[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":236},["ShallowReactive",2],{"afdb0369-2aa8-4a4e-bdcd-32671396b299":3,"jobs-count":67,"latestafdb0369-2aa8-4a4e-bdcd-32671396b299":68},{"_path":4,"_dir":5,"_draft":6,"_partial":6,"_locale":7,"date":8,"id":9,"collection":5,"content":10,"coverImage":7,"author":38,"categories":39,"card":44,"order":15,"slug":51,"title":52,"uri":50,"url":50,"meta":53,"canonical":15,"social":57,"_id":62,"_type":63,"_source":64,"_file":65,"_stem":66,"_extension":63},"/stories/afdb0369-2aa8-4a4e-bdcd-32671396b299","stories",false,"","2024-08-20T22:00:00.000000Z","afdb0369-2aa8-4a4e-bdcd-32671396b299",[11,17,20,24,26,30,32,36],{"type":12,"items":13},"slider",[14],{"caption":15,"asset":16},null,"https://cdn-o7.o7web.com/assets/4_blog_news/life_at_outfit7/web_ibi_aug24_23_zjeram_3.jpg",{"type":18,"text":19},"text","\u003Cp>When it comes to junior roles at Outfit7, expertise isn’t the main thing we’re looking for. We’re much more interested in drive and a willingness to learn. And that’s how, back in 2017, I managed to land a job as a Junior Quality Assurance Engineer at Outfit7 (Ekipa2 subsidiary). Before that I’d spent about five years working in the psychology field, and that experience has actually proven pretty useful. And, of course, I’m an avid, lifelong gamer. I even used to sketch out my own game ideas on paper when I was a kid. I think all of this must have been taken into account when I was hired, because I certainly didn’t have any previous games industry experience.\u003C/p>\u003Cp>I don’t have a particularly technical mindset either, and quality assurance is usually more of a technical job. I could certainly find bugs — I literally opened thousands of Jira tickets when I was in QA — but when it came to really technical stuff like backend testing, that was not my jam at all. So, it was actually really cool that my managers didn’t push me in that direction, but instead encouraged me towards more product-centric QA tasks. It was always, “Žiga, you’re gonna check how this feature looks and feels, and what we need to improve from the player’s perspective,” which really suited my product-oriented mindset and gave me the opportunity to thrive.\u003C/p>\u003Cp>There is room for creativity in QA, but ultimately there’s a limit to how much. So, the product side of things and the design side of things always interested me more. That was what inspired me and what I always had a passion for. And if I'm going to be spending five days a week of my limited lifetime on something, it needs to really motivate me. So, over time I was pulled, quite organically, in the direction of the product department. Until one day Ante Odić, Senior VP of Product Development, came to me and said, “Hey dude, do you want to join our team?” And, of course, I did!\u003C/p>",{"type":12,"items":21},[22],{"caption":15,"asset":23},"https://cdn-o7.o7web.com/assets/4_blog_news/life_at_outfit7/web_ibi_aug24_23_zjeram_1.jpg",{"type":18,"text":25},"\u003Ch3>Many moving parts\u003C/h3>\u003Cp>I came across the term “product manager” for the first time when I started working at Outfit7. I must admit, I didn’t initially have any idea what a product manager does, but I was immediately intrigued by it. There are many different aspects to the role, so I needed quite some time “on the field” to get all the essential parts that connect to make up product management. But by the time I moved over to product management, I had a pretty good idea of what was expected.\u003C/p>\u003Cp>My main responsibility as a product manager is to understand the vision of the game and, crucially, to make sure that everyone on the project is aligned on how we’re going to fulfill it. The amount of effort and brain power that goes into producing a game is insane if you think about it. There are all these moving parts that you need to tend to, and every one of these parts has the potential to ruin the final product. So it’s essential that you keep everybody involved aligned on exactly what we are making and why we are making it so that all these intertwined parts can come together as something solid and something whole.\u003C/p>\u003Cp>You have a lot of very smart people with a lot of different expertise that can actually influence those moving parts. And then on top of that, you have the games industry, which is very volatile and unpredictable. There are so many factors to take into account: trends, rules, platforms, consumer types, age categories… you name it. There’s a lot of stuff that needs to come together and align almost perfectly for a product to end up a success.\u003C/p>\u003Cp>But I also have to understand the broader market and the market opportunity that we’re aiming for — in other words, the business reason behind the idea. And then, of course, the follow-through. You produce something and then check what’s happening, and then pivot, or fix it, or make more of it.