BACKGROUND

As Dlala’s founder and CEO, Aj focuses on the creative and strategic direction of the studio and all products we create and contribute to. Aj leads the business development and also manages the design, art and audio departments of the studio. Previously, he worked for companies such as Jagex and Bossa Studios, in roles such as Lead Client Developer and Game Content Developer. Aj founded Dlala in 2012 and has never looked back.

TYPICAL DAY

“I’m not sure I really have a typical day, which is pretty much a typical answer. On our projects I work as Game Director/Creative Director, which means I really focus on making sure that the games we create feel like a cohesive experience and that we’re all working towards the same vision and goals. On a studio level I’m the CEO, which means I do a mixture of pitching for new projects and financing, press related commitments for the studio and working with the leadership team to make sure we’re taking the studio in the direction we need to!”

IF YOU COULD BE ANY VIDEO GAME CHARACTER, WHO AND WHY?

"Batman, I know it’s cheating but he is technically in a game. Why? WHY?!? He’s the goddamn Batman."

BACKGROUND

Ben has been with the studio since its first year of formation in 2012. He has subsequently led all technical aspects of every project undertaken by the studio and has consequently been required to develop a wide breadth of expertise across a number of programming disciplines. Ben has previously served as a Programmer and Lead Programmer for companies such as Microsoft Games Studios and Bossa Studios. Ben become the studio's Technical Director in 2017 and was later promoted to the role of Chief Technical Officer in 2023.

TYPICAL DAY

"Implementing the many brilliant features and ideas of our design team and collaborators. Making all the tough technical decisions. Being the team cynic."

IF YOU COULD BE ANY VIDEO GAME CHARACTER, WHO AND WHY?

"Conker – people that know me understand why…"

BACKGROUND

Gemma is Dlala’s swiss army knife of a COO. She joined the team, and the games industry, in 2015 with a varied background in both private and public sectors including, but not limited to, over half a decade in the legal profession. She subsequently worked as the Lead Software Developer in the delivery of a national initiative focused on the standardisation of legal case management applications, before  moving into the position of Business Improvement and Operations Manager for an award-winning international education business. Originally, Gemma joined the team as a Producer but quickly found herself not only developing the production processes of the studio but also taking control of all financial and operation protocols; in effect, rebuilding the structure of the studio from scratch. As the studio continued to grow, Gemma moved from a split-focus production and operations role into a position committed to Dlala’s business operations, development and expansion. Gemma became Chief Operations Officer for the studio in 2023.

TYPICAL DAY

"I cannot lie, the ‘typical day’ is still completely unknown to me… As anyone who has worked in business operations will know, despite our desperate attempts to be organised and proactive, the need to be reactive as a result of ever-changing priorities and circumstances often overshadows those attempts and our oh-so-carefully formulated plans!

I am ultimately responsible for most of the behind-the-scenes (which many refer to as “boring”) elements of running a game studio.  I manage all operative, financial, legal and HR aspects of the business and work closely with Aj and the Strategy Team to assist with any business development needs."

IF YOU COULD BE ANY VIDEO GAME CHARACTER, WHO AND WHY?

"Miles Power (Tails) because he is super-cute, a mechanical genius and can fly helicopter-style!"

BACKGROUND

Mark comes from a background outside of the games industry. Previously a Senior Systems Technician in the corporate sector, Mark has experience dealing with the creation, maintenance and evolution of infrastructure at large scale corporations. Joining Dlala in 2015, Mark, like a lot of Dlala, was thrown in at the deep end… Having to convert a warehouse unit, previously used as a dance studio for over a decade, into a working space with remote and mobile hot-desking (no small undertaking on premises which had only 4 power outlets and no internet access). Mark fully embraced the role and, in 2017, was moved into the role IT Director of the studio. Mark was subsequently promoted to the role of Chief Information Officer in 2023.

TYPICAL DAY

"I am responsible for the management, strategy and execution of our IT infrastructure. I don’t really have a typical day as the role is quite varied but it can involve anything from developer kit setups, continuous integration for our projects to disaster recovery and server / network management."

IF YOU COULD BE ANY VIDEO GAME CHARACTER, WHO AND WHY?

"Nathan Drake – For The Treasure!"

BACKGROUND

Luke grew up on the small island of Guernsey and throughout his childhood had a passion for video games. This led him to the goal of eventually working in the industry. After moving to the UK he studied Computer Games Technology at the University of Portsmouth, where he was able to experience all aspects of development and learn the fundamentals of games programming. During a placement year he took a leap of faith and decided to set up a indie games studio with a small group of Uni friends and developed a top-down stealth action shooter called “No Trace”. The game was showcased at EGX Rezzed and reached the finals of the student competition “Dare to be Digital” within that same year. Luke joined Dlala in 2019 as a Game Programmer on “Battletoads” (2020).  

TYPICAL DAY

"My day usually starts with playing the latest build of the game to see all of the recently added features. I then take a look at my list of tasks for the current sprint and pick one to start working on. These can be anything from AI to Sound & VFX hooks. The rest of my day involves playing Flo Rida on the office SONOS and keeping Hugo the pug entertained!"

IF YOU COULD BE ANY VIDEO GAME CHARACTER, WHO AND WHY?

"Gordon Freeman because he managed to get a Phd in Theoretical Physics while being a mute and saves the world without asking questions."       

BACKGROUND

Aaron started off making games using Game Maker before going to university to study Games Design and Development. He then got into the game industry at Frontier Developments as a temporary functionality tester before working his way up to a QA Lead.
In his spare time he likes to help test his friends' video games they're making and would provide feedback just for fun.

IF YOU COULD BE ANY VIDEO GAME CHARACTER, WHO AND WHY?

Talion from Middle Earth: Shadow Of War. A good man who was humble to help out despite his situation until the very end.

BACKGROUND

Sam is Dlala’s very own Ukulele playing musical maestro! After single-handedly composing all the music and sound effects for “Overruled!”, Sam originally joined the team as a QA tester. After realising that the musical magic just couldn’t be held in, Sam was moved over to a role which enabled him to embrace his true passion – audio design. In 2020, Sam was promoted to the role of Lead Audio Designer. 

TYPICAL DAY

"My day typically starts with a quick review of the previous day's audio work. Then I'll render and implement it into the project, before either moving onto my next sound design task, catching up with Paul, or planning for the next feature. The best thing about my role is that sound design can require completely different solutions for similar sounds. That means that each day feels different, and I always end them feeling like I've learned something."    

IF YOU COULD BE ANY VIDEO GAME CHARACTER, WHO AND WHY?

"If I could be anyone, I would be Luigi. He gets a bad rep, but he’s competed in the Winter Olympics and gets to ride Go-Karts."

BACKGROUND

Miljan is a language nerd and, as a child, thought that wizards created video games. After studying Chinese Mandarin at university and moving to Shanghai, he landed a job as a translator at a game’s studio right at the tail end of his tourist visa. It was there that he found out that in fact, wizards did create games but he could become one himself. He moved back to the UK to study video game design in 2017 and eventually wound up at what he describes as “the best place he has ever worked” with Dlala Studios in 2019.  

TYPICAL DAY

"I ask myself the question “is this fun?” throughout the whole day. If it is fun, I must then ask the tech team if I’m allowed to do it. I also utter the phrases “Wouldn’t it be cool if…” and “In theory” at least 27 times a day."

IF YOU COULD BE ANY VIDEO GAME CHARACTER, WHO AND WHY?

"It's a tough one but I think I'd be Faith from Mirror's Edge. Yes, they tried too hard to make her cool, but she's able to do some of the coolest things in video games and she does it in style! I'd just have to get over my vertigo first."