A Behind-the-Scenes of the STOVE Supporters’ Meetup Day 2024-08-21

“A Time to Build the Foundations of Game Development Skills”

STOVE Supporters’ Meetup Day

On June 28, Smilegate Megaport signed an industry-academic cooperation agreement with Gyeonggi Game Meister High School and Seoul Digitech High School to nurture talent in the gaming industry and launched the “STOVE Supporters” program. 

The Supporters consist of 24 students who aspire to work in the gaming industry. From July 8 to August 31, they are exploring career paths in the industry by experiencing various indie games and writing related reviews.

STOVE Supporters’ Meetup Day

On July 18, they gathered at Smilegate Campus Future Lab for Meetup Day, where they attended lectures by industry professionals focused on enhancing game development skills and enjoyed a variety of indie games. Here's a look at the passionate and energetic scenes from the event.

In-Depth Learning Through Lectures by Smilegate Professionals

Meetup Day was designed to encourage open interaction and networking among participants. Special focus was placed on helping aspiring game industry professionals strengthen their planning and development skills. To this end, Smilegate offered three practical lectures providing valuable insights into game planning. 

Jeong Song-hee, Manager of Smilegate's Trend Analysis Team

The first lecture, titled “Core Competencies of Game Planners: Enhancing Game Analysis Skills,” was led by Jeong Song-hee, Manager of Smilegate’s Trend Analysis Team. She emphasised, “Analytical ability is a key benchmark for assessing the competence of a game planner,” adding that “only planners who analyse games systematically and consistently can enhance user satisfaction.” How does one develop analytical skills? She explained, “It’s important to accumulate game data—such as user behaviour—and build experience in making data-driven decisions.” Students nodded in agreement throughout her talk.

Kang Ho-min, Manager of Smilegate's ER Team 

Kang Ho-min, Manager of Smilegate’s ER Team, gave a lecture titled “How to Plan Successful Content.” He explained that video production can be divided into three types: character-driven, program-driven, and content-driven. “When planning a video,” he said, “first decide which type it will be.” He used “ER Tube” (Smilegate’s YouTube channel), which features character-driven storytelling, as an example, saying, “A character must be built on a clear concept to be compelling. That’s what allows it to drive the story.” After the talk, a student asked, “If popular content is defined by mass appeal, how do we gauge that appeal?” Kang responded, “It’s very difficult to predict which content will go viral. In fact, any content can potentially become popular. That’s why it’s better to focus on creating something truly original.”

Kim Yoon-ha, PD at Super Creative

The final session featured Kim Yoon-ha, PD at Super Creative, who gave a talk on “The Making of Epic Seven Heroes.” Referring to the character “Vivris” from the game, she stated, “A compelling character is built from multiple elements—visuals, backstory, personality, and relationships with other characters.” She added, “To design a good character, it’s important to integrate all these components—narrative, appearance, speech style—effectively.”

During the Q&A session, a student asked, “What should I do to prepare for a programming role?” PD Kim answered, “When hiring new talent, we focus on whether candidates have solid fundamentals. Regularly playing and analyzing a variety of games can be very helpful.” 

A Heated School vs. School Game Showdown

The highlight of Meetup Day was the interschool game competition, planned and operated entirely by the students themselves. Because they had prepared everything on their own, the participants approached the event with exceptional determination. The showdown featured single-round matches for three indie games: I Don’t Fall, God of Weapon, and Hop Legs.

The atmosphere was electric with the passion of the players focused on their games and the loud cheers from the audience. Students continuously chanted, “Let’s go GGM!” (Gyeonggi Game Meister) and “Win, Digitech!” (Seoul Digitech). As the game neared its final ten seconds, they all shouted a countdown in unison. The sense of unity was truly memorable. After a fierce competition, Seoul Digitech High School emerged victorious.

Students unanimously said that the Meetup Day program was a great help in exploring career paths in the gaming industry. They especially highlighted how the real-world advice shared by professionals contributed to their growth as aspiring game developers. We look forward to seeing the passion shown by these students become a driving force in the future of Korea’s gaming industry.

Mini Interview

Park Ah-reum (Gyeonggi Game Meister High School) & Kim Jae-hwi (Seoul Digitech High School)

STOVE Supporters: Kim Jae-hwi (left) and Park Ah-reum (right)

Q1. First, please introduce yourselves.

Park Ah-reum : Hello, I’m Park Ah-reum, a sophomore at Gyeonggi Game Meister High School. I’m interested in many different fields and enjoy participating in extracurricular activities, which led me to join the STOVE Supporters program.

Kim Jae-hwi : Hello, I’m Kim Jae-hwi, a freshman at Seoul Digitech High School. I’ve always been interested in writing game reviews and have been consistently active in related activities.

Q2. What motivated you to apply for the STOVE Supporters program?Q2. What motivated you to apply for the STOVE Supporters program?

Park Ah-reum : I saw the announcement that Smilegate and our school had formed a partnership and were recruiting Supporters. I’ve been working in the school broadcasting club, planning and filming various videos. I thought this program would be a great opportunity to make use of my skills and experience, so I applied.

Kim Jae-hwi : I also saw the announcement (laughs). I’ve been consistently writing game reviews and reading those by other users. Since I really enjoy writing reviews, I submitted one analyzing the story of a game I like when I applied. I think it was well-received.

Q3. You’re each part of the Reporter Team and the Curating Team, respectively. What do you focus on in your activities?

STOVE Supporter Park Ah-reum

Park Ah-reum : I’m in the Reporter Team, mainly creating game-related content. I plan to play games listed on STOVE Indie and produce videos in a variety of concepts. I think it’s important to highlight each game’s unique features—I hope viewers to feel more interested in the games after watching our videos (laughs).

Kim Jae-hwi : I’m part of the Curating Team. We play games recommended by one another, analyse them, and write reviews. Each team member focuses on a different game genre—I’m in charge of puzzle games. I plan to offer detailed analyses, including how to enjoy the game and strategies for achieving higher scores.

Q4. Can you share a memorable moment from your experience so far?

Park Ah-reum : I was really impressed by how freely the Smilegate staff communicated with us. I used to think that corporate employees were a bit formal or stiff (laughs), but maybe because Smilegate is a game company, their team seemed very open and collaborative. I really appreciated how sincerely they listened to our ideas.

STOVE Supporter Kim Jae-hwi

Kim Jae-hwi : One of the most memorable experiences was playing I Don’t Fall and writing a review on it. It’s a game where you ride a Pegasus and try to survive as long as possible while dodging obstacles. It was quite difficult—I barely managed to clear it after several tries. That’s probably why it stuck with me. I also really enjoyed discussing and refining my review with my teammates.

Q5. How do you think this experience will impact you?

Q5. 이번 경험이 본인에게 어떤 영향을 미칠 것으로 기대하나요.

Park Ah-reum : I’m hoping to pursue a career in game programming. I believe planning ability is essential for good programming, and through this Supporters program, I’ve come to better understand what that concept really means. The advice we received from professionals has especially helped me as I continue to learn programming.

Kim Jae-hwi : Working on team projects and exchanging ideas to produce better outcomes was a really valuable experience. It was also incredibly useful to apply the game analysis theories we learned in school to real-life situations. If the Supporters program opens up again, I’d love to participate a second time (laughs).