\u003C/p>",{"type":12,"items":27},[28],{"caption":15,"asset":29},"https://cdn-o7.o7web.com/assets/4_blog_news/life_at_outfit7/web_ibi_aug24_23_zjeram_2.jpg",{"type":18,"text":31},"\u003Ch3>The human element\u003C/h3>\u003Cp>I got into psychology in the first place because I’ve always been really interested in people, so the human dynamics within a team are also a high priority for me. As a product manager, my day is filled with meetings involving diverse individuals, each bringing their unique background and expertise to the table. It's crucial to "keep the peace" in these meetings, ensuring everyone is aligned and has the opportunity to share their perspective.\u003C/p>\u003Cp>We all naturally pick up on subtle cues such as changes in someone's tone of voice, facial expression, or body language. But my background in psychology makes me more attuned and attentive to them. Understanding where someone is coming from is essential for me as a product manager. I strive to comprehend not just what someone is saying, but also how they are feeling about the topic being discussed. This keen insight is integral to my approach. It allows me to connect with my colleagues and find a common language, leading to better collaboration and alignment within the team.\u003C/p>\u003Cp>Another benefit of my keen interest in people is that it makes me mindful of the product’s end user. I was actually a real pain in the ass for a lot of developers and product teams back in the day, because I was constantly challenging — not just for the sake of it, but for the sake of producing a feature or product that users could enjoy. At every step of the way, you need to be mindful of how the user is going to perceive the game.\u003C/p>",{"type":12,"items":33},[34],{"caption":15,"asset":35},"https://cdn-o7.o7web.com/assets/4_blog_news/life_at_outfit7/web_ibi_aug24_23_zjeram_4.jpg",{"type":18,"text":37},"\u003Ch3>People as a badge of quality\u003C/h3>\u003Cp>I believe my player-centric approach is a great fit here. Outfit7 games are all on mobile and are designed for a broad, diverse audience, so it’s important that they’re accessible and can be understood quickly and easily. Getting a game to the point where we’re confident that the end user — regardless of who they are and how much experience they have with games — will quickly understand it and start enjoying it is really quite difficult. But I think Outfit7 actually does this very well.\u003C/p>\u003Cp>And perhaps that’s because we’re so people-oriented. I’ve met a lot of really, really cool people during my years at Outfit7. People who have really influenced my career, my decision-making, my growth, and the development of my own expertise. It’s the people and culture that elevate Outfit7 above any of the companies I worked for in the past. Particularly, in my case, Mateja Vrhovnik, who was one of the managers who made sure I wasn’t burdened with technical tasks in QA engineering, and encouraged the enthusiasm and drive I have towards making games. And then there’s Jaka Robnik, Head of Product at the Ekipa2 subsidiary, who’s hands-down my favorite manager, and one of the smartest people I know.\u003C/p>\u003Cp>It’s truly a pleasure working alongside my co-workers. I think of Outfit7’s people as a kind of badge of quality for the whole Outfit7 organization. And it’s one of the main reasons I’m still here, for sure.\u003C/p>","Žiga Jeram, Senior Product Manager",[40],{"id":41,"title":42,"slug":43},"stories_categories::my-outfit7-story","My Outfit7 story","my-outfit7-story",{"title":45,"copy":15,"backgroundImage":46,"cta":47},"My Journey to  Senior Product Management","https://cdn-o7.o7web.com/assets/4_blog_news/life_at_outfit7/web_card_aug24_23_zjeram.jpg",{"title":48,"type":49,"href":50},"Read the story","link","/blog/stories/my-journey-to-senior-product-management","my-journey-to-senior-product-management","With a Little Encouragement, I Was Able to Pursue My Passion",{"title":54,"description":55,"canonical":56,"robots":7},"With a Little Encouragement, I Was Able to Pursue My Passion | Outfit7","From sketching out game ideas on paper to helping bring them to life, Senior Product Manager Žiga Jeram shares his Outfit7 story.","http://localhost/blog/stories/my-journey-to-senior-product-management",{"open_graph":58,"twitter":58,"site_name":59,"title":52,"description":60,"image":61},true,"Outfit7","Senior Product Manager Žiga Jeram shares his Outfit7 story","https://cdn-o7.o7web.com/img/asset/YXNzZXRzLzRfYmxvZ19uZXdzL2xpZmVfYXRfb3V0Zml0Ny9mYi1saXBvc3RfYXVnMjRfMjNfemplcmFtLmpwZw==?w=1200&h=630&q=70&fit=crop&s=f29fb1f4840bc917da1acc76f1b2dbf2","content:stories:afdb0369-2aa8-4a4e-bdcd-32671396b299.json","json","content","stories/afdb0369-2aa8-4a4e-bdcd-32671396b299.json","stories/afdb0369-2aa8-4a4e-bdcd-32671396b299",13,[69,115,174],{"_path":70,"_dir":5,"_draft":6,"_partial":6,"_locale":7,"date":71,"id":72,"collection":5,"content":73,"coverImage":7,"author":96,"categories":97,"card":99,"order":15,"slug":104,"title":105,"uri":103,"url":103,"meta":106,"canonical":15,"social":109,"_id":112,"_type":63,"_source":64,"_file":113,"_stem":114,"_extension":63},"/stories/fcb7ee7f-cb90-45fe-a8ca-9aed12b0428d","2024-11-14T23:00:00.000000Z","fcb7ee7f-cb90-45fe-a8ca-9aed12b0428d",[74,76,80,82,86,88,94],{"type":18,"text":75},"\u003Cp>One of my favorite things about working at Outfit7 (Ekipa2 subsidiary) is that if you identify something that your team needs, or that another team needs, or even that the company needs, everyone will hear you out and help make it happen. All it takes is enthusiasm, passion, and belief!