Coffee and chocolate. Perfect. If you were to go to a bar, what drink are you ordering?
00:18:28
Speaker
Um, probably sparkling non-alcoholic, uh, cause I get a, you know, driver. Yeah. Yeah. Dream vacation. Um, Oh wow. I just was friends and family somewhere, probably somewhere tropical though. I don't know. I have a bucket list though of vacations I want to go to. All right. Last book that you read.
00:18:53
Speaker
Um, that's funny because I started a few because I have to finish them. Um, my mom gave me this book about being burnt out, uh, before we launched. And so I started it, but I was too busy to finish it. It's fine. I always ask that question. I'm just like, I don't read that much. I'm hoping no one ever asks me that question because I would just be sitting here stumped. You know, I don't, I, I like nonfiction.
00:19:19
Speaker
So I don't read a lot of fiction. I should read more fiction. I want to start it. I have a stack of books that are always recommended to me and I want to, I think every summer vacation happens or a vacation and I'll do that. But actually then I'm stuck with, I love trivia and I read the news in pop culture. So it goes back to, I think that. All right. Last question I have for you is what is the last show you binge watch? It was, oh,
00:19:44
Speaker
Good question. And I am trying to remember the good question. I've been really busy. Yeah, series. Yeah, I've been watching movies and I usually watch it with my kids. So actually, I do have one more question. Who's better trivia you or your sister? Oh, gosh me.
00:20:05
Speaker
But she's, you know what, she's gonna get all the nutrition data correct. She'll pick that guy. I'll get all the pop culture and sports knowledge. So I went and based on overall, I can do more categories. All right, off the hot seat. One other thing we hear about a lot and I think probably rings true in trivia is the idea of a community, having a community to help provide feedback, provide content, provide,
00:20:33
Speaker
visibility of the app across their friends, right? Like, have you worked on building that community? How do you approach it? What are your thoughts on that? I love our community. It's small, it grows all the time. We listen, you know, when we get emails or feedback, people love to suggest questions. And so I think that's a great thing to have. You know, we're, we're, we're small and mighty, I feel like the little engine that could and I
00:20:58
Speaker
just keep growing all the time. But I think that listening to your community is important. Again, I'm excited about the Olympics because I think that's a community that is really excited for the record breakers, which is what trivia is all about, celebrating.
Networking and Industry Insights
00:21:15
Speaker
What would you say your top lessons learned over the year would have been? Have big vision.
00:21:20
Speaker
Try not to get so caught up in the small problems and the day-to-day problems, but really keep steady. Slow and steady wins the race, right? It's that tortoise and the hare lesson. Right. It's about staying focused, too. I noticed that you get 10 things going at once, and you spread yourself thin, and that's kind of when you tap in some help, right? Sorry. I can't do 10 things.
00:21:43
Speaker
Oh, I'm a mom. I do 10, 20, 30, wrong. We juggle it all. Yeah. Going back to game speed a little bit, right? Now you went, it was about two weeks ago, I think, maybe last week. Why go to game speed? What were your lessons learned? Did you have goals while going there? What's in your mind during that process?
00:22:06
Speaker
You know, I went to the Women in Games Breakfast last year and so I wanted to go this year. I love, I want to see what everyone's doing. I love meeting other women in games. I said that's what's kept me motivated and going. And so I definitely want to be on the pulse of that. Gamesbeat was fun because it's more of a community feeling and it's exciting. And I really,
00:22:32
Speaker
I think for me, I like to learn the lessons of what other people share. So I'm always there. I'm always curious. I'm always learning. I think that's a good person in life, but to connect and really keep
00:22:47
Speaker
true to this game. The game community is strong and has a strong opinion about everything. I think what I've learned is my game is a niche, you know, it's a free to play casual game. So there in the gaming world is so big. And so I don't want to think that I'm like the only type of game, there are tons of games out there.
00:23:07
Speaker
and is growing so big and so rapidly. So just keeping on my little boat, which I love, my little trivia boat, but always knowing what's out there is smart. Outside of the women's and game side of things, have there been kind of familiar faces you've learned to either find maybe as mentors or people you can rely on to ask questions or bounce ideas off of?
00:23:29
Speaker
you know, everyone became a mentor via Zoom. So it's actually nice to meet them in person. And I do. I met two people I met, met, but never had met face to face. And so can you imagine running into someone going, I know you, I've only talked to you via Zoom, but now I can actually see you face to face. And how nice is that?
