Dansk
Svenska
Norsk
Suomi
Deutsch
Italiano
Español
Português
Français
Nederlands
中文
Indonesia
Polski
日本語
한국어
Čeština
Ελληνικά
Türkçe
Tiếng Việt
عربي
Follow us
HQ
Videos
Asphalt Legends Unite
25 Years of Gameloft - Yolanda Sánchez Interview
The HR director over at Gameloft Barcelona greeted us at their Anniversary event to talk work culture and shifting goals at the long-running studio.
Audio transcription
"Hi friends, I'm in Barcelona for the Gameloft 25th anniversary party slash event slash panel and it's, you know, it's very lively, people are enjoying now, but you guys shared a little bit of your history and some not so happy messages about how to deal with the industry and how it is nowadays."
"Thank you so much for joining us, Yolanda.
First and foremost, I got this card saying, which were the first games released by Gameloft Barcelona?
Ask someone at Gameloft. Can I ask you? Perhaps not Barcelona, in general?
Well, you can ask me about Barcelona, in fact, because I remember some of them, the first ones that we were launching although I was not in the company at that moment, but for example Grey's Anatomy was one of them and also Football Party as well, but yeah, I mean, it rained a lot since then and what I can say is that the most important franchise in which we've been working at Gameloft Barcelona for the past lot of years, past few years, it's been Asphalt."
"Asphalt franchise, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year as well.
Fantastic. Any, you know, looking back at all these years for Gameloft, any memory, any highlight, any moment that you would like to share now with the audience?
Well, there are a lot of them in 25 years. It's difficult to choose, but maybe all the changes that we've been implementing so far because I think that's one of the most important strengths that we have at Gameloft Barcelona and in fact, at Gameloft overall, we are really agile, so we've been going through different moments like when we started, we were releasing games that were produced with Java, for example."
"Now we are doing completely differently. Also, for example, at the beginning we were launching, because it was the only way to do it at the moment, like premium games, but then after that we were doing freemium games.
Now we are back also to premium together with freemium.
So those different milestones I think that are important for us because it's showing a lot the culture that we have that even if we are in a very fast-paced industry that is always evolving and making new things, we are always able to adapt to it, and I think that's the secret of being here for 25 years already."
"Perhaps that answers a little bit of my next question, which is about how independent you guys are as a studio.
We see a lot of acquisitions, a lot of... Sasha, your studio manager, said on stage that it's very difficult to find funds.
Nowadays we know we are going through this crisis in the industry.
So which would you say is the key to your independence and to your adaptability, as you just said?
Well, we went through an acquisition like nine years ago, Vivendi bought us, and fortunately we always count with their help."
"They are really helpful in those moments because we are not only talking about our industry, we are part of a bigger group, entertainment in general, so we are also able to share synergies between the different industries, and that's really helpful for us.
But at the same time, even if we were both a big company, an entertainment one, we were always able to keep our identity as a gaming industry that is maybe different from other entertainment industries."
"This is something that we also talked about in our panel today.
And of course, even if each one of the studios that are being part of Gameloft are a little bit different, the fact that we were becoming a little bit more global and supporting each other a little bit more, so we sometimes co-develop, for example, some of our projects with other studios, that's also helping a lot us to develop faster, to produce games in a better shape, in a better way, and I think that's also contributing a lot to our independence, let's say."
"And you say you keep your identity.
Another thing you keep is employees for very long, and I think this also relates more to your area as HR.
So, what can you tell me is the key, is the way in such a transforming industry where we see a lot of layoffs, but your longevity for employees is impressive."
"So, what can other studios do to do it the Gameloft way?
Well, first of all, we feel really proud about that.
When we can say that nearly a fourth part of our studio has been working with us for more than 10 years, or at least 10 years, that's something to feel really proud about, because, you know, in our industry, turnover is really high always, so there's a lot of rotation between different studios and different companies."
"I think that putting people in the center of everything, because we really do things thanks to the passion, the creativity.
This comes from people.
This is something you cannot get from a machine."
"Passion is something that you really get from people, and creativity as well.
I mean, thinking out of the box about something new, it's something you get from people.
So, if you put in the center of everything the people that are going to make possible what we are creating, then I think they feel valued enough to continue working with you for a lot of time, like in our case."
"Alright, and also, I wanted to learn more about the studio itself.
I think this is the best opportunity with your birthday party.
I think I asked something similar to your guys at the IndieDevDay last year.
They were telling me about the projects that you guys work on."
"So, what can you tell me is the role Gameloft Barcelona does or plays into the wider Gameloft organization globally, in terms of IPs, operations, the way you collaborate between teams, etc.
Our main focus as a studio, if we think about Gameloft overall, is to be a creation studio."
"So, it's part of our DNA, let's say.
I mean, we create games.
We also do game evolution as well.
I mean, we work in games like Asphalt Legends Unite right now, it's in game evolution."
"So, we continue working, but we always have another project that we are creating at the same time.
Because it's what we are supposed to do.
And also, we get a lot of support from other studios.
So, that's why we are able to do it as well."
"Alright, final one.
Sasha, when he was doing the mic drop on stage, said that when you guys deliver a project, when the game is done, when the game is gold, you guys all shout, like celebrating a goal in a football match."
"That's something very cultural of yours, right?
So, what can you say about that?
About the feeling when completing a project?
And the more human way you perceive that from the team?
What I can say is that it's a moment that I never lived in any other industry or company."
"Even if I have experience in the tech industry before joining the gaming industry, in the last nine years, I've been able to be present in three launches, three goal moments.
And I remember exactly the day and the moment when we were golding the first game, when I was part of the company."
"And it was incredible. It was an amazing moment.
Because you see how the passion gets together.
All the people celebrate.
I don't know, like if they were having a baby, that's the thing."
"Because they feel it like a baby.
Sometimes we've been developing a project for four years.
That's a lot of time.
So, the moment you really launch, it's kind of, it's an amazing moment."
"And it's really, even if I'm not part of the production team per se, it's like living that, even besides them, together with them, it's an amazing present that you can have in this industry.
And I think you shared, you, yourself, during this interview, and Sasha on the stage, you guys are sharing a very interesting, very useful message in this."
"Even if it's a party, it's harsh times, so it's really nice to have messages like this one.
So, thank you so much for your time.
Enjoy your party and happy birthday."
Interviews
More
Videos
More
Movie Trailers
More
Trailers
More
Events
More