Womenize! Wednesday Weekly is our weekly series featuring inspirational women from games and tech. For this edition we talked to Saumya Iyer, Mobile Game Producer at Gear Inc. Read more about Saumya in this interview:

Hi Saumya! You’ve worked in plenty of different areas in the gaming industry, how do you still find new goals and challenges to set for yourself?

One of the things I love about this industry is the challenge. You have to constantly be learning and growing to stay in the game (pun fully intended). Keeping up with the latest technology and trends, and working to upgrade and hone your skills is almost the baseline expectation. And mastery, as they say, is an asymptote.

There’s no shortage of new things to learn, whether you’re a creative type or have an analytical bent of mind. For example, the long and winding road of my own career has made its way through community management, copywriting, design, and now production. I’ve also put time into studying data science as a personal project.

You’ll never run out of goals to chase, the only limit is time!

Comparing social media & platform development with traditional PC games, what do you see as vastly different or similar?

A simple analogy I like to use is the difference between a movie and a TV show. While their fundamental principles are similar, the difference lies in the kind of entertainment they try to provide. 

 Traditionally, PC games have sought to be standalone experiences, constructed to be complete in and of themselves. The better crafted they are, (generally) the higher the reviews they get and the bigger the hype, which results in better sales. Mobile games, on the other hand, need to not only draw attention but keep it – almost like a soap opera – to ensure longevity and continued financial success.

Of course, I’m speaking in generalities. The lines are already blurring and there are no hard and fast rules. There are plenty of PC games that are “live ops/freemium” (MMORPG’s, multiplayer modes of single player games) as well as stellar standalone mobile games (Monument Valley comes to mind). 

Technology plays a big role in this – though phones are getting ever more powerful, which I’m sure will lead us towards more AAA mobile games – as well as how we engage with different devices. Mobile phones can be used for bite-sized snacking whereas PCs and consoles tend to need more dedicated time.

Being a writer & voice artist has also been part of your career, what does a typical day look like in this job?

There’s no such thing as a typical day when you’re freelancing!
It’s all about the hustle and grind. Finding work is the hardest part – tapping into connections, going for auditions, and hoping to get the project/gig that takes up most of your time. At least until you build up a reliable client base.

My trainers in the voice over industry would let me know when there was an audition they thought I could try for. As with modeling or acting, you’re one of dozens hoping to land the role. The interesting thing is, you get handed the script only when you walk in and have barely a few minutes to prepare! You record your rendition of the material and wait to hear back. If you get the job and are okay with the pay, you head back into a studio to work with the full script and a director to give you notes and pointers on what kind of tone, emotion, inflection, and sometimes accent they’re looking for.

The part I miss most was getting to work according to my own schedule. I’m naturally nocturnal and found I was most creative and focused in the peaceful quiet of the dead of night.

Truth be told, it was a brief but enjoyable part of my work experience, and something I might return to in future.

Thank you for your time, Saumya!

Saumya’s Links: LinkedIn

WWW Feature by Sophie Brügmann

Womenize! Wednesday Weekly is our weekly series featuring inspirational women from games and tech. For this edition we talked to Linda Scholz, Editor and Project Manager at Spieleratgeber-NRW. Read more about Linda in this interview:

Hi Linda! Your way into your games industry career wasn’t as straightforward as one might think – there were some twists and turns before you ended up where you wanted to be. Can you tell us a bit more about your journey into your current job position?

It was truly a journey. Since I was a child, games had such an impact on me. I played a lot of Amiga, GameBoy and SNES and read many gaming magazines. I also liked to write, so my conclusion was that working as an editor for a gaming magazine must be the coolest job ever. But I thought that this career goal was unattainable, so I decided to do an apprenticeship as a hairdresser after school. But I still was reading a lot of gaming magazines.

After my apprenticeship and with some more life experience, I studied media-culture-science in Cologne, worked in a video-rental store and later for a local TV Broadcast as a student assistant. Then I heard for the first time of the Spieleratgeber-NRW and was asked to test games with kids as a freelancer and write reviews with an educational focus about the fascinating and critical aspects of games. I was very thrilled, but my first text took so long to write, because of my uncertainty about my writing-skills in this pedagogical field. But I got some positive feedback and became more and more self-confident with writing. At the end of my BA, I wanted to gain some experience in editorial work, so I asked for an internship (I thought that wouldn’t be a problem, but found out later that I was really lucky that there wasn’t another intern at this time).