00:23:51
Speaker
And what a well-rounded conversation we have in person. You know, it's not just always about what you work on, it's who you are and what you're doing and what you're all about. So I think that's just every profession and every career. Yeah, that's awesome. And I imagine maybe things get awkward in person, like, I don't know what to talk to you about. I've only seen you on a screen and things are much easier on the screen. It's also with our coworkers, it's always like, that's like, oh, now that you're here, I don't know what to talk to you about.
00:24:21
Speaker
that's not true. Gosh, no, we're Yeah, come on. We're women, we can talk about everything, you know, you ever, you know, I agree with you. But then there's also the gaming side of things where people are sort of introverted. So it's kind of like, two heads kind of bashing on what's gonna break first.
00:24:39
Speaker
You know what? That's actually, that is a difference from coming from television because I am extroverted, going into a half and half introverted extroverted field. You're right. I do notice there are a lot of introverts. I try to calm my energy more because I know I'm very, let's say, hydrophobic. Excitable. Yeah, excitable. I'm energetic. So you're right, there is that.
00:25:05
Speaker
It's a great group there, right? Once you start opening up, you need the extrovert to start talking, and then all of a sudden, everyone opens up. It's kind of like that. That's why I've learned through the podcast is we can be talking to somebody that's very shy, and then you start talking about gaming, which is a hobby for everyone that's in gaming. It's just like, oh, I do this, this, this, and this, and okay, it's enough.
00:25:21
Speaker
That's right. And everyone has a game that they love, you know, so they want to talk about it's like everyone's passionate about something that they're
Gaming and Television Convergence
00:25:29
Speaker
really into. So I don't think television is going away. I think it's all merging into one like they're all leaning on each other. You know, you see what's on TV, you see it then on your game, you see what's a game, it becomes on television. So I think it all it's all entertainment.
00:25:44
Speaker
Yeah, you know, there's this whole concept of narrative games that are starting to come out more and more often, which are less interactive or more interactive. You don't move the character as much, right? It's all story driven. I like to think of it almost as a casual game, but more of a movie or a show that you get to be a part of. And, you know, it's funny because it's kind of the emergence or the emergence of a
00:26:05
Speaker
gaming and TV. I asked this in a weird way. But my question would be, you know, your your app is launched now, you thinking about what's next? Is it building additional content into the game? Is it new features from within the game? You know, you meet all these other gamers, you say, hey, you have a match to game, I have a merge game, I have this game, like, all right, is there synergies here that can be that next step? All that being said, is like, have you thought about what's next?
00:26:30
Speaker
Yes, we're always thinking, you know, you're always thinking, stirring the pots, I like to say. You stir as many pots as you possibly can. I don't know that those, you know, merge and trivia and casual can all merge together. Again, I think you're building a whole new game so that we have to start at the beginning, which seems like a really long process, you know.
00:26:53
Speaker
But I think that, yeah, I think that I'm excited to see what new games come out. I'm excited to see where we go. I love improving this game. I love adding new content. So that's where you'll always have me. That's just what I do for my fun. But yeah, I think that
00:27:12
Speaker
if it can help to get more women out there, more women building games, more types of games that are DEI at the core. Because not just to be inclusive because it's trendy, but because it's where we need to go. We need to show the world what we're all about. I think that's it. We're all more alike than different, right? So games bridge us together. And so the game itself should really reflect that.
Importance of UX/UI and Passion
00:27:42
Speaker
There's certain days you wake up and you're just like, oh shit, I got to go do this again today. Are there those tasks that you've learned that you just aren't a fan of, that you'd rather outsource or send to someone else on a daily basis? Right. No, I don't have a virtual assistant. No, I don't. Sorry, I'm thinking workflow-wise, is there something that you just like, you learn like, I don't like doing this process or I don't like doing this process. It's something that you've learned about yourself through this change.
00:28:10
Speaker
I've learned that that's those are the jobs I have to do. Because if it's a fun job, I can probably get someone to do that job. But if it's not fun job, that's mine. And so I actually learned that whatever. Yeah, no, I have to just do it all. And that's okay. How about on the other side of that? Did you learn about something new that you love doing that you've never seen yourself doing in the past?
00:28:32
Speaker
You know what, I really love learning about UX-UI art. I did not know how great it was, how beautiful it is to see that come to light. And just meeting the UX-UI artists and just seeing how their process works was really the most interesting part of this creative process, because it really makes the mood and the feel of the game. And I mean, I could show you versions of this game and you go, how did you get from that to that? Yeah, you're right.
