Hello everyone!
This years blog is starting off a little bit late this year but we've been trying to reimagine it and figure out how we could make this blog work better and be more interesting.
Today is the 29th and us organisers have arrived at the Peetgården to prepare the location and pick up the Valkyries starting tomorrow. So until then I thought it was a good idea to introduce you all to our teams. As previous years we have named the teams after animals so this year we settled on Team Kangaroo and Team Koala.
Team Kangaroo
Here you can meet team Kangaroo!
Loryn Martini
Hello!!! I’m Loryn (they/them) and I’m from SoCal! I’m currently at High Moon Studios working on Call of Duty campaign as a Sr. Associate Technical Animator. I get the animations provided by the wonderful animators working in the engine with some small amount of rigging + animation for one off moments. The first game I shipped was CoD: Modern Warfare 3 and it was amazing working with all the different departments to help make that game happen!
In my spare time, I love to draw and paint digitally, create cosplays (though not as much anymore), and gaming!! I’m currently rotating between Baldur’s Gate 3, Starfield, and Overwatch. Also, working on a game in Unreal Engine in my free time that’s more of a fantasy RPG to let myself explore a genre/setting I would love to work on!
A fun fact is I have two conures! They are the silliest, little parrots.
Leene Künnap
Hi! My name is Leene (31, She/Her) and I am running my own (around 20 team members) indie game studio where I am also creative lead, do art direction, marketing and design. I am mostly known for being the creative director of the game Death and Taxes. Currently working on 2 games: Broken Alliance and CraftCraft: Fantasy Merchant Simulator. I really love strong visual aesthetics, 2D art and games where choices matter. I also have creative hobbies like cosplay and sticker making.
Random fact: I havent been to a hairdresser since I was 15, I have been cutting and dying my own hair since.
Cansu Naz Akgül
Job title : Game Designer / Creative AI Integrator / Adaptive Systems Architect
What you worked on before:
Survivor Mercs : https://store.steampowered.com/app/2141520/Survivor_Mercs/
Dans Drauganna: VR Dance Game - https://drive.google.com/file/d/1CXKSt-mgPhbVeTDNztD_TC4CaEVBmG_I/view?usp=share_link
Enjoy doing within game development or in your spare time: Biking, dancing, eating, curating super talented and most amazing people as my friends whom I look upto.
Random fact: If I am motivated, I can motivate anyone in any situation. I have ADHD :D
Sammie Ekne
Job title: Lead Software Engineer
What you worked on before: Worked in Acccentures Liquid Studio, focusing on cutting edge XR development and testing. After that, became a freelance consultant working at Chromaway as a lead unity game developer. Currently working at Ringtail Interactive as a Lead Software Engineer on a casual UGC MMO called Scape.
Enjoy doing within game development or in your spare time:
Various creative endeavors. I make music, paint, write, and of course make games. In general I really like having variety, the main thing for me is getting to do a lot of different things.
Random fact:
I used to be a Starcraft 2 Grandmaster.
Jamie Yoongi Lee
Hello, my name is Jamie and I'm a sound designer from Vancouver, Canada. I have worked on Pacific Drive, Croakwood, Sneaky Sasquatch, Five Nights at Freddy's, and Times & Galaxy to name a few!
Even though I'm primarily a sound designer, I also fell in love with programming recently. Now making games in my spare time has become one of five thousand hobbies I have. You can also find me playing drums (I've been a pro drummer for over a decade) and synthesizers..... or endlessly watching synth videos and reading up reddit review posts of different synths. I'm also obsessed with RuPaul's Drag Race!
Ella Lopez
Hii! I'm Ella, a Technical Level Designer currently doing my internship at Envar Entertainment in Stockholm, Sweden.
In 2022 I started my studies of Game Design at Futuregames Stockholm and before that I was a Signal Technician within the railway industry. (I like trains)
Outside of work and a couple of side-projects, I'm right now pretty obsessed with Pokémon and its Trading Card Game(TCG), playing WoW, Valorant or Chess.
I also loooove going to conventions and esports events
Team Koala
Let's meet team Koala!
Tua Wester
Hello, I'm Tua, an animator by day and gremlin by night, currently working at Resolution Games as a 3D animator and before that I was the lead animator on the 2D metroidvania Ultros.
I've always been drawn to creative endeavors and have been animating since 2014, and loved games since I was a kid watching my dad play Tomb Raider on our PlayStation. Nowadays I play a bit of everything with some of my favorites being Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, Stardew Valley and Darkest Dungeon, and I still very much enjoy watching other people play games too, horror in particular.
Besides spending my free time getting achievements in various games, I enjoy cooking, baking, working out, watching anime everyone else already saw 10 years ago and badly playing Riebecks Theme or Leaves from the Vine on my mini guitar.
Bringing things to life is my bread and butter, but what truly drew me to the games industry is the opportunity to work with other passionate people to create awesome things, and I'm very excited to get to do it at the Valkyrie Jam as well!
Lison Raimbault
Hi, I'm Lison. I'm a former concept artist/game artist, currently following a course to learn C# and Unity.
I'm relatively new to the industry, having joined three years ago. I started as the sole 2D artist in a small studio in Nantes, France, and then worked as a freelance game artist in Brussels, Belgium.
What I love most about game development is building something from scratch, exchanging ideas with others, and watching the game evolve and take shape over time.
When I'm not busy learning coding skills, I love spending time with my friends, practicing tattooing and playing games all night long.
Camille-Molly Martin
Hey there,
I'm Camille-Molly Martin, a story lover as a kid, and now a Narrative Designer with 5 years of experience. I've had the chance to work on Is It Love?, Just Dance, and I'm currently on the realization team for Star Wars Outlaws.
I do enjoy creating new things, and I always come up with strange stories (the oldest and weirdest one might be about hitchhikers...)
When I'm not writing or trying to finish projects, you can find me either playing Yakuza Like a Dragon or listening to true crime podcast
Shahrin Khan
Job title: Lead Producer at Visai Games
What I worked on before: Venba (Visai Games), Among Us (Innersloth)
What I enjoy in game dev: Programming, production, writing
Spare time: Long walks, play with my cats, good old TV and video games
Random fact: oh gosh I can't even think of one
Tabea Steinhauer
Heya, I’m Tabea. I’m a music producer turned game programmer with a passion for developing juicy gameplay, designer-friendly tools and impactful sound design and soundtracks.
After working in the music industry for several years as a singer, songwriter and producer, I decided to follow my love for games and pursue a career in game development during the pandemic. Since then, I have enrolled at the Cologne Game Lab, worked on games like Antura and the Letters (a language game for refugee children) and Mirrornauts (an educational game for STEM students), and am currently working at KING Art.
I love combining my twin passions of audio and games for all sorts of projects. I also grow veggies on my balcony, paint watercolours and acrylics, and spend hours on end doing DIY projects.
Roberta de Souza Rodrigues Alves
Game designer
From Brazil to Sweden, worked on many different genres and platforms since 2007, moving seamlessly from designing a game with hugs to making headshots feel rewarding. An aspect I find very rewarding is seeing the experiences you designed for resounding with your players, but what motivates me the most is the passion and creativity from the people in the industry. I do it for the players but I do it for my teams just the same ❤️
I could say one of my love languages is cooking for the ones I like. So people I get close to have a high chance of tasting some Brazilian (or not) food. I'm also an advocate for having salty things for fika 😂
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