This week’s Dev to Dev conversation is with someone whose journey genuinely surprised me at every turn — producer and creative leader Landon Hood. His path into games didn’t follow the traditional routes. In fact, it’s full of unexpected pivots, green-light moments, and people who changed the course of his life at just the right time.

Landon grew up in Maryland, discovered World of Warcraft in eighth grade, and immediately found himself drawn into the parts of MMO play that look suspiciously like early production training — scheduling raids, coordinating people, leading with confidence. He didn’t know it yet, but those skills were planting seeds for everything that came later.

What struck me most was how honest he is about the messy middle of his journey. He pursued auto mechanics, flirted with the military, and eventually ended up at community college — where a Design Professor became a career-changing mentor. She pushed him into opportunities he didn’t see in himself, including the fateful art show that connected him with Bully Entertainment and launched his first job in games.

From there he carved out a career built on flexibility, creativity, and pure willingness to jump into the unknown. VR prototypes before VR was cool. AR toothbrush apps for Disney. Holograms. NASA graphic novels. And eventually, a major role at ZeniMax Online Studios leading creative services work on ESO and Bethesda projects.

Landon also shares how moments of failure reshaped him — including a tough relocation to Florida that collapsed beneath him and ultimately helped him rebuild with more humility and perspective. He talks openly about burnout, therapy, ADHD, and learning to see each setback as something survivable.

And today? He’s at Blizzard, connecting with the universe that first lit the spark.

It’s an incredible conversation with someone who has seen nearly every corner of the industry, stayed grounded through chaos, and keeps pushing forward with empathy and passion.

Highlights

• How World of Warcraft shaped his confidence, leadership, and communication
• The professor who changed his life with a single push
• The art show that launched his industry career
• Going from VR prototypes to DreamWorks and NASA projects
• Helping hold ZeniMax’s creative services team together during director turnover
• How ADHD became a superpower in production
• Navigating burnout, therapy, and industry instability
• Landing at Blizzard in a universe deeply personal to him

Find the Podcast at:

• Patreon: DevToDevPodcast
• RSS: https://feeds.castos.com/r37p9
• Instagram: @devto.devpodcast
• Bluesky: @devtodevpodcast.bsky.social
• TikTok: @devtodevpodcast
• YouTube: @DevToDevPodcast
• Email: [email protected]

Find Landon At:

• https://www.linkedin.com/in/landonhood