Seasons in games

Have you ever thought about seasons in games as a tool that can make a game more attractive and interactive for players?

We believe that in order to succeed, a game needs to feel familiar and comfortable, but also fresh and exciting! In our daily lives, events, celebrations and seasons make life more interesting and diverse. We have a change of colours in the seasons of the year, as well as festive decorations and gifts during holidays. Why not give players the same experiences whilst playing our games?

We wanted to share how our teams come up with fresh ideas and bring them to life, season after season. We sat down with Alberto Dal Corso, one of our talented Product Managers, to talk about his role at Tactile and how this creative process works.

Hi Alberto, can you tell us a little bit more about your role at Tactile?

Hi there! I am a Product Manager on the Lily’s Garden team. My role is focused on the LiveOps (live operations) part, which relates to any changes or improvements made to the game, such as optimising all the events and tournaments that run within it.

I am also responsible for the monetization of Lily’s Garden, which means planning and scheduling sales, offers and pricing, as well as trying to optimise them as best as possible. Furthermore, I am responsible for the planning and managing of the seasons or themes that run monthly in Lily’s Garden.

Who else is involved in the process of creating seasons in our games?

The creation of these themes involves a wide range of roles. We have specialists who help with contributing new ideas and feedback on upcoming seasons. We then have talented graphic designers, who create all the graphics you see in the game – everything from the Start Screen, which pops up when you open the game, to the Season Pass. After that, the UI artists and game programmers join the process to finish up the work and implement the graphics in Unity, in order to make it a reality within the game.

What does the process look like from start to finish?

We typically plan the seasons out roughly at the beginning of each year, but we then go into more detail at the start of each quarter. We have discussions and brainstorm with Product Managers and other teams about trends and key topics for the upcoming months and make decisions accordingly. Fun fact, the theme for January was decided by our community through a poll on our Facebook page, so stay tuned to see what’s coming!

After the theme is chosen, we have a chat with the graphic designers and go through several rounds of feedback until we achieve the look and feel that we want. After that, our UI artists implement the graphics in Unity and finally, our game programmers integrate it into the game.

How do you keep the creative juices flowing to come up with new ideas?

It is actually a pretty fun process! Besides the themes that are already set in stone, such as Halloween and Christmas, it is very exciting to come up with new ideas for themes and seasons. One of the most important things that we always keep in mind is being relevant to that period of the year, so we try to look at particular events or fun recurrences happening in that particular month and start the creative process from there. For example, last year we ran a Gala Theme during the month of the Academy Awards, and that was very well received by our players.

What event have you been working on most recently?

Last month, all the excitement and preparation was focused on Christmas. The Christmas season is one of the best seasons, because we can do so much in the game to fit this festive season in and theme everything to the extreme! There’s Christmas trees, lights, decorations and so much more! This Christmas in particular, we have been working on something super exciting and new for all our players. You can check out the event and how incredible it turned out by playing Lily’s Garden right now.

So there you have it, this is one of the ways in which we’ve been keeping our players engaged since we first released Lily’s Garden in early 2019! A strong storyline is important, but it’s the little touches of familiarity and comfort that stand out in a player’s mind and keep bringing them back to the game, season after season.

Since 2019, we have been offering free Danish lessons to all Tactilers coming from outside of Denmark. We are proud to have two amazing teachers on board, Anja Kobbernagel Krusbæk and Andreas Frydensberg Olsen, who have so far taken over 100 Tactilers on the Danish language and culture learning journey. In honour of the international day of education, which is recognized by the UN on the 24th January, we chatted to Anja and Andreas about why we teach Danish at Tactile and why learning the local language and culture of the country you live in is so important.

👋🏻 Hi Anja and Andreas, what led you to a career in education, and why did you pick teaching Danish as a second language?

Andreas: “I have always been interested in culture. Not just national culture, but also culture in the sense of how we behave and act in different situations. Some years ago, I went to China on an exchange programme and started working as an assistant teacher. This was my first experience with teaching and I loved it! I then decided to study cross-culture studies for my Master’s Degree and kept teaching Danish whilst I was studying. After graduation, I started working at a Danish language school. I love that as a teacher of a second language, I am teaching the whole world every day! It is interesting to see different people’s perspectives, not only on the Danish language, but also life in general. And this is where the whole culture aspect comes in. As Danish teachers, we are helping people to get a better, more wholesome view of the world and how Danish language can fit into that.“

Anja: “I have always had an interest in languages. I spent some time working in a language café where I had my first teaching experiences. Teaching a language has taught me a lot about communication, and not just the verbal stuff, but also body language and how it differs from culture to culture. This helped me to realize the importance of learning a language in order to fully understand certain aspects of a culture. The experience at the language café made me want to get into language teaching more, so I decided to get my master’s degree in Danish as a Second and Foreign Language and started working at a language center at the University of Copenhagen. As a language teacher, I have learned a lot about people from other countries, and also about myself, my country and my language.“

💡Why do you think learning the local language of the country you live in is so important? Why do we offer Danish lessons at Tactile?

