We Are some of the Women who work at Bossa Studios. Ask us Anything!

Working in the gaming industry was this always you saw your self doing (getting the correct qualifications or experiance for this type of work)?

Heya!

Chantel

I actually had no clue what I wanted to do for the majority of my life until I was at uni. I took a games design and documentation course as part of my uni studies because I love games (obviously) and realised yeah this is what I wanna do, I mean games are kinda in our blood anyways.

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tish

When I was in school I knew I wanted to do make computer programs (mainly because of I found our IT classes of using programs boring by comparison) . I didn't really think about going into games until I went to uni for Computer Science and realised it wasn't what I wanted to do.

I found games to be a good way of learning the principles of computing but in a fun/creative environment. I changed course to Computing with Games Development and the rest is history

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Bethanie

I only realized I wanted to be in games after I graduated university. My degree had nothing to do with games. So I was lucky enough to know people who were willing to teach me what I needed to know to get in and move forward.

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Tania

I used to play counter-strike professionally and somehow I was already working with games for a while without noticing. It was only a matter of time to link that to other interests related to the human brain. So, working with games nowadays is a mix of passions for me.

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Kexin

I want to be a game developer since junior school, I told my parents that playing game is useful because I'll be a game developer and making game, playing games is just getting the right experience.

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Kat

I actually studied particle physics at uni and went into marketing. Never really considered games till last year, although I'm a huge nerd & love playing loads of games!

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klaudia

I saw the Final Fantasy 8 Trailer when I was about 12 and I new I wanted to work on games, but I didn't think it was possible, so I studied economics in college. When I moved to England I did a digital animation course in the hope that I will be an artist on games, and I'm very happy that I get to work for Bossa now.

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Roberta

I did not know I wanted it. Having spent so many years making and marketing Tech products within a pretty large TV broadcaster in Brazil made me realise how badly I wanted to impact an industry (games) that's been always setting the trends of how people connect with each other and enjoy entertainment.

What're Julia's origins/intro into the industry? (Aspiring community manager here, pointers of any kind are invaluable!)

Julia: Radioactive community bite turned me! Hahaha I gamed my whole life, managed some fan Tomb Raider and Silent Hill forums back in school, studied illustration and animation and ended up in a very corporate environment. Then I pivoted and entered the games industry as an office manager where you technically manage the studio community and it's awesome. I then moved into social and marketing in not-games... After a while I realised the environment in games is the best and I should absolutely come back! :) Along the way I stayed in touch with people in the industry, continued nerding out and generally keeping a finger on the pulse of the gaming communities as well as staying on top of.

I used to play counter-strike professionally

What team?

Tantan: MIBR girls

What's the men to women ratio of your company?

23% identify as female, 77% male :)

How do you feel about the general stereotype that women aren't welcome in the industry - has this been true to your experience or do you feel differently?

Chantel: When I first started working in the industry back in 2010 I would agree with that statement. I worked in a big QA department and less than 5% of the employees were women. But now I believe things have come on leaps and bounds and now the distribution is far more even, especially at Bossa.

Bethanie: I have seen it go both ways personally. It really can depend on the leadership and personality of the studio as a whole.

Kexin : I'm a female coder, the first few years I am always the only female coder in the company, but these years I think it's more balanced, last year we had 3 women coder in our team. I don't feel like we aren't welcome though I feel like it's just there weren't that many women likes to do coding.

Tish: I had a bit of a negative experience when looking for a university course in Computer Science, where the lecturer essentially told me that I'd drop out and switch to psychology because I was a woman (he was a bit of a dinosaur tho, so I took it with a pinch of salt - unlike my mother, who was with me at the time of him saying that)But when I switched to Games and entered work environments, I've only seen positivity. I'm very fresh to the scene tho, so I could be part of the lucky ones.

Chel: This is my first industry job, so I don't have a good overall view of this problem, but I haven't felt unwelcome in the studio at all. I'm very active in the London indie game community and have also found that to be very welcoming!

Klaudia: I haven't had any negative experiences in the industry.Julia: In my experience it's thankfully an outdated stereotype for the industry itself, but it varies from company to company as most things do. I've worked in a few industries and compared other places the video games companies I have been in/know personally are excellent at accepting anyone of any gender, race, nationality, sexuality... most things really. It helps when everyone shares the same childhood passions and experiences no matter where you came from. The development community is pretty amazing, especially in London.

Kat: I've found some people being really positive but some negatives. Bossa is really great but having seen other parts of the gaming industry I've seen the unwelcome parts too!

What are your guys thoughts on how many platforms there are now to buy games that even Discord a voice&text app has one?

Kat: Apologies for the delay on this one, we wanted Roberta to give a more founder view!

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Tania : We want to be where players are. If they want to be in more places, that will be our aim too.

Roberta: We love new platforms that offer new ways for players to enjoy Bossa games. So bring them on!

Waiting for Roberta to pitch in for this one :P

Other than working of games, what do you do for your spare time?

Love your work! :)

klaudia :Playing games, and aerial silks (Note from Kat, Klaudia is so badass at aerial silks she's amazing!)

Chantel : D&D, design my own games and cosplay

Tish: Knitting and cooking - I'm looking at ice skating lessons for my 'new year, new me' thing of 2019 :joy:

Tania :Play with Kiki (doggo), read, games and beer

Fay :Playing video games, working on my 3d art stuff and a bit of yoga.

