BACKGROUND

As Dlala’s founder and CEO, Aj focuses on the creative and strategic direction of the studio and all products we create and contribute to. Aj leads the business development and also manages the design, art and audio departments of the studio. Previously, he worked for companies such as Jagex and Bossa Studios, in roles such as Lead Client Developer and Game Content Developer. Aj founded Dlala in 2012 and has never looked back.

TYPICAL DAY

“I’m not sure I really have a typical day, which is pretty much a typical answer. On our projects I work as Game Director/Creative Director, which means I really focus on making sure that the games we create feel like a cohesive experience and that we’re all working towards the same vision and goals. On a studio level I’m the CEO, which means I do a mixture of pitching for new projects and financing, press related commitments for the studio and working with the leadership team to make sure we’re taking the studio in the direction we need to!”

IF YOU COULD BE ANY VIDEO GAME CHARACTER, WHO AND WHY?

"Batman, I know it’s cheating but he is technically in a game. Why? WHY?!? He’s the goddamn Batman."

BACKGROUND

Ben has been with the studio since its first year of formation in 2012. He has subsequently led all technical aspects of every project undertaken by the studio and has consequently been required to develop a wide breadth of expertise across a number of programming disciplines. Ben has previously served as a Programmer and Lead Programmer for companies such as Microsoft Games Studios and Bossa Studios. Ben become the studio's Technical Director in 2017 and was later promoted to the role of Chief Technical Officer in 2023.

TYPICAL DAY

"Implementing the many brilliant features and ideas of our design team and collaborators. Making all the tough technical decisions. Being the team cynic."

IF YOU COULD BE ANY VIDEO GAME CHARACTER, WHO AND WHY?

"Conker – people that know me understand why…"

BACKGROUND

Gemma is Dlala’s swiss army knife of a COO. She joined the team, and the games industry, in 2015 with a varied background in both private and public sectors including, but not limited to, over half a decade in the legal profession. She subsequently worked as the Lead Software Developer in the delivery of a national initiative focused on the standardisation of legal case management applications, before  moving into the position of Business Improvement and Operations Manager for an award-winning international education business. Originally, Gemma joined the team as a Producer but quickly found herself not only developing the production processes of the studio but also taking control of all financial and operation protocols; in effect, rebuilding the structure of the studio from scratch. As the studio continued to grow, Gemma moved from a split-focus production and operations role into a position committed to Dlala’s business operations, development and expansion. Gemma became Chief Operations Officer for the studio in 2023.

TYPICAL DAY

"I cannot lie, the ‘typical day’ is still completely unknown to me… As anyone who has worked in business operations will know, despite our desperate attempts to be organised and proactive, the need to be reactive as a result of ever-changing priorities and circumstances often overshadows those attempts and our oh-so-carefully formulated plans!

I am ultimately responsible for most of the behind-the-scenes (which many refer to as “boring”) elements of running a game studio.  I manage all operative, financial, legal and HR aspects of the business and work closely with Aj and the Strategy Team to assist with any business development needs."

IF YOU COULD BE ANY VIDEO GAME CHARACTER, WHO AND WHY?

"Miles Power (Tails) because he is super-cute, a mechanical genius and can fly helicopter-style!"

BACKGROUND

Mark comes from a background outside of the games industry. Previously a Senior Systems Technician in the corporate sector, Mark has experience dealing with the creation, maintenance and evolution of infrastructure at large scale corporations. Joining Dlala in 2015, Mark, like a lot of Dlala, was thrown in at the deep end… Having to convert a warehouse unit, previously used as a dance studio for over a decade, into a working space with remote and mobile hot-desking (no small undertaking on premises which had only 4 power outlets and no internet access). Mark fully embraced the role and, in 2017, was moved into the role IT Director of the studio. Mark was subsequently promoted to the role of Chief Information Officer in 2023.

TYPICAL DAY

"I am responsible for the management, strategy and execution of our IT infrastructure. I don’t really have a typical day as the role is quite varied but it can involve anything from developer kit setups, continuous integration for our projects to disaster recovery and server / network management."

