April 9, 2018
5 Questions With…Johannes Ahvenniemi
5 Questions with Johannes Ahvenniemi
1. Where were you/what did you do before working at Seriously?
I’ve been making games for as long as I can remember. My older brother was the genius who figured out computers, games, and programming, while I was still in the cradle. As I grew up, I just followed his lead. Programming and game development were just hobbies for me, until I started studying IT in school back in 2007. I also managed to earn some extra cash on the side by making my own games and freelancing. In 2011, I joined Rovio and worked on Angry Birds games until 2014 when I came to Seriously.
2. What is your current role at Seriously?
My role at Seriously is ‘Lead Programmer,’ and I’m responsible for Live Operations. This means that I’m trying to make the pipeline from a content idea to the player’s device as smooth as possible. For example, creating a new Fiend requires scripting new mechanics, drawing and animating the character, putting everything together, and then finally allowing players to download the package. The process involves many people and technologies, and making it work well is an exciting challenge.
3. What’s your favorite part about your job?
My favorite part about my job is my coworkers. I love working with artists and designers, hearing their ideas and coming up with solutions to their problems. Less technical people usually have a very different way of thinking than me, and trying to adjust to that is fun and rewarding. I love the moment when we finally strike a common chord and come up with a solution neither of us would have found alone. I’m also crazy about coding. I actively look for interesting coding challenges and always have a few slowly brewing in the back of my brain. When I have less coding tasks at work, I tend to pick up coding in my free time. I believe the field of programming is still in an early stage, and it’s really exciting to follow.
4. Who is your favorite Fiend or Slug and why?
That’s definitely Bam! More Fiends should be cuddly like him. Also his power is super useful. Blowing up Slugs is such a BAM moment! And the name? Genius.
5. When you are not working at Seriously or playing Best Fiends, what do you enjoy doing?
I recently discovered cooking is a great way to unwind. It takes all of my focus, which prevents me from always thinking about work. My fiancé and I love looking up new recipes and then iteratively making the dish our own with small alterations. I think we’re getting quite good at coming up with new ideas in the kitchen. Sometimes we even read about a “latest cooking trend,” which we’ve already invented ourselves!