The serious business of making things up

At some point, we all stop to realize a strange truth: everything around us — your favorite movie, your phone, even your kitchen table — was once nothing more than an idea someone made up.

Seriously, imagine trying to pitch Super Mario Bros. for the first time.

“So, there are two Italian plumbers … brothers. A chubby one in red, a taller one in green. They’ve got epic mustaches. They jump through plumbing pipes to rescue a princess from a fire-breathing dinosaur …”

It’s ridiculous. And it’s a perfect reminder that imagining things that don’t exist — then making them real — is not just child’s play. It’s a serious, powerful and wildly underrated form of work.

As kids, we’re experts at making things up. We build forts, invent games and tell stories just for the joy of it. But something happens along the way. We grow up. We “get serious.” And far too often, we forget that play and imagination are not the opposite of productivity — they’re the beginning of it.

Fortunately, a growing number of creators across the country are pushing back against that trend — bringing imagination back into the center of community life and entrepreneurship.

The Lake City Game Creators (LCGC) – Coeur d’Alene, Idaho

In downtown Coeur d’Alene, a group of game builders meets once a month in the basement speakeasy of the Innovation Den. They call themselves the Lake City Game Creators (LCGC). What started as a gathering of a few friends now boasts over 100 registered members.

Led by retired Lake City High School teacher Scott “Jnoodle” Jacobson and seasoned game developer Jeff “JetSpice” Spicer, the group has taken things to the next level. They aren’t just playing games — they’re building them.

LCGC recently launched a serious game development guild where members contribute skills — art, coding, narrative design, music and more — to co-create video games from scratch. Between Jnoodle and JetSpice, they’ve already shipped multiple games and now they’re guiding a community of creatives through the development process. 

The Flint Westwood Game Night Society — Westwood, Los Angeles

1,200 miles away in Westwood, Los Angeles, another community is doing something similar. The Flint Westwood Game Night Society gathers twice a month inside the oldest building in all of Westwood, now home to a local brewery.

At the helm is none other than Flint Dille, legendary screenwriter and game designer behind "Transformers," "G.I. Joe," "An American Tail: Fievel Goes West" and creative collaborator with Dungeons & Dragons creator Gary Gygax.

Flint’s build_ gatherings bring together aspiring designers, writers and gamers to test original board and card games, drink beer and reconnect with something we’ve all been missing since COVID: real-world fun and face-to-face collaboration.

“Post-COVID, everyone realized … it sucks to be alone,” Flint says. “Games are a great way to connect with other people. Hosting testing nights mixes creativity, business building and opportunity all into one moment — plus, you get to share it with friends. It feels like the good old days again.”

These “good old days” now include real opportunities. In addition to board games and RPGs, Flint’s recent work spans blockbuster video games and even augmented reality. As Creative Lead at Niantic — the studio behind Pokémon GO — he helped pioneer immersive storytelling experiences that use cities as canvases and streets as stages. In the theme of play can be good business, Niantic's games division recently sold for $3.5 billion. 

A culture of creativity, shared across cities

What unites Coeur d’Alene and Westwood isn’t just a love for games. It’s a deeper belief that creative work matters — and that communities are stronger when they make space for people to “make things up” together.

Through the build_ community, these two game-building hubs are now part of a growing national network of creators who believe that playing and building aren’t separate paths — they’re the same road to flourishing.

Whether it’s a kid designing their first board game or a Hollywood veteran testing out a new AR concept, the process is the same: dream it, test it, share it and ship it.

Join the imagination

On Aug. 7 at 2:30 p.m. PDT, build_ will host a live online event with Flint Dille to explore how games are made — and how they’re sold.

Flint will share stories from his career, lessons on storytelling and worldbuilding, and a glimpse into what’s next in the world of immersive media. A Q&A session will follow the talk.

Dille is a two-time Game of the Year winner and author of "The Gamesmaster," which chronicles his adventures through Hollywood, Hasbro and the high-fantasy heart of the gaming world. His voice is as wise as it is wild — a rare glimpse into the mind of someone who never stopped making things up.

So what are you waiting for? Whether you live in Idaho, Los Angeles or somewhere in between — grab a pencil, some dice, a laptop or a group of friends. Start making things up.

The future belongs to those who play.

RSVP for the Aug. 7 event and see local projects at buildcities.com.

Join the LCGC Discord here: https://discord.gg/CCHbZRwsWg

Join the Flint Westwood Game Night Society: https://discord.gg/JY5ASbdXN3

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Nick Smoot is the founder and CEO of Innovation Collective.