Your First Game Doesn't Have to Play It Safe | Georgina Ovassapian, Winter Schloss Studios

In this episode of IndieGameBusiness, we’re joined by Georgina Ovassapian, Founder of Winter Schloss Studios and developer of Night Shift: 1999, her first game.Georgina shares how her experience migrating from Switzerland to Australia became the foundation for a supernatural game set in 1999. We’ll explore how Night Shift: 1999 uses monsters, mythology, and supernatural elements as metaphors for real world struggles and how personal experiences can become powerful material for game development.We also discuss Georgina’s unconventional path into games through academia and fine art, and how her background in installation art, writing, and research has shaped the way she approaches development. Rather than starting with mechanics, Georgina takes an art and writing first approach, building the experience around the elements of games she values most.Georgina also shares her experience receiving funding through Screen Australia’s Emerging Gamemakers Fund and what she has learned while turning her first game into a funded indie project.If you’re developing your first game, looking for funding, or wondering how your own experiences and creative background can shape something unique, this is a conversation you won’t want to miss.Follow Georgina Ovassapian and Winter Schloss Studios:Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/gcoxmm.bsky.socialX: https://twitter.com/winterschlossLinkedIn: https://au.linkedin.com/in/georgina-de-manning-a12100185Instagram: https://instagram.com/winterschlossstudios