Transcript
you a new episode of Heroes of IT, which is AutoMox's podcast that introduces you to the people behind the product. And you may have noticed from my little name insert there, but we have a very special episode this month. We are very excited to announce we'll be launching an AutoMox video game. It's called AutoBox Patch or Parish, and it will be coming out very soon. So with us today is some of the brains behind the game, our senior brand manager, Jonah Patch Hero Phillips. Great to have you, Jonah. It's good to be here. Like, honestly, I could probably talk video games and music all day, so I'll try to keep it under control. Love it. Awesome. Well, honestly, me too. I'm a big, big sort of classic game fan. So yeah, really pumped to talk about everything. Before we do that, obviously, this pod is kind of all about careers in tech, which can fall on like the more typical sort of IT side, all the way to things that you haven't thought of. I definitely think, you know, your job within AutoMox is kind of in that latter category. But just real quick, talk me through how you got started in just kind of the creative space to now becoming our head of brand and creative at AutoMox. It's definitely been a journey. You know, when I was a kid, I was a computer nerd. I would like camp out in my parents' basement, which was like not below ground, it was above ground with windows and all that. So it wasn't like a dark, total like nerd cave. So I am a balanced person. But yeah, I just like loved computers, love playing games, just love just getting into like how the operating systems worked and all of that. So by the time I got to college at UC Santa Cruz, I was like computer science all the way. This is my calling. So the first year or two, it was a struggle, right? I was able to do some of the work, but at the end of the day, I kind of had to face the fact that like I really suck at math. But if you can't do math, you're going to have a real hard time when it comes to like coming up with algorithms and so on, so on. So I kind of hit a wall and it was a little heartbreaking, but you know, I had to kind of look in the mirror and face the facts that, yeah, like probably not going to be a great, you know, computer scientist. So time to move on to something else. So I ended up actually transferring over to Academy of Art in San Francisco and studied graphic design because I figured, well, it's a computer, right? So I still get to play with a computer. I still get to like dig in on apps and like, you know, be creative with it instead of having to be so logical and mathematical with it. Although I will say like that logic part is definitely still a part of graphic design because you're constantly troubleshooting and just working through problems like why doesn't this look right? How can I get it to look right? And all the stages in between, which can get kind of tricky. So Academy of Art had a promise they made their students, which was, oh yeah, you'll have a job straight out of school. I mean, that's like, I don't know that that would work nowadays. It's a different market out there, but you know, it worked out. So straight out of school, like I entered the B2B space like as a first job, which was a little bit of a trip because, you know, as someone who had only been a consumer, I was used to B2C, which is just a different beast, right? So going into B2B, you kind of have to learn to think different. It's just, it's a different vibe. It can be a little more tight laced or just a little more like, I would say like sometimes a little lower on the design ladder. But I just see that as an opportunity to raise the bar a little bit and do things that are just a little bit above and beyond for the B2B space. And yeah, pretty much like jumped from startups to established companies back to startups, been an independent contractor, been a full-time employee. And it's like definitely what I'm meant to be doing, which is cool. So I think about like, what else would I do? I honestly don't know. So going to ride this out. That's awesome. No, that's a great feeling to have. And yeah, it's, I think it's really cool how you were able to pivot and that's, you know, that's definitely something that we talk about a lot on this podcast of like, I was the same where I thought I was going to go to vet school and just completely pivoted my career to marketing. And, but you still have these little elements of things that you enjoy that end up in your job. So yeah, like we're not all astronauts or firemen or whatever it is that we think about as a kid. So, you know, clearly things change. Yeah. A hundred percent. Very cool. Well, I think, you know, your career is a great example of merging art and technology. And I think autobox as a game is also a really cool way of doing that. So just talk me through kind of how the concept of the game came about, maybe just a little bit overview of like what the game sort of is. Yeah. And we can go from there. Cool. Well, yeah, I mean, it's definitely been like an incredibly exciting project because it is, it's unusual in general and it's unusual definitely in like the B2B space. So yeah, that journey started about a year ago in like a tiny room at WeWork in the sales forest tower in San Francisco. My creative director, John was like, you know, let's get together. Let's like have a little creative retreat. And you know, there was three of us and we just sat in this room and we talked brand, like what's the strategy for the year? What are milestones we want to hit? Let's look back at last year, what went