Interview: Lesley Yuen, Bar Star Intern

Lesley Yuen was an intern at GlitchSoft during the production of our game, Bar Star. The iOS game which was aimed towards the 18-24 year old female demographic was the project she worked on. Lesley’s insight and contributions to the game were invaluable to the small development team. As an intern, she contributed to the games writing and scripting. She was responsible for all of the pop culture references that are found in Bar Star. She was also integral in identifying phrases and celebrities that would resonate with 18-24 year old females. These features were a major factor of Bar Star’s success. Lesley also handled a considerable amount of marketing activity surrounding Bar Star including the management of the game’s online presence, review submissions, and social media communities on Facebook and Twitter.

Geek Woman: Where do you go to school?
Lesley Yuen: I go to Carleton University in Ottawa and attend the Sprott School of Business.

How did you get into the internship at GlitchSoft?
The company founder, Wes Tam, required somebody who was familiar with the different social media sites. I contacted Wes after he had posted some information about the internship position on Facebook. Basically, I was able to secure a job through social media, and through this I learned so much more about the hot topic.

Did you get a grade or credit for that?
I did receive a co-op credit for my work as well as some invaluable experience.  At first I was unsure about co-op but after talking to several graduates from my program, those who had participated in co-op highly recommended it, and those who didn’t told me they wish they had. It’s true that you will end up graduating later, but you gain relevant work experience that you can apply to your courses. Plus, by the time you graduate, you will have work experience under your belt. Co-op also offers a realistic view of what your career would be like in various positions in after you graduate and it opens your eyes to new opportunities. For my first co-op term, working as a marketing intern at GlitchSoft, I came in thinking this job had no relevancy to Accounting (my concentration), but I never regretted it because GlitchSoft taught me both hard and soft skills, and provided me with a very valuable experience that I would have missed if not for the program.

What major do you have?
I’m currently a third year student, doing a four year program in Commerce, with a concentration in Accounting.

Is the video game industry going to be your career in the future?
Before working on Bar Star, I would have never considered a career in the video game industry. I mean, how could I have? I literally knew nothing about games. However, after my term at GlitchSoft, my perspective on games, and their industry has changed. I’ve always had a misconception about how video games were predominately played by males, and thus games must be developed only by males. However, interacting with people though the social media sites (yes, this was part of my job), I realized this isn’t true. Many females enjoy video games as much as males do; they may not be the same type of games, but nevertheless, there is definitely a market for female gamers. Therefore, I believe there is opportunity for females developers, as they can project their own spin on games aimed towards the female market. I mean, who would better understand female interests than females? Working for a video game industry has really opened my eyes to different careers paths that I otherwise would have never even considered. I’ve always been a pretty creative person, and working in this industry, I’d be able to flaunt that. Given the chance to work for another video game company, I would definitely consider doing so, especially if it means making a Glee or Twilight game; yes, I am both a Gleek and Twi-hard fan!

Did you learn a lot while working there?
While working at GlitchSoft, I was introduced to various other advertising techniques including viral marketing and Search Engine Optimization (SEO), but the main focus was marketing through social networking sites. The way social media marketing works is truly clever and effective. It’s effective because of the growing popularity and number of people who use Twitter, Facebook, etc; and it’s clever because of the way it works- when somebody tweets another person, they aren’t just having a conversation with another individual because when somebody replies or retweets a tweet, that user is being exposed to both their own, and the other person’s followers.

Before GlitchSoft, I was not very knowledgeable about the gaming industry. Therefore, in order to effectively do my job, I had to perform research so that the company would have a better understanding behind the type of games that attract the 18 to 24 year old, female demographic. Through this, I was able to research and learn more about other successful time management games including Diner Dash, Sally’s Spa, Restaurant City, Supermarket Mania etc.

Further, since Bar Star runs on the Apple platform, I was also exposed to the Apple Store, and how that worked. It’s interesting how competitively priced the App market has become. People complain about how expensive a $2.99 game is because there are games on the App store that go for free. However, they will pay $60 for a game sold at Best Buy, but really, when it comes down to it, you’re buying software.  What I also found interesting about the App Store was that the success of Apps varied from country to country. I considered why this was, and my conclusion was due to culture differences.

Was the real life experience making a game different than you thought it would be?
Before working on Bar Star, I never would have considered how much work goes into making a video game. The attention to detail (and time) that is put into it is pretty intensive. However, with that being said, seeing the end product is well worth it. It makes me really happy to see that I was part of making a successful game that people enjoy playing. I mean, who wouldn’t love Bar Star? It’s entertaining, educational (you get to learn how to mix drinks), with cute graphics, and an adorable storyline. I get a satisfied feeling seeing that my ideas and contributions to the game were used. It really was a great opportunity and an amazing learning experience that few people get to experience.

How much fun was it working on Bar Star?
Working on Bar Star was a lot of fun; I loved being able to interact with potential users through social media sites. I also enjoyed going on the (fashion, video game, celebrity gossip, etc.) forums, and contributing my opinion on the hot topics.  Writing is something that I really enjoy doing, and working at GlitchSoft, I was able to write a wide variety of articles; this included anything from authoring press releases and marketing descriptions to spoofing Flo from Diner Dash, TMZ style.  Working at GlitchSoft was very different compared to my last job (I worked at the same shoe store for five years). It was different in that working on Bar Star, I was able to use my creativity to the fullest. Furthermore, there wasn’t much routine involved as I could be doing something completely different on a day to day basis; this meant that I would never be bored. I was also exposed to tons of learning opportunities that I would never get to take advantage of in most jobs (i.e. I mean, come on, part of my job was to learn all about video games!). I think, though, my favourite part of the job was that I was able to relate and interact with people my age.

Did you provide them with things that they used in the script?
One of my favourite tasks I had while working on Bar Star was being able to help write the dialogue. I was able to add in my twist to the script by adding references from my favourite television shows, including Jersey Shore and Glee; along with the most recent Lindsay Lohan and Charlie Sheen gossip via my favourite websites, TMZ and idontlikeyouinthatway.com. By adding these references to the script, we were creating interest and relatedness between the game and the targeted demographic. Along with contributing to the script, I was also able to help with naming the characters in the game. Again, pop culture references were used because I was able to name the characters based on what they looked like. I remember reading user reviews, and it always delighted me to see when people were able to acknowledge the references; it’s just these little things that made me with a feel like I had done a good job.

What is your next project going to be?
GlitchSoft has changed my view on the video game industry. I now find myself playing more games than I used to, and it has also made me develop a new appreciation for them.  The time and effort that developers put into just one game is overwhelming, but if you’re truly passionate about what you’re doing, it’s well worth it; especially at the end, when you see how much people love playing your game. Even though I wasn’t part of programming the game, it was still really satisfying to know that I had contributed in other ways in the making of Bar Star. However, being the only female on the team, it makes me wonder why more girls don’t join the video game industry, especially since there is a market for female gamers out there.

In terms of my next project, I would definitely consider contributing to the video game industry again. However, since I’m in school for Accounting, I would probably concentrate on landing a job in the Finance department of some major game development company.