Jess Lanzillo is ready to invite monsters back to the table

In May of this year, White Wolf brought its publishing arm back in house. Rascal interviewed Jason Carl about this move in June and now, we are pleased to share an interview with Jess Lanzillo, who joined the team as the Creative Director for World of Darkness following this new direction. According to the press release, Lanzillo is a “a devoted World of Darkness player since the original 1991 release of Vampire: The Masquerade” who will now be leading the IP development “for all World of Darkness story worlds, including Vampire: The Masquerade, Werewolf: The Apocalypse, and Hunter: The Reckoning.”

Lanzillo spent eight years at Wizards of the Coast, where she started out in R&D at Magic the Gathering before moving up the ranks and eventually ending her tenure as the vice president of franchise and product for Dungeons & Dragons.

Her shift from a conceptual role to a creative one is an interesting career pivot that aligns with White Wolf’s broader revitalization efforts. In an email interview, Rascal spoke to her about White Wolf’s colorful history, what she will bring with her from her time at Wizards of the Coast, and what she finds most exciting about this latest era in her career. 

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Codega: You’re moving from “franchising” at Wizards of the Coast to a more creative role – what does this mean for your day to day work? 

Lanzillo: It's more like a homecoming, in a way. I was the creative director for Magic: The Gathering for the majority of my tenure at Wizards of the Coast, and it remains the space I enjoy the most. The highlight of my time was working with an absolutely kickass crew to push worldbuilding and art styles for Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty.

I think the D&D team would tell you that I never took off my creative director hat. Now, I just don't have several other hats on at the same time.

Codega: How does the job feel different from the one you left at Wizards of the Coast? 

Lanzillo: The short answer is that it’s different in almost every possible way. I started this role just a few weeks after leaving Wizards of the Coast, as I wanted to get right into it. So it’s been a bit of a whirlwind and a mega context switch, not just in role, company, and IP, but location — I now live in a different country! Moving to Sweden during the summer holiday season is a significant adjustment, especially considering the always-on nature of the games industry in the United States.