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A report on GenZ for game devs, and a keyboard you'll want to come back to

Hi,

Belgrade is uncomplicated yet uncompromising. It’s summer, so here are your +34°C, here’s your office routine during the day, and kafana routine in the evening, and wine/beer/music festivals on the weekends. The lake to swim in while your rented bike is parked nearby, the giant choice of sunscreens, the uniform of sneakers and a SuperDry T-shirt, the cinemas with films in English.

A little more than 500 days ago I used to be a Moscow indie studio co-founder: we made interactive series, narrative VR, immersive experiences. All that changed when Russia began its full-scale war in Ukraine, and we realised we couldn’t do our work in Russia anymore. So, since March 2023, I’ve been working as a narrative designer at Wargaming here in Belgrade.

It’s my first full-time job at a game studio, but I’ve brought enough handy baggage: my experience as a film director and writer, interactive web series, narrative VR experiences, and even TV commercials I made during my career. I’ve also been a project manager, so I know a thing or two about streamlining the creative process.

I have a newsletter in Russian with almost 5000 subscribers, sharing what I’ve learned from my experience. Hopefully, this one will grow as well and help expanding my English-speaking community. That means, your feedback and questions are golden! Don’t hesitate to hit “reply” or tweet @nataHQ (same nickname on Bluesky).

Gen Z: an attitude, pop culture, and trends research

My colleagues asked me to do some research on our potential Gen Z audience (assuming those are 14—22-year-olds now): who are they, what’s different about them, what is their relationship to gaming, and which characters they are looking to identify with in games, film, etc.

Check out my report: I removed all the sensitive info, so feel free to share it. It’s not an in-depth dive but rather a handy overview of notable traits worth considering for game designers and writers. Personally, I find these people interesting to work for and their POV refreshing. Your Chief Woke Officer signing off.

Keychron K7 wireless keyboard

Here’s something I genuinely long to come to the office to. For the first time since 2016, I go to the office (by choice). I have a Lenovo Windows laptop at work and my personal MacBook Pro everywhere else, so I wanted to get a keyboard that would live mainly in the office but would also be portable and compatible with both laptops. The choice here in Belgrade isn’t so large, so I was choosing between Keychrons and Logitechs. The hot-swapping option and the cool vintage-y look won.

The 60% format takes some time to get used to, but I’m really happy with the tactile experience. Who would’ve thought that investing in the main tool of one’s trade can bring such joy?

It also works for my casual gaming style. The real problem is Windows. My native language is Russian, which has the letter ë which Keychron has no dedicated key for. It’s not a problem on a Mac (I simply long-press “e” and choose the accented character), but it’s a whole quest on Windows! I had to install Microsoft Powertoys and set up Quick Accent as a crutch. Not to mention Windows has no hotkeys for the em dash and «» (I use pinned items in Clipboard which is ridiculous). Well, now I know why my Mac is worth every penny of those thousands of dollars it cost me. As for the keyboard: great value for money, especially if you want to use it with various systems — even your smartphone!

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In other news

• goblin.tools: My friend Olena discovered this AI-powered ToDo breakdown: if you, like me, often feel anxious about having missed something in your process, or simply overwhelmed about where to start, this works wonders.

  

• “Control Freak” book by Cliff “CliffyB” Bleszinski: I wish all game dev stories were written like this, a page-turner that might seem too raw at times, but this is exactly what makes it unputdownable.

• A guide for game writers and those who work with them (PDF) by the UK Writers’ Union. A great starting point if you want to grasp the state of the industry even if you’re not in the UK.

Cheers,
Nata