This article is part of Virtuos Insider, a series of interviews where Virtuosi share about their careers and experiences in the company and video game industry at large. In this instalment, we chat with management trainee Daphne Moyal about her multi-market experiences in the graduate program and how there’s a place for everyone in gaming.
To develop top-quality AAA games at Virtuos, we are powered by both talented specialists in art and game development and committed executives who are ready to support our artists and engineers in their projects. Management trainees at Virtuos undergo a carefully-curated graduate program to work in different roles in the company to understand the challenges faced by our studios and various teams from production to finance. The program cultivates managers and leaders who deeply understand how the various cogs and wheels in Virtuos operate, and support the teams in making games better, together.
Daphne Moyal, one of our management trainees at Virtuos, graciously took time from her busy schedule to share her experience working at Virtuos so far, and her hopes for the video game industry.
Daphne Moyal
Her journey with video games started when she was introduced to consoles such as PlayStation 1, PlayStation Portable (PSP), and the Nintendo Dual Screen (DS) as a child. Having studied international economics in university, joining the video game industry wasn’t her first choice initially. However, she eventually found herself drawing closer to this path when she decided to write her Master’s thesis on the video game industry and found inspiration in the process. As a “generalist” who’s always eager to learn coupled with her desire to help others achieve their best lives, the role came naturally to her.
Tell us a bit about your history leading up to your current job at Virtuos. How did you come to join us?
I was studying for my Master’s degree in Shanghai in 2019 when I came across Virtuos while looking for an internship. I was very impressed by Virtuos’ portfolio, which was packed with a wide variety of AAA titles, and approached the team to learn more about the company. I was introduced to the management trainee position in the company, which I decided to apply for in 2020 after I felt ready to take up the role. So, that’s how I began my management traineeship in Paris as an Associate Producer last year.
Daphne exploring sights in China while studying in Shanghai.
The job of a management trainee is a pretty unique, rotating between different roles within a few years. What made you pick this position at Virtuos, compared to all the other jobs available in the industry?
I want to be someone who is versatile and adaptable to all sorts of situations. I’ve always been someone who’s very eager to learn something, and lean towards more of a generalist rather than a specialist role in a particular field. In that sense, this program is a great opportunity for me as it allows me to experience and learn the different functions in the company, and travel to Virtuos’ different offices and studios to understand how they interoperate as well. This gives me a much broader view of Virtuos and the industry, understanding different stakeholders as I work with them directly. To be honest, there aren’t many companies out there that offer and encourage this versatility, let alone within the video game industry itself.
As a management trainee at Virtuos, what are some of the roles you’ve taken up so far?
In my management traineeship, I started as an associate producer and supported a producer on daily management tasks. After a few months, I was given the opportunity to be a producer for creative projects, which encompasses a lot of planning, people management and communication as I was responsible for the communication between our teams and the clients.
Daphne and her colleagues at Virtuos Paris
What’s a typical work day like for you, and what do you like most working as a management trainee?
A typical work day for me as a producer would include morning daily meetings with my team in Paris, other Virtuos studios in Asia, and syncing with clients in North America in the afternoon. In this role, I learnt a lot about the game development process and the core functions needed to create a fun experience. Video game conception is a human story, and you can meet a lot of talented people in production. I made great memories with the people I met at the Paris studio, and with those whom I worked with in Dublin, Xi’an, and Ho Chi Minh.
I love that each project is different in nature – technology is moving fast, and the learning never stops.
In October, I transitioned from my role as a producer to joining Virtuos’ finance department as a financial analyst. I’m looking forward to seeing what kind of new adventures await me, with this rotation!
Share with us a little about your personal life. What do you normally do to relax after work?
I’ve been practicing CrossFit for three years now, and I still regularly train after work and whenever I have free time. I’m also quite a cat person, and have two beautiful cats who live with my parents. As I’ve moved out, I make it a point to visit them (and my parents, of course!) to give them cuddles during the weekend.
Do you have a favorite game, or game genre?
My favorite genre of games is single player action-adventure. I fell in love with this genre as it is like reading a book, except I could explore and see the beautiful sights as well. I’m a huge fan of the Uncharted saga, and I love Nintendo’s IPs, including Pokemon, Animal Crossing, and Smash Bros. My favourite game right now is Genshin Impact though!
What do you want to accomplish as someone working in the video game industry?
I want to support our teams and ensure that we’re all having fun, while creating fun experiences for others!
I hope that everyone will enjoy their journey here at Virtuos and feel accomplished at work. As such, we must ensure the best environments for our teams and, most importantly, a safe and creative workspace. As a Women in Games (WIGJ) Ambassador, I want to protect and continuously build this environment with others, which is also Virtuos’ goal. On top of that, I want to foster trust in our teams, so that our members can explore and share their ideas freely. Virtuos is seeing increasingly greater demand for projects – we’ve been partnering talented studios and publishers who are happy to give us ownership in the creative direction of some of their most important project features, because of the excellent work that our teams have been consistently putting out. I believe that this is the result of having a safe and creative work environment, and something that I want to advocate for as someone in this industry.
What advice would you give to someone thinking about joining the video game industry?
There’s a place for everyone in this industry, regardless of your gender or cultural beliefs, whether you’re a hardcore or casual gamer, in production or in corporate functions.
Just like how you can find a game for anyone in the world, there’s always going to be a role you can play in this industry. So come and join us in this adventure!
