Summary
Overview
Lucy James, after 12 years as a video producer and host at GameSpot, launched her independent newsletter Looking for Game in June, delivering indie game recommendations and playable demos directly to subscribers. Days after announcing her departure, she co-hosted Summer Game Fest at the Dolby Theatre, introducing her project to millions. This episode explores her transition to independent creator, her curation process, and what it's like to co-host one of gaming's biggest events.
Lucy's Essential Workflow Tools
Lucy relies heavily on the Google Suite for managing her independent business, including Gmail, Keep, Calendar, and Meet. While she previously experimented with Airtable for content planning, she's consolidating most of her workflow into Google's ecosystem because it's accessible across all her devices. She's also added Buffer for social media scheduling and QuickBooks for financial management, having learned that proper tools are essential for running a business.
- Google Suite (Docs, Sheets, Gmail, Keep, Calendar, Meet) is indispensable for Lucy's workflow
- Google Keep works across all devices since Google is logged in everywhere, unlike Apple Notes which requires specific hardware
- QuickBooks became essential for managing finances and expenses as a business owner
- Buffer was recently added for social media management across multiple platforms
" I really thought I was like I'm gonna be great I'm just gonna make a spreadsheet I'm just gonna put everything in there no i got quickbooks and it's the best thing i could have bought you need these tools because it's just too complicated otherwise they try to make it complicated so you've got to get something to sit in between "
The Birth of Looking for Game
Looking for Game emerged from conversations with Geoff Keighley about career direction after Lucy hit her 10-year mark at GameSpot. She wanted to create something different from typical news coverage, focusing instead on indie game curation and recommendations. The newsletter bridges the gap between game discovery and actually playing games by delivering demo codes directly to subscribers' inboxes, removing friction from the discovery-to-play pipeline.
- Lucy wanted to create a different offering than just news through her lens, focusing on her passion for recommending 'loosey ass games' (weird, smaller games not getting much pickup)
- The idea came from conversations with Geoff Keighley about doing something aligned with the Game Awards
- The newsletter aims to bridge the gap between seeing a game on social media and actually downloading it to play
- Subscriber engagement shows intent - giving them demos creates a 'foot in the door' psychologically for eventual purchases
" I didn't just want to be another person like doing the news through my lens okay because I'm sort of not built that way I find it quite difficult to sort of put myself out there in that way at least individually "
" If you're watching a TikTok, you're probably on your phone so you're not going to immediately download it and start playing are you so my thing was i wanted to just get demos in people's hands "
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