Goodgame Studios

What were your first few weeks working for the company like?

My orientation period and the on-the-job training that I initially received were invaluable. After just a few weeks I had a good overview of how things worked here even though I was foreign to the industry. My colleagues were always friendly. Every individual in this company can make a real difference, whether it’s the interns, trainees, permanent employees or managers. There is a real thirst for action and a desire to get things done.

What are your tasks?

As a project manager and team leader I am the interface between the departments. I optimize processes, set milestones, plan resources and lay down priorities. I make arrangements with the management and take care of the flow of information. I am also responsible for the supervision and motivation of my project teams.

Why is your work important?

I have a comprehensive overview of the production and I am the primary contact person for other departments. I provide answers for external team members and arrange for an optimal course of production. That made it very special when my own project, Goodgame Empire, was launched.

What requirements do you need for your position?

You must be a team player, be able to absorb a lot of information and always keep the big picture in mind while still being able to go into the details. Soft skills are important, good personnel management, organizational skills and decisiveness. In addition, you have to know the industry. Scrum, Skype and e-mail are indispensable tools.

What, in your opinion, is different about a company for computer games compared to other companies?

The flat hierarchies and the lack of bureaucracy have made a positive impression on me. The atmosphere is relaxed, the team is relatively young. I really like the particular kind of identification with the products and the ability to change of the industry as a whole.

What was it like for you to start working here?

I felt like I was cut loose right from the start, since I was assigned Goodgame Café as a project right at the beginning. The team and all staff members were very open, friendly and helpful.

What constitutes your work?

The devising of games. Without game designers there are no games. I work out and document game concepts and am the communicative interface in the games team. If people have questions about a game function, they ask me. My work is important because I know the big picture and how everything fits together in the end.

What requirements do you need as a game designer?

You definitely have to be capable of multitasking, since you often have to consider and work on many different things at the same time. You should definitely be able to work independently and to organize yourself well.

What do you like about your work?

To work together as a team to produce something and to see how the product is slowly taking shape. I’m always a happy camper when a new function has been programmed or new graphics have been finished. My biggest achievement was the launch of Goodgame Café in July 2010.

What was it like for you to start working at Goodgame Studios?

I felt welcome immediately because of the friendly atmosphere. I might be the only woman in my office, but I am used to that already from my studies at a technical university. I was pleasantly surprised that the heads of the company are also sitting in the open plan office.

What makes your work so important?

My responsibilities include ad hoc analysis and continuous reporting in order to discover the causes for a variety of developments as soon as possible. These evaluations of information influence most other areas, such as game design, marketing or community management and are important for business success.

Which skills and qualifications do you need for your position?

You need a good understanding of numbers, the ability to abstract and you should not be afraid of large amounts of data. It is important that you know how to deal with databases and can pull the needed information from the database (SQL). The ability to do some detective work and an interest in holistic contexts are also helpful.

What do you like best here?

My colleagues, the bright office spaces and the way in which we appreciate each other. I also really like the open, friendly and professional atmosphere.

What was the start of your career like for you?

I left the interview with a big grin on my face and just knew: This is it! Then right on my first day I ended up talking to the COO about curling for an hour. The friendly atmosphere and working right alongside the bosses was something I hadn’t known before.

What are your responsibilities as a department head?

So far, I was responsible for the coordination and execution of community management and the support for all our games. Important aspects include conception, planning, evaluation, improvement of existing structures, guidance and disposition of employees, and personnel selection. I find the diversified work processes and problems that I am confronted with daily to be the most interesting part of working in community management.

How would you describe the working atmosphere?

Kitschy as can be: Like a big family – it literally is like working with friends rather than colleagues. People here have turned their hobby into their profession and are fulfilling their dream by doing so. Hard work is being combined with a relaxed and friendly atmosphere.

What does “dual studies” mean?

It means that, for the next three years, only two thirds of my time will be spent at the company and the other third at the university. What I am doing is basically combining practical experiences with theoretical studies and I see myself as well prepared for the future because of that. That is why it’s not possible for me to continue as the head of the department.

Why did you apply for a position at Goodgame Studios?

The job listing asked “You like numbers and games?”- I didn’t have to think twice.

What do you like most about your work?

What I like best is that I can do math and still be creative at the same time. ;-)

Why is your work particularly important?

Without balancing no game would work. It would be really boring, for example, if among many possible strategies only one “reasonable” emerged. To make sure that doesn’t happen is one of the tasks of the game balancer. I find the biggest challenge, when it comes to “casual games”, is to find the fine line between simplicity and depth of the game.

Which prerequisites do you need for your position?

Math is a must. In addition, a sound knowledge of Excel is required and a basic understanding of programming is also useful. But a strong sense of the functioning and interacting of game mechanics is most important.

You are a career changer. What did you do before starting here?

I worked as a QA tester and project manager for an online learning platform. In my private life I also worked on a small board games blog.

What makes your job so exciting?

The work is very varied. Rehearsing a role and then seeing the results is a lot of fun. I love making hundreds of thousands of players laugh. When it comes to Goodgame Empire, I like the diverse possibilities of the strategy game and the beautiful graphics.

What was starting in the gaming industry like for you?

In the beginning, I was pretty nervous before my performances, but once you have recited your lines for 200,000 registered players, you of course become quite familiar with your role. In Goodgame Empire, I am the moody princess. It is very important for me to always stay in character and take my job seriously. I actually am a very happy person, which makes it quite the challenge for me to play the fury. Especially in the beginning, rehearsals are very exhausting and discouraging, for example when a bug occurs, which you are not responsible for, and you constantly have to repeat the scene. In situations like these, it helps if you have nice colleagues by your side.

What qualifications are required for your work?

Identification with the company and its products, which you market, is most important. You should study your role intensively in order to be able to implement it realistically. A neat appearance is as important as a good command of over 20 languages. In addition, you need strong nerves and you cannot let yourself get confused by technical complications.

Why did you apply here?

The perfect package – animation, illustration and gaming!

What do you like most about the job?

My work is very diversified and I have creative freedom. Graphics, animations and appealing designs are what brings games to life, and I contribute to that. It was especially great for me to see my animations and graphics for the first time when playing online.

Which capacities do you need for your position?

A good sense for movement, strong drawing skills and enjoying working with software and a graphic tablet. Other than my creative abilities, good communication skills are most useful.

Describe Goodgame Studios in one sentence!

Lots of fun!

Is there something you always wanted to tell our players?

I think it’s great that you recognize how charming classic 2D games can be!

What skills do you need as a flash-lead?

Good programming skills, experience in developing flash games, quick decision-making skills and creativity in order to solve problems.

What are your responsibilities?

I organize and hold workshops on flash development, analyze and optimize workflows. Furthermore, I am the person the other departments contact when they have questions concerning the world of “flash development”. Another component is the development and improvement of frameworks that ensure the stability and expandability of our games.

Did something surprise you when you started working here?

The working climate is pleasantly structured and pretty relaxed at the same time. I did not know both was possible at the same time. I only know the extremes.

What kind of education did you receive?

After secondary school (“Realschule”), I completed a retail salesman apprenticeship. After several years in the profession I realized that wouldn’t fulfill me. I got my “Fachabitur” at a trade school and studied information technology and design. This is how I turned my personal interests into a career.