From the Survey on Italian Game Developers Abroad released by Excaliber in January 2024 – available at this link in Italian language only – it emerged that a significant number of Italian professionals work worldwide in highly renowned international development studios, often holding prominent roles.
In the coming months, Excaliber will regularly publish interviews and articles on the subject to better highlight the importance of Italian developers and the immense value they bring to the growth of the global video game industry.
The first of these interviews features Gero Micciché, Development Director of Narrative at Criterion Games and Academy Member & Juror of the BAFTA Games Awards.
Gero, first of all, thank you for your time and for taking part in this interview. Let’s dive right into the first question. Your career in the video game industry has led you to work with globally renowned companies such as Gameloft, Codemasters, Electronic Arts, and now Criterion Games. What were the key moments that influenced your professional growth?
Before embarking on my journey in the game industry, I ventured into several quite different fields. First and foremost, I earned a law degree, specializing in a unique program with a strong economic focus, which undoubtedly steered me toward management and helped shape my mindset.
Meanwhile, I worked as a journalist – I started very young, at 16. Eventually, I decided to move to the other side of the camera and become a producer. My experience in management and leadership began there, eventually leading me to manage Teleacras, a historic regional TV station in Sicily, for about four years.
However, video games had been on my mind for a long time, and during my time managing the station, I started developing my first prototypes. I had studied game design as a self-taught learner and learned to use some tools that didn’t require advanced programming skills. At a certain point, I managed to put together a small budget to pay some collaborators and invest in creating advergames. That is where my path began to take its current direction.
These were key moments outside the game industry that allowed me to acquire solid project management skills and develop expertise I could apply in this field. Managing client relationships, addressing their needs, incorporating their feedback, and tailoring products to their requests proved invaluable – especially since I worked (and occasionally still do) in B2B, developing advergames for companies and later educational games, or learning games. Working on learning games was crucial for studying and understanding the free-to-play model, designed to make games accessible even to non-gamers. Managing a regional TV station, meanwhile, meant coordinating complex projects across multiple production lines: from the daily news broadcast to weekly TV shows and long-term productions like documentaries. For daily and weekly shows in particular, you have to analyse user data, gather audience feedback, and make decisions accordingly, often under tight deadlines. There are many parallels with the work required in the free-to-play sector.
These experiences laid the foundation for my entry into the consumer industry. My first major projects were Gameloft’s free-to-play games, Dragon Mania Legends and Disney Getaway Blast. The latter holds a special place in my heart, as I worked on it as Lead Producer, collaborating with a complex licensor like Disney, and I contributed significantly to the content. Without these steps, it is unlikely I would have had the foundation for an Electronic Arts recruiter to contact me.
What skills or personal qualities do you believe have been essential to your success and to holding the high-responsibility roles you have been assigned over the years? Is there a piece of advice you wish you had received at the start of your career that you would now like to share with those entering the video game industry for the first time?
For production roles, key skills like planning, organization, and risk management are often emphasized – undeniably essential for leading teams and projects. However, I believe the most critical aspect of my success lies in human and relational qualities. If I had to define my “superpower” – the kind of question you’re often asked in interviews – I would say, without a doubt, it is emotional intelligence.
Projects, especially video games, are the result of collective effort. Game teams are composed of individuals driven by passion and motivation. I, like many of my colleagues, am fuelled by that same “flame.” Beyond technical skills, I believe it is vital to foster a sense of team spirit and an environment where creativity, continuous exchange, and collaboration can thrive. Emotional intelligence – especially in those leading a team – can make a real difference. It allows you to build genuine connections with people, understand their challenges, motivations, and needs, and create a positive work environment. This transforms colleagues into partners in a shared creative journey. A deep connection among team members contributes significantly to a project’s success, and it is helped me grow and achieve notable results over the years. I’ve consistently received excellent feedback in this regard from those I have worked with.
