Womenize! – Inspiring Stories is our weekly series featuring inspirational individuals from games and tech. For this edition we talked to Melanie Hauser, Game Developer at . She speaks about how persistence, continuous learning, and authentic communication helped her overcome early career rejections and thrive in game development, while her work has deepened her appreciation for games. Read more about Melanie here:
Hi Melanie! You mentioned that after graduating from your Master of Science (M.S.) in Media Informatics, you faced multiple rejections from game development studios before landing your current position at Aesir Interactive. Can you share how you stayed motivated during this challenging period and what personal or professional growth you experienced as a result of these early setbacks? Additionally, if you could give one piece of advice to yourself at the beginning of your career, what would it be?

I had just graduated and only had very little to show off, so I expected my application process to be rather tough. And it was. I can’t remember how many applications I sent out. Most of the time I was happy if I actually received an answer, even if it was a rejection, because more often than not I didn’t even get any response at all. After a while I gave up and started working as a programmer in a different industry. Not due to a lack of motivation, rather for pragmatic reasons. But every now and then I was still sending out applications when I found new vacancies at game studios – and finally was granted a chance to prove myself.

For me, the wish to make games evolved to be something I just knew I really really wanted in life. I felt that it will be my thing. A bit like when you fall in love with someone – you’ll just know that they are the right one. And if you feel this way, you won’t need any other motivation.

During all this time I tried to familiarize myself with tools and practices that are common for game development. That’s the most important advice I could give to myself back then – and it’s just as important when you have a job in the industry. Learning more, trying out the newest tech developments or finding those gems that were always there but which most people don’t know of – all of this can be very beneficial when making games. Even if the tools you try out are not what your future employer uses, gaining an understanding for core concepts and principles will help in any kind of project.

What I would also do differently if I got the chance: I would change the style and wording of my early applications. I had the impression that they would need to be rather formalized and overly polite, that it otherwise would look like I don’t take the job offer seriously. But eventually my applications became less formal, less strict, more playful – just more me. Of course you shouldn’t start off with “Yo duuude” but authenticity is so important. Especially when you don’t have a lot of hard facts to speak for themselves yet.

Can you describe your individual development process when working on a game project? How do you balance creativity with technical execution, and what personal methodologies or tools do you rely on to bring ideas to life?

This may sound very cliché but: communication. As simple as that. Most of the time I was working with a rather large team and additionally, we don’t publish the games ourselves. So there are a lot of opinions coming together and some points will just be set in stone. But with a good feedback process there still is room for creative input on the bigger picture.

And when it comes to specific features I am working on, I always try stay in touch with the rest of the team, especially people from other departments. An artist or game designer will often have a very different perspective and also the way each of us sees that element of the game as a player will differ. When you take all these thoughts, talk them through and try things out, you will find a common ground that feels good for everyone. Or not, and then you start anew.

But also it’s not even a question of creativity or tech – coding can be as much of a creative process as anything else. There are always multiple ways of achieving a certain outcome and for finding out what works best in your situation, creativity will be just as helpful as good technical knowledge.

But no matter if we are talking about the game as a whole or all the little details, in the end you need to work together as a team. I feel really lucky to be working with people I know I can rely on, that always have my back. With mutual admiration for what everybody is contributing, you will be able to create something great.

As someone who has a deep personal passion for gaming and now works in game development, how do you maintain a balance between your professional work in the industry and your personal gaming hobbies? Has your perspective on gaming changed since you started developing games professionally?

Interestingly I don’t feel like a lot has changed regarding how often I play games. Finding the time for gaming can be challenging with all the other things you have (or want!) to do. But I think that is true for my job as much as for any other.

But what has definitely changed is the way I observe things while I play. I have always been open for almost any genre of game and been paying attention to many things others probably wouldn’t notice. But that was more like just a hunch or maybe analogies I would draw to e.g. board games I was playing (which I also love!).

But nowadays I see things a lot more concrete. Like when I look at a great animation and understand how much time, effort and soul must have been put into those maybe just few seconds. Or when I spot a bug and feel sorry for that poor dev that obviously made the same mistakes I did. I also tend to watch the credits of any game I play through because I’m curious how many people were involved in making it; maybe I recognize a name or two or just imagine how someone playing a game I contributed to would do the same and see my name scrolling by.

Thanks for this interview, Melanie!

Melanie’s links: LinkedIn

Womenize! – Inspiring Stories Feature by Madeleine Egger