\u003C/p>\u003Cp>And I know this from experience because this is exactly how UX (User Experience) research started at Outfit7, and how I forged the path to my current role as Senior Lead UX Researcher.\u003C/p>\u003Cp>The UX Research team is a bridge between Outfit7 players and the product team. By understanding Outfit7 users and their needs, we can make Outfit7 games clear, intuitive, and enjoyable to play. While on the other hand, we also have to understand what the product team needs to help them make informed decisions.\u003C/p>\u003Cp>And I love doing this! But I must admit that at the start of my career I had a very different career path in mind.\u003C/p>",{"type":12,"items":77},[78],{"caption":15,"asset":79},"https://cdn-o7.o7web.com/assets/4_blog_news/life_at_outfit7/web_ibi_oct24_30_arhar5.jpg",{"type":18,"text":81},"\u003Cp>\u003Cstrong>Exactly what I’d been missing\u003C/strong>\u003C/p>\u003Cp>I studied marketing communication studies and, when I was a student, my dream was to work on marketing campaigns and TV advertising. And that’s why I started working at an advertising agency when I was still a student. But I pretty quickly figured out that research was actually the aspect of marketing and advertising that appealed to me most. It turned out that I was more interested in understanding the audience than in the creative process of producing ads and marketing campaigns.\u003C/p>\u003Cp>So, after a while I switched jobs to a market research agency. At first I was mostly working on data-driven quantitative analysis. But then the agency’s management realized they needed more support with qualitative research, and asked me, “Can you jump in and help us here?” And I said, “OK, let’s try it.” It didn’t take long to discover that I loved this kind of work. After running just one focus group, I was hooked!\u003C/p>\u003Cp>I enjoyed my time at that agency and progressed steadily through the ranks, but something was missing. I wanted to follow through on my work, to make sure my analysis was being implemented properly. But I couldn’t do that because I wasn’t part of the client’s company. And this is why, in 2017, I applied for a market research position at Outfit7 (Ekipa2 subsidiary).\u003C/p>\u003Cp>During the hiring process, when I was discussing my background with the hiring manager, Jernej Česen, qualitative research and web page testing came up. So, we started discussing it, and if and how we could apply some principles from those fields to games. In the end I was hired as a market researcher, but sure enough, after only about 6 months, I switched to UX research.\u003C/p>\u003Cp>Up until that point, UX research hadn’t formally existed at Outfit7. Product managers would user-test games, but mostly just before release, only really at the surface level, and in a way that was not as structured as we eventually started doing it.\u003C/p>\u003Cp>I felt that as a UX researcher I \u003Cem>was\u003C/em> having an impact. It was eye-opening in a  lot of ways, and we quickly started changing things. I got exactly what I’d been missing in my previous job.\u003C/p>",{"type":12,"items":83},[84],{"caption":15,"asset":85},"https://cdn-o7.o7web.com/assets/4_blog_news/life_at_outfit7/web_ibi_oct24_30_arhar2.jpg",{"type":18,"text":87},"\u003Cp>\u003Cstrong>Initiative made it happen\u003C/strong>\u003C/p>\u003Cp>At around that same time another colleague joined the company as a dedicated UX designer. Inevitably, our paths crossed and we realized that we should connect our work. I’m proud that we connected on our own, figuring out how we should collaborate together as we went along. It was our decision to work closely together, and we used our initiative to make it happen. We realized that we needed each other and that we could support each other, and that’s how the UX team started to take shape.\u003C/p>\u003Cp>So, at that point, both the research and design sides of UX were “one-person bands”, and we needed to figure it out between the two of us. We wanted to try running a more detailed test of a game to see how the process and the results would look. It went well, and we got buy-in, but our role was still “on-demand.” We would be asked to test a game when it was almost done, so my role was reactive to the needs at a given time.