If you’re a Twitter user, then I’m sure by now you’ve seen the weekly #ff hashtag show up. The tag, which is a shortened form of #followfriday, indicates the Tweeter’s (Twitterer? Tweetist?) showcase of recommended people to follow. Our team at SideQuesting follows several great people in the gaming industry, from journalists to developers, critics to other gamers, and we’d love to share these folks with you.
Each week, we’ll plan on selecting one interesting person in the industry to follow on Twitter for a variety of reasons. Consider this the happiest day for an individual who auto-tweets their Raptr achievements, or tells you every day that they’re secretly a fan of John Mayer (hint: it’s not a secret anymore). Either way, it’s an astute reflection on society. Consider coming back each Friday to see who gets the award.
This week’s achievement goes to… Irrational Games’ Ken Levine.
He’s opinionated. He’s creative. He leads one of the most heralded modern game developers. And he’s got a bitchin’ beard.
He’s Ken Levine, Creative Director and Co-Founder of Irrational Games, creators of the upcoming Bioshock Infinite — you know, Game of the Year 2012.
When I first bumped into Ken it was at PAX 2010, as he discussed the topic of sequels during the last panel of the weekend. During the panel, he swore 50% of the time, while the other 49% dropping knowledge on the unsuspecting attendees. I think that last 1% he was probably thinking about a good Stout or IPA.
Cut to this year’s PAX and the Irrational panel and he’s still half-shaven, still rocking the non-boss-like tee shirt, and still dropping knowledge. Ken is a super creative Designer who would probably be awesome to work for — Hi, Ken, drop me a line. His Twitter habits, though, are of someone hopping into and out of conversations at a bar.
And they’re great.
Firstly, you have to love a guy who’s Tiger Beat Photochop image makes him look a little like Uncle Rico. In an era where people have become hyper-critical of everything a leader says and does, Levine bars no holds when talking about his affection towards Funyuns as a fashion accessory or how the media views him. He replies to others by telling them that children are jerks, and that he doesn’t drive a fancy car.
Ken’s not all balls and beer. He also manages to squeeze in some good gaming-related tweets, chatting about the validity of motion controls or how Facebook games are evolving similarly to how PC games did in the 80s.
Listen, you really should be following Ken. If you’re not, you could be stuck missing out on one of the more interesting company leaders in the industry. Besides, who else are you going to compare beards with?
Ken Levine, thanks for making this Friday a good one. You’ve earned the HIGHEST HONOR a human can have this week: The SideQuesting Follow Friday.
Now, go tell the world that you’re more Ultimate than the Ultimate Warrior.
You can follow Ken at: Twitter.com/IGLevine
No Comments