Kexin :Playing games, listening music, watching anime, watching TV series

Bethanie : Write humorous poetry and sip coffee pretentiously at coffee shops

Lana: Games, bouldering, general gym, musicals

Roberta: I make videos on Beta Lucca YT channel (http://YouTube.com/BetaLucca) to share the most valuable lessons I've been learning during these last 8 years building Bossa (+ other businesses) B)

Who's typing all this? Do they get a bonus at the end of it?

Kat: I'm copy/pasting from the slack channel we're all on at work. So i'm copy/pasting and adding the colons. But its all the words of the women here!

Julia: I am editing any stray brackets and extra spaces :p (Kat's edit: And being a badass obviously)

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What are some of the games from the last year that surprised you and why?

Tantan: Hellblade Senua's Sacrifice (2017), due to the great portrayal of all the symptoms of psychosis in the character.

Bethanie : I got sucked into playing Eco for a long bit. I found the law creation elements fascinating per server.

klaudia : God of War. The art is amazing. No camera cut throughout the game - amazing.

Fay :I just finished playing Detroit - Being Human and I was absolute blown away by the story and I found it's aesthetics/environment story telling amazing, there's so much too explore I can't wait to play again and again in every way possible!

Kat: Fallout 76. I was really excited and whilst I’m really enjoying it, I’m also really sad its not as full as I hoped. I’m still really really enjoying it (and my 100’s of hours playtime suggests why!)

[deleted]

Women have a pretty large wall to scale to get into the games industry. It’s super helpful for professionals who have gone through the hardships to make themselves available for professional questions. Also it normalizes the fact that women are integral in making games that everyone loves. Win and win :).

<3

Julia: Generally, we have frequent live Q&As on Twitch, the ladies unfortunately don't get a lot of time on it opportunities/some simply prefer not to appear in the live spotlight so we thought it would be nice to have their voice heard! We will have a mixed AMA for Worlds Adrift soon :D

Might just be availability, don't see anything on Wikipedia suggesting that they've got a deliberate feminist thing going on where they actively avoid hiring men or something, and at least two of their listed founders are men, so yeah, probably just coincidence.

https://www.bossastudios.com/the-team/ :D

What upcoming feature for Worlds Adrift is everyone most excited to be working on?

Bethanie: It is already in but I really liked messing around with paints and making very big very red ships.

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Kexin: I don't know whether It's confidential? We are working on a ship insurance feature that if player lost their ship and they got insurance, we can potentially allow player to recover it easier or claim the lost(not sure exactly what we are going to do, but that's the main idea).

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Julia: HOHOHO! There’s a [Redacted] in the works! Also variations of [Redacted]! :D

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Kat: I'm also excited for [Redacted], Julia!

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Has any of you played "Project Nomads" back in 2002?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Nomads

Because that reminds me a lot of "World Adrift"

Klaudia: It wasn't in the list of games that was inspiration for Worlds! :)

Kat: But it might have been! We're going to have a Worlds specific AMA soon with some of the devs. I'll remind them about this question!

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Klaudia: It wasn't in the list of games that was inspiration for Worlds! :)

What were those list of games? Did you only draw inspiration from games or other mediums as well?

Talking to our devs, It's inspired by Skies of Arcadia and Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker

But there's definitely other inspirations coming in from each individual

Woot! Awesome to see this AMA. A pretty basic question that you've probably been asked a million times before. Is working in the games industry what you expected/wanted?

klaudia : To me personally it's better than I expected. Especially here at Bossa. Everyone is so lovely and supportive. I love working with such clever and creative people :slightly_smiling_face:

Bethanie : A LOT more scooters and hover-boards than I expected

Chantel : For me working in the games industry is everything and more than what I expected/wanted. I get to contribute to something that I have a huge passion for surrounded by incredibly talented people with similar interests.

Tania : It's definitely what I wanted and much better then I expected. At Bossa we have a lot of fun with what we do. Even though making games can be challenging and chaotic sometimes, the fun is always there.

tish : It's better than I expected and I feel very privileged to work in this industry. Even when I have a stressy day it's just because I'm passionate about what I'm working on, I am thankful that I get to make games for a living.

I also like that it's acceptable for me to wear unicorn slippers in the office and not get judged (too much :P)

Chel : I agree with Klaudia. I think it heavily depends on the studio because I've heard some horror stories, but Bossa is my first experience and it's better than I had thought it could be. You're surrounded by so much talent and passion every day and people are super friendly/sociable. It's not unusual for people to just hang out here after work, we have game nights, creative nights, and internal game jams. The jams are one of my favourite things about the company; we get a chance to show what we can do outside of our role, make something fun, and work with new people. They lead to new projects for the studio as well as helping people move into the field they're really passionate about. If you're QA and want to be a 3D artist, you're given frequent opportunities to show your skills to the whole studio.

Lana : My experience has been positive but I can't speak for everyone as I have heard different and sometimes negative experiences from friends and colleagues.

My positive XP is that I have never encountered so many wonderful and friendly group of people as game developers. I go to many events and it feels so wonderful to be surrounded with like minded folks who all share the passion for games. Bossa is a wonderful studio that feels like a family.

I also love how laid back the industry is on what you wear :ok_hand:

Fay : I had no idea what to expect but anything I had fabricated was a figment on my imagination, because it was better than I could of ever of fathomed, I feel really lucky for having the chance to do what I do and I get payed for this!

Kat: Genuinely best job I've had. Everyone here is so nice and its like a family (and yes other people have said it!). I've never dreaded a single day here.

Are there any plans for more content or a possible sequel for Surgeon Simulator/I Am Bread?

[REDACTED] ;)

Hi all! How do you see video game culture moving in the next 10 years in regards to inclusivity? I've seen a big shift in the past 10 years and I'm excited for the future personally.

