c'mon in

hey, I'm Manda

I've been working in and around video games for 17 years. You may know my work through the games I've shipped, the stories I've told, or the podcast I co-host.If you're new to me, hello!

• Press Start

Multiclasser

it began with and

I collect knowledge like I'm amassing potions for the final boss in an RPG. (Or picking up every single item in an adventure game "just in case" I need it later.)It's served me well.Now I want you to take up the Multiclassing mantle.

• Multiclasser?!

writer

sometimes, I write things

Writing has been the spine of most of my career. I got my start as a games blogger before my eventual evolution into a game business journalist. In 2022, I finally multiclassed into narrative design and game writing.If you're looking for writing samples, you'll need to get in touch. I no longer post my samples online because of LLM scraping.

My Fave Genres to Write In

who is this canadian cryptid?

more than just a game developer

Now that you've read all about my career (and seen the games I've shipped), maybe you'd like to dig in a little further to see who I really am, the Cryptid behind the Developer. C'mon in. Hopefully I don't scare you.
_(much)

• Canadian Cryptid

Amanda (Manda) Farough

Available in January 2027

Narrative, Production - Short Term Contracts

tl;dr - I don't have much formal post-secondary education, but I have 17 years of experience in its place. I didn't start in video games, but I've spent the vast majority of my career here. I didn't mean to become a game developer, but I've been doing it since 2022. I work across multiple disciplines (a Multiclasser) to ship games across studios, including my own studio, Causeway Studios, and Strange Scaffold.

still with me?

my roots

Before I got into game development or game journalism, I was a business systems software developer, web designer, and full stack web developer. I founded violetminded Designs in 2009, worked with coaches and authors on their websites for six years, and closed down in favour of pursuing game journalism full time.

My game journalism career started as, well, blogging. I wrote my first game review in late 2009 and published it on an indie media site in early 2010, kicking off a decade-long career covering indie games, the business of games, and the intersection of parenting and video games. I've had bylines all over the place, including The Washington Post, GamesBeat, PC Gamer, and Paste Games. Many of the places I've published are now defunct and offline, meaning the bulk of my work is no longer accessible online.I left game journalism in 2020, shortly after starting the Virtual Economy podcast and F-Squared with my partner-in-all-things, Mike Futter.

falling backwards into game development

In 2022, I started to explore what could be next for my career. I thought about what else F-Squared could do for developers that would be inclusive for them while also ensuring we could pay our bills.I asked my friend Xalavier what he thought I could do to help developers and he suggested that I take a look at production; maybe Strange Scaffold would be a good place for me to learn the ropes. He was right. Shortly after that conversation, I started work at Strange Scaffold as a producer. With my existing experience as a project manager (violetminded) and editorial leadership (GameDaily), it was already a good fit.(All I had to do next was actually learn how game development works. nbd...)Alongside my on-the-job production training, I also started skilling up in narrative design and game writing. I've been a writer my whole life, so it seemed like a good fit to move towards that. Unfortunately, I was starting to hear from folks all over the industry that I need to "pick a lane" and stop trying to do both.Nah.

people-centric production through multiclassing

There was no universe in which I would have been happy to be Only One Thing in my career, so I decided to abandon my AAA aspirations and I turned my focus to indie games, my favourite beat as a game journalist. In indie games, my multifaceted nature as a Multiclasser would not only be appreciated, it would be celebrated.I've spent the last four years of my career digging into what it means to produce games with heart, putting people at the centre of all of my decision making. I've gotten it right. I've gotten it wrong. I've learned a ton.More than that, I've figured out how to combine all of my years of seemingly disparate experiences such that I'm able to support my teams across nearly every single discipline. If there are small tasks that are within my skillset, such as graphic design or technical implementation, I'm able to pick those up to unblock downstream devs that need those tasks done well and done fast.That's my sweet spot as a game developer, writer, and producer: pick up the tasks that folks don't have time for (that I'm able to do) so that we can all spend more of our time working in our Zones of Genius.

• Go Back

Career Timeline

Director of Production, Principal Narrative
Causeway Studios
(2025-Present)

Executive Producer, Writer
Strange Scaffold
(2022-Present)

Co-Founder, Consultant
F-Squared LLC.
(2020-Present)

Co-Host, Producer
Virtual Economy Podcast
(2020-Present)

Freelance Game Journalist
Various
(2009-2020)

Editor-in-Chief
GameDaily.biz, SuperParent.com
(Feb. 2018 - Dec. 2019)

Gaming Editor
Mic.com (Multiplayer)
(Mar. 2017 - Aug. 2017)

Founder
violetminded Designs
(2009-2015)

Speaking

2026

GCAP (Games Connect Asia Pacific)
"The Shift From Or to And: Walking The Multiclasser Path"
Keynote SpeakerGDC (Game Developers Conference)
“Building a Critically Acclaimed Licensed Game in 18 Months”
Lecturer

2025

Games For Change
"Gaming Across Generations"
Roundtable Leader

GDC (Game Developers Conference)
"Multiclass Your Game Career"
Panelist & Organizer

PAX East
"Yellow Paint Good Witcher 3 Bad: Our Worst Gaming Takes"
Moderator"Breaking in and standing out in non traditional careers in games"
Moderator & Panelist

Before

PAX West, PAX East (2016-2024)
Various Panels
Panelist & Moderator

• Go Back

Multiclassing?!