For the next few months, I was asked to stay as a student assistant and – luckily for me – a colleague left to study again. So there was a free position and I was asked again to stay. That was in 2013/2014 and I’m still there. My main task now is to coordinate the other testing groups in North Rhine-Westphalia, all the content on the page, and to do workshops and give speeches about media, cultural and educational topics. Sometimes I think about the hairdresser apprentice, who is reading gaming magazines in her lunch break and then I’m happy that I could combine my passion with my work and am luckily able to empower other people to follow their dreams.

A big part of your work is to explain games to parents and educate them on how to deal with their children’s game consumption. Do a lot of parents still have a negative image or bias towards video games? What do you explain to them to take the fear away from them?

So many parents perceive games either just as toys, a waste of time or even a threat. I think it is very important to understand that games are just as relevant as other media forms, like books or movies. Games connect people of all ages and cultures. Nowadays more and more games feature serious, significant and adult topics in so many different ways. But unlike books or movies, games are characterized by interactivity and involvement. Everyone can slip into so many different and diverse roles and act from various perspectives, to broaden their own horizons. So games are more than just toys and definitely not a waste of time.

But often parents are afraid of the impact of games. So we try to increase a better understanding of the gaming culture for parents and professionals and describe the fascination and passion. It is ok for parents to set up prohibitions and rules, but is necessary to have a closer look to games first. Then they can build their own opinion and evaluation and discuss that with their children on an eye level.

After a big German TV channel quoted you out of context, you had to face a huge wave of hate from gamers on social media. How did you learn to deal with this kind of harassment and which advice would you give to someone who has to experience a similar thing?

That was rough buddy. That shitstorm was a real pain in the ass. But more than anything it was annoying, because it weren’t even my words or my opinion. It was completely out of context and didn’t make sense for anyone who knows me a little bit. So it was amazing to see how many people are very nice, understanding and supportive. But the main part had depicted me as the enemy and the evil person who hates games. I was shocked about the enormous dynamic of the hate posts and insults. Every time a Youtuber or Twitcher thematized me in their streams, my Twitter went wild. I had to set my Facebook and Instagram on private, but I read all of the comments. I don’t know why, but for me it was more uncomfortable not knowing what my friends and family probably will read about me. But I didn’t respond to most of them. Every time I tried, it fired back and I was stuck in a justification loop. 

So I realized that the haters didn’t want to understand or admit that I’m not the person they wanted to hate. Sometimes I felt helpless and resigned, but I can’t imagine how it would have been if people hadn’t been there, who supported and defended me. And I never lost hope that they will be bored by themselves someday, because it was a single sentence they were mad about. My advice would be to surround yourself with the people who love you and let all the insults and harassment ricochet off you like water off a duck’s back.

Thanks for sharing your experiences and advice with us, Linda!

Linda’s links: Twitter | Instagram | Spieleratgeber NRW Website

WWW Feature by Jessica Hackenbroch

Womenize! Wednesday Weekly is our weekly series featuring inspirational women from games and tech. For this edition we talked to Aurelie Moiroud, who is managing the business side of a newly founded start up, while also being a sound designer, composer and DJ. Read more about Aurelie in this interview:

Hi Aurelie! You’ve recently completed your Master’s degree in Professional Practice & Game Development. What was your thesis mainly focused on?

Hi Sophie, thanks a lot for the interview, it is a pleasure to participate in Womenize! Weekly Wednesday. So during the masters, we did not have a dissertation to do. The Master is taught, which means it is based on practice. We had to produce one prototype per semester within a multidisciplinary team. The team was changing each semester. For the first one, the group is small, and you can choose your own story based on words you would have picked in the list the lecturer provided for us. With this team, we did an exploration game prototype with a cat in an abandoned city after a cataclysm. The cat must solve whimsical puzzles to help the other animals in the city. For this game, I did the sound effects and music.

For the second one, we had to pick three briefs, and our lecturer assigned us the one that was a pitch or looked the best to produce. With that one, we did a VR game based on players’ movements. The player is going to a martial art school and has to learn the five basic stances present in most martial arts and reproduce them. He or she can also train with different weapons and a dummy. On this project, I was a producer and sound designer.

The last one was a project within a bigger team (12 people). We had a brief from a client from the game industry. It was a bit like a relationship between an indie game studio and a publisher. We received a lot of useful advice and feedback from our client, too. During this game, I was  a music composer; we were graded on our specific role.

We also had modules with essays of course 🙂

When did you find your passion for music composition and sound design – and what inspires you?

My passion for music composition came while I was a DJ. Initially, I started to compose electronic music tracks (in 2007) as I wanted to make House and Techno tracks. But my friends noticed my music was more for visual contents than dancefloor, which is quite funny for a DJ. In my mid-twenties, I started to play RPGs like Fable, Dragon Age and Mass Effect. They made me discover the importance and impact of music and sound in games on the player. 

