8 QUESTIONS FOR: Aleksandra Spisak, 2D Graphic

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Aleksandra Spisak, 31, 2D Graphic

For March’s short interview edition, we are thrilled to be featuring someone who is responsible for catching the eye and sparking the curiosity of potential new players with her incredible visual talent. Someone who has to juggle between two different departments and makes photoshop magic! Let us introduce our beloved Aleksandra Spisak, aka ALQ, who came all the way from Poland and is our 2D Graphic Designer.

What do you do in your job as a graphic designer?

I am a marketing graphic first, so I make most of the banners, video ads, and other creatives that show the outside world that Bytro games are the best, most beautiful creations in existence. But because our graphics team is rather small, I also sometimes help with the in-game visuals. So they can actually look their best 🙂

What did you do before working for Bytro?

I lend my skills to many indie video game projects – I made backgrounds, assets, textures, concept art… I like variety and as a result, I just had to try everything that there is to making a game look like a game!

Which project holds a special place in your heart?

Once upon a time, I was a part of Conflict of Nations team, and on this day many parts of the game have my touch. It was a big project, I learned many new skills and connected with my colleagues thanks to it and still think very fondly of it!

What is a videogame that has impacted your life? Why?

Many years ago I played a beautiful little game called Journey and it made me realize that video games don’t have to always be some sort of a brutal competition that you have to be good at, but can also be just a peaceful, meditative, visually stunning experience. They can make us think, laugh or cry or just relax and enjoy ourselves. It was definitely a formative moment for me!

What is your current favorite videogame? Why?

Oh my god, that’s a hard question because I play so many games at any given time! But currently, it has to be Stardew Valley. It’s a farming game / life sim and after all the shooting and slaying and strategizing it’s good to just go back to it, plant some virtual turnips and unwind, you know?

How does a typical day at work look like for you?

First of all, coffee. Then all the stand-ups (since I am technically a part of two teams – graphics and marketing), checking my tasks and schedule for the day, etc. Then, the usual: negotiating deadlines (everyone always wants everything now ), dodging meetings (ew, human interaction), dealing with feedback (no, I will not make the logo bigger), and somehow actually making all the beautiful assets on time 🙂

What is a valuable lesson you have learned in your career?

Communication is the most important skill in this industry. I can spend hours making the prettiest, most artistic assets, but if they are not performing their function, it’s all worth nothing. So I have to be on the same page as the rest of the team, at all times! Also, to not be too attached to my own vision, because, after seven rounds of feedback, there isn’t much of it left;)

What advice would you give to someone that is trying to get into the gaming industry?

Forget about perfecting all the skills in the world before you even try to get in. Every studio and every game is different and you will have to adapt anyway. Have the basics sorted out and be willing to learn as you go and you got this!

 

Thank you so much, ALQ!

 

Want to be on board?
You can find further information about our job openings at  bytro.com/career . Your contact person is Michael Kögel. If you are currently not looking for a new challenge, we are happy to invite you to follow us on Social Media!

8 QUESTIONS FOR: Lizandro Rodríguez, Quality Assurance Specialist

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Lizandro Rodriguez, 24, Quality Assurance Specialist

The time has come for the next short interview of the month! Featuring the February edition we have the one and only Lizandro Rodríguez, Quality Assurance Specialist, who joined Bytro last year.  All the way from Venezuela, Lizandro shares with us his day-to-day, work and outside-of-work passions, and some very important life and career advice.

Let’s go!

What do you do in your job as a Quality Assurance Specialist?

One of my main responsibilities is having a complete overview of any issues our games are experiencing before any releases and making sure these are fixed with the utmost priority. Besides supervising the status quo of our games (quality-wise) and improving internal processes, I also do manual tests of the new features before they are released to our players. This involves a very diverse cross-team communication between our QA department and developers, project managers, game designers, community moderators, players, and other departments on a daily basis.

What did you do before working for Bytro?

I was living in the beautiful city of Aachen (westernmost city of Germany), working part-time as a freelancer in marketing/journalism projects while also attending German lessons in a ‘Sprachschule’ five times a week! Before coming to Germany, I lived in Dublin, Ireland for a few years, where I got my first experience in the software industry, working for companies such as HubSpot and Google.


Which project holds a special place in your heart?

At the moment I am really focused on getting our QA department to a state where we can have more coverage of our functional testing needs, and this involves a lot of strategic planning with my fellow colleagues in terms of internal processes, organizational flows, and expanding our team, so exciting times are ahead of us!

What do you do in your free time?

I guess this is because I lived in Ireland, but I’d say discovering cozy pubs with friends is a must – having a good ol ‘pint of Guinness or trying new beer types, reading, and occasionally going for a swim or a hike outside of the city. As a hobby, I used to act with the Gaiety School of Acting (Dublin) and this is something I’d like to take up once more here in Hamburg, whether it is creating short-film ideas, getting the chance to interpret different characters, or just participating in theater productions!

I also used to travel quite a bit in the pre-COVID times, so I plan to continue doing that as soon as it is safe to do so.

What is your favorite videogame? Why?