Anja: “The benefit of learning the local language is understanding the little nuances, the details of language and culture, such as common courtesy, politeness, hospitality, customs and how to act in certain situations. Even as a beginner, being able to say small things like thank you or have a nice day puts people in a good mood, both as the person saying it or the person receiving it. It’s all about creating that good feeling around the language.“

Andreas: “Knowing the local language helps you to understand the context of the situation you are in and also teaches you how to navigate it. Language and culture are so intertwined, and language is so much more than just words!

From the company perspective – we don’t teach Danish because it is our corporate language, but because we want to help Tactilers coming from outside of Denmark to have a smooth integration into the Danish society. This gives people the feeling of belonging. Throughout learning the local language, we stop being just a visitor in the country, but become a real part of it. It’s being able to interact with people on the street, to understand road signs, what they’re saying in the metro, etc. It gives you a feeling of familiarity and it makes people stay. We relocate people from all over the world, so this is an important aspect of it.”

📚 How did you approach setting up a Danish language programme at Tactile? And how do you adapt the teaching to different students?

Anja: “The first and most basic thing we had to do was a needs analysis. This meant talking to people and asking them about what they want to lean, what are they curious about and what is fun and interesting for them. We then had to create the right combination of what people want to learn and what they need to learn. For example, how can we combine developing listening skills with someone’s interest in politics or sport? We want to capture people’s attention and through that maintain their motivation and drive for learning. Also having small classes makes it easier for us to manage and plan, so we group people based on their level and learning goals.”

Andreas: “The most important thing to note is that this is not a linguistics course. We want students to go out and use language from day 1. We want to change perspectives on how people think language can be learned. We spend some time on grammar, but not loads, and if someone is a grammar geek, then we also have loads of material for them! We do things outside of the classroom, such as go on city walks and visit museums. We want our students to be aware of the things around them and encourage them to start making small conversation in Danish, for example with the cashier in the supermarket.”

🌱 What are the most important basic skills that everyone should develop, which will provide them with a really good foundation for language learning?

Andreas: “I firmly believe that anyone can learn a new language and anyone can learn Danish, no matter where you’re from. But there are two things that will help to set you up for success – being curious and brave. You have to be curious to learn new things, and you also need to have the bravery to go out for the first time and for example, order a coffee in Danish, and also to keep doing it! This is especially important when you encounter setbacks in your learning journey.”

😎 What are the most useful words or phrases to know as a foreigner in Denmark?

Skål (Cheers!) – It’s a big part of the Danish culture 🍻

Nå (Well/Oh/So!) – Danes use this a lot and in many different situations, for example when you’ve just realized something, or when you meet a cute dog, when you’re showing interest, or even when you’re making a threat.

God weekend [ˈgoˀ viːˌgεnˀd] (Have a good weekend!) – The Danes are not telling you to go vegan, but just wishing you a very good weekend! 🙂🌿

Velbekomme (Bon appetit!) – When you see someone eating, you can wish them ‘let it serve you well / may it come well to you’ 😋

Det var så lidt (That was so little/That was nothing!) – This is very cultural. Instead of saying you’re welcome, Danes prefer to not mention it or make a fuss out of it!

Hvordan går det? (How are you?/How’s it going?) – It is a common misconception that this is just a greeting, but Danes actually see it as a proper question and will gladly tell you more about how they’re doing.

Hyggelig (Cozy/Pleasant/Homely) – A big part of the Danish culture is this feeling of coziness and warmth. Hyggelig is therefore used a lot and to describe anything or any situation that makes you feel this way – cozy, warm & good!

An interview with AK, 3D artist

Meet Anne-Karina, or AK as we like to call her, our go-to artist and magician for all 3D related things. When she joined Tactile almost 6 years ago, she started off as a 2D artists, but quickly moved on to working on our 3D pipelines. Since then she has worked on a number of projects, starting on Disco Ducks and Bee Brilliant, then moving on to Lily’s Garden, and more recently working on our upcoming project, which we’ve been secretly growing.

We sat down for a conversation with AK for a chat about her background, her approach to creating new assets, and how she stays up to date with the latest trends in the mobile games industry. Don’t miss out on the last part of the interview, in which she shares advice for the artists who are just starting out in the gaming industry.

Tactile: Hi AK, can you tell us about your background and how you became a 3D Artist?

AK: My educational background is actually in 2D animation. After graduating from The Animation Workshop, a long long time ago, I ended up working with 2D game art and animation. I got a few weeks of 3D training but it was never put to use professionally. Later in my career the company I worked for at the time, bought a big IP that had transitioned to mainly 3D assets. So I jumped right into getting my 3D skills brushed up. I modelled, rigged, textured and animated several characters, and really enjoyed the workflow and learning.

