How do you project manage all the different development teams in an efficient way? How do you plan the sprints – and what even are sprints? What is SCRUM and agile development? How do you manage creative people and enable them to do their magic? How do make sure deadlines are kept? And what does being a leader actually mean?

Also, make sure you pay attention to the pastry Lisa brought – it might be one of the most beautiful ones ever featured on the Fika Sessions.

Prefer podcast?

Tools & Links:

• Clinton Keith – Agile Game Development with SCRUM
• Travis Bradberry, Jean Greaves – Emotional Intelligence 2.0
• Susan Jeffers – Feel the Fear …and Do It Anyway
• Kim Scott – Radical Candor
• Joanna Root, Dean Hume – The People Manager
• Patrick Lencioni – The Five Dysfunctions of a Team

THE FIKA SESSIONS EPISODES

• Episode 1 – Narrative in Video Games
• Episode 2 – Level Design in Video Games
• Episode 3 – An Introduction to Programming
• Episode 4 – An Introduction to 3D Character Art
• Episode 5 – Audio in Video Games
• Episode 6 – What is Game Design in Video Games?
• Episode 7 – Shining a Light on Light in Video Games
• Episode 8 – Communications at a Game Studio
• Episode 9 – Gameplay Programming in Video Games
• Episode 10 – Build & Infrastructure Engineering
• Episode 11 – User Experience Design in the Video Game Industry

How do you make sure that the users get the best experience possible? How is the design work done? What does the process look like, and how do you make sure – and test – that the user flows make sense? How do work with accessibility? Izzy answers all these questions and more as we dive into her job in detail. We’ll also find out how you can go from being a “digital librarian” in the US to working at Massive Entertainment in Sweden.

And make sure not to miss out on the fika Izzy brought. There’s a story there, and also a lot of sugar.

Tools & Links:

Game UX Summit 19 YouTube Playlist

THE FIKA SESSIONS EPISODES

• • Episode 1 – Narrative in Video Games
  • Episode 2 – Level Design in Video Games
  • Episode 3 – An Introduction to Programming
  • Episode 4 – An Introduction to 3D Character Art
  • Episode 5 – Audio in Video Games
  • Episode 6 – What is Game Design in Video Games?
  • Episode 7 – Shining a Light on Light in Video Games
  • Episode 8 – Communications at a Game Studio
  • Episode 9 – Gameplay Programming in Video Games
  • Episode 10 – Build & Infrastructure Engineering

So you have all the graphics, audio, animations and gameplay programming. How do you get all of that into one package you can play on your console or PC? Enter the Build Engineers. Daniel and his team take all of that, put it on their machines and start creating their game builds.

Join us as we find out more about how that process works, but also about concepts such as devops (development operations), automation and alerts when working on major computer engineering projects.

Also, for the fika itself, what ARE those things?!

PREFER PODCAST?

Tools & Links:

Google Site Reliability Engineering Handbook:

THE FIKA SESSIONS EPISODES

• • Episode 1 – Narrative in Video Games
  • Episode 2 – Level Design in Video Games
  • Episode 3 – An Introduction to Programming
  • Episode 4 – An Introduction to 3D Character Art
  • Episode 5 – Audio in Video Games
  • Episode 6 – What is Game Design in Video Games?
  • Episode 7 – Shining a Light on Light in Video Games
  • Episode 8 – Communications at a Game Studio
  • Episode 9 – Gameplay Programming in Video Games

How does the process look to get a feature into a game? How does a programmer work together with the design team? What does it take to make a character pet a dog? Natalia answers all of these questions and more, as we dig deeper into the world of gameplay programming.

PREFER PODCAST?

Tools & Links:

Learn 3D Engines:
Unity Learn
Learn How to Use Unreal Engine

2D Engines:
Cocos 2D

THE FIKA SESSIONS EPISODES

• Episode 1 – Narrative in Video Games
• Episode 2 – Level Design in Video Games
• Episode 3 – An Introduction to Programming
• Episode 4 – An Introduction to 3D Character Art
• Episode 5 – Audio in Video Games
• Episode 6 – What is Game Design in Video Games?
• Episode 7 – Shining a Light on Light in Video Games
• Episode 8 – Communications at a Game Studio

What does it take to communicate to both employees and the outside world on a studio level? How do you become a communicator? What is the best way to get information out to the studio? Emilia also gives us practical tips on how to start writing.

