Interview

Speaker Spotlight: MiTale CEO Natasha Trygg on experimenting with design and not sticking with what's safe

Pocket Gamer Connects London 2019 will take place on January 21st to 22nd

Speaker Spotlight: MiTale CEO Natasha Trygg on experimenting with design and not sticking with what's safe

Pocket Gamer Connects London 2019 will take place on January 21st to 22nd. To give you a taste of what to expect, we'll regularly be publishing interviews with the speakers at the show.

For more details on PGC London and to book a ticket, head to the website here.

In today's Speaker Spotlight we're talking to MiTale CEO and creative director Natasha Trygg.

She has worked on various titles for mobile and PC commercial games and big brands, most recently working on Snowfall on the Moomin IP.

Trygg is an active member of the Finnish games industry, working as a board member of Neogames, Suomen Pelinkehittäjät Ry and chairperson of IGDA Finland, as well as chairperson of The Hive – Turku Game Hub (a game business centre in South West Finland).

She is also active in academic field as researcher and teacher of game design and game art at the University of Turku.

At PGC London she'll host a session entitled 'Delicacy in Visual Narrative - The Vitality of Visual Storytelling in Games'.

PocketGamer.biz: Could you tell us a bit about the company?

Natasha Trygg: MiTale is a games development company from Finland, with a huge passion for interactive storytelling and serious games. We are a team of experienced developers from the games industry that wishes to combine the high-quality of Finnish education with mixed reality solutions.

What does your role entail?

I make sure our projects get done according to plan and schedule but also that team's vision goes through. Not an easy task, but someone has to do it.

Why did you want to work in the games industry?

Even though my background is more in classical art production and art theory, being a traditional painter as well as digital artist, I have been a hardcore gamer my whole life and pursuing a career in game industry was not a hard choice to make.

I see games as a new medium of expression and visual storytelling.
Natasha Trygg

I see games as a new medium of expression and visual storytelling, which is what I'm very passionate about as a developer and an academic.

What advice would you give to anyone looking to get into it?

Less thinking, more doing. If you wish to become more involved in games development, try it out by attending game jams and you will know if this is the right path for you.

Games development is all about experimentation and finding the right tools to express your game vision. Don't be afraid of it, embrace it!

What are your thoughts on the industry in the last 12 months?

Lots of ups and downs with various companies, but the overall games industry is still experiencing fast growth and I am very proud to be part of it.

What major trends do you predict in the next 12 months?

Well from current trends seems that esports is the 'thing', as well as the social aspect in mobile games. I personally have more of an interest in tailored experiences in gameplay for each individual player, using the latest tech to enable unique immersive experiences, though I am not sure how of a 'major trend' that will be.

Has the games industry changed since you first started?

Very much so, but I see that as a part of being in the industry. We cannot stick to what's known and safe, we are the ones that question the boundaries and experiment with opportunities in tech and the global market.

Which part of the Connects event are you most looking forward to and why?

Pretty much all of it - good quality talks, panel discussions, networking opportunities and sharing experiences in game dev practices.

Find out more about Pocket Gamer Connects London 2019 on the website.