Also happy birthday Klaudia!

Chantel: The gaming culture is much more inclusive these days than it used to be, everyone and their nans play games these days and I can only see it moving forward in regards to this.

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Tania :More and more people have been taking interest in games. This will only increase with time, once it's becoming more accessible in terms of platforms, with a bigger variety of content and gameplay.

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klaudia:thank you for the birthday wish :slightly_smiling_face: I'm happy to see the game industry getting more inclusive, it's a good place to be right now, I hope it continues to get even better.

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Kexin: Even my dad knows about some e-sports games. With more and more mobile game I actually think people from different age and culture would all have access to game.

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Lana: Diversity in studios will become a norm which will lead to games with fresh perspectives! The environment will become more friendly and accepting for/of marginalised groups of devs and players. The shift thus far has been difficult but overall positive on the dev side. We are yet to reach that positive outlook with the community but in 10 years it should happen. Niche games with unconventional topics are becoming more and more popular and there seems to be a significant demand for them. I can't wait to see what happens!

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Fay: Since I started I have seen more and more women starting in the studio in a variety of roles, which is an amazing sign that more and more women are seeing them selves working in the games industry and I hope this movement will continue to explode!

What kind of new future pigments can we expect with the input of you all?

(I WANT PINK JET ENGINES!!!! :-) )

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Or better said, what are your favorite pigments that YOU want to have ingame?

Bethanie: I would suggest Bodak Yellow featuring Cardi B

Chantel: I want the most purple of purple colours because... PURPLE

Julia: Tiger stripe

Hi, What's your thoughts on Decksplash? I was really bummed out about how that ended.

klaudia :I was one of the artists on Decksplash, I really enjoyed working on that game, and I found it very fun. I am very sad about it ending.

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tish :Decksplash was really dear to my heart as it was the first project I worked on in industry - eventho I was awful at playing it. It was really sad that we not be able to see it out in the wild, but sometimes tough decisions have to be made.

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Chel :I think most of the studio is still grieving Decksplash. There's even a tribute island in Worlds Adrift (which is a remake of one of the levels from it)

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tantan :I miss DS too. Rip.

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Kat: please see this gif for our love: https://media.giphy.com/media/7JQCzllkfmwz7jT7PA/giphy.gif

What's your favourite bug you've come across?

tish :POWER LEVEL OVER 9000! #decksplash

https://media.giphy.com/media/7JQCzllkfmwz7jT7PA/giphy.gif

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Bethanie : I always love bugs where eyeballs are displaced from the head in whatever game I am working on. It gets me every time.

Chel : I liked the one on Worlds Adrift, where if you sat on a chair whilst wearing the atlas boots you'd get thrown to the other side of the world

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Chantel : I once experienced a bug where my player character just walked out of environment and kept walking into the abyss casually. I found it highly amusing.

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Kexin : Worlds adrift character animation? They can look really funny/broken in certain situation.

Lana : In Surgeon Simulator when the physics breaks on Bob and he turns inside out :ok_hand:

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Chel : We can use a command to see info about creatures such as their lifespan, etc, and once I found two mantas. One was dead, and the other was just waiting above it jittering around. The dead one was a female who died of old age, and the one waiting above her was a male about 99.8% of the way through its lifespan. I attached this whole story to it in my head and it made me really sad (eventually he died too and they were reunited). I think it was just a pathing issue but it taught me that I was capable of not hating Mantas

also this (the one Bethanie mentioned)

Kat's Note: I'll try to see how to upload this video!

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Fay : This is simple but sweet, falling out of the games world really makes me really crack up for some reason, I'll never trust that same wall/floor again, even after its been fixed for 3 months, 3 years or 3 centuries.

What is Wrong with the Games of today, in your opinion?

Chantel :Too easy! That and lack of decent story unfortunately. I am heavily invested in games with good story.

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Kexin :A lot of games just have the same machanism, that proved to be able to earn money, just different art. I don't appriciate those games.

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Fay :Pay to play that creates unfair game play is the worst thing in my opinion I feel like it halts all enjoyment of the game, I am very glad in recent new that this is being addressed and called out by the gaming community. (edited)

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Chel :There are so many games for so many different types of people, so I don't think there's anything inherently wrong with them in general. The worst thing in my opinion is asset flips/trash clogging up Steam. It gives Unity a bad name in particular, and unfortunately the less informed playerbase will refuse to play any game they know is made with Unity as a result. It also reduces discoverability in general for games that are actually good.

What advice would you all give to aspiring game developers?

klaudia :If they are interested in becoming a 3d artist for games, I would advise to have a portfolio showing a wide range of skills, and keep up to date with software programs that are more and more popular in the industry.

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Chel :Sorry this overlaps with another of my answers a bit, but the best thing you can do is to start making games yourself if you're a designer or programmer. Pick up Unity, Unreal, or Gamemaker, *attend game jams*, go to meetups, parties, etc. You'll make great friends and connections in the community, and that'll help a lot when you apply to studios

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Chantel :I think that knowledge is your best friend, never stop learning, never stop developing yourself.

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Chel :Game jams will teach you a lot, build up a portfolio, and help you to connect with awesome people

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tish :Make games to show people, not just as part of any courses you may be doing - but in your spare time. Keep the games small in scope so you can finish them!

Networking is also pretty important. Game jams and meetups are good ways to do this :slightly_smiling_face:

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Lana :Play different games, look at that makes them unique and special.

No matter which role have a slick CV and cover letter ready.

CV no more than 2 pages with concise and relevant info.

Cover letter personalised to each studio you're applying to and the role requirements.

