Our first Game Starter event on May 11, 2020, was all about Game Design. Three experienced game designers reported on their careers, their jobs, and answered the participants' questions. They talked about the everyday challenges in professional game development, their experiences in the games industry, and the things our experts would have liked to know at the beginning of their careers.

Our three industry experts for Game Starter Game Design:

• Christin Matt - Senior Game Designer at InnoGames
• Martin Wilkes - Creative Lead and Game Designer at Daedalic
• Maurice Hagelstein - Co-Founder and Game Director at Tiny Roar

On July 7, 2020, we talked with three games industry professionals about Game Art and offered a portfolio check for all participants after the panel discussion. We gained insights into the different stages of the production process from concept art to a highly detailed asset, about modeling in VR, and learned why books on anatomy are a must-read for aspiring game artists.

Our three industry experts for Game Starter Game Art:

• Denice Wagner – 3D Artist at Tivola
• Sören Meding – Illustrator and Concept Artist, Freelance at soeren-meding.com
• Stefan Wacker – Lead & Senior 3D Artist at Deep Silver Fishlabs

On September 22, 2020, we talked with four games industry professionals about the job of a Community Manager. Community Management is a powerful tool to build up a dedicated community for a game, and we learned how the professionals of the four very different companies use different approaches in how to build, nurture, and manage their respective communities. We found out that next to empathy, patience, good writing skills, and knowledge in project management, a Community Manager needs to be open-minded and a good listener.

Our four industry experts for Game Starter Community Management:

• Carolin Wendt - Community Manager (Germany) at CD PROJEKT RED
• Gabriela Galbier – Team Lead Community Management at gamigo
• Sebastian Grun – Director CRM & PR at Goodgame Studios
• Sinikka Compart – Producer at Mooneye Studios

On November 24, 2020, we talked with three industry professionals about the job of a Game Programmer. Our experts gave insight into which engines, programming languages, and tools they use and what is expected from career starters in general. We learned that it is a good start to focus on specific skills, and game programmers, next to an understanding of logic, need good communication skills to discuss and work well within a team. 

Our three experts for Game Starter Game Programming:

• Henning Steinbock - Lead Programmer at THREAKS
• Ines Schwettmann - Junior Software Developer at InnoGames
• Juan Pablo Sánchez Mesa - Senior Software Engineer at Bigpoint