\u003C/p>\u003Cp>But then we started to become more and more proactive, trying to establish some processes whereby user research could support the game development process. We didn’t just want to be reacting to needs as they arose, we wanted to figure out what UX needs were going to be \u003Cem>before\u003C/em> game features were fully implemented, because of course it takes much more time to fix issues on a near-complete game. So the role, responsibilities, and focus of the UX team developed over time. \u003C/p>",{"type":12,"items":89},[90,92],{"caption":15,"asset":91},"https://cdn-o7.o7web.com/assets/4_blog_news/life_at_outfit7/web_ibi_oct24_30_arhar1.jpg",{"caption":15,"asset":93},"https://cdn-o7.o7web.com/assets/4_blog_news/life_at_outfit7/web_ibi_oct24_30_arhar4.jpg",{"type":18,"text":95},"\u003Cp>\u003Cstrong>Putting user testing to the test\u003C/strong>\u003C/p>\u003Cp>I remember that at the start of the Talking Tom Hero Dash project, there was a lot of discussion about whether players would understand that they were supposed to hit the Rakoonz, and not avoid them. Half of the team said that players wouldn’t hit them  because they wouldn’t want to hurt them, and the other half said that they would just hit all of them because they wouldn’t care. I just said, “Guys, why don’t we test this?” We had never tested prototypes up to that point, but it turned out to be quick and easy to do. \u003C/p>\u003Cp>And the players in the user test \u003Cem>did\u003C/em> hit the Rakoonz, but they rationalized what they were doing and put it into nice words. So, they were \u003Cem>picking up\u003C/em> the Rakoonz, and \u003Cem>catching\u003C/em> them, not \u003Cem>hitting\u003C/em> them or \u003Cem>hurting\u003C/em> them. And we wouldn’t have known that without testing it. Everyone was just arguing about it, and no one quite had it right.\u003C/p>\u003Cp>When I started, assumptions like that often came down to who could present their opinion most strongly. But now when a team is having these kinds of discussions, they’ll say, “Let’s ask UX Research if they can test this and find out what the users think.” This is such positive progress, and I’m so proud that it started happening because just two of us had the enthusiasm to take the initiative. I love that things like that can happen here!\u003C/p>\u003Cp>I also love the people at Outfit7. I can honestly say that I’ve made a lot of really good friends thanks to this job - like, really good, close friends - and I hope I will keep meeting new people and making more new friends. You can talk to basically everyone, and everyone can talk to you, and you can be really honest and open. So, I like this little community that we have, both as a whole Outfit7 group, and also within the environment of the people I have most contact with.\u003C/p>\u003Cp>And finally, I’m still really passionate about Talking Tom & Friends - I always have been. I love this brand and its audience. They are the most appreciative audience out there. When I see them playing Outfit7 games, and I see their genuine reactions and how passionate they are about it; that’s when I know \u003Cem>why I do this\u003C/em>. It’s so rewarding and fulfilling to see Outfit7 games making their audience feel good, and that’s why I’m so happy I took the UX research path.\u003C/p>","Anja Arhar, Senior Lead UX Researcher",[98],{"id":41,"title":42,"slug":43},{"title":100,"copy":15,"backgroundImage":101,"cta":102},"How Initiative Shaped the UX Team","https://cdn-o7.o7web.com/assets/4_blog_news/life_at_outfit7/web_card_aug24_23_oct24_30_arhar.jpg",{"title":48,"type":49,"href":103},"/blog/stories/how-initiative-and-enthusiasm-paved-the-way-for-the-ux-team","how-initiative-and-enthusiasm-paved-the-way-for-the-ux-team","How initiative and enthusiasm paved the way for the UX team",{"title":107,"description":7,"canonical":108,"robots":7},"How initiative and enthusiasm paved the way for the UX team | Outfit7","http://localhost/blog/stories/how-initiative-and-enthusiasm-paved-the-way-for-the-ux-team",{"open_graph":58,"twitter":58,"site_name":59,"title":105,"description":110,"image":111},"Makers of Talking Tom & Friends – Fun Games for All Ages","https://cdn-o7.o7web.com/img/asset/YXNzZXRzLzRfYmxvZ19uZXdzL2xpZmVfYXRfb3V0Zml0Ny9mYi1saXBvc3Rfb2N0MjRfMzBfYXJoYXIuanBn?w=1200&h=630&q=70&fit=crop&s=0ef94a251edc986559da2e13a8411f31","content:stories:fcb7ee7f-cb90-45fe-a8ca-9aed12b0428d.json","stories/fcb7ee7f-cb90-45fe-a8ca-9aed12b0428d.json","stories/fcb7ee7f-cb90-45fe-a8ca-9aed12b0428d",{"_path":116,"_dir":5,"_draft":6,"_partial":6,"_locale":7,"date":117,"id":118,"collection":5,"content":119,"coverImage":152,"author":153,"categories":154,"card":159,"order":15,"slug":164,"title":160,"uri":163,"url":163,"meta":165,"canonical":15,"social":168,"_id":171,"_type":63,"_source":64,"_file":172,"_stem":173,"_extension":63},"/stories/6d8856a2-a369-4fed-839a-eb33be748477","2024-10-09T22:00:00.000000Z","6d8856a2-a369-4fed-839a-eb33be748477",[120,122,126,128,132,134,138,140,144,146,150],{"type":18,"text":121},"\u003Ch2>Why There’s Nothing Quite Like a Game Jam\u003C/h2>\u003Cp>We’ve just wrapped up our latest internal game jam, which was dedicated to one of our newest apps. Which app was it? That’s a secret, \u003Cem>for now\u003C/em>. However, seeing as Outfit7 has a long history of game jams in various forms, I’d like to show you how we host our game jams, and share some insights and stories from some of their participants. So, let’s go! \u003C/p>\u003Cp>The process of making a game can vary a lot and become really messy and crazy, yet for game jams that’s normal. Finding and assembling a team, generating a bunch of ideas, narrowing them down to just one per team, and then implementing it in a very short space of time can get pretty intense. So, it’s important to be surrounded by the right people. Luckily, at Outfit7 that’s pretty