At that period, I was looking for a change of career. I started to look if there were roles related to audio in the gaming industry. I found sound designer positions were existing in games studios generally and looked at the requirements needed to work in the industry. 

To see if I enjoyed doing sound design, I started to work on audiovisual projects like a Christmas Fairy Tale for a kids show, as well as a pilot for a TV series. Thus I looked for training that would allow me to get the skills and knowledge to work professionally. This is how I found the course at a university in Scotland. Since I started my studies in 2015, I compose instrumental and orchestral music.

My inspiration sources are varied. If I compose electronic music, I like to play Mass Effect. It is in the future and in space, which was a theme linked to electronic music in the 60s and 70s and affected me significantly. The set up of this game always inspires me to make new sounds and explore ideas. To create sound design, I also like going for hikes in nature. To get a breath of fresh air. For me, to get inspired, it is vital to listen to the sound of sea, rivers, birds and leaves rustling.

A few international colleagues & yourself are about to start up a new company in the video gaming sector. Would you like to share what this is about?

Yes, for sure! We are Folktales Digital, a team of seven people from six European countries. We are actually in the making of our start-up and our prototype Lost Myths: Sons of Ragnar. Most of us met at Abertay University; some of us worked on previous projects together. I am in charge of the business part of our game studio.

We are creating Lost Myths, a series of VR adventure games, based on myths and legends about ancient civilisations from around the world (we also aim to publish it on PC and console). We are immersing the player in environments, times and places corresponding to the tales. We want people to explore ancient cultures, myths and legends in a novel and fun way. It is also a means for the player to experience everyday life of the era depicted in the game.

For example, in our first game, the player discovers the Saga of Ragnar and his sons at the time where Vikings started to invade England. The players will be able to go through levels like a Viking Village and hall, as well as the coast of Northumbria in England. To advance in the story, they will have to solve puzzles, do quests and interact with the environment. If you’d like to follow our adventures, you can join us here.

Thank you for your time, Aurelie!

Aurelie’s Links: Website | Twitter | LinkedIn | Folktales Digital Twitter | Folktales Digital Facebook

WWW Feature by Sophie Brügmann

Womenize! Wednesday Weekly is our weekly series featuring inspirational women from games and tech. For this edition we talked to Lauryn Ash, Game Designer at Crystal Dynamics. Read more about Lauryn in this interview:

Hi Lauryn! With games such as “Marvel’s Avengers”, “Star Child” and “Dungeon Defenders II” on your resume, you’ve already gained a lot of experience as a Game Designer. Could you tell us a bit more about the journey towards your current job position?

Sure thing! While it seems like a shorter amount of time, I had a lot of non-games work to back up my career. Ever since I was little I remember doing everything I could: piano lessons, band, debate, theatre, dance lessons — I even took clogging once! I never sat still and always pushed myself to learn new things. When I got to university for creative writing, I kept this mentality and volunteered for the non-profit sector of our university, pitched in business competitions, and also did freelance writing and blogging.

It’s the blogging that got me to San Francisco actually, back in 2012. Adobe hired an outside company to contact bloggers to write about their product that would be Creative Cloud Suite, at the time it was CS6. I used this product occasionally, but got to test drive some new features and was flown out to attend a conference about the future of software as a service. This window into the tech world pivoted where I thought I would go (play writing / screen writing) and turned my attention to how creative writing and technology, specifically games, could meet.

Cue a year later, and I’m attending my first animation and gaming convention: EPX Con in Iowa City, IA (city of the University of Iowa). These were real people talking about their stories, and how they started at school, like me, and switched careers, pivoted after successful ones, or started out brand new to get into games. At the time, the game “Journey” was relatively popular as an example of a student team selling a game to a popular publisher, Sony PlayStation.

A lightbulb went off—I played “Journey”, and was blown away. How much writing went into that game without a single spoken word? This is what I wanted readers to feel when they read my work but what if—they didn’t read it? What if, instead, they experienced it for themselves? Was it possible? So I did what all game designers do: they pivot.

I signed up for some online courses and started messing with technical skills such as python and javascript. But I stalled and thought maybe I had made the wrong choice. Having moved back in with my parents and working retail, I wanted a program that was close by and would prepare me for AAA work. I wanted to learn from people who had lived it and jumpstart a career, not just a hobby. Lo and behold, SMU Guildhall, currently #4 in the world for games, was practically around the corner. (It was a sign!! I was meant for games!!)

