Riot Games:

From the beginning, we’ve focused on culture. We operate on a foundation of shared mission, values, passion, trust, and mutual respect. If someone gags on the unique flavor of our culture, they’d be doing themselves and the company a disservice to hang on just for the paycheck. Culturally aligned people and teams are more effective, and alignment around mission and values allows us to better serve players. We’ve designed Queue Dodge to help self-identified mismatches move on in an open, positive, and constructive way.

Quit with 10% salary up to $25,000 within 60 days of employment. Interesting; however, most find it takes 6-8 months to feel at home. I wonder if a decision at a yearly evaluation would be better or too late; too much invested by both ends to severe ties.

Excerpt from “Console Wars” by Blake J. Harris:

Kalinske nodded, returning to the moment. But before the girl could fix him a drink, she suddenly became transfixed by the Game Gear and, as with the well-dressed man, the world suddenly shrunk around her. Well, would you look at that, Kalinske mused, while having a revelation that would shape Sega, the videogame industry, and the face of entertainment as a whole. Videogames weren’t just for kids; they were for anyone who wanted to feel like a kid. Anyone who missed the freedom and innocence that comes with endless wonder. Videogames were for everyone; they just didn’t realize it yet.

I vividly remember seeing the Game Gear for the first time. A neighbor boy of my grandmother’s showed off Shinobi on the sidewalk in front of her house. Coming from the colorless world of Game Boy, the idea of rescuing different colored ninjas was a revelation. Until then, I had to imagine what Mega Man and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles looked like in full color. Say what you will about its viewing angle, the Game Gear was magic to me.

Sarah Jeong of The Guardian on the anonymous nature if Uber:

It’s doubtful that Uber specifically set out to improve the lives of African-Americans. But the company accidentally did something that anti-discrimination statutes and awareness-raising campaigns were unlikely to ever achieve. It’s not exactly a huge blow to racism, but still: technology is changing how people of color experience and are represented in the world, and it’s all the more remarkable that much of this was never intended in the first place.

A very interesting read on technology’s inadvertent effects on racial and gender discrimination.

An internet radio show about videogames and the people who love them.

I am revisiting Robert Ashley’s A Life Well Wasted. If you’re a fan of Radiolab, the music of I Come To Shanghai or Jim Guthrie, and culture and history, you should be listening too.

Polygon:

Jam entries will focus on teen emotional wellness and deal with issues including physical and online bullying, dating violence, suicide prevention and depression.