July 16, 2018
5 Questions With…Sami Liikanen
5 Questions with Sami Liikanen
1. Where were you/what did you do before working at Seriously?
I’ve spent the past decade developing games for various Helsinki-based games companies, ranging from startups, where the employees easily fit around one table, to established companies, where the staff barely fits inside a single building. It’s been an interesting adventure so far!
2. What is your current role at Seriously?
I’m a Senior Game Programmer on the Best Fiends team. My daily tasks involve mainly UI work and developing new gameplay features and events, such as Baby Slug, the Easter Egg Hunt, and the Championship leaderboards
3. What’s your favorite part about your job?
I love the process when we take a design on paper and make it come to life. I start with a simple static design on paper or a computer screen, then create a rough draft (first playable) from it that’s functional but not yet refined. I then keep building up from that little by little, until eventually I reach a stage where I add only minor details here and there to amplify the “fun factor.” All of this usually happens in a fairly short time frame. It’s exciting to watch how the work I do translates into something I can see and interact with on screen. It’s like building a complex puzzle that comes together piece by piece, which also happens to be a piece of the bigger puzzle that is Best Fiends.
4. Who is your favorite Fiend or Slug and why?
Bo! His first evolution stage is soooo cute; it’s impossible not to smile when you see him.
5. When you are not working at Seriously or playing Best Fiends, what do you enjoy doing?
Aside from video games (obviously), I’m a motor racing nut. I enjoy watching races on TV as well as reading about it. I also enjoy spending time outdoors and going on adventures, like traveling to new places or hiking and camping.