As part of the Spring admission class, I was able to take that internship at Trendy Ent,  where I studied weapons balance and design. Guildhall mirrored an industry setting very well for the classroom. After graduating with a Masters of Interactive Technology, Playful Corp offered me the chance to work with VR, narrative, mechanics, and level/puzzle design. Having seen my work, Crystal Dynamics offered me a job to work as a systems designer, which I accepted, and now as a Game Designer, which touches on multiple feature sets and team support.

Five years later, and I can’t wait to see what my journey will look like five years from now!

On your website, you frequently post articles educating people on what it’s like to be a woman in the games industry and also share advice on how to support female colleagues in everyday work situations (+ helping us brew the perfect cup of coffee along the way!). What made you start the “being a woman in games” series?

Thanks for sharing these links! The “Being a woman in games” series is very important to me.

Outside of my inner circle of developers, many of whom are women, the internet is filled with his false image of “what a game developer or gamer looks like.” I want to change that image. Sharing my personal experience on instagram and my website is my small part of changing the narrative of who can be a game developer. If I can do it, so can you.

Despite having been in games as long as men, many women are still seen as less experience than their male counterparts. In my career, I’ve seen women gaslighted into thinking they barely qualify to be a lead and others passed on promotion while another developer is hired on to be their lead. For women just getting into the industry, it’s hard to take a stand or be vocal. You are lucky to have your job. Why risk that by crying out for help? For women who have been in the industry, it gets even harder as reputations precede them and the larger successes mean a larger vocal minority to cry against them. To all the women I see taking a stand, speaking up, in spite of all this, cheers to you! You are my inspiration!

That is what I hope to become. Even if it’s a normal work-from-home life post on instagram, a podcast episode, or a post on how to be a better developer, I want others to know that we (women, nonbinary, and other minorities) belong in games. We were here. We’ve always been here. And now that you see us, know: we are here to stay.

A lot of people who aspire a career in games don’t know how to take the first step, haven’t figured out what their strengths are yet or feel discouraged to continue their journey due to negative previous experiences. Which advice would you give to someone who might feel a little lost at the moment?

This is a huge question! The advice I give people varies greatly depending on both their interests and where they want to go in their career. So let’s tackle it, in order, through your question.

Why do you aspire to have a career in games? And what does that “career” look like for you? The first step feels like the hardest step, because we haven’t asked ourselves why we want something or what our “ideal games career/job” actually looks like. This makes it hard to take courses or pick any direction. I would sit down and play a game. What about it gives you the most joy? And what could you see yourself actually doing? A lot of the time people ask me what engines or tools they need to learn, but having answered this question. Before starting up Unity or learning python, consider if Unity even makes sense for your goals or if python is the language that matches your career. Nine times out of 10 the answer is that they don’t.

The best way to figure your strengths is to do a lot of things. My inability to sit still and willing parents to help me try absolutely everything helped me learn very quickly what I’m good at — writing, directing, singing — and what I’m bad at — clogging, sewing costumes, sitting still. Only when you do a lot of things and fail or succeed at a lot of things do your strengths come to you. Interestingly enough it’s the things you enjoy to do, even when they are a struggle, or things that come easiest to you, that are your strengths. Focus on those. Coding does not come easy to me, despite being logical. It’s a struggle, a pain, and if I can not do it, then I am so happy. You don’t have to code to be in AAA! You don’t have to do art either! But if you’re an indie, you might have to do a little of both — so learn all that you can, and never stop learning.

When you get discouraged, and you feel that you’ve tried everything, done everything, and you’ve hit a rut… don’t give up. Believe in yourself and your abilities. Most times, I’ve found that the rut is caused because you’ve forgotten the reason why you’re doing something. More often than not, the people I’ve seen struggle the most during these times have a ton of work but have a hard time landing their first job due to lack of a portfolio/website, lack of resume skills, or a distance/language barrier. Thankfully, distance is being made “easier” by COVID. (Got to have a silver lining, people.)

Finally, if you’re thinking of leaving games due to toxicity, negativity, or past experiences, ask yourself if you could see yourself doing anything else. If you love games, want to make games, and get depressed at the thought of quitting, don’t. Our voices are needed to make the games industry more accessible, less toxic, and more inclusive to everyone. If we leave, who will champion this future? When I struggled with a negative previous experience, I recognized that it was not worth my time or energy. I could focus on the bad; or I could learn and channel that into the good. I started my website and re-branded my instagram. It’s silly, but it’s still valid. I am still in games, because I knew that simply by existing in games — I would make it better. And so will you.

I would not have succeeded without the generosity of others, so I do my best to pay it forward. My DMs on twitter are open for women and minorities who want to get into the games industry. From starting an indie studio myself to now happy in the AAA company life, I know what it’s like to jump from one scary career choice to another even scarier one. Check my website laurynash.com for free articles, resources, and updates on my patron mentorship service or follow me on instagram.com/thelaurynash for cosplay, lifestyle, and game dev motivation. Or do both!