well, what didn't. So like kind of typical, just taking the pulse and, you know, kind of what I expected from a creative retreat, like we're going to look at what we've been doing, we're going to look into the future. So I was a little like excited when all of a sudden John was like, so if you could do anything at autobox, if you could do one project that's your own, that excites you, that's like an expression, like a true expression of who you are, what would it be? And like, first of all, that's just an amazing question to be asked because I think we all wait our whole life for that question, but at the same time, like those questions can some of the time be disappointing because you have an idea and it's just not realistic to implement it. So I was like, well, if I got one shot at like throwing an idea out there, like I'm a long time gamer. I have like a whole, I don't know if I should be ashamed to say this, but I like a whole room in my house, like dedicated to like retro games, like retro game consoles, like vintage computers from the seventies through the nineties, the kind of place I would probably not like show anybody on a first date, like to be real. But like, it's like, that's in my DNA. Like I love video games and also I love music. So I was, you know, I've worked on music for the game. So it was just like, huh, I can make a game and I can work on music for it. That's pretty much my dream. So maybe we could like tell the automach story in a kind of new way that, you know, we haven't done before. We can punctuate it with gameplay and basically like give people an interactive way to kind of get a feel for automachs and automachs as brand. So yeah, it actually happened. So yeah, a year later, I was going to say, yeah, almost, yeah, exactly. And yeah. And you'll be able to play as our mascot auto and we've got some different villains, which yeah, I'll, I'll ask you that question now. So we have a few of them in the game. I won't spoil all of them because I know some people are like 50, 50 on if they want to know all the details before something comes out, but what is your personal favorite villain in the game? Okay. If we're keeping secrets about the other characters, I'm going to just go ahead and say without like divulging too much, Chaos Chronicler, he's this like kind of skeletal dude with like a lantern, like a cloak over half of his, you know, skull face. And like he kind of lurks, you know, in the underworld. And I think that like, you know, like my inner goth or whatever from like, you know, my more angsty years, like just loves that stuff. Like I like the dark aesthetic. I like that he can just like the way he moves around the board and the game. And honestly, like I like the music for Chaos Chronicler too. So I had a special relationship with that character just because of like how they looked and the aesthetic and then getting to, you know, come up with the music for them. Yeah, that's awesome. I love that. And a very appropriate- That's all I'm saying about the characters. You got to discover the rest for yourself. Yeah. I was going to say, yeah, there are several more villains that I know of that are also super cool. So I'll keep that a little bit of a secret, but- Yeah. And they all represent like issues in IT, things that you come up against. Yep. A hundred percent. Things with time and potential vulnerabilities, which I feel like I say on, I said the word vulnerability is probably more now in my life than I ever did before. It's good to be a little vulnerable, you know? Yeah, that's true. Well, not in this context, maybe in the human context. That's true. I guess we're anti-vulnerability, but for humans- All the way. It's okay. Yeah. We have no choice. Yeah, for sure. So, okay. We'll talk a little bit more about some details of the game. So you mentioned the music. So let's talk a little bit about that because, yeah, you composed the music for the game yourself. I got to hear a little bit of it, which was awesome. It's very like nostalgic feel, a little bit like, I want to say maybe 80s, like kind of techno. And yeah, I think it really, it really adds another layer. How did you even get started there coming up with that? So I have a bit of a background in music. I was in, back to the goth days, I was in this dark wave duo and we made just very synthy electronic music. So kind of learned my way around synthesizers, learned my way around drum machines, and learned my way around just production in general. And during that time I had so much fun making music, but COVID showed up and things kind of fell apart. And honestly, since then, just been looking for a reason to make music again. I need that goal, that project. So it's this self-contained thing. So when this came up, I'm like, oh, dang. I love video games. I've never made video game music. I don't really know anything about making video game music, but maybe I could use some of the knowledge that I have to do that. So kind of started cooking up like, well, okay, how do I actually do that? Kind of targeting like a late eighties, like early to mid nineties vibe. So I wanted to use like accurate sounds from video game consoles from then. So like, you know, Sega and Nintendo and the stuff we all heard growing up. But like, how do you make those sounds? That was the hard part because I wanted it to be accurate video game music. So just kind of started looking into different ways to do it. And I found these synthesizers that essentially emulate the sound chips from like classic video game systems and they do it like nothing in life when it comes