Meet The Team #2 – Sophie
With Meet The Team, Draw Me A Pixel introduces you to the people behind its games. We promise, no one bites. At least not yet!
What is your job and can you describe your role within the team?
I manage the finances, everything that can be linked to the administration of the company, human resources, distribution and partnerships. I also handle a part of the production of the games we work on. And of course, when it is necessary, I run playtests sessions for the game.
What was your background, before joining Draw Me A Pixel?
My background is quite straightforward. After I graduated in Cognitive Psychology with a User Experience Designer degree, I started to work as a consultant for Ludotic (all my best to Theresa ♥). Later I was recruited in a third party studio for Ubisoft. Then in 2009, I encountered Pascal and Guillaume. That was the starting point of a long road working together. When the company we worked for closed, we created our first studio: Okugi Studio.
But due to a discord with 2 of our co-workers, we decided to close the studio and go our way. In 2015, Pascal gave birth to There Is No Game, a short Jam Game that will encounter a critical success. From that, we started to think about the next steps. Pascal and Guillaume worked together on There Is No Game: Wrong Dimension and when we needed a structure to hire and raise a little bit of money I created Draw Me A Pixel. I took charge of everything administrative (Pascal was allergic to papers, numbers and talking to people).
What are the best and worst aspects of your job?
The thing I like the most is working with this incredible team and manage my time the way I want. That means I like to work early in the morning and I try to disconnect at around 6pm. I adore the versatility of this job. I can do so many varied tasks that it is impossible for me to get bored. Each morning, I wake up motivated to achieve all the goals I fixed the days before.
What I like to do the least is Community Management. That is where Fred, our Communication Manager, takes action!
Which chapter from There Is No Game: Wrong Dimension is your favorite?
Damn! This question is cruel. I can’t choose between the end of chapter 1 with the fake OS and the credit chapter which is so original and funny in every way. And of course the last one in which I can electrocute Pascal.
Chapter 1 of There Is No Game: Wrong Dimension.
What are your favorite video games besides There Is No Game: Wrong Dimension?
And I thought the previous question was hard! Well my first “heart” game was Dune. I think that my favorite video games are strategy games. Oxygen not included is keeping my weekends full. The Anno series. And also some survival horror games like the 1st Resident Evil, Silent Hill and the wonderful Dead Space.
How does it feel to finally be able to talk about Crushed In Time after all this time?
Moments like this are always rare and intense. It's the first encounter with an audience larger than our small team.
You work on a project for several years and suddenly, it's time to see it come to life.
So it's a bit of a nerve-wracking time. You hope it will be well received, not just for yourself but also for everyone who has worked with us in any way. It's a galvanizing moment because suddenly you get to see it through other people's eyes, from a different angle.
So it's a relief to be able to talk about it when things go well, because it's already the first step towards a new stage. An important step forward. (Depression usually sets in at launch when you realize that despite all your efforts, the game isn't getting any attention and only sells 200 copies in a month.)
Crushed In Time: add our nerve-wracking game to your wishlist!
