30/10/25
Bea Grove: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bea-g-659066149
This week’s guest speaker was Bea Grove, a Senior Game Designer with seven years of experience within the industry, specialising in the mobile games department. Bea began by sharing her journey into game design and had originally aspired to become a physicist, but after falling ill, she turned to art as a creative outlet. During this time, a conversation with a friend sparked her interest in game design, leading her to enrol on the University of Southampton to study Games Design & Art.
After graduating, Bea joined a summer school program and began applying for a range of positions within the industry. Her persistence paid off when she landed a role as a junior game designer, and over the years, she has worked her way up to her current position at Kwalee as a senior game designer. In this role, she has greater creative input, more responsibilities, and a larger influence on the direction of game design. Alongside her main role, Bea also serves as a mentor within Kwalee’s graduate scheme, supporting and teaching students as they develop their skills.
Bea gave us a brief introduction to Kwalee, explaining that the company both develops and publishes games. They have achieved an impressive 1 billion downloads, 30 million active players, and have released over 70 games to date. Some notable titles include Game Master (a puzzle game), Derailed (a survival game), and Town to City (a cosy-style game).
She then offered valuable industry advice and portfolio tips. Bea emphasised that “there are more roles than you think” and reminded us that “AAA isn’t the only way.” I really connected with this idea, as I do believe it’s easy to get caught up in the thought of only working in big studios and potentially overlook the opportunities in indie studios. She also highlighted how mobile and web games are currently thriving, even though PC titles often overshadow them. Bea reminded us that many skills, even those gained in non-gaming jobs, are transferable because of the crossover of disciplines in the creative industries.
When discussing portfolios, Bea encouraged us to showcase the three years of experience we already have, as it’s something we should be proud of, highlighting our responsibilities, contributions, and areas of ownership within projects. To wrap up, she reminded us to be authentic when entering the industry, research the company and role, but always stay true to yourself.
After her presentation, I had the chance to share some of my own game ideas with Bea and received her professional feedback. Her insights left me feeling inspired and motivated to make the most of my final year and continue developing creative ideas.
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Notes from Bea’s presentation