We’re in this together.

Thanks so much for taking the time to share your thoughts with us, Lauryn!

Lauryn’s links: Official Website | Twitter | Instagram | Furidashi – Lauryn’s Podcast

WWW Feature by Jessica Hackenbroch

Womenize! Wednesday Weekly is our weekly series featuring inspirational women from games and tech. For this edition we talked to Poornima Seetharaman, Lead Game Designer at Zynga Bangalore. Read more about Poornima in this interview:

Hi Poornima! You had initially studied Information Technology and went into the programming direction early on. How did you then decide that Game Design is what you’d like to do?

While I was in college, I used to experiment with creating my own campaigns for games like “Age of Empires II” and “Warcraft III”, then share it with a few friends who would play it and give me feedback. I also used to discuss some of my game ideas with them, too. I honestly didn’t know that was a part of Game Design back then.

When I took up my first job as a programmer, it was purely coincidental that it happened to be a gaming firm. After a month in, they had a position for Game Designer open up. My college mate, who was also my colleague at that firm, suggested to the manager that they should give me a shot at Game Design, as he had seen some of my design skills back in college.

And they did! I had one month to deliver my Game Design. Back then, there were barely any resources available. I managed to get Chris Crawford’s Game Design Template, read up some posts by Ernest Adams for any sort of understanding about Game Design.

The company also gave me the “Dungeons & Dragons” manuals as a reference, as we were making a mobile 2D RPG similar to “Neverwinter Nights”. I opened the books and remember falling in love with them. I made a GDD (Game Design Document) in a month including levels, dialogues, quests etc. It was pure new found love and adrenaline! After that, no matter what I did, I couldn’t keep myself away from Game Design. 🙂

How would you describe the start up and indie games culture in India? Which cities, platforms and events do you personally consider worth highlighting?

Still very niche, but picking up. We have some studios that are trying their best to put out some lovely games and then we have some startups that are focussing on the free to play and real money gaming sectors as well. Getting funding to make traditional video games is harder in India. As the ROI (return on investment) on that is tricky. But game developers are always trying to find a way to do that and make ends meet. More investors betting on innovation, infrastructure and possible government grants could help us a long way.

In terms of cities, I would say, currently Bangalore and Hyderabad are doing well! Lots of new game dev startups keep sprouting!

We have one main long standing annual conference that happens here called the India Game Developer Conference where we get to catch up and connect with everyone and also find an opportunity to meet some great global game developers. We also run a Facebook group on it.

On smaller events, we have a Bangalore Video Games Meet-up regularly hosted by some lovely indie folks as well as gamedev.in, a site and discord group run by a small bunch of game developers for community building and supporting game devs, some of whom are part of the local IGDA chapter as well.

Seeing you’ve founded/co-founded two companies, what were your main values and learnings while taking the step to become an entrepreneur?

• To me, people are important. Taking time to hire the right employees who will form your founding team and define the culture of the company is crucial.
• I do not believe in a hire and fire policy. I believe in hiring right, wherever it is in our control.
• My team is my family. I want them to feel ownership.
• Even though we were a startup, I’ve never asked my team to stretch overtime and tried our best to compensate them as well as we could.
• Be open to feedback. Always.
• One of the main things I learnt was that when we partner with someone, it is best to work with them for a while to understand them well and not base it on outside conversations. Everyone’s work style and approach towards people is different and you need to figure out if that works out for you.
• Speak up more if you sense something amiss.
• Keep conversations very transparent.

Thank you for your time, Poornima!

Poornima’s Links: Poornima’s Website | Poornima’s Twitter | Poornima’s LinkedIn | Poornima’s Instagram

WWW Feature by Sophie Brügmann

Womenize! Wednesday Weekly is our weekly series featuring inspirational women from games and tech. For this edition we talked to Sarah Miller-Crews, who has done voice acting for several video games. Read more about Sarah in this interview:

Hi Sarah! You’ve done voice acting for renowned video games, such as “Avengers Academy”, “White Noise” and the recently remade “Trials of Mana”. Could you tell us a bit more about your journey into voice acting, especially for games?

Thank you so much for having me! I‘ve always loved animation, ever since I was little. I was obsessed with Disney movies and “Avatar the Last Airbender”, but it never occurred to me that someone’s full time job was voicing those characters. Because I knew I loved acting and singing, I went to a Fine Arts High School in Texas and double majored in Theater and Choir and I also graduated with a BA from UCLA’s department of Theatre, Film, and Television. But right out of college I was having a tough time, because I felt like I was being trapped in these tiny boxes of what parts I could play based on how I look. I was about ready to move back home to Texas when I stumbled upon a voiceover workshop and I completely fell in love with it! That was when I realized that I want to do voiceover for the rest of my life.