And if you don’t like cream, how do you eat a traditional Swedish semla?

PREFER PODCAST?

Tools & Links:

Books
Dana Gioia & R.S. Gwynn, “The Art of the Short Story”

Online tools
Grammarly 

THE FIKA SESSIONS EPISODES

• Episode 1 – Narrative in Video Games
• Episode 2 – Level Design in Video Games
• Episode 3 – An Introduction to Programming
• Episode 4 – An Introduction to 3D Character Art
• Episode 5 – Audio in Video Games
• Episode 6 – What is Game Design in Video Games?
• Episode 7 – Shining a Light on Light in Video Games

Compared to the 2D planes of a movie screen, how do you light up a scene that can be viewed from 360 degrees? During the show, Luca shares his knowledge about how light affects mood, guide players and how it makes “the beautiful more beautiful”.

Also, what are those wafer-thin cookies on the table?

Prefer podcast?

THE FIKA SESSIONS EPISODES

• Episode 1 – Narrative in Video Games
• Episode 2 – Level Design in Video Games
• Episode 3 – An Introduction to Programming
• Episode 4 – An Introduction to 3D Character Art
• Episode 5 – Audio in Video Games
• Episode 6 – What is Game Design in Video Games?
• Episode 7 – Shining a Light on Light in Video Games

While the phrase “game design” might seem a bit abstract, and the job of “game designer” being one of those easily romanticized, Andrada makes her role easy to understand as she gives us the details of her craft from concept to release. Together, she and Petter tackle topics like design documents, collaboration between teams, systems design and of course, how to develop fun game features.

Andrada also brought some classic Swedish Fika, but with a bit of a twist! Are those name tags…?

Prefer podcast?

THE FIKA SESSIONS EPISODES

• Episode 1 – Narrative in Video Games
• Episode 2 – Level Design in Video Games
• Episode 3 – An Introduction to Programming
• Episode 4 – An Introduction to 3D Character Art
• Episode 5 – Audio in Video Games
• Episode 6 – What is Game Design in Video Games?

How do you create a sound? And how can a sound affect how we play and feel about a game? These are some of the many topics that Alex walks us through as he talks about his role as an Audio Director. It’s a role that includes everything from defining strategies and visions for games, to implementing individual sounds, and travelling the world to capture the sounds of a specific bird.

Alex also brought some fika that is highly inspired by his home country!

Prefer podcast?

the fika sessions episodes

• Episode 1 – Narrative in Video Games
• Episode 2 – Level Design in Video Games
• Episode 3 – An Introduction to Programming
• Episode 4 – An Introduction to 3D Character Art
• Episode 5 – Audio in Video Games

A Character Artist transforms 2D concept art into fully fledged 3D characters and bring them to life in the game. They master a wide range of artistic and technical skills, and seamlessly move between different software to create their art. Océane gives us an insight into how it all works, how character artists interact with other teams and her journey from being “the art kid” to working on AAA titles in the games industry.

She also brought her own baked fika. What are those delicious things?

Prefer podcast?

the fika sessions episodes

• Episode 1 – Narrative in Video Games
• Episode 2 – Level Design in Video Games
• Episode 3 – An Introduction to Programming
• Episode 4 – An Introduction to 3D Character Art

In the games industry, there are not only game developers – there is also a support structure to make sure that the games end up in your hands. Ólafur will not only give you an opportunity to learn about programming and his journey to the industry, but also give you insights into what this aspect of the games industry looks like.

Also, what does that tasty, oblong fika bread taste like?

Prefer podcast?

the fika sessions episodes

• Episode 1 – Narrative in Video Games
• Episode 2 – Level Design in Video Games
• Episode 3 – An Introduction to Programming
• Episode 4 – An Introduction to 3D Character Art