I thought it was about time, I looked back on my time at CerebralFix– working for a company I will forever remember as my favourite, in an industry that I really have a passion for.
I consider myself extremely lucky to have squirrelled out a place for myself there. I got to work on games for entertainment giants, such as Disney and truly creative experiences that will bring tens-of-thousands of people joy. In what other industry can you say that, I wonder?
Not only did scoring a role in a games studio get me passionate about my work, it also relocated me and my small family to one of the most beautiful places on earth – New Zealand.

For those you you keen to do something similar and break into the games industry, I’ll share my pathway into the fold. I am a writer and a gamer but those things have been quite separate up until I found myself on maternity leave and bored out of my mind. Looking after a potato baby is demanding, yet also very mind numbing. I was losing a sense of myself, so I decided to freelance write between naps, feeds and poop explosions.
I was playing more games as my psych had recommended I do more things that I love, while I was battling post natal depression and anxiety. So naturally, when I started looking for writing gigs, I put two and two together and targeted studios.
I started by offering my services for free, which meant I got a few gigs straight away. Small studios can’t afford writers and mostly it’s developers, artists or POs doing the writing for games instead. I started writing character bios and dialogue. I moved onto scripts and even translated scripts from Spanish to English for a Mexican studio. Once I had a few notches on my belt, I applied for Jobs on seek and got one as a Product Owner at CerebralFix.
Thank goodness my husband is a saint and made the move for me. My health improved immediately and I made such great friends at CerebralFix. I also learned what it takes to run a medium sized studio with some pretty big clients.
I worked with amazing developers on VR, AR and mobile projects. I learned something new every day. The most enlightening subject was – self managed and driven teams. When everyone in a team is on the same page and takes responsibility and shares the load, the team just hums. It’s not easy to get there, but feeling like a family is a key part of it. Relationships don’t always have to be perfect and harmonious. When people feel like they can start an argument, it’s a good thing (as long as it ends well).

Towards the end of my stay at CerebralFix, I worked as a designer on an amazing, environment-interactive mobile game for Disney. Stepping back and working with another PO was also enlightening and gave me a purely creative role to sink my teeth into. The result was pure happiness.

I’d still be there today, if not for family needs. We returned home to Perth, although Christchurch had felt like home for 2 years. The games industry is a place I see myself returning to someday. The mixture of tech and art, narrative and design, make my skin goose-bump and my brain bubble.

If you are making your own way to games now, or in the future, I wish you luck! Keep going, it’s worth the wait.