
The Gamesmaster
My Life in the '80s Geek Culture Trenches with G.I. Joe, Dungeons & Dragons, and the Transformers
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Narrated by:
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Eric Michael Summerer
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By:
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Flint Dille
About this listen
The Gamesmaster is a narrative memoir chronicling the life and career of Flint Dille. And while he isn't exactly a household name, you almost certainly know his work - which includes credits from some of the most important and successful entertainment franchises throughout the world across the cartoon, film, video game, and comic book industries and beyond.
Dille started his career writing and producing Saturday-morning television shows, including Transformers and G.I. Joe, while also writing interactive novels with Gary Gygax, the creator of Dungeons & Dragons. From there, he'd go on to work with the likes of Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, Frank Miller, Jack Kirby, and a raft of others as a writer, story editor, showrunner, and/or producer of iconic entertainment in almost every medium.
Dille's memoir is an entertaining blend of pop culture, social history, and reportage about the exciting, groundbreaking 1980s and the parts he and his colleagues, collaborators, employers, and friends played in making it a genuine Golden Age.
©2020 Flint Dille (P)2020 HighBridge, a division of Recorded BooksListeners also enjoyed...
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I was surprised at how many valuable creative insights there are, sprinkled throughout the narrative. Anyone looking to launch a career as a creative will find practical advice on everything from getting your first break to managing your career transitions and evolving with changes in the market. I also appreciated the author's honesty in sharing his challenges & setbacks, and the strategies he used to overcome them and go on to do something even more amazing. The end result is a book that you can reread again and again, enjoying the author's retelling of his early career hijinks and absorbing the lessons he learned along the way that helped launch a very interesting career.
The narration by Michael Summerer felt just right. He does a great job of capturing the conversational tone of the author's writing, and he effectively injects some emotion into his reading at appropriate points which adds to the impact of the words.
Stories & creative insights into '80s geekdom
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This was an incredible journey!
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Great Lessons Learned
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I learned so much about Flint
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Absolutely wonderful trip through the 80s
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Memoirs of a Writer
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80’s Power up!
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I just finished it, and I've enjoyed it as much as any book from the last several years. It's fun, all over the place (in a good way), and well-narrated. I'm embarrassed to say I never realized Flint (after whom my favorite Joe was named) was such a driving force behind some of my most-loved and fondly-remembered cartoons as a kiddo. It's also a really interesting peak into the behind-the-scenes of writing and production, if that's your jam. I loved reading about all of the characters Mr. Dille worked with, and found the descriptions of the shenanigans at TSR an interesting addition to the story I read in the "Empire of Imagination" book about Gygax.
Must-read for fans of '80s animation!
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Worth repeat listen
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Great look at behind the scenes of 80s 90s cartoons, Dungeons and Dragons and life as a writer in Hollywood.
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