To change the perception of the video games industry as a hidden and mysterious field, Massive is opening its doors to the younger generation with the Role Model Program. As part of this program, we are inviting a group of young adults to visit our office to see what a leading game development studio is like and to meet professionals willing to talk about their work.
At the beginning of June, a light breeze and the first summer heat fill every corner of the streets in Malmö. Sunlight is all over the reception at Massive, where the young talents from LBS Kreativa Gymnasiet (LBS Creative High School) are waiting for their first meeting with the video games studio.
Since the beginning of spring, when we launched the Role Model Program, a group of young people from local communities comes to Massive once a month for a guided studio tour and presentation from a Massive Role Model.
“The Role Model program is part of our focus to inspire a new generation of developers and will hopefully have a positive long-term impact on diversity and inclusion in our industry.” Karolina Lundin, CSR and Communications Manager at Massive Entertainment, says.
During the first visit, back in March, young adults from the Save the Children organization came to our office, Eden, to get to know us at Massive Entertainment. As part of the guided studio tour, they visited the Massive Games Labs, our Streaming and Gaming Rooms, and the heart of Eden – the Forum.
“The program inspired our kids. Many of them are interested in video games and they want to become game developers,” Abdulla Taha, Process leader at Save the Children, says.
“I think after the visit our youth will see the video games industry as a place where it’s possible to build a career. A career which is close to their hobbies and interest.”
At Massive we believe in the video games industry as inclusive and open, where everyone who is passionate about video games can find a place to show and develop their talent. As a part of the Role Model Program, we invite our colleagues from different departments and job families at Massive to showcase their profession and the diverse opportunities the industry offers.
“It’s inspiring to have presenters from all disciplines within the studio at Massive present at these events . There are many teams not related to programming or art – which are the most well-known ones – involved in the development of a project. It is great that young adults can see there are so many careers in the industry to choose from!” says Myriam Forbes, Localization Project Manager at Massive Entertainment.
It’s inspiring to have presenters from all disciplines within the studio at Massive present at these events.
In April, when young guests from FC Rosengård came to visit, Myriam shared with them why she loves working in the video games industry, what localization in video games is and how she ended up in the game development company.
The presentation from a Massive Role Model is not only about professional experience. It aims to inspire our visitors, show them how important it is not to be afraid to try different opportunities, not to focus on a single area, and to have many hobbies and interests. While the group of young women from FC Rosengård was surprised to learn that there are specific teams dedicated to the translation and dubbing of a game, they were even more interested in the path Myriam followed to get started in the industry.
“They found it great to meet female role models within this specific industry,” Jessica Stegermaier, Head of the girls’ department at FC Rosengård, says. “The presentation and stories were inspirational and appreciated by everyone. To hear about all the different professions, and the many opportunities no one knew about, even about all the women that hold various positions, helped to catch everyone’s interest.”
We believe that with a program like this, we can give the younger generation a great chance to get to know the video games industry and the people who work to create games we all love playing.
“It changed their perception of the video games industry,” Jenny Sjöstrand, Head of ‘Football for Life’ at FC Rosengård, says. “While most young adults would not have seen themselves in that industry before this program, many of them mentioned afterward that it is an interesting field with a variety of job opportunities worth pursuing. It absolutely opened doors to a field unknown to most visitors and encouraged reflection.”
Useful links
- How our Games Lab helped create the Akribian math app for children.
- A Just Dance off with children and teenagers at Fryshuset.
