When asked why he left his job at Google, Kyle Erf laughs and says, “My life is one characterized by constantly playing it safe.” In this week’s episode of The Hard Times Podcast, the video game designer, comedian, and Hard Drive contributor lays out a plan for quitting your corporate job.
“First of all, quitting your fancy corporate gig is easy if you’re very disillusioned with it,” Kyle explains. “And you have to get really lucky. [Google] has more money than God, so you can kinda take advantage of that.”
Kyle Erf is a candid guest. He chooses his words carefully when talking about his former company, but the picture is very clear. Especially when Matt brings up total idiot and ex-Google employee James Damore. “I did science at them and they hated me,” Kyle says, mocking Damore. “I did evolutionary science, the most true science there is!”
Once Kyle cut ties with his corporate overlords, the result was Dodo Peak, which Kyle deadpans and calls “a magical exploration of what the world would look like if humanity had gone extinct instead of dodos.”
Throughout the interview, they look through Kyle’s articles (there are a lot) and one thing becomes clear: The Hard Times and Hard Drive crew fosters a community of creativity where the strangest things can happen. Pick up Dodo Peak on Apple Arcade now, and on Nintendo Switch starting July 31st.
To hear more dunks on Damore, learn how to pitch and make video games, and a round of Hit or Shit, check out the latest episode of the Hard Times Podcast.
