We’re excited to bring back Meet the Team, where you lovely folks get to learn more about the people behind Akupara and the insight they bring to the company! And to start us off, we’re starting at the top- Well, second to the top, with Alyssa Kollgaard, the newly-named Chief Operating Officer of Akupara! Buddy sat down to speak with her about her new role, how she became a good producer and how she got into the game industry in the first place!
If you’d like to listen rather than read, you can check out the podcast on our Youtube! Otherwise, please enjoy my insightful blog!
From Player to Producer
Alyssa was introduced to games at a very young age by her father, who worked in tech. He was the one who helped her develop a love for the earliest titles that resonated with her. Genres like point-and-click DOS titles and old school platformers made titles like Return to Zork and Banjo-Kazooie the games that stick out. Now, she’s able to connect with her own children through games she works on, like GRIME and Spinch from the Akupara catalogue.
Her first role in the industry, mirroring many of the stories of that time, came through QA. It was a position that first sparked the interest in marketing and production which would carry her to the COO title she assumes today.. She eventually met David, the CEO at Akupara Games, at a job fair– one that she went to just to help someone else get a job! She didn’t take a role at the time of meeting David but kept in touch and in due time got offered a producer role at the company. Relic Hunters: Zero would be the first of many projects she worked on here at Akupara Games.
“It was just kind of a lot of lucky timing, being in the right place at the right time and meeting people who I clicked with. But I also went for what I wanted — I sort of bullied my way into being a producer when no one else would take the role.”
What Does a Producer Do, Really?
“Producer” is one of those titles that means something different at every studio. Alyssa describes producers as the ultimate support role: people who help everyone else succeed. That might mean making sure the team has the resources they need, removing blockers, keeping tasks on track, or smoothing out communication across departments. At Akupara, producers wear a lot of hats, but the goal is always the same — making sure projects actually cross the finish line.
“For me, producers are there to help other people succeed in their roles, whatever form that takes at the time. We just keep things moving and make sure that we actually launch games and don’t noodle on them forever.”
Leveling Up to COO
Today, Alyssa assumes the title of Chief Operating Officer! Before her, this role didn’t exist but after nine years of Akupara Games, the company needed another top executive to organize and set up the team internally while David could focus on external opportunities for Akupara. Alyssa, one might say is the super producer of the company, instead of focusing on a project to manage, she works as a blanket producer overall overseeing everything internally.
She builds the infrastructure in the company to improve, expand, and optimize the work we are all doing in the company. Which includes this very blog right here. Some say, she’s producing right now, at this very moment!
“What I do now is sort of like being the producer of all producers — producing the entire company rather than producing games themselves.”
Alyssa has been great to work with and brings so much knowledge and passion from her experience to the industry. I would strongly recommend watching the Meet the Team video which gives deeper insight into that knowledge and passion. Who should we interview next?