much everyone! \u003C/p>\u003Cp>“It truly felt like controlled chaos,” says \u003Cstrong>Daria Akulova, 3D Artist at Outfit7 (Ekipa2 subsidiary)\u003C/strong>\u003C/p>\u003Cp>Have you ever thought about what it takes to organize a game jam? Where do you start? What’s the theme going to be? How are you going to make it happen? Over to \u003Cstrong>Marko Spasojević\u003C/strong>, \u003Cstrong>Senior Game Designer\u003C/strong> at Outfit7 (Ekipa2 subsidiary) who is the go-to-guy for Outfit7 game jams, to guide us through this process. \u003C/p>",{"type":12,"items":123},[124],{"caption":15,"asset":125},"https://cdn-o7.o7web.com/assets/4_blog_news/life_at_outfit7/outfit_gamejam-portraits_websize-(50-of-100).jpg",{"type":18,"text":127},"\u003Cp>“The first question you need to ask yourself is, what are you trying to achieve with this particular game jam? Is there a team that could benefit from some new ideas or gameplay mechanics? Or do you just want people to have fun, connect with each other, and do something unusual? In the former case, you consult closely with other game designers and product teams to see what they would like to get ideas for. Otherwise, you just let people unleash their creativity!\u003C/p>\u003Cp>“What makes game jams so special to me is that they allow people to express their creativity beyond their everyday duties and responsibilities. A developer can become an artist, a UI Artist can become an animator, an animator can become a game designer, and they’re all working together to create something fun.”\u003C/p>\u003Cp>The announcement of a new game jam begins the countdown to all the fun. Teams start assembling and imaginations start generating ideas. You might think that in order to make a game in a limited amount of time, you need to be really good at what you’re doing. Well, \u003Cstrong>Jure Vukoja\u003C/strong>, a member of the winning team of our latest game jam, spills the beans on how this experience was for them.\u003C/p>",{"type":12,"items":129},[130],{"caption":15,"asset":131},"https://cdn-o7.o7web.com/assets/4_blog_news/life_at_outfit7/20240831_100811-(1).jpg",{"type":18,"text":133},"\u003Cp>“We took this as an opportunity to do something that we usually do not do, hence the name - Level 1, indicating that the majority of us were new to our roles. Quality engineers were writing code, developers creating sounds, UI artists making concept art, and so on. So basically the condition to join was that you had to be willing to do something you are not the most comfortable with.”\u003C/p>\u003Cp>“When you have only two days to implement the game, nothing goes according to plan. Time pressure is very tight and we had to make the most of what we had. One of our team members having to get emergency surgery halfway through the game jam definitely was not in the plan, but you have to adjust quickly. We had to reshuffle responsibilities a bit and used a bit of modern technology, namely AI, to speed up the process. In a game jam the only rule is you have to deliver a game by the final call, so you have to use every resource you have to the absolute max.”\u003C/p>\u003Cp>“We assembled a better team than The Avengers,” says \u003Cstrong>Tomaž Rojc Software Engineer at Outfit7 (Ekipa2 subsidiary)\u003C/strong>\u003C/p>",{"type":12,"items":135},[136],{"caption":15,"asset":137},"https://cdn-o7.o7web.com/assets/4_blog_news/life_at_outfit7/outfit_gamejam-portraits_websize-(44-of-100).jpg",{"type":18,"text":139},"\u003Cp>“We had so many ideas during brainstorming that we ran out of sticky notes to write them down on,” says \u003Cstrong>Stefan Ivašković\u003C/strong>, \u003Cstrong>Senior Animator at Outfit7 (Ekipa2 subsidiary)\u003C/strong>. “Since the topic was Different Perspective, we were trying to come up with the most weird ideas that we could imagine. It took us about three hours just to select one idea that everyone would love to work on. And as soon as we started development, we realized that we did not know how to implement some of the core gameplay, and that we did not have time to learn how to do it, so we needed to think outside the box. A core element of the gameplay was different shaped 2D characters on surfaces inside of a 3D cube. Nobody was familiar with 2D animation, so we had to invent a whole pipeline to have our characters animated and looking good while still delivering on time.”\u003C/p>\u003Cp>\u003Cstrong>Mikhail Pomakhin\u003C/strong>, \u003Cstrong>Senior Software Engineer at Outfit7 (Ekipa2 subsidiary)\u003C/strong> says that the biggest challenge in a game jam is the time limit. “You have only 24 hours in one day and two days in total to make it, so you have to work as a true team. There were challenges that we unfortunately did not have time to solve properly, one of which was a tutorial. We did not have time to implement a proper tutorial that would explain all the game mechanics and controls thoroughly, so we had to make an image that would appear before the game starts and explain everything, just like you’d often get in older games. This did not work out well, as people were often just closing the pop-up, yet we were not disappointed as we knew that in the end we achieved our main goal - we made an amazing game in such a short time!”