The first jobs I got were for small independent games and eLearning projects. Since I didn’t have an agent at that time, those were the sorts of projects that I was able to find auditions for and sometimes I even sent my demo directly to the companies themselves. Eventually I started working on bigger projects,  which ultimately led me to auditioning for “Trials of Mana”. My career definitely hasn’t been a linear journey but I like to believe that every project I work on is a stepping stone to the next amazing opportunity that’s right around the corner.

What makes voice acting for games different from doing voiceover for other media? Is it more challenging?

Doing voiceover work for video games is unique because there are so many different aspects to it. Sometimes you are saying lines that have to stand on their own, sometimes you’re in a scene, and a lot of times you are voicing efforts, which are nonverbal sounds that correspond with certain actions that the player is doing. Voiceover itself is a unique form of acting because there is no set or costumes or other actors in the room with you to ramp you up into the emotional space you need to be in. You have to supply that energy by using your imagination. You have to envision what your character is looking at, where they are, who they’re talking to, and why they’re saying what they are saying. 

I’ve been really lucky to work with some amazing directors, like Kal-El Bogdanove for “Trials of Mana”, who bring a sense of play into the booth, which creates a magical space for creativity. You get to really use your imaginative skills and that’s what makes it so fun!

Any advice on how to overcome insecurities and build confidence for people aspiring a career in (video game) acting?

I think that when it comes to overcoming insecurities and building confidence, all you can do is try your best and be yourself. Definitely make sure that you’re taking classes in voice acting or working with a coach to hone your skills, but also remember that there’s no one else in the world who is exactly like you. Your voice may sound similar to other people, but no one else carries your life experience and story. No one else can bring your energy to the room. Who you are is enough and the world needs the special spark that only you carry!

Thanks so much for sharing your experiences with us, Sarah!

Links: Sarah’s Website | Sarah’s Instagram

WWW Feature by Jessica Hackenbroch

Womenize! Wednesday Weekly is our weekly series featuring inspirational women from games and tech. For this edition we talked to Jodie Donovan, Freelance Game Designer and Women in Games Ambassador. Read more about Jodie in this interview:

Hi Jodie! Last year, you have successfully completed your Bachelor of Science in Applied Computing (Games & Digital Media) and you are now pursuing a master’s degree in Game Design. Which topics will you be focusing on in your thesis and what’s next after your studies?

I broke ground with my preliminary study into game accessibility during my BSc and I feel it’s time to take it to the next level. My study involved getting people with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) to play a game demo I created using Unreal Engine 4. I used player feedback to further understand how users with ASD interpret the signs and signaling used by developers to drive game flow and narrative, and if these users experience sensory distress. This enabled me to develop a proposed accessibility framework for users with cognitive disabilities. My master’s thesis will expand upon this research with the aim to improve user experience.

As a freelancer and consultant for Game Design matters, you got the opportunity to look into various different projects and workflows. Was there any outstanding project you’ve worked on, that you’d like to share with us?

I’m currently consulting on a mobile title and a PC game which is in early Alpha on Steam. My role in these projects is to assess features such as level design techniques and implementation, UI/UX elements, and give feedback to the developers on how accessible these games are to a neurodiverse audience.

Diversity and inclusivity in the industry, as well as the STEM sector specifically, are very important to you personally. Are there any books, articles, workshops or conferences that you’d recommend to anyone interested in becoming an active ambassador in these areas themselves?

I recommend the book “An Architectural Approach to Level Design” but more importantly, do some research into your local area/region and find out what it offers in terms of game developer communities and support networks. For me personally, I was able to join a local network specifically for female and gender diverse developers. It was founded by mutual friends and in becoming an active member here, I have met some of the most inspirational local women in tech, made new friends, and discovered subsequent programs that piqued my interest (e.g. Women In Games – of which I am now an active Ambassador).

Thank you for your time, Jodie!

Jodie’s Links: Jodie’s Twitter | Jodie’s LinkedIn

WWW Feature by Sophie Brügmann

Womenize! Wednesday Weekly is our weekly series featuring inspirational women from games and tech. For this edition we talked to Miriam Khalaf, Junior Game Economy Designer at Gameloft Barcelona. Read more about Miriam in this interview:

Hi Miriam, thanks for taking the time! First off, let us start with your career – can you tell us a bit more about your journey towards your current job position?

