Aj Grand-Scrutton, CEO of Dlala Studios
Find out how Aj Grand-Scrutton became founder and CEO of award-winning games studio, Dlala Studios.
Why do I love my job:
I have always loved video games. I started playing video games when I was very little and got my first console when I was 10. I’ve been very lucky to do a lot of things in my career, and every day is different. I love getting to work with awesome people, getting to write scripts and create characters for brand new worlds. Most of all I love getting to see ideas come to life and being able to play them.
What did I love doing at school:
My favourite subject at school was English. Of all the lessons it was where I got to be most creative. I have never been able to do art, I can’t even draw a stickman, so getting to write stories was my main creative outlet. At University I did a degree in Computer Science, which helped me refine the programming skills I’d be learning since I was a teenager.
Childhood hobbies:
Most of my childhood hobbies are still my hobbies today! I loved video games and I spent a lot of time playing video games with my friends and family. I really enjoyed basketball and for the entirety of my secondary school life I played nearly every day before school, at lunch and after school. I was actually a finalist in some national tournaments. I’ve also played guitar since I was little and have been in two bands, one of which I’m still in and we used to tour the country.
How to get into the gaming industry:
There are lots of ways into the industry, it really depends on what sort of role you want to have. There are the “traditional” game creator roles like programming, art, animation, design and audio. For all of these roles it’s really important that you work on a portfolio making examples of what you want to be doing. But there are also roles in our industry that are just as important but don’t necessarily require the same skillsets. There are operational roles like studio manager, personal assistant, finance roles, business roles. There are roles in IT that don’t need you to know how to program like support roles and technician. There are custodial roles like cleaners. There are plenty of ways to work in an industry you love without having to have loads of qualifications and experience.
Related jobs:
The games industry is really a mixture of technology and entertainment, so there are lots of crossover with the film industry and tech companies, like Google and Amazon.
Career high:
Working on the reboot of my childhood favourite franchise, ‘Battletoads (2020) and getting to create a brand-new Mickey Mouse + Friends game with some of my best-friends.