\u003C/p>",{"type":12,"items":141},[142],{"caption":15,"asset":143},"https://cdn-o7.o7web.com/assets/4_blog_news/life_at_outfit7/outfit_gamejam-portraits_websize-(47-of-100).jpg",{"type":18,"text":145},"\u003Cp>If game jam participants had to choose one thing that they both love and hate about game jams, that would be… time. If only there were a bit more time, one more day - everybody had these thoughts, yet the tight time limit is exactly what makes game jams so special.\u003C/p>\u003Cp>So, the final second has passed and all the teams take their hands off their keyboards, drawing tablets, and phones. It’s time to reveal all those amazing games, and let the people of Outfit7 decide which one will be named the best this time. Of course, it’s not really about winning, but a bit of recognition is a nice bonus on top of the amazing journey that you and your teammates have been on. \u003C/p>\u003Cp>The games are then evaluated across multiple topic categories, and on our latest game jam, there were four of these: \u003Cstrong>Out of the Box, Most Engaging, Prettiest Design, Winner Winner\u003C/strong>. A game is a game, and no matter the skill, age, or personal preferences, it must be fun to play for everyone — that's the ultimate criterion!\u003C/p>",{"type":12,"items":147},[148],{"caption":15,"asset":149},"https://cdn-o7.o7web.com/assets/4_blog_news/life_at_outfit7/outfit_gamejam-portraits_websize-(14-of-100)-1728547665.jpg",{"type":18,"text":151},"\u003Cp>Our aim is to get as many people to try out the games as possible. On the latest game jam there were eight final games and all of them were really good! But as I said already, it’s not about winning. The main thing is that everyone who participated had an amazing time and created something truly unique.\u003C/p>\u003Cp>Game jams are a mirror of Outfit7’s culture. It’s not just about making games, it’s about creating memorable experiences! And not just for our players, but also for the people behind the games. \u003C/p>\u003Cp>Our next game jam is coming up soon! If you want to be a part of it, then check out our careers page for open positions. Maybe next time, \u003Cem>you’ll\u003C/em> be on the winning team!\u003C/p>","https://cdn-o7.o7web.com/assets/4_blog_news/life_at_outfit7/outfit_gamejam-portraits_websize-(60-of-100).jpg","Written on behalf of Outfit7 by Vitaliy Vlasevych, Software Engineer",[155],{"id":156,"title":157,"slug":158},"stories_categories::behind-the-fun","Behind the fun","behind-the-fun",{"title":160,"copy":15,"backgroundImage":161,"cta":162},"Building a Game in Just Two Days!?","https://cdn-o7.o7web.com/assets/4_blog_news/life_at_outfit7/web_card_oct24_11_gamejam.jpg",{"title":48,"type":49,"href":163},"/blog/stories/building-a-game-in-just-two-days","building-a-game-in-just-two-days",{"title":166,"description":7,"canonical":167,"robots":7},"Building a Game in Just Two Days!? Why There’s Nothing Quite Like a Game Jam | Outfit7","http://localhost/blog/stories/building-a-game-in-just-two-days",{"open_graph":58,"twitter":58,"site_name":59,"title":160,"description":169,"image":170},"Why there’s nothing quite like a Game Jam.","https://cdn-o7.o7web.com/img/asset/YXNzZXRzLzRfYmxvZ19uZXdzL2xpZmVfYXRfb3V0Zml0Ny9zb2NpYWxfaW1hZ2VfMTEuMTAuMjAyNC5qcGc=?w=1200&h=630&q=70&fit=crop&s=70c01f7b1443ebe9bc18edb965d86f9e","content:stories:6d8856a2-a369-4fed-839a-eb33be748477.json","stories/6d8856a2-a369-4fed-839a-eb33be748477.json","stories/6d8856a2-a369-4fed-839a-eb33be748477",{"_path":175,"_dir":5,"_draft":6,"_partial":6,"_locale":7,"date":176,"id":177,"collection":5,"content":178,"coverImage":7,"author":216,"categories":217,"card":219,"order":15,"slug":224,"title":225,"uri":223,"url":223,"meta":226,"canonical":15,"social":230,"_id":233,"_type":63,"_source":64,"_file":234,"_stem":235,"_extension":63},"/stories/a56b66b3-87ad-4163-a255-ac7d6952f136","2024-07-18T22:00:00.000000Z","a56b66b3-87ad-4163-a255-ac7d6952f136",[179,181,185,187,191,193,197,199,203,205,214],{"type":18,"text":180},"\u003Cp>As a Product Manager at Outfit7 (Ekipa2 d.o.o. subsidiary), I need to have an in-depth understanding of every aspect of the company and of the various departments involved in a game’s development. My role is to coordinate and align with all these departments, ensuring the game reaches its global launch successfully.\u003C/p>\u003Cp>This entails managing a diverse range of opinions and ideas to determine what's best for the game. Not just gathering feedback and opinions, but also analyzing data and user research to make informed choices. Synthesizing all this information into clear, actionable plans is what I find most challenging, yet rewarding, about being a product manager. And in all my nine years at Outfit7, the most challenging and exciting project by far has been \u003Ca target=\"_blank\" href=\"https://o7n.co/mth-o7web-games-news\">\u003Cu>My Talking Hank: Islands\u003C/u>\u003C/a>.