Happy nerd
Who I am.
Hi, I'm Emelie. [wave]
I'm originally from Sweden, but live and work in Scotland.
I currently work as a designer at Rare Ltd, where I best enjoy when I get to create things in collaboration with others, and see players enjoy it. No matter if its by creating a tiny game jam game, or a bigger project, my focus is always on the end user and the journey we want to take them on.
I have a humble, but growing, experience of doing talks to both student- and industry-conferences. I love discussing game design or communication with other developers and learning from them.
Additionally, some of my hobbies are movie nights, the gym, and my moped. I never say no to a good cup of coffee and salty liquorice.
You are a terrible drummer, but you keep the beat. I guess that’s something.
- My drum teacher in high school
Food metaphors about constructive and empathetic Team Communication at Reboot Blue in Dubrovnik April 2023
Talking about Breakdown in Communication at Sweden Game Conference in Skövde October 2023
Emelie’s curiosity, diligence and people-first attitude make her a relentlessly playful and practical game designer
- Rami Ismail
A vertical slice of my work experience
(Definitely not a complete list)
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Herder of cats at Junkfish and Fundamentally Games
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I have been trained, and worked, as a barista in both Sweden, Norway and Scotland.
Not much to say about it really. It's a very handy experience to have, I can get a job freaking anywhere, and it's nice meeting all the different customers.
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One of the most giving jobs I've had.
Your average costumer wasn't there for sexy sets - they had life altering changes happen to them (pregnancy, weight change, illness, mastectomy, gender change etc) and they needed help with finding comfort in this.
You see them exposed at, what's probably their most vulnerable point, and being a part of making them feel good and comfortable about themselves was frankly an honour.
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Reflecting on this job I mainly just remember breaking apart cardboard boxes, stringing endless guitars and drinking a shit ton of coffee. Had a bunch of fun.
Colleagues were exact like Jack Black and Todd Louiso in High Fidelity.
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I have done 3-4 stints of work at both hospitals and nursing homes. It was back breaking and gruelling long hours, but seeing the change you made in people's day and the support you have between colleagues is unmatched any place I've ever worked at.
These women (because in honestly, most are women) working in healthcare are amazons and goddesses. Treat them with respect, their jobs are hard, and heavy, work.
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"Do you really play games or do you just work here?"
Yes, good sir, I am just here for the lovely vibe.
Great job, shame about the customers.
From student to professional.
When I worked at Fundamentally Games, they wanted to encourage the different voices within the company and share the knowledge that we inhabit. As part of this I wrote an article and made a webinar with tips and guiding on the journey from student to professional. These are things that worked for me, that I felt helped me get a leg up and prepare me for joining a new industry.
Projects and volunteering.
Abertay Student Representative
As an undergraduate I frequently volunteered at Abertay Events such as Open Days and Research events. By being so active I was picked to go to EGX and work in Abertay’s University careers booth, talking to prospective students and promoting Abertay. I have also given talks and represented Abertay to international and prominent visitors.
I got sent to Washington DC with a small team of Abertay staff to showcase Kinoko at the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) annual conference in February 2019. I also got invited to represent Abertay on a university tour to Detroit and Toronto, in September 2019.
Abertay Game Development Society
I was president for AGDS during 2018/2019, at the time the society had over 250 members.
The society brings together any students interested in games development for weekly meetings, talks and events.
During my time as president the society hosted four game jams, several industry speakers (including Rare, Rebellion and Ninja Kiwi) and ran a bake sale to raise funds for further events (have you ever tried getting a bunch of 20-year-old guys to bake? I count this as one of my greatest victories!).
Midsummer Jam
Dundee is a student town, so when summers hit, the town usually get very empty with not a lot happening.
To counteract that I founded Midsummer Jam, a game jam focused on accessibility and creativity. It’s labelled a game jam, but anyone could create whatever they wanted: a song, a piece of art etc. In the 2019 jam we were honored by having Rami Ismail provide the theme.
The jam ran both 2018 and 2019, but we had to cancel in 2020 because of Covid. The plan is to return in 2021.
Macmillan App Prototype
A small project I led in 2019, but that I felt was very important, was the Macmillan Cancer Support App.
This was a collaboration between MCS and Abertay University, looking at and tracking a collection of data nodes of how cancer patients interact with healthcare and support.
We wanted to create an app prototype that took the input from the patients and then suggested services that would best suit them, to ease the process for patients to get the help they need.
My job was to design the app and lead a small team for 2 months of prototyping.
Awards.
NEoN Digital Arts prize for Best Consideration of Equality and Diversity 2019
Dare Academy Winners 2018
Jupiter Hadley’s Top 10 Star of EGX 2018
Article HERE
Lothian Family Award 2018