When I started working at Tactile Games, I actually started as a 2D artist again, but soon enough we started pre-production for Lily’s Garden. 3D artists were needed, so I offered my skills and after taking over more and more responsibilities, I ended up supervising the 3D character pipeline! 

Tactile: How do you approach creating assets and characters for mobile games?

AK: I try to keep a few things in mind other than just my own artistic ambition. Questions I might ask myself would for example be: Who is the typical end user and what would they enjoy? How do I create the best looking asset within time and pipeline constraints? How does this design connect to the story line? How will assets fit in with the UI?

All in all, a game is one big user experience, and I think every team member benefits from reminding themselves of the bigger perspective of that.

On a deeper artistic level, I find all the old virtues of 2D animation design still hold true. Keep the shapes interesting. Have a direction, a purpose with your lines and shapes. Every strand of low poly hair will look so much better when you keep in mind how it fits into the whole shape. Remember the good old ‘straight versus curved’ to give the designs tension. Keep observing the real world – only then do you have enough ‘data’ to caricature it properly.

Put emphasis on the eyes, when making characters. That is often where we as humans look first. Both design and animation that have elements of storytelling and closeups do well with giving some extra love to facial animations. You may only have a few bones in the animation rig to work with, but put all the life you can into it.

Tactile: How do you stay up-to-date with the latest technologies and tools used in the mobile games industry?

AK: Some of it comes from following industry news and tutorial videos. Another very valuable source is my colleagues that have experience with other tools and software than I do. I really enjoy getting new colleagues who have gone through their own journey as artists and have great skills to share. Or the existing colleague that learned something new and is eager to share. That ping pong of sharing skills and creating awesome assets together is pretty fulfilling. That said, it can be pretty hard to keep up with everything, as you also have a job to do and a life outside of 3D art. So I guess we all have to choose carefully where to go into a subject on a deeper level and where it’s enough to just acquaint ourselves with the trends.

Tactile: How do you balance art direction with technical constraints in mobile game development?

AK: It’s an eternal balance between artistic ambition and technical reality so to speak. I personally find it a really interesting intersection. Sometimes you can follow tried and true practices from the industry. Sometimes you have to carve your own path to find the right balance for your game. First of all, you have to investigate what devices your players use. Perhaps you want to cater to both low end and high end devices. Some game engines cater to that and can somewhat simply output different assets. But even if you are making assets for super high end devices that can drag around large amounts of polygons at the same time, there are other concerns. Do the users have slow internet connections, making it wise to keep your app and package size low? How big is the battery drain? If your casual game makes your players run out of ‘juice’ on the go, how long are they going to keep playing it? I find that always thinking of how you can make the nicest looking asset, but as optimised as possible within a realistic time frame, is the way to go. 

Tactile: What is the most memorable mobile game project you’ve worked on and what was your role in its development?

AK: Well, the most memorable game is definitely Lily’s Garden. I was on the project from the early beginnings and it was such a fun ride.

Even though I’m on a new game team now, I’m pretty proud to see how successful the game is. I worked with the 3D character pipeline, modeling, rigging, texturing and animating. As we got more team members on the 3D pipeline, I began art directing more as well. One of my fond memories is starting up the production of pets for the game. It was a lot of fun making cute and quirky animals and animations, and seeing how well the players responded. Because of how much it evolved, I had to hand it over to very competent colleagues to have time for everything else. That was both a bittersweet and proud moment.

Tactile: How do you collaborate with other teams, such as game designers and programmers?

AK: Actually, I don’t necessarily see it as ‘other teams’ when we are working at the same game. We are all trying to make the best product possible, and I enjoy working closely with all team members. Having a conversation with a programmer on how to make a functionality work the best way in the engine is both interesting and fulfilling. When you have a holistic approach to game making, you start understanding each other and exchanging ideas that take the product to whole new levels. I enjoy very much working with the joining of art and tech everyday and seeing the awesome work my colleagues do.

I find asking questions an important part of this collaboration. Why does it work like this? What if we did that? Often the back and forth can produce new solutions and change pipelines for the better.

Tactile: What advice do you have for someone just starting out in the gaming industry as an artist?

AK: First of all, welcome to a really fun and rewarding line of work. It can be both hard and frustrating, of course, but I bet you are a game artist for the love of it. 

Try to take feedback in a positive spirit. It can be really challenging but take what you can use from it. It is a difficult thing to put your heart into your work and be judged on it every single day. But don’t worry, you’ll get used to it. Seek several opinions on your personal work to get a more well rounded critique – no one opinion is the definitive ‘truth’.

If you are so new in your career that you are not sure what to focus on, keep developing skills in many directions. There is no right answer to ‘should I specialise or be a generalist?’ Both types of artists are much needed all over the industry.

If you can’t catch your dream job right from the start, that doesn’t necessarily mean you are not good enough. There are just so many applying for exactly the same internship or entry level job as you. Don’t be too proud to start in a more humble corner of the industry. All game art production experience matters. Keep learning. You rock!