The story of a Co-Development Success Manager

Headquartered in Singapore and operating across Asia, Europe, and North America, Virtuos is a leading content production company specialising in video game development and art production. Frederik Plucinski graduated in Visual Arts from BUas in 2014 and is currently working as a Co-Development Success Manager (CSM) at Virtuos, supporting game developers across the globe.

I’m very much intrigued by the term ‘Success Manager’. What is it exactly that makes something a success for you?

‘Making video games is not a simple task as multiple different disciplines need to come together to create an engaging experience. Especially in the AAA market, where budgets and expectations keep rising we aim to remain at the cutting edge of development. In my role as a CSM, I do my best to keep everyone aligned and try to ensure that we use the most efficient workflows and tools to hit our ambitious targets. Each CSM at Virtuos comes from a different background, and together we cover the different disciplines involved. We look objectively at how the different teams collaborate and help to identify areas of improvement. If our partners, our teams and of course the players of the games we work on are happy I consider our collaboration a success.’

How did your experience in Breda contribute to this, how meaningful has it been?

‘After graduating my first role was in a small outsourcing studio in Valencia. Despite being new to the industry, I felt I could seamlessly join ongoing production. I believe the comprehensive education at BUas laid a solid foundation. As I progressed, I took on leadership roles, such as Lead Artist and Art Director, often referring back to what I learned at BUas. Besides the hard skills acquired through my education and work experience, soft skills are just as important. Making games is only possible when working as a team, and communication skills – from being able to resolve conflicts within a team to providing constructive criticism – are vital in any creative work. BUas teaches game making with a focus on group projects, which is a great way for students to practise both hard and soft skills.’

Co-Development Success Manager? How come? You graduated in Visual Arts, didn’t you?

‘For me, this was a natural progression from an individual contributor to managing various art teams. In my current role at Virtuos, I draw from my past experiences and am now looking after larger teams across multiple time zones. I have found this challenge to be a rewarding one, especially when everyone’s hard work finally pays off with a successful product launch.’

Headquartered in Singapore, based in Amsterdam, and you’re from?

‘I was born in Germany, not too far from the Dutch border. After high school I moved to Breda for my studies. Enjoying my life abroad, I have since taken the opportunity the games industry offers of experiencing different countries every few years.’

Feeling at home in? I mean, you worked in so many places: Frankfurt, Copenhagen, Valencia, Edinburgh, Valencia again, Hamburg, and now in Amsterdam.

‘Over the years, I have found many places that felt like home. What I love about working in games is that at any given studio, chances are you will encounter likeminded people, quickly bonding over common interests – which for me, are in board games, music and of course, video games. One downside of living in different places is that my groups of friends unfortunately do not have a lot of overlap. A constant in my life is my girlfriend, whom I met during our studies at BUas, and our dog who has been travelling with us wherever we go for the last few years.’

Which other city would you like to live in, and what would you like to do there?

‘We are currently quite happy in Europe, but I would not mind spending a bit more time in Asia. For work, I had the opportunity to visit Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam where we have almost a thousand employees. I fell in love with the exciting and diverse city, the fantastic food, and the incredibly friendly and welcoming people I got to meet. There is a lot of positive development going on and the vibrant energy of the place was contagious. The tropical climate is a bonus.’

We make games better, together. That’s the slogan of Virtuos. What do you guys mean by better?

‘The games industry is constantly evolving, and demand keeps growing on all fronts. New games aim to outperform their predecessors in terms of visual fidelity, scope, features, technical sophistication. Only a few years ago, big games would cost a few million dollars to make, today, it can cost hundreds of millions. Along with these large investments come certain expectations, and certainly, pressure on game developers. The success of a title launch can make or break a company. At Virtuos, making games better, together is our purpose. We aim to help our partners to get their products into the best shape possible. In addition to high-fidelity content and complex features, we also often help by ensuring that the game runs at the expected, high frame rate. We also want to ensure that we have an enjoyable experience for our employees, and a positive impact on the games industry as a whole.’

Is it tough, working in the industry?

‘In this fast-paced field with high expectations, work can become stressful. Especially in external development, where teams are often brought in during the peak of production, going from one sprint to the next. We make a conscious effort to maintain a positive work-life balance. To achieve that, an area we focus on is project and resource management to keep overtime to a minimum.

Currently, we are certified as a “Great Place to Work” in all eight countries where our biggest offices operate. We offer many training opportunities to help newcomers to the industry develop their skills and build their careers. As an equal opportunity employer, we are making a concerted effort to positively impact the industry by lowering barriers to entry. An example of that is our Women Game Changers scholarship programme in which we partner with institutes to empower and inspire female students who are enthusiastic about the games industry by providing support to pursue their goals.’ 

Nurturing new talent? Just like BUas does?

‘It is important to help nurture new talent in an industry that continues to show fast growth. BUas produces excellent graduates, and I would be happy to see more applications from students as career starters and from alumni with work experience. We have many exciting open positions at Virtuos, please check our website if you like.’ 

You graduated in 2014. This means you’re from one of the first batches?

‘I believe there were two cohorts before me. It is interesting to see how the course programme develops and adapts to new industry challenges. I am always happy to run into other alumni during work, and there usually were familiar faces in the game studios I have visited. To other alumni – if we have not kept in touch, please do feel free to reach out! I will be happy to reconnect to hear how you have been, and what you have been working on.’

Do you still come to BUas sometimes?

‘Last April, I attended the annual “Everything Procedural” conference. I was impressed by the professionalism of the event and the high quality of presentations by industry experts. It was also great to see how the BUas campus has evolved with the addition of the convent building. The new food courts seem like a significant improvement too. It was nice to see Breda again after such a long time away.’

 

Interview: Maaike Dukker-‘t Hart