Name: Maïmouna Fischer
Age: 23
From: Originally from Cologne, Germany
Interests: Dogs, interior design, fashion, film
Favorite games: Breath of the Wild, Civilization
Profession: Project Assistant at Massive Entertainment - A Ubisoft Studio
Maïmouna Fischer
What is your background?
"Bachelor in Human Rights, Master in Management, worked for humanitarian organizations and a pet shelter, internship at Wings (a fund aimed at supporting women and other marginalized gender developers)."
Why did you start working in the game industry?
"My current role at Massive is my first 'real' job - I was lucky to get this job straight out of university. I dedicated my Master thesis to explore female career development in the video games industry. My internship at Wings was my first entry into the industry and that happened because of my background in human rights and the great connections I made locally here in Malmö, especially at DevHub. I approached my career in video games from a feminist perspective really - game development is like putting on magic gloves that allow us to create the kind of inclusive, colorful, and beautiful worlds that we would like to live in and it's amazing being able to be a part of that."
"One thing I love about this industry is that people are so passionate about what they do so there is always room to learn from very enthusiastic teachers"
How has working in the industry been for you?
"I think it's normal to feel a little out of place when stepping into a role as a junior who is just starting her career. However, one thing I love about this industry is that people are so passionate about what they do so there is always room to learn from very enthusiastic teachers. As an extroverted person, my role in production suits me well so far - I get to talk to so many people on a daily basis and can see how the work I am doing is actively making my team members' lives a lot easier. And it's great to see that my efforts aimed at building a better team dynamic has done to my colleagues' motivation."
What is a day in your work life like?
"I work as a project assistant with the VFX and Tech Art Teams. This means I support VFX and Tech artists in their daily tasks, this includes sprint planning and all the usual agile management practices. I chase up information for them in order to prevent road blockers and facilitate our collaboration with other teams which means I basically just talk to people all day long! I also actively drive certain topics and own pipelines that include several stakeholders across the project. It's a lot of fun."
"The great thing about the games industry is that most of us are very friendly and happy to help"
What’s best with your job? What motivates you in your work?
"Some of my colleagues told me that since I arrived on the project, they have had more fun at work, way less headaches, and just overall do a better job - I think there is nothing better than that in the world really."
How would you advise others that want a job like yours to pursue it?
"Don't hesitate to just reach out and ask people about their experiences. The great thing about the games industry is that most of us are very friendly and happy to help. These are turbulent times but don't get discouraged by the sometimes very rigid recruiting process. There are many more creative ways to get into this industry. You can do this!"