Ruxandra Nicolescu is a Game Producer in Gameloft’s Cluj-Napoca Studio, Romania. She most recently worked on Gameloft’s medieval action title, Iron Blade.
Ruxandra’s route to Producer was not direct. By her own admission, she initially struggled to find her calling. “I started by joining an Art’s High School where I studied Graphics and Painting. I continued on this road going to a University of Arts, studying Photography and Film. Here I got to do what I liked, how I liked it.”
Unfortunately, this freedom didn’t last. Initially, she struggled to translate her skills into a career so over time they became a hobby. "I only got to use some of these skills in my first Graphic Design jobs with two companies.”
A slow start
Something wasn’t working on this career path. “I realized that I don’t cope very well with negative feedback: 'move it to the left,' 'make it green,' 'I want it flashier!' All of that just made me want to jump and yell 'Fine! Do it yourself then!'"
“I started to search for something new, something challenging, that better fit my personality and skills.” It was passion that provided the answer. “The one constant in my life was gaming. I play A LOT. Fun games, sad games, multiplayer games, single player games, horror games, puzzle games, games that allowed me to create my own world, a safe world, an exciting world where the main character is always me – it is such a cliché, but it’s true!”
The revelation
This was when she saw Gameloft was hiring. “I thought ‘Hm... Gameloft, they did some games I know. Hmmm… testing games first, then climb the ladder to actually MAKE GAMES?!’ That definitely sounded like a good plan!”
Passion and hard work seemed to be the key because it wasn’t long after this that she found herself as a QA Tester.
“I just had my Gameloft six-year anniversary. It's been one hell of an adventure.” Her drive and commitment to the industry saw her quickly advance. “I learned how to settle down, to transform a passion into a career, what commitment means and what it can bring to one’s life.”
This focus paid dividends. “While testing games, I started playing with the idea of making them: building up knowledge and experience, making mistakes, and redoing everything from scratch.” All of this resulted in her moving into her current role of Game Producer, “My dream of making games became real! How awesome is that!”
Passion/Profession
Ruxandra’s pride and dedication to her work is clear. Her most recent Gameloft title was Iron Blade. “Have you played it? Do play it if you haven’t! It’s a fun, beautiful game made by the amazing, talented, and passionate Cluj-Napoca studio. I have been a Game Producer here for two fruitful years – and I hope many more will follow.”
Ruxandra informs me that Game Producers are seen differently from company to company and team to team. But she views her role as focusing on two things, “Team and Game. I have to be able to handle both.” She is very aware of her strengths and where she needs to improve. “Some Game Producers have good social skills and others are more focused on the technical side. I find myself mostly in the first group, but I like to keep at least one finger in the second because I like learning.”
Here, again, Ruxandra found advantages in having turned her passion into a career. “I want to be able to do more, help more, and bring ideas to the table for projects.” But she knows that it doesn’t matter how skilled she becomes, there will always be surprises. “In two years as Game Producer I have learned that no matter how much you struggle to have every detail perfectly timed and planned, there will be an element of chaos.”
Channeling energy
“You know Producers are sometimes called cat herders?” she asks as an aside (I did not). “That’s actually one of the most fun parts of the job. Herding ideas and energy, organizing and directing them to get the best result. You have to learn to embrace the chaos, adapt it, and channel it.”
“Being part of this creation, seeing how it grows, being there every step is so rewarding. The knowledge a player may one-morning tap on the store, download your game, and have fun with it. That’s a really incredible thing.”
Ruxandra brings a lot of herself to her work. Listing what she hopes to show others in her titles, it meshes closely with what made gaming important to her. “Games can teach, show people how to be better, think outside the box, communicate, and make friends. Games create worlds for you, worlds that can be explored, worlds that open doors of creativity, passion, and, why not, career paths - like they did for me.”
“You learn something from every game you work on. You and the team put in your all, adapting it to make something fresh.” It’s this energy that gives all games a unique feel. “As a developer, once the game leaves your hands it contains a piece of you. Some part of you will be there and may affect people in ways you cannot predict.”
Women in gaming
“Our team's pretty big. We have around 30 people working on two projects. But we only have four girls on the team, one being me. One of my best friends is a woman who's been in the industry, making and playing games, for years. She is my role model. She inspired and encouraged me, giving me the confidence I needed to advance.”
Ruxandra wants more women to follow. “There are women out there, like my friend Laura, who can inspire. And I know there are a lot of women to be inspired, like myself. It’s never the wrong time to follow your passion, more people should search out the encouragement they need and jump into this adventure!”
“Be aware, that this journey is harder alone. You need people around you. You need their mentorship (Thank you, Radu, for your patience!), you need their support (Thank you, Cristi, for understanding that crunch time is crunch time!) and you need The Team. Without your team, there is no game.”
