Why are video games cool? CEO of Kinda Funny gives his answer, offers creator advice

It’s not every day you get to meet the people who inspire you to do things, so when I got the chance to meet Greg Miller, a big name in the world of video game media and one of the co-founders of entertainment company Kinda Funny, I had to ask him a simple question — why are video games cool?

“I think they’re the most impressive and immersive entertainment medium,” Miller said. “I play video games because I love stories and I love participating in them.”

Miller said he loves the creativity that comes with video games.

“Even if it is just the color of your character when you’re going through something incredibly linear or what gun you’re using in a very linear game,” he explained. “Like there is that there’s always going to be player input that changes what the experience is is to some degree we all have the same coloring book page, but we’re all shading it differently.”

Miller made his return to PAX West last weekend and the last time he was here, things were a lot different. The pandemic had not hit, the world of video games and video games media seemed more stable, but most of all, his family grew. Miller said one of the most eye-opening moments was when he was watching his son play video games.

“When he was sitting there playing it, it actually dawned on me, wow this is incredible,” he said.

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Before founding Kinda Funny, an 11-person independent media organization whose goal is to bring daily video game and pop culture talk shows to the internet, Miller was covering video games at IGN. Taking his passion for journalism and curiosity for the world of YouTube, Miller embarked on creating his own company, so he and his team could cover games their way.

They believed in creating an environment where people could talk about their favorite games and things, and be supported along the way. Kinda Funny refers to their audience as best friends, and that idea is foundational to what they do.

“I’ve said from day one until today is all we have to deal in and trade in is our authenticity, so if we ever sacrifice that for anything, the whole thing is over,” Miller said.

He added that if the company was ever sold, it would have to be to a partner Kinda Funny believes in.

It isn’t easy to be a company like Kinda Funny given the current state of the video game and video game media industry. Just this year we lost a cornerstone of video game journalism, Game Informer, in the blink of an eye. All while companies across the video game world cut jobs, closed studios, shut down servers for games and canceled projects. None of the major video game companies have been immune to layoffs as the constant battle to define what a successful video game is rages on.

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Miller said he’s thankful Kinda Funny is independent and isn’t owned by a corporate conglomerate. Also, he’s seeing layoffs at his favorite sites and his friends let go.

“It is such a rough time right now as media, in general, tries to figure out how to make it sustainable,” Miller shared. “And I think as you see this bounce back from COVID you also see a constriction from COVID.”

Through uncertainty and an ever-changing industry, Kinda Funny has gone from creating content in a spare apartment bedroom to a state-of-the-art studio, increased the amount of people on their team to 11 and continues to show signs of growth.

“You know, it’s crazy for a small business that started in a spare bedroom in 2015 to be where we are now, almost 10 years old,” Miller said.

While Miller was here in Seattle, his team was covering games across the globe.

“It’s interesting to see us all grow up and the company really grow up, but us continue to have these incredible opportunities, that I could have never, ever, ever thought about having in 2015,” he said.

Maybe you’re out there thinking about making your own content, video game-related or not. Miller shared that he applied to IGN 13 times and only got a response the last time. For those thinking about making content, Miller gave a piece of advice.

“You have to be doing it,” he said. “So many people stop and go ‘I don’t have the right camera, I don’t have the right mic, I don’t have the right … ‘ None of that. You gotta get out there and take your at-bats cause your first podcast, your first streams, your first everything will be garbage because this is a muscle and you need to train it and flex it and understand it.”

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Miller added that it comes down to being authentic.

“You need to find your niche,” he said. “I think you need an angle because it is just such a deep sea of content creators out there right now that you need something that maybe doesn’t even make you stand out but makes people remember.”

You can learn more about Greg Miller and his team on Kinda Funny’s website.

Contributing: Julia Dallas, MyNorthwest

Paul Holden produces the Seattle weekend events calendar for KIRO Newsradio and a weekly story for MyNorthwest. He also appears on KIRO Newsradio’s “Seattle Morning News.” If you you know of even more cool things going on in the area, let him know at PaulH@kiroradio.com.