April 7, 2026
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43 min 4 sec
Hilary Mason: Product First, Then AI
Sure, you can build “stuff” with AI, but is anyone paying attention to product these days? On this week’s episode, Paul and Rich sit down with someone who is: Hilary Mason, CEO of the immersive online roleplaying game company Hidden Door. After discussing Hilary’s background in data science and machine learning, Paul takes a spin through a game scenario (Brooklyn vampires in a fantasy tavern!) while Hilary outlines the product decisions around Hidden Door’s game mechanics, AI-related or otherwise. Plus: Rich outlines his own attempts to make a game with AI for a family gathering, which, in his words, “led to children crying.”
Show Notes
- That’s Hidden Door, and you can find Hilary on Bluesky and LinkedIn.
- Rich was not kidding about Richard Dawson…
- “The New Bot Should Clean up the Old Bot’s Mess”
Transcript
Transcript coming soon!