Today we’d like to introduce you to Ivan Van Norman.
Hi Ivan, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I’ve been obsessed with games and gathering groups of creative folks around shared imagination for as long as I can remember. I was the kid with tortoise-shell glasses, a stack of Magic cards, and allergies so intense they were a defining personality trait. But even then, I was the person rallying my friends, be it for board games, video games, or backyard roleplay, and asking the question,
“Alright, what are we creating today?”
Looking back, that was my first taste of creating things that folks could participate in. Building spaces where ideas could run wild.
I grew up in a town where you either dreamed about leaving or settled into staying. I chose to leap. California represented possibility, new people, new challenges, and a chance to test myself. At school, I didn’t gravitate toward the classroom; I gravitated toward the clubs, student productions, and any environment where I could pitch, build, and collaborate. I didn’t know it then, but these after-school projects were preparing me for entrepreneurship far more than my actual degree ever would.
Graduating in 2007 during the LA writer’s strike meant improvisation became my default mode. I held ten different jobs in ten years, everything from handing out Nutri-Grain bars to post-production to selling homeopathic skincare helped me collect an unconventional set of skills that would eventually become the foundation of my career.
In 2009, a friend and soon-to-be business partner, Christopher De La Rosa showed me his homebrewed Resident Evil tabletop RPG. Most people would play it and move on. I said, “Let’s publish it.” Within months, that idea became Outbreak: Undead, and suddenly we had a company: Hunters Books (which later became Hunters Entertainment). I gave us a deadline only a madman would bet on: a Gen Con booth eight months out. We finished the book by the skin of our teeth, flew to Indianapolis with boxes still warm off the press, and hauled them several blocks to be sold through, paid off my personal loan, and signed our first distribution deal.
That trip didn’t just validate the dream; it launched it.
The following years were pure startup energy. Scrappy, experimental, constant learning curves. We grew slowly but steadily, taking big creative swings and building a loyal community. Around this time, I joined Geek & Sundry as a host and producer and had a front-row seat to the rise of Critical Role from its earliest days. I helped produce content and worked on G&S’s first artbooks for CR, projects that cemented relationships and helped us secure larger licenses for Hunters.
Eventually, as Geek & Sundry wound down, I was invited by the Critical Role team to help build what would become Darrington Press from the ground up. For five years, I experimented with what a modern tabletop publishing imprint could be, launching RPGs, board games, and ultimately helping bring their ultimate project, Daggerheart, into the world.
Now, after fifteen years across media, production, and publishing, I’m stepping into my next chapter with passion in my heart for the new frontier of what is possible in play. In the gaming landscape, player expectations are evolving, and new forms of storytelling are emerging. I’ve never been more excited. I’m looking at the next phase the same way I approached those childhood afternoons with my friends:
Bring everyone together, ask “What should we build next?”,
and then go make it real.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It has not been a smooth road. But one of my favorite quotes is: “The difference between a master and a beginner is that the master has failed more times than a beginner has tried”. If anything, my career has been built on a long series of mistakes, hard resets, logistical nightmares, and moments where passion had to wrestle with practicality. But those are the moments that shaped me.
Building a small business in the hobby gaming industry means taking something deeply personal, something that people build whole communities and even their own sense of identity off of, and turning it into an actual product people can hold. That’s exhilarating, but it’s also messy. A lot of people dream about “working in games,” but the reality is deadlines, problem-solving, long nights, and the constant push to translate creativity into something sustainable. I’m far from exempt from that learning curve. I’ve definitely fallen prey to the classic creator’s trap: chasing the next new idea while neglecting the successful brands right in front of me. Innovation is exciting; discipline is harder.
One of the biggest challenges I’ve seen pretty much across the board in board games and RPG design has been building a team in an industry where passion is high, but margins are thin. Most of the people I’ve worked with over the years have had to juggle multiple jobs just to stay afloat. Nobody in tabletop is buying a house in LA off a single game launch. So operating with a team that’s spread across commitments and still trying to deliver professional-grade products requires patience, structure, and a lot of difficult, honest communication.
Then there’s logistics, the least glamorous but most unforgiving part of the business. Manufacturers shifting timelines, shipping costs that change overnight, and damaged goods. It’s a constant tide. At one point, we had several pallets arrive destroyed, I’m talking about squished as you’d see in a trash compactor, and we had to refund over $20,000 in product while simultaneously entering a legal battle we’re still dealing with. Those are the kinds of hits that can crush a small publisher if they don’t have the resilience to regroup and recalibrate.
But here’s the flip side: being in Los Angeles has been one of our greatest strategic advantages. “Hunters Entertainment” wasn’t just a catchy name it reflected where we were planted. We’ve had access to incredible talent, studios, equipment, and a creative ecosystem that constantly pushes us to raise the bar. LA has allowed us to bridge the gap between hobby games and entertainment culture in a way that would’ve been impossible anywhere else.
The road hasn’t been easy, but every challenge has sharpened the vision by several degrees. Every misstep clarified what truly matters. Everything is data, and each setback became raw material for becoming a better creator, a better leader, and *hopefully* a better builder of worlds.
I’m sore from every fight I’ve had, but I’d rather feel that pain than just look on by on the sidelines.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Welcome to Hunters Entertainment, an award-winning independent game company. We create diverse and immersive role-playing games that inspire the player to think outside the box. From strange events in small towns to intense survival horror, and all the superhero stories in between, our award-winning games feature a wide range of gameplay and themes that enable players to explore adventures beyond the typical fantasy setting.
Whether you’re looking for World Building Storytelling Systems, or Immersive Character Creation, you’ve found the place to explore new worlds in ways that no other roleplaying game company has before
Can you tell us more about what you were like growing up?
I believe this was covered in the first question!
Pricing:
- Alice is Missing: 24.99
- Kids on Bikes: 29.99
- Outbreak: Undead – Survivors Guide: 49.99
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.huntersentertainment.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hydra_lord/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/IvanBarronVanNorman
- LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/ivan-van-norman-26845013/
- Twitter: https://x.com/hydra_lord