To be honest, mine was just a combination of both luck and stubbornness. Once I finished college, I got an unrelated and absolutely exhausting job that allowed me to get by, and I guess that’s partially what fuelled me to just keep sending CVs to any position related to videogames I could find, day after day, no matter what. It was frustrating, and after a few months I just didn’t know what to reply to the question “what can YOU offer to this position?” anymore. Because I just really, really wanted to be there… just like everybody else. “I don’t know, I can make really good coffee…I guess”. And as in a world where companies have coffee machines that’s definitely not enough, I spent my free time doing online courses, watching conferences, sending emails… and one time, after about a year of getting rejected, I got a reply from Gameloft asking if I’d be interested in taking an Excel exam to test if I was suited for the position.

So I said “of course” and then spent almost every night that week doing Excel courses because, to be honest, I had literally no idea about Excel formulas. I got to that test insecure, sleepy, and absolutely terrified, and, somehow, it worked.

After that I started working as a playtester, where I started analysing difficulty balancing and progression. Soon the department evolved to Economy Testing, and after some time I became its manager. We were also benchmarking and deconstructing other projects, and acting as support for GEDs. And even though playing games for a living is one of the best things in the world, I knew that this job position wasn’t going to make me happy forever. Luckily, I had the means to continue my training, incredible professionals to teach me, and eventually switched departments to start working as a GED. And that’s what I’m doing now.

What does your typical work day at Gameloft look like? What are the tasks of a Game Economy Designer?

Well, as you can imagine, we do Excel (…sorry, I really couldn’t help it).
It depends a lot on the game you are working on, but mainly our day to day consists in designing and balancing systems. There’s a lot of behavioral economics involved with that, as creating gatings in progression, currency sinks, difficulty walls and, overall, managing victories and frustration, requires a delicate balance, especially in freemium.

The main goal is simple: your economy design needs to “keep it together” in the long run (we aim it to last above 3 years, and some top games have been there for 7 or 8 years and counting). In a premium game that’s meant to last 40 or 80 hours, players getting too much currency or XP is bad, because they won’t experience the game as you planned. But in freemium it’s catastrophic.
It’s necessary to mention that the gap between players does nothing but grow, as progressing won’t mean the same for people who’ve been playing for three years and people who just arrived yesterday. A GED needs to understand their needs, and to provide time limited content, challenges and successes for all of them.
So with that in mind, we decide gacha droprates, prices and rewards, establish difficulty and currency gatings, how much experience players are going to earn based on their progression, content exhaustion speed, and so on. We also make time-limited events considering the content we are going to be able to release in a given period of time.
Once all of that is over, we analyze how everything performed, try to determine how we can increase the games’ KPIs, and continue iterating based on that.

A lot of people dream of working in the games industry, but might be unsure which kind of job would be the best one for them, or they feel discouraged after being rejected from companies they applied to. Which advice would you give to someone who wants to overcome those insecurities?

We grow up internalising we are not good enough in so many small day to day interactions, we barely notice it’s pulling us down anymore by the time we have to decide we are worth to step up. There are so many times I’ve been about to give up on my dreams and try to convince myself that it doesn’t matter anyway. But that’s just not true.

And if I had to pick one thing to tell them, then it would be this: “You have value. Your dreams and professional goals have value. So stop finding excuses and send all those resumes you are holding. It doesn’t matter if someone thinks you might not be good enough. Because you are. Because you are going to prove them wrong. And, above all, because there are so many chances out there for you the only way not to get them is not believing you deserve to be there.”
And it’s true, it’s easy to feel discouraged by the lack of knowledge about certain positions, or even our own capabilities if we accomplish it. But that’s the thing: we never know which kind of job is going to make us feel challenged and motivated until we try it. But trying is always worth it, and companies are always hiring!

Thanks so much for sharing your experiences and advice with us, Miriam!

Links: Job opportunities at Gameloft Barcelona | All job opportunities at Gameloft

WWW Feature by Jessica Hackenbroch

Womenize! Wednesday Weekly is our weekly series featuring inspirational women from games and tech. For this edition we talked to Charlene Lebrun, Director & Publicist at Player Two PR Ltd. in London. Read more about Charlene in this interview:

Hi Charlene! As Director & Publicist at Player Two PR Ltd., what are your main responsibilities and challenges from day to day?

Every day is different! Some of it revolves around running the company itself, guiding my team and handling business development, but also mucking in and running campaigns: from writing press releases, discussing certain games with journalists and content creators, to coming up with strategies for each title we look after, not to mention managing booths at events (although not this year!) and running Kickstarter campaigns. I also spend some time every day liaising with our clients and making sure their release has the best chance of success, which sometimes means helping with QA, finding contractors for them or giving feedback on the game itself. There’s never a dull day, and indie games can be a hard sell no matter how good they are, but that challenge is part of why I enjoy it.