to emulation is perfect, but so close, like it sounds exactly like the real deal and it has the same parameters and the same limitations and all of that. So I was like, you know, what if I use the way that I used to produce music, but I do it with these synthesizers and I do the whole instrumental, everything with these like authentic sounds, it should sound like video game music then. But with like a modern sensibility, I didn't want it to be like too bleep and bloopy. Right. Like I wanted it to sound like modern music, but with like late eighties and early nineties flair. And yeah, I'll just say like, I'm an older dude. I need to go to sleep at like 10 p.m., but I stayed up all night, like voluntarily just having so much fun with it. That's awesome. I love that so much. Yeah. And I would a hundred percent agree. It's when I listened to it, like I'm a big Nintendo person, that's what I grew up on and it definitely gave me that feeling, but there's a little bit more to it. And also I'm curious, was there anything that influenced, like, you know, I think the villains are almost a little bit easier to come up with a theme because they kind of have like, you know, their, their bad vibe, whatever their thing is. So, you know, you talked about composing the music. I'm curious how you chose the theme for Otto. I think, you know, the villains are a little bit easier to kind of come up with the musical themes for just because of their, you know, their whole kind of vibe. But yeah, I'm curious if there was anything in particular you used to inspire the creation of Otto's theme as the hero. Yeah, that one was actually the most challenging of the bunch. Like to give an example, like Chaos Chronicler, he's this skeletal dude. His music is just clearly going to be something like Baroque and classical with like, you know, a lot of darkness to it and a little bit of menace and a lot of energy. And Otto is like, you know, he's not a dark dude, right? He's a, he's an upstanding citizen. He's trying to help. What does that sound like without being like, overly happy, right? You don't want to be cheesy, but it's not dark. It has to be like heroic, but like heroic in like context, right? You don't want to, it's not like he's not like going full superhero with like, you know, a whole orchestra or anything. But yeah, you know, I kind of approached it with, well, I'm going to do it in like, in stages, right? So there's going to be like a part of the music that is like peaceful and tranquil when everything is in order, right? When your end points are fixed, when you're not stressing over your job, things are good. It's where you want to be. And I'm going to do that first. So I wrote that and it's like, it's actually kind of pretty. And it's like, you know, it's feel good. But I was like, but then what's the next stage? Like the next stage is like, you know, Otto's kind of coming on the scene, but he's not like full blown, just working magic yet. He's assessing the situation. So what does that sound like? And that's, this is kind of like medium energy, still kind of riffing off of like, you know, his more peaceful state, but it's definitely amped up a bit. And then the final part of the music where it evolves to, it's just like, okay, like the fight is on. What, you know, what does that sound like? I was like, okay, well I got to like amp up the drums. I'm going to make all the instrumentation like grittier and dirtier. And I'm going to put this like, the part that did it for me is I put this like, it's kind of like what I would call like an electric guitar sound. But you know, it's coming off of like 80s and 90s sound chip hardware. It doesn't really sound like an electric guitar. But it's like this lead part that just like kind of sets it off. And yeah, when I was making that, I was just like, oh dang, this is like, how am I going to sleep after I do this? Like I'm awake now. And then I knew it's in a good place. If it wakes you up, it's in a good place. So yeah, Auto ended up being, I don't want to say favorites have like different aspects of each track that makes it a favorite, just depending on the angle I'm looking at it from. I think like Auto, I could just listen to that all day. Yeah, it is awesome. And I think it is, it's that it really makes you want to like, like play the game. Like you're like, yeah, I want to like do something because that's, that's one of the ones that I have heard. And I'm like, yeah, I just want to like get after it. And I think that, yeah, that meshes really well with the overall story and just with like patching and things in general. So yeah. And true confession, like when I sent the track originally to Sky, who is the developer, who's just sort of all around, like understands how games should work. And just like, he's done this before. He knows how to put the pieces together. He knows what works and what doesn't. He actually like gave me really good feedback. He's like, ah, you know, I don't know. Like, I think this first part's probably too mellow for the menu. Maybe we take this middle part, we move it to the menu. You know, we take this peaceful part, we move it to the end. And then you can create like a section that is more energetic and more amped up. And I was like, oh yeah, that actually makes sense. Like I was overlooking that when I first made the track. Like I sort of tapered off a little too soon. I didn't let it go like, you know, to the next level of energy. So that was like killer feedback. But it made me nervous. I'm like, ah, how do I do that? So it worked out. But yeah, that was a