Episode 4: Samantha Stahlke on the State of the Art(ist)

Jul 30, 2024

Transcript

Welcome to Episode 4 of Changing GameDev Life!

Summary

In this episode, Pejman and Jen interview Samantha Stahlke, a game artist at Jam City. Samantha shares her journey into the game industry, from her early passion for drawing to her exploration of various career paths. She discusses the importance of taking a gap year and how it allowed her to discover her true passion for art. Samantha also shares her experience as a freelancer and offers insights into balancing introversion with the business side of being an artist. We discuss the importance of saying no to projects and prioritizing personal life, the challenges for artists in the game industry, ethical concerns with generative AI models, and advice for students interested in game development.

Key takeaways from this episode:

Taking a gap year can provide valuable time for self-discovery and exploration of different interests.
Passion and love for the work are key motivators for consistently delivering high-quality results in multiple domains.
Sharing your work and receiving positive feedback can provide validation and motivation to continue pursuing your creative career.
Balancing introversion and the business side of freelancing requires finding ways to promote your work while staying true to yourself.

About Samantha

Samantha is an artist at Jam City, working on illustrations and art assets for casual mobile games. She has also worked on indie games including Cook Serve Forever, and takes pride in her very odd collection of smaller personal projects. One of those projects, in collaboration with her longtime colleague and friend Pejman, is The Game Designer's Playbook, published by Oxford University Press. She studied at Ontario Tech University, with an undergraduate degree in game development and a master's degree in computer science. If you'd like to learn more about her, you can check her website, or find her and her mother doing improv comedy at your local chocolate shop.

Keywords

gamedev, art, self-discovery, passion, motivation, freelancing, illustrator

Discussion about this podcast

Changing Gamedev Life Podcast

At Changing Gamedev Life, we showcase the stories and experiences of those from inside the industry, with the aim of giving listeners a peek into the joys and challenges of work in games. Our guests come from a wide array of backgrounds and disciplines, and illustrate multiple pathways into gameswork. Their narratives include useful tips and advice for those who may be aiming for careers in games, and offer insight into the non-traditional ways they found fulfilling careers.

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