IF YOU COULD BE ANY VIDEO GAME CHARACTER, WHO AND WHY?

"Nathan Drake – For The Treasure!"

BACKGROUND

Luke made his first game, at age 10, using RPGMaker and immediately fell in love with making games in every bit of spare time he could find. After, what he considers, a mostly wasted educational journey, he ended up in a corporate web application development role, working for companies like RIBA and Microsoft.

Armed with an unquenchable thirst to get into the games industry, a self-taught array of engines, languages and disciplines he discovered a passion for Visual Effects, which in turn led to a love of all things rendering and visual “polish”. This, combined with his unhealthy obsession with matching concepts, and target renders, with pixel-perfect precision ended up with him finding his way working with Dlala!

TYPICAL DAY

"Convince myself I can do art. Convince myself I can write code. Convince myself I understand rendering. Throw it all into a pot, give it a mix and hope it doesn’t come out magenta."         

IF YOU COULD BE ANY VIDEO GAME CHARACTER, WHO AND WHY?

"Spyro - Small but brave, cute but fearsome, breathes fire… what’s not to love?"

BACKGROUND

Semra’s love for games started from a very young age, after her eldest brother introduced her to arcade games like Street Fighter II and The Simpsons (1991). Growing up, she always had a fascination with art and science (as well as games), and would go on to take A Level subjects like Maths, Physics and Product Design due to that fascination. Initially, Semra considered a career in Computer Science but soon realised that art was where her passion was. When she discovered she could create art for games, she knew exactly what she wanted to do in life! 

Semra studied Game Design and Development at University in the hope of furthering her ability to create art and to learn how to make games. Just a matter of months after finishing her degree, she was contracted as an implementation artist at Dlala and, in early 2023, she was invited to join the team full-time as a Junior Artist.    

TYPICAL DAY

"After waking up, I usually make myself some coffee, have some cereal and join one of our daily standup meetings. After that I move on to my work tasks, which usually include creating art within Unity, fixing art-related bugs, and importing assets into Unity and into scenes. After work I would usually relax for a while, maybe work on my portfolio, re-watch Futurama and/or play some games."       

IF YOU COULD BE ANY VIDEO GAME CHARACTER, WHO AND WHY?

"Phoenix Wright, because he's really good at talking (sometimes) and has cool background music"

BACKGROUND

Yeonjae studied 2D animation in South Korea, specialising in concept art and character design. Her first role was as an Art Instructor in a small art academy in Korea, teaching kids aged 9-19 traditional art skills. In her last semester, she was presented with the opportunity to work as an Intern Graphic Designer in a small design studio in London. After the completion of the intern programme, Yeonjae went back to South Korea and worked as a Graphic/Package Designer. Whilst having a lot of experience in that field, Yeonjae’s passion remained in art and wanting to work in the video game industry. Yeonjae has been active in the games industry since moving to the UK, attending events and participating in game jams. Yeonjae joined Dlala as a 2D Texture Artist/Game Artist during production of “Battletoads” (2020) and was promoted to her senior role in 2022.  

TYPICAL DAY

"My typical day at studio starts with morning coffee and then I check latest feedbacks from our team & Art Director. Everyday I spot some different things in my works which I didn’t notice the day before, so with fresh thoughts and ideas I just keep drawing and painting until they become shiny and lovely pieces! And then… drink more coffee coffee-!"

IF YOU COULD BE ANY VIDEO GAME CHARACTER, WHO AND WHY?

"Rabbids! Because they're silly but so cute and funny!"

BACKGROUND

Ev started out as a Web Front End Developer and then transitioning into becoming a Games UI Developer and then into a Gameplay Programmer whilst working for various studios across the UK and the US.

IF YOU COULD BE ANY VIDEO GAME CHARACTER, WHO AND WHY?

Ugh this is really tough! I'd have to go for Steve from Minecraft - being able to always discover new lands that you can shape however you see fit, while having the power to decide how challenging you want life to be.