Meet Lana, Producer
12/09/2022
How did you start at London Studio?
I was at a stage of my career where I was considering a new challenge but I knew it couldn’t just be anything. I remember being on holiday, whilst desperately trying to pre-order a PS5, and my grandma asking me “what’s next?” and I thought “well, I would really like to work for PlayStation London Studio.” Cheesy but true story! I’ve heard great stuff about them (us!) and as I never worked for AAA I thought that would be the great next step. At that time there were no openings but after just a month I saw one pop up and I dropped everything to apply. Feels like a dream even after nearly two years of working here with these amazing people.
What does your role entail?
Various sorts of management and organisation from tools we use, to the project as well as teams etc
Being a Producer is very much a support role making sure the work we’ve agreed to do is done within the time we set out to complete it. We also track all of that so the gathered data can help us predict milestones and potential release time frame.
What do you find most exciting about your work here, and what are things you’re passionate about getting the chance to do?
I love the production team and learning from everyone. It was very important to me to join a studio with a great team that has a wide range of expertise and good culture.
As for specifics, I haven’t had the chance to work on a game from the very beginning, so pre-production is very exciting for me. We’re figuring out the concept, the schedule, etc. It’s very refreshing coming from near constant firefighting and shipping games once a year. Although I am most familiar with final stages of the project, I am learning a lot from the current challenges.
What has your career path looked like over the years?
I started in the indie side of the industry. My big break was in games publishing, then I transitioned to in-house development, then a mix of the two – and finally AAA. It was surprisingly fast paced and I worked on many titles over the last seven years. From the very beginning, even whilst I was still in university, I wanted to experience different areas and styles of production to figure out which one I liked best and pursue that.
Do you have any career advice or top tips for people that would love to work in your role?
This advice applies to any role so there’s a couple of things I suggest. One of them is to participate in game jams! If you don’t know the area you’re interested in yet, this is a great way to try them all out and meet new people while you’re at it.
Then, come to industry events and see what’s out there. Talk to exhibitors about their games and their studios. Also go to career talks or portfolio reviews and absorb their top tips. These can be found at almost every event.
Once you wish to pursue a career in games make sure you prepare a solid CV, cover letter, portfolio and cater them to each of the companies and jobs you’re applying for, so make sure you research everyone! It’s also crucial you let us know why you would be great for the role based on our requirements.
There are also various mentoring programs ran by various groups that you can join and network with industry professionals.
Working from home has become a big part of our lives recently, and hybrid working is here to stay. How have you found this has worked with your team at London Studio?
I joined the studio when the team was already working from home for a while, so there wasn’t much of a transition. Right now, we’re just trying to find a good balance between checking in with each other to get that feeling of open office space collaboration and minimising video call fatigue. I am very happy we’re given a choice of hybrid so we can all choose an option that makes us happiest.
If you could describe London Studio in a few words, what would they be?
Friendly, creative, caring and brilliant group of people that inspire me on a daily basis.