\u003C/p>",{"type":12,"items":182},[183],{"caption":15,"asset":184},"https://cdn-o7.o7web.com/assets/4_blog_news/life_at_outfit7/web_ibi_jul24_16_pokleka_7.jpg",{"type":18,"text":186},"\u003Ch3>\u003Cstrong>Exploring uncharted territory for virtual pet games\u003C/strong>\u003C/h3>\u003Cp>It's tough for new games to get noticed these days. There are just so many options out there, and player tastes seem to change all the time. But hey, there's still space for fresh ideas and fun experiences! It just takes some extra planning and effort to stand out.  You have to figure out how to use what you already have and make the most of it, while also creating something truly engaging for players to keep them coming back for more.\u003C/p>\u003Cp>And that’s what we're doing with \u003Ca target=\"_blank\" href=\"https://o7n.co/mth-o7web-games-news\">My Talking Hank: Islands\u003C/a>. \u003C/p>\u003Cblockquote>\u003Cp>We’re building on Outfit7’s legacy, but also taking a leap forward and evolving the virtual pet genre.  \u003C/p>\u003C/blockquote>\u003Cp>While the core concept of caring for a character within a home environment remains, we've introduced a completely new element: players can now take direct control of Hank, moving him freely around a wide-open island environment.\u003C/p>\u003Cp>We got to this point in a pretty organic way. The idea of allowing the character to explore and interact with the world is something we've been considering for a while. In the previous Outfit7 games you have this “make-believe” concept where you travel around and you get cool rewards. And it seemed like a missed opportunity. For instance, in \u003Ca target=\"_blank\" href=\"https://o7n.co/mtt2-o7web-games-news\">\u003Cu>My Talking Tom 2\u003C/u>\u003C/a> you collect rewards from other worlds like the Candy Kingdom and Cyber City. You don’t \u003Cem>really\u003C/em> go to those worlds, but we always felt that it would be really cool if you could. And we dipped into this a little with some live-ops events in My Talking Tom 2.\u003C/p>",{"type":12,"items":188},[189],{"caption":15,"asset":190},"https://cdn-o7.o7web.com/assets/4_blog_news/latest_news/web_ibi_jul24_16_pokleka_4.jpg",{"type":18,"text":192},"\u003Cp>And then this idea was expanded a little further in \u003Ca target=\"_blank\" href=\"https://o7n.co/mta2-o7web-games-news\">My Talking Angela 2\u003C/a>, where you can fly to some of the world’s most fashionable cities. We went a little bit deeper there — you actually see her visit the place and go shopping, and so on. But again we thought it would be even better if she \u003Cem>actually\u003C/em> went to Paris and went around the city visiting places and doing stuff, and then came back with gift bags. \u003Cem>That\u003C/em> would be the ultimate experience!\u003C/p>\u003Cp>In fact, we were \u003Cem>always\u003C/em> saying, “Wouldn’t it be cool if you could \u003Cem>actually\u003C/em> do that?” And with My Talking Hank: Islands, the dam finally broke. It was decided that the island needed to be something that you completely immerse yourself in; a place where you have complete agency and experience everything first-hand.\u003C/p>\u003Cp>But that’s a huge undertaking. The enormous effort required needed to be taken into account from the very beginning of the project, and so the game needed to be built with this in mind. And it was, and we’re really happy with it.\u003C/p>\u003Ch3>\u003Cstrong>Wildlife encounters like you’ve never seen before\u003C/strong>\u003C/h3>\u003Cp>The island really is a significant innovation. The free-roaming gameplay allows players to explore the island at their own pace, discovering hidden secrets and engaging in various activities. Adding collectibles, hidden secrets, and a dynamic day-night cycle further enhances the sense of immersion, making the island a vibrant and engaging environment. There are surprises hidden all over the place, so exploration isn’t just something you \u003Cem>can\u003C/em> do, it’s something that’s actively rewarded at every step. The island itself adds a unique and exciting dimension to the game, for sure. But the island would be nothing without its inhabitants: the animals.\u003C/p>\u003Cp>When it comes to wildlife, we’ve opted for quality instead of quantity in My Talking Hank: Islands — like, deep quality. These animals aren’t just static collectibles for your photo album, they’re fully fleshed-out characters that you can interact with, befriend, and bond with. So, on the first island, you’ll be able to get to know five awesome animal buddies:  the elephant, the turtle, the dolphin, the monkey, and the lion.\u003C/p>",{"type":12,"items":194},[195],{"caption":15,"asset":196},"https://cdn-o7.o7web.com/assets/4_blog_news/life_at_outfit7/web_ibi_jul24_16_pokleka_5.jpg",{"type":18,"text":198},"\u003Cp>These five animals are the main stars of the island — besides Hank, who is the biggest star of all, of course. You can feed all of them, and each of them offers a different activity. You wash the elephant, you pick up trash with the turtle, you play water polo with the dolphin, you collect bananas with the monkey, and the lion… the lion has a hair salon. Because he’s a pretty pampered lion.