I’ve always been a passionate FIFA player, but recently I started playing Pro Evolution Soccer and it has me hooked. I was reluctant to play it in the beginning, but my fellow Bytronians from the Marketing department decided to play the latest edition, and oh man, what a good decision that was. Now I really appreciate the realism of the game mechanics and, even if I constantly lose against my colleagues (I am talking to you, Marvin, our head of BizDev) I always have fun!

How does a typical day at work look like for you?

Besides the usual morning standup meetings to discuss the current status of our projects and assignments with different teams, I’d say a typical day would involve the whole QA department testing different areas of the games, staying reactive to new arising issues reported internally by our colleagues or externally by our players, and afterward escalating them accordingly.

What is a valuable lesson you have learned in your career?

Be kind . This is a total cliché , but you never know what type of day your colleagues or other people, in general, might be having, so I always do my best to maintain a positive attitude and make sure this always translates to all the efforts and dedication I put to my work. 

What do you like about working at Bytro?

It is unbelievable how much I’ve learned since I started working at Bytro. Proactiveness and constant improvement is something that I see on a daily basis and this motivates me to keep pushing myself. I also value everybody’s receptiveness to new ideas and the passion for innovating our games. This is my first experience in the gaming industry and I can honestly say I admire the talent of the people I work with!

 

Thank you so much Lizandro!

Want to be on board?
You can find further information about our job openings at  bytro.com/career . Your contact person is Michael Kögel. If you are currently not looking for a new challenge, we are happy to invite you to follow us on Social Media!

 

8 QUESTIONS FOR: Lizandro Rodríguez, Quality Assurance Specialist

by

Lizandro Rodriguez, 24, Quality Assurance Specialist

The time has come for the next short interview of the month! Featuring the February edition we have the one and only Lizandro Rodríguez, Quality Assurance Specialist, who joined Bytro last year.  All the way from Venezuela, Lizandro shares with us his day-to-day, work and outside-of-work passions, and some very important life and career advice.

Let’s go!

What do you do in your job as a Quality Assurance Specialist?

One of my main responsibilities is having a complete overview of any issues our games are experiencing before any releases and making sure these are fixed with the utmost priority. Besides supervising the status quo of our games (quality-wise) and improving internal processes, I also do manual tests of the new features before they are released to our players. This involves a very diverse cross-team communication between our QA department and developers, project managers, game designers, community moderators, players, and other departments on a daily basis.

What did you do before working for Bytro?

I was living in the beautiful city of Aachen (westernmost city of Germany), working part-time as a freelancer in marketing/journalism projects while also attending German lessons in a ‘Sprachschule’ five times a week! Before coming to Germany, I lived in Dublin, Ireland for a few years, where I got my first experience in the software industry, working for companies such as HubSpot and Google.


Which project holds a special place in your heart?

At the moment I am really focused on getting our QA department to a state where we can have more coverage of our functional testing needs, and this involves a lot of strategic planning with my fellow colleagues in terms of internal processes, organizational flows, and expanding our team, so exciting times are ahead of us!

What do you do in your free time?

I guess this is because I lived in Ireland, but I’d say discovering cozy pubs with friends is a must – having a good ol ‘pint of Guinness or trying new beer types, reading, and occasionally going for a swim or a hike outside of the city. As a hobby, I used to act with the Gaiety School of Acting (Dublin) and this is something I’d like to take up once more here in Hamburg, whether it is creating short-film ideas, getting the chance to interpret different characters, or just participating in theater productions!

I also used to travel quite a bit in the pre-COVID times, so I plan to continue doing that as soon as it is safe to do so.

What is your favorite videogame? Why?

I’ve always been a passionate FIFA player, but recently I started playing Pro Evolution Soccer and it has me hooked. I was reluctant to play it in the beginning, but my fellow Bytronians from the Marketing department decided to play the latest edition, and oh man, what a good decision that was. Now I really appreciate the realism of the game mechanics and, even if I constantly lose against my colleagues (I am talking to you, Marvin, our head of BizDev) I always have fun!

How does a typical day at work look like for you?

Besides the usual morning standup meetings to discuss the current status of our projects and assignments with different teams, I’d say a typical day would involve the whole QA department testing different areas of the games, staying reactive to new arising issues reported internally by our colleagues or externally by our players, and afterward escalating them accordingly.

What is a valuable lesson you have learned in your career?

Be kind . This is a total cliché , but you never know what type of day your colleagues or other people, in general, might be having, so I always do my best to maintain a positive attitude and make sure this always translates to all the efforts and dedication I put to my work. 

What do you like about working at Bytro?

It is unbelievable how much I’ve learned since I started working at Bytro. Proactiveness and constant improvement is something that I see on a daily basis and this motivates me to keep pushing myself. I also value everybody’s receptiveness to new ideas and the passion for innovating our games. This is my first experience in the gaming industry and I can honestly say I admire the talent of the people I work with!

 

Thank you so much Lizandro!

Want to be on board?
You can find further information about our job openings at  bytro.com/career . Your contact person is Michael Kögel. If you are currently not looking for a new challenge, we are happy to invite you to follow us on Social Media!