Portfolio showing only your best work first and foremost. Try to personalise this to the studio too.

Join local game jams, especially the Global Game Jam, to meet new people, share knowledge and gain experience in making a game. Publish it on itch.io!

Research studios and developers, especially for the companies you want to work with and see what they're like.

Go to as many events as you can! They're full of developers and studios you can talk to for advice and portfolio reviews. Network with them but be friendly and polite!

Never stop doing what you love, show you're passionate through your hard work and leave your ego at the door.

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tantan :If you are flirting with the idea of working in a game developer, my suggestion is to spend some time in one. At Bossa, we offer a 'work experience' time for those interested in feeling in the skin how is to be in a studio. During a week or two, you can chat to people and learn more about their roles, paths and get some good tips.

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Fay :Never give up and keep learning about what you love. I also found working in a game studio / getting some experience helps massively in creating an understand of how the industry works, I've learn so much in the year I've been in Q.A.

Do you have men on the team or do you actively avoid hiring men? I assume “yes and no” but it’s an odd baity kinda thing to single out “some of the women.”

Kat: Yes we have men. We also have more women than just those in this AMA. Hence the "Some"

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Based on your experience, what is the ratio of m/f resumes you receive for positions, in your area?

Depends entirely on the job role to be honest!

Do you have any advice for women trying to get into game development? Is being self-taught looked down upon at all?

Chantel : Being self taught is great! Nowt wrong with it in my opinion. A lot of the information and knowledge I have acquired, I did so through self learning. The best thing I can advise is to keep learning and be willing to learn. Good luck! ^-^

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klaudia : I don't see a problem with being self taught. We have a few people here at Bossa who did that I learnt most of my skills from watching tutorials and working on my own projects at home.

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roberta : Make a game, make videos about games you love. Connect with amazing women directly on LinkedIn and share what you've done. It's all about demonstrating you are a doer, taking your ideas into action. Self-taught is not a problem at all.

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Kexin : I think the most important is whether you like to play games. I suggest play some games before applying the job. Not only designer, but also coder and artist would need to have some ideas on whether this feature is good or not, whether there's a better way to design this feature.

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Lana : Not at all! All we care about is that you're passionate, have a brilliant portfolio/CV/cover letter and hard working.

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Chel : I'm largely self taught across different disciplines, and something I hear a _lot_ when this comes up is that it's at least as good as a formal education and can even be preferred - the reason being that those who self teach are (generally speaking) less likely to overestimate their ability, and it also shows a lot of passion/enthusiasm if you're using your free time to do it

How do you guys always manage to come up with controls perfect to drive people insane?

Chel :Our coder Charlie seems to have the best talent for that. I've made games with him and I think the key is, rather than try to consolidate actions into as few presses as possible, try to break them up into as many as possible. Moving the bread corner by corner in I am bread, closing your hand finger by finger in surgeon, for example.

We made a "racing" game together in GGJ 2018, where you picked each manoeuvre from a list rather than just assigning them to buttons.

You can play that at https://cedrine.itch.io/houston-we-have-a-problem :smile: (I don't know if this is allowed Kat, so ignore if not)

itch.io

Houston, we have a problem by Cedrine

A single or 2 player game sharing the same keyboard. You're having trouble with the transmission on your ship. (Not automatically expanded because 2 MB is too large. You can expand it anyway or open it in a new window. You can also change your preferences to allow images of any file size to auto expand.)

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Lana :We like to watch the world burn

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roberta : Practice makes perfect. Lol :wink:

Do you think Anita Sarkeesian criticism of the video game industry is overall good or bad?

Lana:

Games are a part of media and as such come with beliefs and experiences from those who make them. It is not a secret the majority of developers are male and as such make games that reflect their own experiences and beliefs.

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Sometimes those things, and yes they can and ARE exaggerated, come across as misogynistic and sexist. Very often stereotyped too. This is also why we have tropes in media (books, film and music included) like damsel in distress etc.

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This does drive criticism but we need that so we can do better. So we can be conscious of how we're representing our characters whom we're playing as and eventually relate to. We use games as escapism and fun so we want to feel good and comfortable.

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Criticism is both subjective and objective depending on who or which group gives it. And as individuals we can agree and disagree with it. I agree with some and disagree with some of Anita's criticism. But that doesn't mean it's not valid and we should see how it affects the player base so we can do better. At the end of the day if we keep making same games over and over again it get's boring doesn't it? We are looking to make games that deal with different issues and approach tropes in a new way!

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None of this means the games that were criticised will cease to exist, by no means! It just means there will be more different games coming along side it.

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To answer your question, I think any criticism is good. We need to grow and learn. We also need to talk amongst ourselves and get as many different experiences, thoughts and beliefs on the dev teams that can accurately represent the characters we know and love and play as.

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On a side note, I have met her in person and she is super lovely and friendly!

Lana got this one. I hope this answers your question. - Kat

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Lana:Uf here goes, hope I have the vocabulary on this.

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Games are a part of media and as such come with beliefs and experiences from those who make them. It is not a secret the majority of developers are male and as such make games that reflect their own experiences and beliefs.

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Sometimes those things, and yes they can and ARE exaggerated, come across as misogynistic and sexist. Very often stereotyped too. This is also why we have tropes in media (books, film and music included) like damsel in distress etc.

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This does drive criticism but we need that so we can do better. So we can be conscious of how we're representing our characters whom we're playing as and eventually relate to. We use games as escapism and fun so we want to feel good and comfortable.

