What is your job role and how would you describe your typical day at work?
I work at No Brakes Games – the studio forged in 2019 following the huge success of physics-based puzzle platformer Human Fall Flat, by founder and CEO Tomas Sakaluaskas. I was hired as the 11th employee in October 2019, and first dedicated in-house producer. Previously I had worked my way through QA, production and publishing from the start of my career back in 2007 for companies like Codemasters, Rare, and Frontier Developments.
Being able to focus my experience now into this role within a powerful little indie team like this was an energy I couldn’t refuse. As producer my day involves steering the development of our newest, upcoming title by doing whatever I can to get our amazing developers achieving their best work. They’re utterly fantastic, and capable of magic. I want them to feel they’ve achieved as such.
In addition, I remain linked with the Human: Fall Flat IP by supporting our partnered devs, as well as maintaining strong relations with our publishing team at Curve Digital. I’ve also been recognised for my passion in publishing too, so I am entrusted with our studio brand/creative development methods, press and PR relationships management, as well as community engagement too. All of my experience modes are switched to ‘ON’, and I couldn’t feel more motivated.
What qualifications and/or experience do you need to land this job?
Tough one to answer almost, as I’m such a wild hybrid of experience, but due to the diverse ethos of the studio, all of my collective passions were considered as part of the role. If I had to pinpoint the specifics though, I’d say I was sought for my attention to quality following my QA and usability experience, to my understanding of Agile development and how best practices work within our team dynamic in production. The final cherry on the cake then comes from my creative and communication insight from publishing.
If you were interviewing someone for your team, what would you look for?
Creativity! Enthusiasm! We all work together as this little powerhouse of collaboration, where no ideas are wrong ideas. I mean of course I’d look for their expertise in the primary role skillset, but it doesn’t just end at ‘tick boxes’ here. I feel like if you stick to a regimented expectation of skills and performance without enabling your potential team member’s ‘broader being’, you miss out on so much value (as do they!).
What opportunities do you have for career progression?
EVERY opportunity. As part of our studio values we offer regular performance and feedback reviews (every three months) and ensure that each member of the team has the opportunity to explore their creative passions. For example, our lead QA has just started to learn Unity for the first time during any down time she might have. She’s doing amazingly well!
