Ian Livingstone: Games Pioneer

07/13/23 • 52 min

Today, my guest is Sir Ian Livingstone – games pioneer, entrepreneur and the bestselling author of the Fighting Fantasy book series.

Widely regarded as one of the founding fathers of the UK games industry, Ian co-founded Games Workshop in 1975 with Steve Jackson, launching Dungeons & Dragons in Europe, Warhammer, White Dwarf, Citadel Miniatures, and the Games Workshop retail chain. Whilst he exited the company in 1991, he soon embarked on a hugely successful career in the video games industry. In 1995, he co-led the merger which created video games publisher Eidos where he served as Executive Chairman, launching blockbuster titles such as Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, Deus Ex and Hitman.

In this conversation, we discuss his brilliant book Dice Men – The Origin Story of Games Workshop, how games like Warhammer and Dungeons and Dragons came to be, the evolution of gaming and why he set up his own school – The Livingstone Academy.

Ian Livingstone was awarded a Knighthood (becoming a Sir) in the 2022 New Year Honours for services to the online gaming industry.

I thoroughly enjoyed talking to Ian and I am sure you will enjoy it too.

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Sir Ian Livingstone Twitter / Fighting Fantasy / Games Workshop / Hiro Capital / Buy Dice Men here.

Danielle on Twitter @daniellenewnham and Instagram @daniellenewnham / Newsletter

Today, my guest is Sir Ian Livingstone – games pioneer, entrepreneur and the bestselling author of the Fighting Fantasy book series.

Ian Livingstone was awarded a Knighthood (becoming a Sir) in the 2022 New Year Honours for services to the online gaming industry.

I thoroughly enjoyed talking to Ian and I am sure you will enjoy it too.

---------------

Sir Ian Livingstone Twitter / Fighting Fantasy / Games Workshop / Hiro Capital / Buy Dice Men here.

Danielle on Twitter @daniellenewnham and Instagram @daniellenewnham / Newsletter

Previous Episode

Mohammad Al-Ubaydli: Physician, Founder, One In A Million

Today’s guest is Dr Mohammad Al-Ubaydli – a physician, programmer and founder of Patients Know Best.

In this conversation, we talk about Mohammad’s upbringing from his family being exiled from Bahrain in the 1970s, to his childhood spent in the Yemen desert, Syria and Beirut during a civil war.

On top of that, Mohammad suffers from a one a million genetic immune deficiency called Hyper IgM Syndrome which, had it not been for his mother’s astute diligence would have probably cost him his life.

A deep love of technology and medicine led Mohammad to study medicine in order to understand the complexity of our bodies but he was destined to start a company in the technology field where he could combine his experience and passion and have real impact.

With over 3 million registered users, an integration with the NHS apps and plans for more countries using the Patients Know Best system, Mohammad talks me through how and why we should all have more agency over our healthcare.

This is an extremely inspiring and informative episode which I am sure you will enjoy.

Mohammad on Twitter / LinkedIn / Patients Know Best

Danielle on Twitter @daniellenewnham and Instagram @daniellenewnham / Newsletter

Books mentioned in this episode:

Irrationality: The Enemy Within

Selling The Wheel: Choosing The Best Way To Sell For You, Your Company, Your Customers

Chaos: The Amazing Science of the Unpredictable

Also, if you are looking to become a B Corp, Mohammad is happy to answer any questions he can help with over on LinkedIn.

Next Episode

Sarah Hamburg: Neuromorphic Computing

Today’s guest is Sarah Hamburg – a cognitive neuroscientist and researcher currently working as a post-doctoral Neuromorphic AI Engineer in Developmental Robotics. Sarah is also a DeSci (decentralised science) advocate and organiser, heavily involved in the decentralised science (DeSci) space since early 2021. After working as a core member of an Open Science DAO, she published a letter in Nature to increase awareness of DeSci and was then commissioned to write a DeSci "explainer" article for a16z's Future magazine. In 2022 she cofounded a "web3" consultancy which worked with UK Aid on blockchain for International Development.

In this conversation, Sarah and I discuss her work and research, what neuroscience and consciousness is, why neuromorphic computing is such an exciting field to be working in. We also bond over a shared suffering of a chronic pain condition called fibromyalgia and I open up about the time as a kid when I nearly drowned and what I saw during that near-death experience.

This interview is a little bit different from most of the other ones I do but it was thoroughly enjoyable and I am so grateful to Sarah for exploring these truly fascinating topics together.

I am sure you will enjoy it too!

Sarah on Twitter / Research

Danielle on Twitter @daniellenewnham and Instagram @daniellenewnham / Newsletter

Mentioned in this episode:

The Case Against Reality: How Evolution Hid The Truth From Our Eyes by Donald D. Hoffman

Reframing Fibromyalgia by Sarah Hamburg

Brain Activity Detected in Dying

A Guide to DeSci, The Latest Web3 Movement in a16z Future magazine

Call to Join the DeSci Movement in Nature