Womenize! – Inspiring Stories is our weekly series featuring inspirational women from games and tech. For this edition we talked to Dalal Al Dafai, Community Management Intern at Lessmore Games, makers of “Eatventure”. She shares insights into getting started in the games and tech industry whilst studying. Read more about Dalal in this interview:
 
What do you find most challenging when dealing with international players’ feedback, and does that vary across different social media platforms?

Having such a diverse player base is something we are quite grateful for. However, that can also present some challenges due to the inherent language barrier. Often, we receive emails from players in various languages, which need to be put through a translator program. It’s not so much that I don’t understand what they’re saying – I can sort of tell what they’re talking about since I answer so many emails; but rather it makes you question whether what you said will be understood by the player (translations are not always 100% accurate). We are yet doing our best to communicate quickly, efficiently and in simple terms.

The feedback content does vary across different social media platforms. Emails are the most challenging ones since players are usually more concerned about specific topics, so they take the time to write up and send longer texts. So, your answer can be very detailed, therefore, more inaccurate when put through the translator. On social media platforms like Instagram or TikTok, gamers typically just say “Thank you” or “Good game!” which is of course easier to reply to. 🙂 

Do you feel having experience in the sales area is beneficial for a career in games & tech?

Without a doubt! There are no downsides from having experience in the sales area. My job as a Community Manager is to directly interact with the player base and having experience working in retail myself, I was able to learn how to interact with customers directly. Players are essentially customers, and so it enables me to take full advantage of my skills when addressing the players and their concerns.

Which factors inspired you to pursue studies in History?

The first factor is that when I applied for my degree, I was unsure what job path I intended to take. At an early age, I believe there is a lot of pressure to decide what profession you want to permanently be committed to. So, I chose my favourite subject, History, because I still wanted to go to university and get a degree. The fact that History is a general rather than a specialised subject, like Law or Dentistry, helped me ensure that I wasn’t bound to a specific career. 

Secondly, I knew that there are a variety of careers that can be explored with a background in History. And finally, I recognised that studying History would still allow me to gain many transferable skills, including critical thinking, problem solving, and discipline, that I could then apply to any job. I can now see this being put to use in my internship, like trying to understand why one TikTok video performs differently from another, or the best method for responding to criticisms about “Eatventure” posted publicly on Reddit.

Thanks for this interview, Dalal!

Dalal’s links: LinkedIn │ Lessmore Games │ Eatventure

Womenize! – Inspiring Stories Feature by Sophie Brugmann