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Criticism is both subjective and objective depending on who or which group gives it. And as individuals we can agree and disagree with it. I agree with some and disagree with some of Anita's criticism. But that doesn't mean it's not valid and we should see how it affects the player base so we can do better. At the end of the day if we keep making same games over and over again it get's boring doesn't it? We are looking to make games that deal with different issues and approach tropes in a new way!

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None of this means the games that were criticised will cease to exist, by no means! It just means there will be more different games coming along side it.

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To answer your question, I think any criticism is good. We need to grow and learn. We also need to talk amongst ourselves and get as many different experiences, thoughts and beliefs on the dev teams that can accurately represent the characters we know and love and play as.

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On a side note, I have met her in person and she is super lovely and friendly!

Cats or dogs?

tantan: Bossa Kiki - https://www.instagram.com/bossa_kiki/?hl=en

Bethanie: Whichever I can adopt first

Klaudia: Kitties

Chel: cats!

Julia: Why not both? (I have two cattos atm though https://www.instagram.com/avocado_and_dragon/)

Tish: both.gif

What would your advice be for someone who wants to get into the games industry as your role?

klaudia : For a 3d artist I would recommend have a wide range of work in their portfolio. Keep up to date with the software programs that are often used in the industry, like maya, z brush, substance painter. Attending game jams or meet ups is a great way to meet people in the industry and network.

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(Kat's Note: There's a few posts with similar questions here, so feel free to take a look through)

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Lana :For Production, you will have to be a people person. You are also required to be organised, time efficient, be quick on your feet, understand the project and be calm at all times. You will have to like scheduling, planning, budgeting, organising/motivating/leading teams.

If I still have your attention then here is what the hierarchy roughly looks like (in my XP, I see some companies do it differently) - Assistant Producer>Associate Producer>Producer

I gained initial experience at university through taking upon a director/producer role in group projects. If this isn't available to you I would wholeheartedly suggest you to join local game jams and find a team you can practice these skills with. This will give you the initial experience that you can talk about in your interviews and applications.

Also research the role and what production methods companies use. When I was starting out I learned that Lionhead used Scrum as their agile method so I researched that and found a local course. I did that and got certified as a Scrum Master that set my CV apart from others. This isn't available for everyone and I was lucky to do it. But do research Scrum and other methods to show you're passionate about the role and willing to learn about it in your own time.

Scheduling and budgeting can be taught but you have to have a knack for organisation already somewhere in you! Draw examples from your own experiences from schools, life or other out-of-industry jobs. Production skills are transferable!

And if you can't yet, do train yourself to be calm and perceptive. You would be responsible for an entire team and if the leader is not there for the team then it falls apart.

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Tania: For Insights/ Playtests: be curious about humans, machines and their interaction. Psychology is very important for this role, once you spend most of the researching and linking dots about human behaviour to inform the devs, marketing and commercial. Having interest for analytics and statistics are a good plus.

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Thanks for this AMA!

What is everyone's general favorite flavor of pie?

Right Kat here getting a quick start because its important!:

Fay: Soya pie from Linda McCartney, the true pie god!

Chantel: pork pie FTW

Juliaaargh: apple or cherry or GTFO

Roberta: Pie chart.

Tania: No pies, pizza please

Bethanie: pumpkin pie is the only pie

Kat: Another Pork pie from me!

klaudia: apple

Kexin :Pork pieTish: Apple, with extra custard and cinnamon

Lana :Blueberry!

roberta :Pie chart!

Hey there! What an amazing idea for an AMA. Being in the software industry myself (Analyst Programmer), it is very hard not to notice the lack of female programmers, testers etc. So first, a big kudos to Bossa Studios for having done this AMA!

But unrelated to that, how did you get into the careers you now follow? For example for the programmer, what made you interested in coding?

And are there any video games you are REALLY looking forward to this year?

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Bethanie: Cyberpunk 2077 whatever year that comes out.

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Chantel: Death stranding (if I can spell)

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Kexin : I was a game designer when I first get into game industry, and they hired me because I played a lot of games, especially lots of MMORPG. After 3 years of designing games, I went to a post graduate game engineering course, there I learned how to do game programing. Then after that I started to be a game programmer. I really like coding though, I even do coding in the weekends for some random projects or random game ideas.

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Lana : I got interested in production while at University. I was studying Computer Character Animation but haven't found a passion for it so I started picking director/producer roles in our group projects. I realised I liked to plan, organise and lead the projects and after end-of-uni-WHAT-WILL-I-DO-IN-LIFE-crisis decided to pursue it as my career. I'm over the moon to be able to do what I do.

I'm incredibly hyped for Devil May Cry 5! I love hack-n-slash and DMC in general. I can't wait!

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Julia: there is SO MUCH TO LOOK FORWARD TO. Closest is Resi 2 :D

Worlds is starting to feel more like a side project as of late, is that the case or is it still priority?

Kat: Its still a priority but I think there's been some changes recently in the team to refocus towards improving peformance. I know I've been playing it recently and it feels a lot cleaner but i'm very biased!

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We are planning to have a specific worlds AMA soon so come back then!

Klaudia, do you have sketchbook? And what influences you to draw personal stuff (non-work related art), like movies, books(stories), animation, comics?

Also,i didn't know about worldsadrift, but i think it looks cool, it's on my watchlist now :)

Heya! Sorry for the late response.

Klaudia: I do have a sketchbook but I don’t draw as much anymore, I prefer playing around straight in 3D like Maya or Zbrush. I like experimenting with environments and lighting the most. I guess my main influencers are just other games that I find beautiful, like the Journey, uncharted 4, or horizon zero dawn. There are some very talented artists on those games

Considering it's fairly obvious you're all used to Slack (nice way of coordinating an AMA BTW ;))...