moment where I was like, oh, I've got to figure this one out. Right. It's a brand new territory. But I still, again, I mean, it's like, who else is doing this? So it's super cool that you just, you jumped right in there. And now we've got this awesome thing that's almost in existence. Yeah. Theoretically, fingers crossed. Could be, could be in a week. Yeah. I don't, I don't want to make any promises. It may be. I don't, well, I don't want to, I'm saying I think this episode will be out probably like at least a few days before it's live, but it'll be close. So if you're listening to this, maybe go check out if the game is live yet. But yeah. Yeah. You know, if it can come out on Halloween, I'll be very stoked. For sure. There's still work to be done. And that kind of all ties back to another villain, Dr. Deadline. I'm like, we can all identify with that. Like right now I'm tearing down a deadline on this. And like, I feel it. So at least I can go like, take out my, my anger on Dr. Deadline in the game. Yeah, exactly. Yeah. Because now we got, we got Tess playing and all that kind of stuff. So yeah, you can just be like, oh, this is one deadline that you actually can smash. Yeah, exactly. Is there, are there any like Easter eggs, whether it's sort of like a nod for those folks in IT or something that you, that you have in the game that you like, or you want to call out? I mean, just the game in general is really about, you know, fixing endpoints. Easter eggs. Well, I'd say the endpoint part is like, it's pretty, pretty straightforward what you need to do and what's happening. The only Easter egg I could really think of, and it's not really an Easter egg, but Chaos Chronicler, like he's, he's essentially like the ferryman from the River Styx. So it's like, that's the point where you are like up against the wall. Like this dude could send you to a place you don't want to, you don't want to go there. So that's like a big boss battle. Yeah, that's a big boss battle. Awesome. Love it. Well, so this is, we're talking during cybersecurity month and Halloween season, and obviously very appropriate given the context of the game and yeah, and even, you know, the villains, everything like that. But to kind of wrap up, I typically will end my pods with like a game, but I thought, you know, we're already talking about a video game the whole time. So I just kind of wanted you to pick two scary things. What's, in your opinion, the scariest sort of classic Halloween monster? And then what is the scariest thing you've learned about working in IT? Possibly, you know, maybe one of the things that inspired the villains in the video game. Okay. I mean, can I give a, like a monster from a video game since we're talking video games? Oh yeah, for sure. For sure. Well, definitely Silent Hill is like a traumatizing game. It is. Yes. It is scary. Very scary. There was a lot of parts that I would say could be like a pretty good Halloween monster, but I would say like the leg mannequin. It's like basically just legs attached to like some kind of messed up torso that chases you down these dark hallways. And like, I had to turn on the lights when I'm playing that game. And I get to that part. I'm like, this is really freaking me out. And it takes a lot, you know, I'm pretty numb to that stuff. So I play a lot of games and watch a lot of like scary movies. But I'm like, there's something really freaky about this. So yes, the leg mannequin all the way. It haunts my dreams for sure. I think that's a great answer. I think anything from the Silent Hill universe, they're great at making them pretty scary. Yeah. Hit pause at any point in the game. And like, there's something freaky on the screen. Yeah. So far as like, you know, things I've learned in IT, I think this applies for a lot of jobs in IT or not in IT. But, you know, the pace of work can get kind of hectic some of the time. And there's this like, you're trying to balance, you know, speed and efficiency with like quality assurance, right? You don't want to make mistakes. Mistakes happen, right? And kind of knowing how to handle that when they do. It used to really affect me. Like if I made a mistake and it got out there and, you know, people saw it. You know, I'm not, I'm not auto. I'm not, you know, a superior being. I'm human. So I do make mistakes. Yeah. It would like, really, I would just not sleep. I'd be super stressed. And just, it would affect my like day to day. And I sort of, you know, as time went on, I was like, I don't think this is a good way to roll. Like things happen when they happen. Like, don't let it knock you off your guard. Like just figure out how to not do that again. Learn from it. Try to sleep well. Try to not have to like drink a little more wine that night. And, you know, all will be well. Yeah, for sure. Yeah. I think especially in the IT industry. Yeah. You've got to kind of roll with the punches, but it is, it's definitely hard. And I've been the same way. So I think that's awesome. I think it gets, it gets everybody at some point. It's just about like, you know, how, how you roll with it. Yeah. A hundred percent. Well, Jonah, thank you so much for chatting with us. Super excited about the video game. So keep an eye out for AutoBox patch or perish, which is coming to an endpoint near you. And I hope everyone has a lot of fun this Halloween season, if you celebrate and cybersecurity month as well, as always for more podcasts, follow us on YouTube, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts and stay tuned for new episodes. Tuesday and Thursday. Thanks.