Having worked in both, the triple A world and indie games industry, are there any major differences or similarities that you’ve identified?

There are a few! A bit like in every field, working with smaller companies you tend to wear many different hats and work closely with everyone, while in AAA you have much larger teams working on each project as well as a stronger hierarchy of people to work with, so things tend to be a bit slower and safer. That said, in AAA the budgets are much larger and that allows both the devs and the marketing to execute bigger ideas, which is also really exciting! There are also similarities of course, in the general life cycle of development and the different elements needed around it to make a release work. 

You are also an active Women in Games Ambassador. Which values are important to you and where do you wish to raise more awareness?

I’d like to see the games industry become more diverse. Things are better than they were a few years ago and communications is an area of the industry where women are more represented, but I hope that someday soon, we can see true diversity (on all accounts, not just for women but for everyone) in the industry and for it to be considered normal. If the recent accounts of sexual harassment (and how those situations were handled by management) proved anything, it’s that we still have a long way to go in creating welcoming spaces to work in. The way I see it, it starts with bringing in a more diverse workforce and making employers accountable for treating them well.

Thank you for your time, Charlene!

Charlene’s Links: Charlene’s Twitter | Player Two’s website

WWW Feature by Sophie Brügmann

Womenize! Wednesday Weekly is our weekly series featuring inspirational women from games and tech. For this edition we talked to Éloïse Laroche, 3D Artist and Indie Game Developer. Read more about Éloïse in this interview:

Hi Éloïse! Your new game, Lemon Cake, is coming soon. Could you tell us a little bit more on why and how you became a game dev and 3D artist?

I’ve always been interested in different spheres of art, such as writing, performing and visual arts. I fell in love with video game development because it blends multiple disciplines together into a single product. It made me realise that I wanted to create more than art, I wanted to design an experience that players could interact with, change and customize to their own taste. I studied digital art in college, which was a good introduction to 3D art and the most popular industry softwares. However, there’s so much more than art that goes into making games, and so I’ve had to teach myself through online documentation and tutorials how to program, design and market games. Fortunately, I don’t think there’s ever been a better time to be a self taught game developer; there’s a ton of resources online to learn everything that’s needed to get started. There are also excellent free development softwares, such as Blender for digital art and Unreal Engine for game development, which makes it accessible for everyone.

You’re not working with a studio, but as a one-woman game dev. What are the challenges you found yourself facing in the process of developing games on your own? And how did you find the right people to work with when you’ve reached your limits, regarding the game’s music, for example?

The main challenge I face as a solo developer is that I have to learn a wide range of skills, which makes it difficult to become an expert in a specific discipline. It’s a lot harder to excel in a particular field such as art, programming or marketing when I have to divide my time between all of them instead of focusing on a single one. Because of that, it’s been crucial to figure out my strengths and weaknesses and decide which skills I won’t practice at all, and instead hire other artists who can complement my work. On the other hand, being able to develop almost everything by myself gives me a ton of creative freedom and flexibility. I can iterate and test my designs quickly without having to explain my ideas to someone else, and it allows me to create exactly the vision I have of a game. It’s still a good idea to hire freelancers to fill in specific skill gaps, which saves me a ton of time learning and practicing a new skill. For example, I’ve worked with Matthew Harnage who composed the game soundtrack and Karen Teixeira who drew the cover art for Lemon Cake. The first thing I look for when hiring a freelancer is to find someone whose work I love; once I find that, everything else falls into place.

There are lot of great games out there, and as an indie dev, it can be difficult to stand out from the crowd and get your game noticed. Do you have any tips for fellow devs on how to promote their game?

Find a niche! I think too many indie developers fail to gather attention not because their game is bad, but because it appeals to a mass audience. AAA studios are already doing that, and I don’t really want to compete with them. Instead, I think it’s much more viable for indies to cater to smaller audiences that are mostly ignored by larger studios. I recently participated in Wholesome Snack, an event specifically created to showcase wholesome indie games. The community behind it is really supportive and appreciative of the devs catering to a friendly & casual genre of games. In the future, I plan on exploring further themes that haven’t been showcased much in video games. It’s a bit risky to make games for a market that hasn’t been proven yet; but to me being indie means pushing new boundaries, and I think that’s why players fell in love with indie games in the first place!

Thanks so much for sharing your experiences and advice with us, Éloïse!

Links: Éloïse’s Twitter | Lemon Cake on Steam

WWW Feature by Jessica Hackenbroch