Which is your favourite Slack server, and why is it the UK Industry Slack? ;-"

tish :Are we talking about slack channels? cause if so, our pets channel is the home of wholesomeness

Chel :I don't understand the question :disappointed:

Chel :waIT THEre;s a pets channel?!

Lana :Because I'm an admin on it :joy: but also because it's a wonderful aggregation of uk game devs where we get to share experiences, help each other out, network and chat random stuff. We also have wonderful industry discussions on whatever is the hot topic that day and of course, honourable mention to the pets channel where we admire each other pets :pray:

Lana :(this was a jokey question for me I'm told by my colleagues :P)

Lana :there's a UK games industry slack btw, application here: http://ukgamesindustry.com

tish:Are we talking about slack channels? cause if so, our pets channel is the home of wholesomeness

Chel :I don't understand the question :disappointed:

Chel :waIT THEre;s a pets channel?!

Lana :Because I'm an admin on it :joy: but also because it's a wonderful aggregation of uk game devs where we get to share experiences, help each other out, network and chat random stuff. We also have wonderful industry discussions on whatever is the hot topic that day and of course, honourable mention to the pets channel where we admire each other pets :pray:

Lana :(this was a jokey question for me I'm told by my colleagues :P)

Lana :there's a UK games industry slack btw, application here: http://ukgamesindustry.com

What new challenges and opportunities do you think the internet has introduced to women looking to participate in the games industry (or just the gaming community)?

Also, how's Chet Faliszek doing? Tell him a random stranger said hi.

Lana: :musical_note: The internet is really really great :musical_note:

It all depends on your network, I would say. There is a lot of abuse out there, no doubt, that can slip out but it's important to remember it's coming from a vocal minority. It can be discouraging if someone approaches you negatively but I have found, even if it strikes you deep, it's white noise and you're an amazing, strong, independent woman with a passion in games and you know what, there's plenty more of us out there. Allow us to be your network and reach out to us personally for advice and chat. Game devs are some of the friendliest people I have met. I suppose that answers both the challenges and opportunities. We are still a minority when it comes to how many of us are working game dev and we're always on the look out to reach a gender balance in the industry. This of course, includes all genders and other minorites. So we will actively be looking for all of you out there. But at the en of the day, we will hire the best! So make sure you're what we want.

In the future is there a possibility that some sort of minimal gets added to the game?

Kat: Could you expand a little bit on this? I'm assuming you're talking about worlds but i'm not sure :(

Hi, are there song that you like to listen to while working on video games?

tish :The nier automata soundtrack / final fantasy soundtracks are great to work with

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klaudia :I'm a Galantis fan :smile:

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Bethanie :Anything by the Studio Killers

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Kexin :I like to listen to anime OST!!! Or musicals!

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Lana :My go-to is the Devil May Cry soundbox (https://open.spotify.com/user/1149513686/playlist/1eVh73PtSCC73n3P6sKaFH?si=hTQFRdwDTwupmtV8lCR1aw) or anything by Austin Wintory :heart:

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Chantel :So so so many songs but really been into Caravan Palace of late

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tantan :Julia speaks too loud, even with the headsets I wouldn't be able to

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roberta :Yes! My life has a soundtrack :wink: I love listening to Chemical Brothers, Bonobo or to get into high productivity mode I use [focus@will](mailto:focus@will). Defo recommend it!

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Chel :Usually pretty downtempo electronic music. Or whatever people are recommending in our music channel on Slack

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Fay :Sure, a few of my recent favourites are Black Moth Super Rainbow, Alice in Chains, Cigarettes after sex and Bright eyes

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Kat: Panic at the disco. Don't @ me

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Julia: "If music be the food of love, play on" boom Shakespeare

do you reckon dinosaurs would be edible?

Chantel :definitely kentucky fried tyrannosaurus, mmmm mmm :wink:

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tantan :wuuuuuut

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Chel :for sure! They're just old school birds

Bethanie :Anything is edible if you apply yourself enough

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Lana :Is this how Jurassic Park starts? Can I talk you out of it? I mean, don't let your dreams be dreams...

Is there any one thing you've changed or added to the game you're particularly proud of?

Kexin : I'm in worlds adrift team, so pigment system is probably the system I'm quite proud of, the way I implemented it allow it to customize every crafting item, we have only enable certain schematic to have customization, but the system itself supports more.

Lana :Previously I worked on a wonderful music puzzle game Chime Sharp. I would have loved to have added more music to it. It's such a wonderful piece of work and I'm immensely proud of it.

klaudia :I’m happy that I had the opportunity to make most of the assets for the Island Creator, which is a free program on Steam, where the community can create islands for Worlds Adrift. Seeing the creativity of people using those assets, always amazes me.

Do any of you play musical instruments? Also what type of music do you listen too

klaudia :I played the electric keyboard when I was 14, but I've forgotten most of it unfortunately.

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Kexin : Piano, started learning that since 3, and I've probably spent 17 years practicing it.

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tish :Does the triangle count?

(note kat: yes it does!)

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Chel :Not for a few years now, but I used to play guitar and bass. I bought a saxophone but it was too loud so it sits in an attic back in the frozen north now :disappointed:

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roberta: Would loooove to, but no..

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Kat: I've actually got like grade 8 in keyboard and can play the organ & piano. But its been a while.

Will there be a trading system in game?(maybe even a currency to trade? Shopkeeper NPCs?) Are you working on optimization for slower computers? Last but not least: how often do you guys check the subreddit and do you take any input from it? If you do, what kind of input?