As for advice, at the start of my career, I struggled to find my way and understand how to enter the video game industry. I lacked clarity about the available roles, required skills, and how a development team functioned functioned. More than any single piece of advice, I wish I’d had a guide to help me understand what was needed to break into the field. This is something I strive to offer in my Game Production course at the Digital Bros Game Academy. I always encourage my students to reach out to industry professionals, ask questions, and learn about their career paths and daily skills. Every role is unique and requires a clear, focused path; understanding where to direct your efforts is crucial. Many professionals are happy to respond to questions from newcomers, and I never shy away from requests I receive on LinkedIn or elsewhere.
Another tip is to embrace a mindset of continuous learning, which I’d recommend even to seasoned professionals who, if they’re good, already practice it. And, of course, play a lot of games – but do so critically. Do not just enjoy them; analyse the mechanics and consider what is behind every frame.
I also often share a piece of advice from Miyamoto with my students: draw inspiration from nature. Observe the world around you, take inspiration from other art forms. Read books, comics, watch films, visit exhibitions. Video games are complex worlds, and everything we see, and experience can be a valuable source of inspiration to enrich them.
In May 2022, you joined the team at Criterion Games. Initially, you worked as Development Director for Need for Speed Unbound, and now you hold the position of Development Director of Narrative for the upcoming chapter in the Battlefield saga, currently in production. What have been the main challenges you have faced in these two roles? And how has your approach to managing the development of such vastly different products evolved?
My first project at Electronic Arts was Grid Legends, with the Codemasters studio. There, I worked on various aspects, including, of course, the narrative. My TV experience proved invaluable, as the Story mode, Driven to Glory, was a docu-fiction inspired by Netflix’s Drive to Survive. We collaborated with a high-profile cast, including Ncuti Gatwa – known from Sex Education and the current Doctor Who. I’m very proud to have contributed to such a project and worked alongside highly skilled professionals in a racing game.
When I transitioned to NFS: Unbound, the challenge was different. I was leading one of the main segments of the project, coordinating several independent yet interconnected teams. Careful management was essential to ensure cohesion, particularly given the game’s stylistic innovations and the involvement of major brands.
Currently, with Battlefield, I am managing the narrative for the largest project I have ever worked on. The challenge now lies in collaborating with a massive team and navigating the complexities of such a large-scale production. It is a role that demands attention to numerous aspects and implications. Managing teams across different parts of the world – Sweden, the UK, Canada, and the US – with various time zones is particularly demanding, but I feel I’m growing significantly.
Each project I have worked on over the years has presented a unique challenge and a growth opportunity, and I feel very fortunate for that. While my core expertise lies in areas like game design, narrative, and cinematics, I enjoy testing myself in less familiar areas, seeing them as opportunities to learn. I have worked with UI, Lighting, Rendering, Audio, and Handling teams, which has been extremely educational. To me, this is the right approach to professional growth: tackling each new project with the goal not only of applying your knowledge but also of acquiring new skills by venturing into uncharted territory, becoming more well-rounded in the process.
Working on the narrative for Battlefield, a series that tells war stories, during a time marked by real-world conflicts that are profoundly impacting society, global stability, and the economy, inevitably raises deep reflections. How are you approaching this topic during the game’s development, and how are current wars influencing the game’s narrative?
I cannot go into details about the game in development, but I can certainly share my personal experience. Working on a war-themed title during a period marked by real-world conflicts is a complex and emotionally intense experience. Creating a war game – regardless of the franchise – means exploring the nature of human conflict and the collective dynamics that lead to confrontation. In today’s context, where wars and global tensions undermine stability and fuel uncertainty, this process takes on an even deeper emotional impact.
Working on such a project has personally led me to view the world and daily events differently, sparking many reflections. Contrary to what one might think, no one involved in developing a war game trivializes or diminishes the gravity of the subject. On the contrary, it becomes an opportunity to analyse its internal and external dynamics.
I have a lot more to share on this topic, and I’d be happy to revisit and explore it in greater depth in the future.
How challenging is it to balance realism and entertainment in a video game that deals with such complex themes, which can have a strong emotional and social impact? Do you think games like Battlefield can influence players’ perceptions of real-world conflicts?