00:29:02
Speaker
To me, it makes so much sense the way it looks now, but other versions of this, like when I tell people I had a trivia game at the very beginning where there's nothing else to go by, everyone wanted plain and boring. Well, then she just wants a plain background, no animation. I was like, whoa, whoa, whoa. No, no, no, fun, exciting, fun, exciting. And so to try and interact with UX UI artists who can just make that vision come to life. And when you meet someone who can see what
00:29:31
Speaker
you really see and actually do better than you thought. You're like, yeah, I mean, it's just such a celebration moment for the whole game.
00:29:38
Speaker
I love that answer because I think UX and UI are so underappreciated. It's one of those things that when it's bad, you can say, hey, that's bad. But when it's great or amazing, it just blends in so well that it just feels natural. And I think even in a trivia game, like you said, you just think, oh, four answers, three answers, right? That's all. No, like UX, UI, my thumb's got to be able to do this. I got to be able to move quick. I got to be able to access these menus, right? It's so underappreciated.
00:30:04
Speaker
Um, it's, it's a silly thing, but, um, we wanted three answers because I believe in from television, the powers of threes and fives, if you're into, okay. So when the, when the circle spun in and spun out, I remember going that now people are not going to question why we only have three answers.
00:30:23
Speaker
Because everyone has like this four design, you know, and everyone is all about their four. And I'm like, No, no, no, four is too many, you need just three. And so when the developer did that, because the artists had designed it so awesomely to be able to spin, I was just like, Oh, it clicked, you know, so some things just click and you know it when you see it.
00:30:43
Speaker
Yeah, that's awesome. That's great feedback to hear that. When you're looking at, I mean, you said, I'm guessing you looked at a few different artists, right? Some of them provided kind of the boring, like, what's your process to find these types of people? Is it like, hey, here's what we're looking for, send me some images or mockups? Like, how does that work? You know, again,
00:31:05
Speaker
Mentors really, you start with a mentor. You talk to someone about your idea when they, hey, look into this person, talk to this person, refer this person. Those are such quality people. And when you can meet someone who really says, hey, oh, God, that's crazy. I like trivia. And you go, oh, I have someone. I don't know. An artist who likes the game they're doing versus someone who does it, you can feel it in their passion.
00:31:33
Speaker
Yeah, it has to come full circle. It's kind of like this inward outer thing, you know, and just like the game itself, you have to play it and and feel something. It can't just be, you know, a game for a game, you know, you want to feel something in that game.
00:31:47
Speaker
It's so well said and I think it goes across everything in any industry. If you love the project you're working on, you're just more excited. You got more, for lack of a better word, skin in the game. I want to do whatever I can. I'm willing to go above and beyond because this is such a cool idea, such a cool concept. That's why I love the idea that you go to a mentor because you trust that mentor. They'll point you in the right direction. They'll find people that they know and they trust. It's a whole power of networking.
00:32:11
Speaker
event is immensely powerful. And I tell people to this day, like, go back to your first job to high school, find those people you can still network with, because most of them, you could probably pick up a conversation like you did when you last saw them. That's right. And I call throwing darts. You throw a lot of darts and you throw them all the time. There's no single answer until you find the path that you're you're meant to go on. And looking back, it makes sense all the time. But, you know, when you're in it, it feels like a long, much longer process.
Applying TV Lessons to Gaming
00:32:39
Speaker
When you made that transition from TV to gaming, what were some of the key lessons you learned from TV that's still applying gaming? That is it, that there is no one answer to keep trying to get what you want, to keep going at it. And jump in
00:33:01
Speaker
You know, like dive in, you know, don't look back, just keep going, dive straight for blind in a way. I love trying new things. I love meeting new people, talking to new people, finding out, reading, you know, and researching. And that takes a lot of it. You know, you're
00:33:19
Speaker
Gaming is changing constantly. It's so fast. And so being on top of it is really important to be on top of this business. And I don't know that you ever feel like you are. It's always changing. There's always a new player coming on. There's always something going on. And you learn something new every day. But if you keep doing what you love, it's good.
Future of Gaming and Media Convergence
00:33:42
Speaker
I mean, you said before, right? There's no definition for what a gamer is anymore, right? Back in the day, you probably could define what a gamer is, but now it's everyone from my grandmother to my kids that are all playing any types of game, right? There's no, there's no boundaries here and not the types of games allow anyone to jump in, whether you're disabled, whether you're a male or female, whether you're old or young, there's something there for you to play.
00:34:02
Speaker
Yeah, yeah, just tell them and do you don't have a game on your phone? Oh, you do. You only have 20. I gotcha. You know, not 100. Okay, you know, so there's that variance like, but most people say I'm not a gamer. I'm not because they don't sit on the console. They think they have to be in you know, they're not a college age kid on a console with lots of time or in the night in the middle of the night. I think that's the stereotype. It's just this weird. It's not true. Games are for everybody.