Edit: this is a question I thought about a little bit later. What is the age ratio in bossa studios?

Will there be a trading system in game?(maybe even a currency to trade? Shopkeeper NPCs?) Are you working on optimization for slower computers? Last but not least: how often do you guys check the subreddit and do you take any input from it? If you do, what kind of input?

Kat: For this, I'm going to say post it in the Worlds Adrift Forums. I know the reddit is checked every so often but honestly we look more to the forums for feedback. I

Edit: this is a question I thought about a little bit later. What is the age ratio in bossa studios?

We actually have really cool stats for this! (We've got a internal tool that breaks down stuff like department, hobbies, age, gender, food choices, superpowers. Its great!)

I know we've got a pretty diverse age range, i'll get the stats for you :

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15% 24-26

10% 27-29

30% 30-32

13% 33-35

9% 36-38

7% 39-41

1% 42-44

7% 45-47

2% 48-50

1% 51-54

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So yeah, pretty broad range

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The stats would be nice, thanks for answering btw. I think I'll get a forum account

Kat: just edited above

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How does Clara manage to be such a cute doggo?

Lana: Genetics and expensive outfits

Do you think that handheld consoles and mobile games will dominate game market in few years?

Kexin : I do think their market would be huge, but there's hardcore gamer which might still like powerful console. People play handheld devices when they are on the go, but when they are at home, when they want a slightly longer session, they would choose console in my opinion.

Lana : I feel like they already are and with the success of the Switch we can see the incredible demand for on-the-go gaming. I would love to see the same hardware coming from PlayStation and Xbox and feel there is a large audience just waiting for it. We're all increasingly busy and can't find the time to sit down and game that's longer than an hour. I always have either my Switch, DS or phone on my commute and wish I could bring my PS4 games with me too.

What tips could you give to a "newbie" game programmer like me that has no professionnal experience in game dev, but a few personnal projects (gamejams), to enter the video games industry ?

Kexin : I think having personal projects is good, maybe polish it a bit with particles, sfx, post-processing(like screenshake), and make it user-friendfly. Some companies might ask to see your source code, so code performance is also important.

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Chel : If you have personal projects and are attending game jams, that's a brilliant start! Apart from applying to studios of course, a good next step is to start going to casual game dev events such as pub meetups, and take your games along to show people (always ask for feedback too!). There are also meetups for specific game engines with talks that you can attend. These are all great ways to network and show your stuff. Check out Meetup.com and eventbrite.com to see what's in your area, and some events are certainly worth travelling to.

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Also, apply to showcases at gaming events. If you're in/around the SE of England, the Norwich Game Festival is a great place to start. It's free to showcase, and the event is ideal for a first exhibit. Keep your ear on the ground for gaming events and always check in case they're taking applications for exhibitors. London Games Week (in April) has a lot of events across the city every day, with chances to exhibit your work at some of those events. I've heard of Comic Cons having indie game showcases too, so check those out! If you're not from London, it's absolutely worth travelling here for this. Going to all of the events and parties during Games Week is what got me into the indie dev community, which gave me amazing friends and ultimately helped me to land this job, in fact!

Who (or what) inspires you the most? Whether it's creative inspiration, or inspires you to go above and beyond, or even just motivates you to get through the day. (Though I'm sure working at Bossa comes with a lot of fun!)

Chantel: I am constantly inspired by my friends and colleagues here at Bossa. They are all amazingly talented people with drive and always there to lend a hand or an ear.

Bethanie: For one Neil Gaiman, and secondly Geralt of Rivia. (but mostly my adorable friends)

Klaudia: Just playing some of the recent games, the art amazes me and drives me to learn more and get better.

I also get inspired by people here in the office, when I see their passion and love for games.

Tish: My colleague's amazing work inspires me daily to learn more so that I can support them to the best of my abilities.

My dog inspires me to get through the week so that I can go play with her at the weekend.

And as Johnathan Van Ness says: "You're strong, you're a Kelly Clarkson Song."

Roberta: I get inspired by working with and learning from super creative and high achieving people! They inspire me to be the best founder I can be for them to do their most amazing work :smile: David Bowie also inspires me to be original, daring and never give up on being the odd one in the room!

Chel: We work around a lot of very inspiring people! The studio culture and atmosphere is definitely fun. I don't feel like I'm going to a job here - more like I'm gonna go and do cool stuff with my friends every day, which is very motivating

People wise I'm inspired by Charlie and Tom (developers/prototypers), because they do what I want to do some day, and their talent blows my mind

Lana: Working with Bossians! It's unbelievable how creative these wonderful people are. What a pleasure to work with them.

There are also a lot of industry friends and colleagues that go above and beyond to create wonderful games. They're bursting with creativity. I have to mention Georg Backer, Ken Wong, Jodie Azhar, Austin Wintory, Ian Zell, Jessica Curry, Lu Nascimento and Zach Soares of Bunnyhug, Nele Steenput, Robin Hunicke, everyone at Chucklefish, everyone at Media Molecule, Kiki Wolfkill, Jade Raymond, Hidetaki Kamiya (pls don't block me) and MANY MORE

Also, to echo Tish, my dog. I need money so she can live like a Queen.

Fay: The creative, fun, atmosphere in the studio in spires me and the level of work being created set the bar for that. I also find inspiration from playing video games, walking round the vastly details environment just in ore of the absolute detail going into video games today!

What do you look for in a potential hire? I'm graduating from game development at Bournemouth in June and I'm interested at working at Bossa.