Balancing realism and entertainment in war games is undoubtedly a complex challenge that requires careful equilibrium. Realism is essential for creating immersion and authenticity, but too much of it can feel overwhelming or redundant. Therefore, it is crucial to thoughtfully select and integrate elements that enhance the experience without compromising gameplay. This balance is a guiding principle for many games where narrative and game design must work harmoniously.
In creating such games, applying what literary criticism might call “selective realism” is key – focusing on aspects of reality that are significant for the atmosphere, tone, and themes, and thus for the overall narrative. This requires strong discernment and, of course, extensive playtesting to achieve a creative result that is impactful while offering players a memorable experience.
For several years, you have served as an Academy Member and Juror for the BAFTA Games Awards, a highly prestigious role for one of the most important awards in the world. What does being part of this esteemed institution mean to you? How do you evaluate the importance of the BAFTA and similar initiatives in elevating the video game medium and recognizing talent and innovation in the industry?
Being part of the BAFTA is, as you said, an enormous responsibility and an honor. As a voting member, I have set myself a goal: to help bring visibility to high-quality Italian games each year, ensuring they at least make it to the preselection stage. Let me clarify: this doesn’t mean I necessarily vote for Italian games. Instead, I ensure they are considered and included among the eligible titles, as even the preselection process is challenging. Competing with the sheer volume of games released annually isn’t easy. I consistently highlight deserving Italian titles that might otherwise go unnoticed. While not many Italian games have made it to the final stages in recent years, I am proud to have raised awareness of the Italian industry among BAFTA members, who have had the chance to discover high-quality Italian productions. Our nation still does not garner enough attention abroad in terms of game development, so having some of these titles played by outstanding industry professionals is a significant step forward.
One aspect I am particularly proud of in being part of BAFTA is its unique approach: it’s one of the few gaming awards where juries are composed of industry professionals. Unlike other awards, often judged mainly by critics or journalists, BAFTA engages experts – people who develop games and understand the effort behind a product. This allows for evaluations that are technically, artistically, and game-design-wise meticulous. As a result, BAFTA recognizes and rewards games that offer innovation and artistic and technical quality, regardless of commercial success or production scale, often spotlighting independent projects. It is one of the most independent awards in the industry – just look at the diversity of games that have won.
BAFTA has been a pioneer in giving video games creative and artistic recognition, paving the way – 20 years ago – for the medium to be celebrated as an art form. Imagine if the American Oscars did the same.
If I had asked you in the past what your dream was, I imagine you would have said something like “working in the video game industry” or “developing major video games.” But if I were to ask you this question now, after achieving the significant results and goals we have discussed, what would your answer be?
If you had asked me as a child, I would have indeed told you that my dream was to develop video games. It all started when I was just three years old, sitting in front of a Commodore 64. Apart from a period of conflict during my university years, when I distanced myself from them, I’ve always returned to video games.
Over the years, my aspirations have evolved. I’ve been an avid reader since I was young, and in high school, I began experimenting with storytelling. By the time I was a university student, I would have told you that I wanted to become a writer. I had founded a literary magazine in Milan, published short stories in various journals, and worked as a journalist, as I mentioned earlier. I thought I could build a career in journalism or publishing, but the realities of the Italian industry frankly discouraged me.
In hindsight, it was probably for the best. Today, I am happy to keep writing as a secondary yet precious activity. I’m set to publish my first novel with Polidoro, having signed a contract for their Interzona series. Writing now feels like an act of freedom – it’s not my primary job, so I don’t have to conform to commercial demands or rely on it to pay the rent.
However, video games and literature have never been separate passions for me. I fell in love with video games as vehicles for storytelling. The Zelda saga and LucasArts’ graphic adventures were just as significant to me as reading Jack London, Poe, or Tolkien.
Over the years, things have come full circle. In my career, the connection between video games and literature has only grown stronger.
If you were to ask me today what my ideal job is, I’d say it is being a musician. Since leaving my band in Budapest, there’s been a void, and I am currently looking for a new one here in London.
In a way, I think video games represent the perfect culmination of everything I love: literature, cinema, music, and visual arts, all brought together. So, I’d say my dream job is the one I already have!
