John Friscia
I’ve been playing video games since I was old enough to hold a controller (Todd’s controller, usually), getting started with NES, SNES, and Sega Genesis. RPGs have always been my favorite genre thanks to series like Final Fantasy and Lunar, but I’m a huge Mega Man guy as well. These days, I work in video games journalism, but I’ve previously worked a typical desk job and once taught English in South Korea.
Storytelling and video games are my two major passions in life, so Boss Saga is my opportunity to finally put those two together in a big way. (I used to put hundreds of hours into RPG Maker projects just to amuse my friends.) I came up with the concept for our game, and I’m doing all of the writing and some of the pixel art.
As far as hobbies go, Super Nintendo, Berserk, and K-pop are my three favorite things in the world. I also self-published a comedy adventure novel a decade ago. I have a weird, seldom-updated personal website if you’re desperate to learn more about me, and you can find me on Twitter. You can get in contact with me at thejohnfriscia(at)gmail(dot)com.
Todd Friscia
Video games were my first love since before I can even remember – I’m told I used to crawl to the TV and try to grab Pac-Man off the screen. What I do remember, though, is getting my NES for “graduating” 1st grade (That was a thing in our house growing up.) and, a few years later, complaining to our mother that my annoying little brother John shouldn’t be allowed to play Dragon Warrior (now Dragon Quest) because he couldn’t even read yet. (He played it anyway.)
A few years on, I found my second love when I discovered punk rock and picked up the guitar. The Ramones and Social Distortion gave way to Van Halen, Iron Maiden, and Metallica. So, of course I started a metal band, Blackheart, and later played bass in the hardcore band rightstart. My biggest musical success, however, came as a solo artist under the name Van Friscia when I released my Epic Symphony during the Guitar Hero / Rock Band plastic instrument craze. Videos of people playing my tunes in-game are still up on YouTube.
In the meantime, I studied computer programming in college, then got a solid dose of reality when I learned that (1) there were zero video game jobs where I lived, and (2) coding bored me to tears when it didn’t involve gaming. Van Friscia was a blast but certainly wasn’t paying the bills, and since I enjoyed things like food and shelter, as did my wife Julie and later my daughter Lily (and my son Tony before he tragically passed away in a car accident), I filtered into doing IT for a living. Rock Band was my first marriage of gaming and music, but making Boss Saga with John is the dream. We complement each other’s skills well – I’m doing the programing (meh, somebody’s gotta do it) and all the music (woo hoo!). My aim is to make the most rocking soundtrack possible for his bad guys and their hero challengers (those chumps). I’m also working on another prog metal album, to be released someday before I die. You can find my artist page on Facebook or drop me a line at vanfriscia(at)gmail(dot)com.
Boss Saga 