00:34:30
Speaker
What do you miss about the TV days? I feel like I'm still in entertainment and creation and that was what I always loved about it. I was a producer. I was on air. I was a producer behind the scenes and I loved creating stories and making content and I actually still do that. So this is crazy. So I don't feel like I jumped ship anywhere. I just created something new.
00:34:53
Speaker
Yeah, that's awesome. I mean, you're sharpening these skills that that probably didn't even think about using a time and day and now you're making games here and that's an awesome, awesome transition. So congratulations on that. Thank you. Well, what would you say you want to ask this question and feel free to say it's stupid, but in 10 years, where do you want to be? Like, do you want to still be making games? You want to have multiple games? You want to? I don't know.
00:35:18
Speaker
Right. This industry is constantly changing. Again, I think all these industries for entertainment are all merged into one. Not that we're all going to have one, but I don't think there's going to be this set definition. We now have watching... You asked me what TV series I watched. I'm like, did I watch movies last or TV series? Why do... And I still do that.
00:35:44
Speaker
I call it a movie, a film, a TV series, an India. Why? Why am I defining these things when it's all the same? And gaming is a part of it. Again, it's on our television. It's not just in a console. It's on our phone. Did I think we'd have our games everywhere we are? No. They're everywhere with us. So that's entertainment. That's where it is. So where am I going to be? I'm going to be right in with it. And I love going around with it. I want to follow the flow.
00:36:14
Speaker
And I would love to be on top of it. You know, you've experienced both sides of it. You should lead the flow. Don't follow it. Just set that path and set that standard. You got a whole group behind you ready to go. I get a whole bunch of women in games doing some cool stuff. So yeah, let's support all gamers, women in games, people creating new things and get the next best things out there.
00:36:41
Speaker
So if I were to ask Leslie, what would make 2024 the best career year for Leslie Nagy, what would the answer be?
Balancing Career and Personal Life
00:36:51
Speaker
Oh, this is crazy that you say it like a career. And I look at my life now as a whole life. So I have my family and friends, my work. And when you say it's just career, I don't view that as what's going to make my life.
00:37:11
Speaker
to keep everything balanced, right? And so it's not called work-life balance. It's everything balance. And they're all a part of it. So I want time with my family. I want time with my friends. I want time to create. I want time for mind-body trivia. I want to make it the best game possible and build the community. So I can't say I would just throw one dart. I keep them all running. Do you purposefully, purposefully? Yeah, is that a word?
00:37:40
Speaker
segregate time to make sure you have family time versus work time versus other time? Or is it all just blended time? Good question. I think it's all yeah, need need to what's the immediate in time? But sure, yeah, no, you make time for everything. And I will forego sleep to do that for sure. That's probably the thing I'm like, I don't have time to sleep that much.
00:37:59
Speaker
I need to get this done and I'll do that rather than... So that's like the least on my totem pole. There you go. You got 24 full hours in a day, right? Take advantage of those 24 full hours. I only need six hours of sleep. I'm lucky. I'm lucky in that sense. I love it.
Conclusion and Game Promotion
00:38:20
Speaker
Leslie, I think that's really all I have for you today. Before I go, I'd like to give you the mic to see if there's anything you want to say. Let us know where we can find you and your games. So yeah, yeah, no, I'll definitely make a pitch. Please go try out mind body trivia. It's completely free and Apple or Google Play Store. It's unique. It's unlike any trivia you've seen.
00:38:40
Speaker
It's inclusive, diverse, but more importantly, it's fun. And we'll challenge you. You can get a bonus for walking and playing. So I mean, get a little exercise. Check out our fun motivational quote quotes we tossed in there. I'm proud of our factoids. I'm part of trivia. I hope you find it to be a mind opening game too.
00:38:58
Speaker
Yeah, I love it. We didn't even talk about the walking aspect of it, but anything that gets people up and moving and, and I think it's great for the community, great for everyone. So at the player engaged website, we'll have links to both the play store as well as the iTunes store to download the game as well as their website, the mind body trivia website.
00:39:15
Speaker
and to Leslie. I will be on there playing. I have been playing recently a lot with my wife, so we will be on there and maybe you could challenge us. But Leslie, thank you so much for coming out. This is such a cool experience. I'm glad to hear. Congratulations for all your success so far and the success soon to come. We look forward to staying in touch, and thank you again. Thank you, and I'm going to challenge you now. Perfect. Don't be there.