Final Boss: Susan Burns, Head of Studio at Skyhook Games

Every month an industry leader wraps up MCV/DEVELOP with their unique insight. This month, we speak to Susan Burns, Head of Studio at Skyhook Games.

Skyhook is synonymous with Lawn Mowing Simulator. Tell us something we don’t know about the studio?

For those that aren’t aware, Skyhook Games offer full outsourcing services so have worked on many other games and projects – not just Lawn Mowing Simulator. Our team has worked on many different styles and genres of games which makes it really interesting for our artists and dev team to work on. That’s probably the best kept secret as we can’t talk about a lot of the projects we have worked on…or are currently working on (yet!). Another random fact is that we have a ride-on mower in the office in homage to our LMS game. People always seem to comment on it when they visit our studio for the first time so it’s definitely a talking point.

What are the current challenges you face as head of studio?

A recent challenge for me has been to manage the growth of our studio and oversee the talent planning and recruitment growth strategy, while juggling multiple projects within the studio. We pride ourselves on being an inclusive and equal opportunities employer, but we would really love to see a more diverse pool of candidates for our open roles which is sometime lacking in the applications we receive.

How do you see the future panning out for Skyhook?

There are exciting times ahead for Skyhook Games with a growth plan that means our staff will continue to have the opportunity to work on an exciting variety of projects. It’s our 10th anniversary this year and we have grown into a full game development studio in that time, so we foresee more IPs under the Skyhook banner, as well as being named as partners for many other releases in the future. Watch this space as they say!

What would you say is your greatest achievement?

I think what I’m most proud of is successfully being able to maintain the fantastic culture of Skyhook, even when we’ve more than doubled our staff over the last couple of years. Despite the growth, the strong team ethos and welcoming culture is still the backbone of what makes Skyhook such a lovely place to work. This was corroborated when Skyhook received the Great Place to Work accreditation at the end of last year, which was the first time we put ourselves forward for this certification. Another thing I’m really proud of since I joined Skyhook Games is being able to offer work experience placements to a range of schools and colleges. It was something I really wanted to be able to accommodate, so that students interested in pursuing a career in games got to experience time in the studio. The feedback we’ve had from our placements has made this so worthwhile. If that’s not enough, last year, while representing Skyhook, I was brave (or stupid) enough to complete a charity abseil down the Anglican Cathedral in aid of North West Cancer Research. That’s an achievement I won’t be doing again in a hurry as it was terrifying.

What would you like to change about the games industry in the years ahead?

Personally, I’d like to see more awareness of the great careers that the games industry is able to offer as a whole. Before I joined the games industry, I wasn’t even aware of how many different disciplines in the games industry that you could go into. I’d like more people to understand what great careers are available within this sector. That’s why Skyhook are founding partners of the Gamechangers initiative that launched last year in the Liverpool City Region so that we can pave the way for the next generation of video game creators.