Stephan Brissaud – Senior Director EMEA at Funko Games – on the company’s storytelling-first approach to design

Stephan, it’s always great to chat. How did you come to work in games?
I’ve been a nerd, a collector, a gamer, all my life. I learned English from the first edition of D&D. I was fluent writing in medieval English! I could tell you about warlords and castles, but I didn’t know the word for ‘plane’ or ‘automobile’.

Ha! You might have been the first to translate D&D into French!
Maybe – I literally took a dictionary and translated D&D verbatim! I brought D&D to my school and to my friends – and have been in gaming all my life since my first job at Nintendo. I’ve been so fortunate to play for a living. I have the best job in the world.

Prior to joining Funko Games you were running Iello USA. What drew you to Funko?
Two things. The first one is the people… The people at Funko Games are awesome. I mean, you know DC –Deirdre Cross, General Manager at Funko Games – so you know it’s a great group of people. Actually, DC was 50% of why I took this job. Iello’s booth was back-to-back with Funko Games’ booth at Gen Con in 2021, so I grabbed a coffee with her then. I really wanted to work with her because she’s an amazing lady.

She is; we’re big Deirdre fans here! So, people were the first thing that appealed. What was the second?
Our games catalogue – it’s so strong. We rely on IPs, but the game mechanics are very deep and loyal to the brands. Look at a game like Star Wars Rivals – the dice is a kyber crystal! The attention to detail is off the scale.

Licensed board games haven’t always had the best reputation –
That’s the understatement of the day!

Ha! But Funko Games is doing a great job of changing that perception. So what’s the key to crafting a great licensed board game?
It’s simple – we are storytellers. Actually, many of the people in the R&D team back in Seattle came from the movie industry. That comes through in the way we design our games. Unlike some other publishers, we’re really trying to convey an experience; we’re really telling you the story of these movies. Once we know the story we want to tell and the experience we want to create, only then do we go into our bag of tricks for game mechanics. Most publishers are the other way around… They’ll start with a roll and write and then find a theme.

Also, due to the Funko connection, we don’t have to spend a lot of time chasing licences. This means we have more time to spend on ensuring a game is loyal to the IP.

Great stuff. Sticking with the creative process, what helps you have ideas?
I love riding my motorcycle through the British countryside – I love camping and the outdoors. Music also plays a big role in my life and the type of playlist I listen to influence my focus.

Good answer. Stephan, always a pleasure. Let’s tie-in again soon!

–

To stay in the loop with the latest news, interviews and features from the world of toy and game design, sign up to our weekly newsletter here

More Recent Interview

Funko’s Director of Group Licensing & Retail Strategy, Lucy Salisbury, talks music, sport and more

“I’m absolutely loving it!” Lucy Salisbury on Funko’s new strategy – and her own increased remit.

See Jane Fun’s Jane Bredemus on creating crafts designed for play, not display

Inventor Jane Bredemus talks putty products, Sticker Stackers and her kid-centric approach to design.

Hasbro’s Evan Brooks takes us inside the design process on TRANSFORMERS – and reveals his most underrated creation!

Hasbro’s Evan Brooks – Product Designer on the TRANSFORMERS team – talks design, innovation and what makes the brand unique.

Moodles creator Joanna Paul and LoCoco Licensing’s Peter LoCoco on building the brand beyond toys

“It has an incredible opportunity; it’s about finding the people who believe in it”: Joanna Paul and Peter LoCoco on the Moodles story so far.

The Rubik’s Cube at 50: Ernö Rubik tells Pete Jenkinson how the iconic puzzle came to be

“I don’t like the word invention” Ernö Rubik reveals how he discovered the eponymous Cube 50 years ago…

Game designer Dirk Barsuhn on what inspired his new tile-laying game, Ananda

“The idea came to me when I saw mahjong for the first time”: Dirk Barsuhn talks Ananda – and what made Zoch the perfect home for it.