Lana : We're looking for passion in games, for you to exceed in your chosen role, that you work on personal stuff outside of your university work, that you understand the industry and games, that you understand what we do and what we're like.

klaudia :If you’re interested in an art role, we look for a wide range of skills, show that you’re comfortable exploring different art styles. Knowing softwares like substance painter or z brush is always a huge plus, next to the basic ones (maya, photoshop etc) and just generally a passion for games is a plus

cats or dogs?

cake or death?

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books or e-books?

Kexin : cake e-books

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Chantel :Cake and death? I kid of course it's cake and books, I really like the smell of a new book. Give me that any day!

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Bethanie :The cake is a lie. REAL BOOKS WITH REAL SMELLS.

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Lana :Death, Books

(and with regard to cats or dogs)

Fay: Cats.Tania: Bossa Kiki: https://www.instagram.com/bossa_kiki/?hl=en

Bethanie :Whichever I can adopt first

tish :both.gif

klaudia :kitties

Chel : cats! When are you bringing your cats to the office, @klaudia? :smile:

klaudia : I'm not sharing :smile:

roberta :DOGS! Small and fluffy ones :wink:

Kexin :Both!!!! I have a dog but I love cats too!

Chantel :I prefer dogs but I still love cats too

Lana :Hmmmm doggos for me but I love cattos but I'm super allergic

Kat: Cats Duh.

What do I have to do to get a job in the industry, when after graduating 3 years ago and constantly updating my portfolio, I have no leads?

Chantel : I actually experienced something very similar to this. When I first started in the games industry back in 2010. I got a job almost straight out of uni at a games studio doing QA, unfortunately due to life circumstances I had to relocate and leave that QA role. It took me over 5 years, hundreds and hundreds of applications to studios and a load of soul destroying retail jobs but I got a QA position. I know from experience how down heartening it can be but you have to keep at it. I believe in you! It can be a difficult industry to get into (sometimes) but it is worth all of the effort. There are loads of websites out there you can go to for games industry jobs specifically and I also found researching games studios themselves and looking at their available careers on their own websites a good starting point. https://jobs.gamesindustry.biz/ Good luck! ^-^

The world's leading games industry website. Get insight from todays industry leaders with news, interviews and analysis of global gaming trends.

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Fay : Maybe look in to applying for different jobs that you may not of necessarily considered before in the games industry to help get some kind of experience. Putting your self in the right environment may help you to get you portfolio seen as well.

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Kat: I've been told repeatedly that many places like the diversity. I personally got this job from working in another industry and then moving in after volunteering with gaming companies.

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Lana :Go to events! You can meet developers there and ask for live reviews. Go to career bars and find us there. There is always plenty of us that engage and review your work. Get in touch with developers whose work you are interested in and ask for advice. And finally, apply that advice! Leave your ego at the door. Portfolios need to be a representation of your best work. You need to be able to show different styles and approaches.

Rezzed in London is coming up soon so drop by the careers bar :thumbsup:

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klaudia :After graduating, I found it difficult to get my first job, as they were asking for experience. It took me a year before I got hired. Don’t give up, and keep working on your portfolio. If you can, ask for feedback if you fail an interview, so you know what to work on for the next one. There are some websites where you can try some small freelance jobs, they would add to your portfolio and experience.

How did you react to Markiplier literally losing his sanity and voice over I Am Bread?

klaudia : Watching him play Surgeon Touch in an ice bath was way worse haha :grinning:

What was your inspiration for I Am Bread? And will you sign my petition to get it placed in the Smithsonian?

Chel :I am Bread is Charlie's baby, so I guess we would need to ask him? haha

Chantel :I will sign your petition, bring it forth!

Chel :I'l sign it for sure :smile:

klaudia : Luke and Tom made the initial idea in a game jam. The inspiration was just Luke thought it would be interesting to control a piece of bread, and having the simplest goal (become toast) but achieved in a really difficult way.

Hi Bossa Studios. For the programming side of game developement, which programming languages are the most essential to your team?

Kexin :I'm in worlds adrift team, we are using c# on client code, scala and java for server code. Python and bash code for some other tasks, like server maintenance, build the game etc.

What is Bossa studios?

Kat: I'm pretty sure its a game studio, the creators of I Am Bread, Surgeon Simulator and Worlds Adrift. But its also a family. And possibly a cover for a secret project to monitor brainwaves. Lana?

Lana: Well Kat it's a great studio making great and unique games and also pays my food and rent.

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Tabs or Spaces as whitespace? Fight!

Chantel :Both and neither :shifty eyes:

Kexin :When tying code, I use tabs(but I have settings to turn all tabs into spaces). When tying something else, spaces.

Kat: Tabs. But then again, I learnt to code in physics and my LaTeX compiler required tabs

Hi guys! This is an awesome AMA, and about time too! I'm usually a lurker but I has to sign up for this. My question is for the member of your team in black on the left - I love your style hehe - how did you get your start in the industry? I'm finding it really hard to crack it myself and would love to know how you manage it? It really refreshing to see someone like yourself that I feel I can relate to so much!! Go girls this is our time!

Not sure which one you meant so here's two answers!!

Bethanie: I started by getting a job in a customer service department for games. I then tried to make connections to other people who worked in the game development. Having that face to face connection can be very helpful when going for a new position.

Fay: I got my first job in Q.A/ the Games Industry a year ago, I researched the company fully and everything that they had done in the past (although I discovered them when playing Monstermind years back), plus I looked up as much as I could about the role. The best advice I could give is be your self, if your passionate and excited about what you want to do that will shine through, you can do it lady!

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Nah, some are Android some are Apple