Why I'm Building ManaBoard: A Letter from the Trenches

Hey folks,

I'm Cliff, and I'm building ManaBoard because I've been exactly where many of you are right now.

When I got laid off during the 2024-2025 wave that hit our industry, I thought finding my next role would be straightforward. I had experience, a solid network, and knew where to look. Or so I thought.

What I discovered was a fragmented mess. Job listings scattered across dozens of sites. Dead posts that hadn't been removed on Indeed. Generic job boards that treated "game designer" like it was the same as "graphic designer." And don't get me started on the black holes—you know, where you send your application and hear... nothing.

It wasn't until I was deep in the trenches that I realized just how broken the process was. Not just the applications and interviews (that's a whole other story), but the simple act of finding relevant roles. Hours spent checking individual studio career pages. Bookmarking job boards that updated sporadically. Missing opportunities because they were posted on some Discord I wasn't in.

Building Something Better, Together

The game industry has incredible community-driven resources—from grassroots Discord servers to curated spreadsheets maintained by passionate volunteers. These folks are heroes, seriously. My goal with ManaBoard isn't to replace these resources, but to build alongside them. To create the most comprehensive, up-to-date job discovery platform our industry has ever had.

Since launching our MVP in June, I've been heads-down building the features I wished I had during my own search:

• Direct scraping from studio career pages (no more dead listings)

• AI-powered standardization (because every company lists information differently)

• Clean, fast search that actually understands game industry nuances

• Zero BS—just jobs

But here's the thing: I can't build this alone. The best features have come from conversations with job seekers who've shared their frustrations and wishlist items. Every piece of feedback helps shape what ManaBoard becomes.

What's Next

I'm actively developing new features every week. Some in the pipeline:

• Saved searches and email alerts (never miss that dream role)

• Application tracking (because spreadsheets get messy)

• More studios and publishers (including those harder-to-find indie gems)

• Salary transparency features (where available)

This is just the beginning. With your help, I want ManaBoard to become the default starting point for anyone looking for their next role in games. Not because it's perfect, but because it's built by us, for us.

If you're job searching right now, I get it. It's tough out there. But you're not alone, and I'm committed to making this process a little less painful for all of us.

Let's build something better together.

—Cliff

P.S. Got ideas? Frustrations? Studios I'm missing? Hit me up. Every bit of feedback makes ManaBoard better for everyone.