\u003C/p>\u003Cp>In addition to these core activities, there are various objects scattered near the animal dwellings that you can interact with. So, for instance, the elephant has a mud pit, and he takes mud baths there, the dolphin has a ball that he plays with all the time, and you can play with him, and the lion has a special track where you can race with him, and stuff like that. So, we went really deep into you having a lot of interesting moments and a lot of interesting interactions with each animal.\u003C/p>\u003Cp>And we really wanted to create the feeling that these animals are living their lives even when Hank isn’t there. So each time you visit, you’ll find them in a different place, in the middle of doing something different. This really helps to bring them to life as characters that you’re sharing the island with. Our aim is to spark your imagination so that you start creating different stories based on the situations you end up in with the animals.\u003C/p>\u003Cp>There are also various other critters scattered around the island. They’re not the main stars, they’re the supporting cast. Some of these critters are shy and will run away from you, but others are interested in you and will follow you around for a while.\u003C/p>\u003Ch3>\u003Cstrong>More islands and more adventure on the horizon\u003C/strong>\u003C/h3>\u003Cp>By the way, the reason the game’s name is "Islands" (with an "s") is that we have a ton of ideas for later. Imagine exploring ice, savannah, forest, and other themed islands. There's even been talk of a Dino Island featuring dinosaurs. And I think that we \u003Cem>will\u003C/em> make more islands for Hank, because I believe that we really nailed it this time.\u003C/p>\u003Cp>And on top of new islands, there's a plethora of other features waiting in the wings. We had to trim down the initial scope due to production constraints, but there's still a wealth of exciting content planned. For starters, we have plans to expand the backpack (currently just a cosmetic addition to your wardrobe) into a fully-fledged feature in its own right. Additionally, there are plans to enhance interactions with environmental elements, like choppable trees for example, which currently serve a minimal function. These are just a few examples. But rest assured, there's plenty more in store, all of which will receive the attention and care it deserves from our team. There's a lot of promise on the horizon; we just need to get the ball rolling with the launch.\u003C/p>",{"type":12,"items":200},[201],{"caption":15,"asset":202},"https://cdn-o7.o7web.com/assets/4_blog_news/latest_news/web_ibi_jul24_16_pokleka_2.jpg",{"type":18,"text":204},"\u003Cp>So, for now, players can focus on having fun on the first Island with Hank, his animal friends, and all the little critters scurrying around, from curious crabs, to shy frogs, to sneaky lizards. You never know who or what Hank is going to discover next, and that's all part of the adventure!\u003C/p>\u003Ch3>\u003Cstrong>About My Talking Hank: Islands:\u003C/strong>\u003C/h3>\u003Cp>\u003Ca target=\"_blank\" href=\"https://o7n.co/mth-o7web-games-news\">\u003Cu>My Talking Hank: Islands\u003C/u>\u003C/a> is an exciting island adventure game filled with exploration, fun, and surprises. Players can care for Hank in his Tree House, explore the island's interactive map, and meet adorable animal companions. My Talking Hank: Islands offers endless entertainment for players of all ages.\u003C/p>",{"type":206,"backgroundGradient":207,"image":208,"appStore":209,"googlePlay":210,"appGallery":211,"amazonAppstore":212,"title":213,"cta":6},"cta","gradient-yellow","https://cdn-o7.o7web.com/assets/4_blog_news/latest_news/mthi.jpg","https://o7n.co/mth-o7web-games-news-appstore","https://o7n.co/mth-o7web-games-news-gplay","https://o7n.co/mth-o7web-games-news-huawei","https://o7n.co/mth-o7web-games-news-amazon","My Talking Hank: Islands",{"type":18,"text":215},"\u003Cp>\u003C/p>","David Pokleka, Senior Product Manager",[218],{"id":156,"title":157,"slug":158},{"title":220,"copy":15,"backgroundImage":221,"cta":222},"Taking Virtual Pet Gameplay to New Heights","https://cdn-o7.o7web.com/assets/4_blog_news/latest_news/web_card_jul24_16_pokleka.jpg",{"title":48,"type":49,"href":223},"/blog/stories/taking-virtual-pet-gameplay-to-new-heights-with-my-talking-hank-islands","taking-virtual-pet-gameplay-to-new-heights-with-my-talking-hank-islands","Taking Virtual Pet Gameplay to New Heights with My Talking Hank: Islands",{"title":227,"description":228,"canonical":229,"robots":7},"Taking Virtual Pet Gameplay to New Heights with My Talking Hank: Islands | Outfit7","Exploring uncharted territory for virtual pet games","http://localhost/blog/stories/taking-virtual-pet-gameplay-to-new-heights-with-my-talking-hank-islands",{"open_graph":58,"twitter":58,"site_name":59,"title":220,"description":231,"image":232},"Exploring uncharted territory with My Talking Hank: Islands.","https://cdn-o7.o7web.com/img/asset/YXNzZXRzLzRfYmxvZ19uZXdzL2xpZmVfYXRfb3V0Zml0Ny9mYi1saXBvc3RfanVsMjRfMTZfcG9rbGVrYS5qcGc=?w=1200&h=630&q=70&fit=crop&s=7fa1b2080586599f55d7bebb873c4d27","content:stories:a56b66b3-87ad-4163-a255-ac7d6952f136.json","stories/a56b66b3-87ad-4163-a255-ac7d6952f136.json","stories/a56b66b3-87ad-4163-a255-ac7d6952f136",1764606561176]