Introduction
This week’s guest speaker was Olivia Gregory, a digital artist currently working with Chapel Arts Studios. Her route into the industry was anything but straightforward, she spent years working as a barista before slowly getting involved in freelance work, joining the Limitbreak mentorship scheme, and eventually landing roles with studios like Westpier and even doing research work for Games Jobs Live. A lot of her talk was about finding your footing in the creative industries, building confidence, and using communities to help you get there.
Personal Story
Olivia started out at Chapel Arts Studios as a Saturday assistant, which doesn’t sound glamorous, but it ended up being her way in. From there she became a Resident Digital Artist, then a Digital Artist, and eventually the Creative Programs Coordinator. She also designed a board game called Simply Safer, which was all about food safety—something very different from her usual work.
What stood out was how she said “yes” to things, even when they weren’t exactly what she imagined doing. Those small steps slowly built into a career. She also spoke very highly of the Limitbreak mentorship, saying it gave her a lot of direction at the right time.
Concept Artist’s Talk
Even though Olivia’s main work is in art, a lot of what she said crosses over into design and technical roles too. She talked about the importance of showing process in your work, volunteering at events, reaching out to communities, and generally being around people who make games.
One thing she said really stuck with me: “find your thing, not your style.” It made me realise that you don’t need to lock yourself into a single identity early on—what matters is figuring out what kind of work you actually enjoy.
Key Advice/Takeaways
Olivia shared a bunch of resources useful no matter what part of the industry you want to go into:
- Mentorships: Limitbreak, Into Games
- Volunteering: EGX, Develop, Game Dev Local
- Job boards: Hitmarker, Work With Indies, Remote Indie Jobs
- Communities: POC in Play, Snappy Gurus, GDLX
- Learning / inspiration: CGMA, Schoolism, The Rookies
Her main point was that opportunities usually come from people, not job listings. Getting involved—even in small ways—helps you build a network before you actually need it.
Hireability
From Olivia’s talk, a few things stood out that I can actually apply to my own journey as a programmer/designer:
- Get involved in mentorship schemes and industry groups
- Volunteer at events to make real connections
- Keep my portfolio focused, tidy, and highlighting what I actually contributed
- Stay open to less traditional starting roles like QA or support work
- Be more active in communities like GDLX and Into Games
Overall, her talk made the industry feel a lot more human and less like a box-ticking exercise. Being present, curious, and willing to say yes when opportunities show up seems to matter just as much as technical skill.
Reflection
Even though her focus was mainly on art, I still found her talk really encouraging. It was a reminder that there’s no single “correct” entry point into games. Her career path was messy, gradual, and completely different from the usual “graduate → junior role” pipeline we tend to imagine.
Her thoughts on mentorship, networking, and putting yourself out there made a lot of sense. It also reassured me that loads of people enter the industry sideways through QA, short contracts, volunteering, or freelance work. The important thing is to keep moving and keep talking to people.
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