A tale of two very empty game studios

Why would anyone leave a place where you can swim with the dolphins, own an unlimited number of dogs and spend your days at the beach? Shanice Lapierre Armande did all that, but she also wanted a good education. So she left the Caribbean for a new life in the Netherlands. She still longs for the island lifestyle, but she also loves her new life — as a VR developer at Vertigo Games.

Natalia Boró was in the middle of her life and had a great career, when she received the devastating news. She had breast cancer. Then she was laid off. Everything looked very bleak. But now, three years later, she is not only cancer free, she has also started a new career. This time, in the games industry.

It’s busy days for Helen Haynes, as she and the rest of Dambuster Studios put the final touches to Dead Island 2. But as an HR manager, Helen’s mission is not killing zombies — it’s creating the best working conditions possible. And since retirement is just around the corner for Helen, she’s not holding back when she delivers some hard-earned truths about what HR should be in the games industry. Buckle up!

When David Lahmeyer received a Nintendo 64 for Christmas, he made his mind up — he was going to work in the games industry! He was only eight years old and since then he has never bothered to make any other career plans. Failing to become a programmer did not hinder his ambitions, nor did working in the industry stop him from collecting Nintendo 64 games.

Remember MSX, the Japanese computer standard from the 80s, with its huge selection of games? Did you know that Bomberman made its debut on this hybrid of console and home computer? If not, don’t worry. Thomas Sunhede, retro gaming advisor at Embracer Games Archive, will tell you all about this mostly forgotten console.

Growing up, Molly Ericson loved two things — horses and video games. When studying game design at the university she became annoyed when she watched her boyfriend play FIFA. Why were there no sports games like that for equestrian sports? So she decided to fix that problem herself, and brought her fiancé along on the ride.

Making game studios more inclusive and increasing the gender balance are big challenges for the games industry. The good news? Vermila Studios in Madrid seems to have found a solution to the problem. The bad news? They don’t really know how they did it.

Do we really need more committees? Well, if the committee is committed to your well-being, the answer might be yes. At Deep Silver Dambuster Studios in Nottingham, Emma Green and the other members of the Well-Being Committee is busy making the work place better for everyone, with a special focus on mental health. As it turns out, it doesn’t need to be all that complicated.

Growing up under communism in East Germany wasn’t great for graphic novel buff Michael Hochhaus. The only good comics he could get his hands on were the few his relatives managed to smuggle in. But Michael beat the odds, and today he works for Koch Films and has an impressive collection of drawings from some the world’s best-known cartoonists and animators.

Aisha Kuipers was 30 years old and had achieved her dream of being a PR manager at the VR studio Vertigo Games. That’s when she discovered she had incurable cancer. How do you maintain a sense of purpose, joy and gratitude in the middle of dealing with all that? Well, Aisha has some answers.