Current post: Introducing: Logan van Steenderen, CEO

“That is the reward, to watch all of these geniuses make our science fiction world just that much bigger.”

Welcome to the very first Blue Falcon Devblog, we are very excited to be sharing this with you! Today we are kicking off a series of Devblogs introducing the Blue Falcon team, starting with our CEO: Logan van Steenderen.

Now without further ado, let’s start the introductions shall we?

“Hi, my name is Logan and I’m the CEO of the company!
Which means I get to make sure that everyone here makes a great product, plays nice together while doing it and accept/decline every dumb idea they or I come up with. “

How did you come to work on the Coalition?
Life is just weird that way. But mostly, Cesco Homminga pushed me into DnD in 2013 and from there on out it all became clear.We went looking for a team to work with, build this unique game with and two years later, there’s seven of us and we’re sitting in an office genuinely developing a pen and paper role playing game. I have spent a large part of my adult life dealing with depression and having enough passion in myself and around me to work five days a week is an entirely new and wholly invigorating experience.The guys are all strong personalities but we all play well together, listen to each other’s ideas and, where we can, take each other’s feelings into account.

From what you can discuss what is the coolest thing you’ve worked on so far?
That’s easy for me. The coolest thing was working with Pieter and Ite, our two brainiacs, on creating the semi-functional, theoretical physics-based, intra-galactic internet.

What are you most excited about working on in the future?
This. All of this. Everything coming out of this universe, from pen and paper games to mobile apps to video games.

With what kind of unique challenges and rewards does your position provide you?
That… is not an easy question. The biggest challenge is definitely learning to behave and become more professional, something that wasn’t really necessary when I was working alone online.Other challenges definitely involve basic things like “how to solve arguments” and “maintain your friendships alongside a startup”. As far as rewards go… all of it. My ideas are being turned into concepts, into a genuine world, rather than a figment of my imagination. That is the reward, to watch all of these geniuses make our science fiction world just that much bigger.

When/how did the Coalition first come to you?
The Coalition first came to me 6 years ago, in 2010 when I was working on a role-playing game within the virtual world of Second Life. We needed a story to go with the visual design of the level, so I hauled all my childhood ideas out of the archives and threw them in a mixer. When that role-play game ended up disappearing, the team parted ways and I kept the story.I have been developing it ever since, gathering talented, intelligent and creative enthusiasts to help complete my stupid, stupid ideas.

You’re traditionally a graphic designer and content creator what was it like to make the switch to CEO? 
Having worked with teams, as a designer and as a team leader, the switch is surprisingly easy. The hardest part is that the people I’m now the boss of aren’t all designers, meaning I’m constantly learning the value of interdisciplinary work methods. That said, with designers you have certain expectations about how they view their work or how they view other designers and those don’t hold true for creative individuals in other work fields. That, I think, has been the biggest adaptation.

What does your vision for the Coalition look like?
Heh. That is a very difficult question. The product or the world? I’ll answer both. The product “The Coalition” is an intense condensation of my world views. I want the people who help build “The Coalition” to come from all walks of life, to have opportunities to develop themselves through the development of “The Coalition”. The company, Blue Falcon, is all about creating that interdisciplinary and inter-sectional environment, despite the fact that we are seven white guys from the Netherlands.
Regarding the world of the Coalition, it’s a dark and uneven place, where you can soar to great heights at the cost of your soul or dwell in the shadows as your soul rots away. In either situation, something’s gotta give. It’s not a world of heroes or bad guys, it’s a world of people trying to survive, despite overwhelming technological advancement, massive melting pot culture with differences well beyond just skin color, and a form of consumerism that has you worry about the masses. Almost like real life, I guess.