It all started with a Medium post in August 2024

It's not a strange concept when you think about it -- it's how we used to move through game development in the early days. The budgets were smaller, the timelines were tighter, and teams were expected to take on multiple roles in order to get the game(s) shipped.We moved into a world of hyperspecialization -- where budgets have skyrocketed, timelines have ballooned, and teams are gigantic. The idea of game developers as "cogs" became more important than building a machine that can last longer than shipping a single game.So here we are, sitting at the precipice of the bottom falling out of our industry. We have two choices: we can continue doing things the way we've been doing them over the last 15+ years or we can build different structures to support the people already making it work around here.Multiclassing isn't a replacement for specialists that have built their careers on being exceptional at their craft. It's allowing for the shift from "or" to "and" for those that are meant to be more than one thing. (Like me!)

Available for production consultation

Looking to build a team with room for a Multiclasser or two? I'm available to consult on how to build your team with room for both specialists and cross-disciplinary developers.If you're not sure where to start, but you want to start shifting your studio to allow for interdisciplinary cohorts, I can help you with that, too.

• Book a Consultation

Multiclasser

Unannounced

The Final Cut of Lilith Cunningham (Causeway Studios)
Director of Production
Principal Narrative Designer & Writer

2026

Truck-kun is Supporting Me From Another World?! (Strange Scaffold)
Executive Producer
Writer, Designer, Programmer

2025

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Tactical Takedown (Strange Scaffold)
Executive Producer
Writer

2023

Sunshine Shuffle (Strange Scaffold)
Lead Producer
Additional Writing

• Back to the Top

Specialist

2026

Terrible Lizards (WDR Studios)
Principal Narrative Designer & Writer

Unannounced

GNAW (Redstart Interactive)
Principal Narrative Designer & Writer

Canadian Cryptid

Rocky Mountain BC Girl at heart

tl;dr: Mama is a verb as much as a noun and title. Creativity is central to everything I am. Deep connections sustain me. I'm fiercely loyal and will fight for my people in rooms that they're not in. Gentleness is a choice. I am an old willow tree, rooted and still bending in the wind.

I've lived a thousand lives before I got to where I am today. (You can read the professional stuff here.)I grew up on the side of a mountain in the Rocky Mountains, rooted in the dogwoods and sagebrush and ancient conifers. I learned how to bake bannock with the local Elders. My heart broke in more ways than I thought a heart could break. I learned how strong I was, even when that strength threatened to break me.My nose was always in a book, fingers around a pen, jeans grass-stained, knuckles bruised. I always wanted to be a writer, but I left home to fulfill my Canadian Millennial rite of passage in the Oil Sands as a programmer. Falling in love with a young man with sandy blonde hair, mischievous green eyes, and an easy smile was the best thing that ever happened to me.He married me, despite all of my broken pieces. Marrying him remains the best decision I've ever made. We made a life near the ocean, leaving the mountains behind. A son first, his ferocious tender heart still a source of great joy. Then, a daughter with blonde hair and blue eyes and my own wild heart beating in her tiny chest. Being their mother is the greatest gift I've ever been given.And for a time, we were happy in our little life, doing our best to make ends meet. There were libraries and beach trips and coffee shops and well-meaning biddies on the bus confused by my children and my perceived age.We left it all behind to embark on a new journey in 2017 -- melding our family with our long-distance partners'. Suddenly I had two more daughters, a teenager and an older grade-schooler. It was immediate love and wholehearted devotion to two sensitive creatures that needed more homemade cookies, more hugs and kisses, more silliness, more wildness.It was hard. It always is when you add new grown-ups and two wild children to a long-established life. But there I was, making brunch and experimenting with my teenage daughter's hair, and we grew together. I became Mama to each of them, sitting in hard places and kissing all of those boo-boos better. I learned how to be Mama with my beloveds by my side, trading off and learning and growing together.It was all worth it.It was worth the pain and confusion and the healing to see both of my eldest daughters graduate high school with smiles on their faces. (They're both college students now!)The complexities of this life are not for everyone and I certainly don't recommend the life I live to anyone. And I still can't imagine it any other way.

• Go Back

When I'm Not Making Games

Likes, Loves, Values

then (2006)

now (2026)