The Future of Gaming, With Zynga’s Sonja Ängeslevä

As a part of our series about what’s around the corner for the toy, game, and video game industry, I had the pleasure of interviewing Sonja Ängeslevä.

Sonja has been a product lead for FarmVille 3 at Zynga since 2018. She has vast experience in free-to-play games, analytics and product development. Sonja has received several awards for her endeavors in growing local game development communities across the world, including the IGDA Lifetime Achievement Award, Internationalization Awards of the President of Republic of Finland and an MVP award from Neogames, a non-profit association for the game industry.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you share the “backstory” behind what brought you to this particular career path?

As someone who’s always been passionate about creating new things, I started my career with the goal to change the world with technical inventions and patents. I worked in R&D projects as a software developer. Every new idea needs validation through experimentation, so that led me deeper into using analytics and user insights in software development. I realized that mobile games were perfect for this type of iterative, data-informed development. I felt passionate about building something positive and fun for millions of people, and Zynga turned out to be the perfect place to do just that.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started your career? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

I have always been driven by my desire to create something new. For example, I was an early pioneer of exergaming, games that combine physical activity and game play. Prior to Zynga, I worked at a gaming company where my team created different prototypes on how to combine jogging and biking with the motivation frame provided by a game. It was a new idea at that time, and many doubted if it would ever work. It simply felt too risky to run around the city while staring at a phone screen.

Several years later, I was contacted by an executive who had been one of the biggest skeptics of this concept. He revealed to me that it took a massive global success like Pokemon Go! (which I did not work on) to convince him of the significance of our prototypes. From this experience, I learned about the importance of being persistent and staying the course even during times when there are a lot of unknowns. Sometimes the true value will reveal itself later.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?

Absolutely. At the beginning of my career, it was essential to have teachers and peers who believed in me and my ideas even when I didn’t fully believe in myself. I later realized how much mentoring and coaching have meant to me personally and professionally. One person who always remembered to give valuable feedback and helpful suggestions for improvement was Jussi Laakkonen, CEO of Noice Inc. His friendship, feedback and support have helped me to grow as a product developer and a leader.

How have you used your success to bring goodness to the world?

I find it important to pay it forward. I have done so by helping individuals and communities to bloom, such as by founding the local Finnish chapter of Women in Games and coming up with an idea of local game development hubs across Finland to support the local game development scene. In recognition of my efforts to strengthen the game developer community, I have received a few lifetime achievements for my work — such as the IGDA Lifetime Achievement Award, Internationalization Awards of the President of Republic of Finland and the MVP award from Neogames, a non-profit association for the game industry. By helping others, you can also learn much about yourself, such as how the same things can be perceived in dramatically different ways and how others may approach problem solving.

Ok fantastic. Let’s now move to the main focus of our discussion. Can you tell us about the technological innovations in gaming that you are working on?

A few major current trends in mobile game development include cloud gaming, cross platform development and social game platforms. One of the innovations my team at Zynga is focusing on is providing significant experiences to players across different platforms. By enabling players to enjoy the same game both on larger and smaller screens, we’re offering players multiple fun experiences wherever they are. Another area we’re focusing on are social game platforms. Game communities are increasingly becoming a significant part of the social circles in our everyday lives. They add value to groups that play together and help us socialize with game friends anytime and anywhere.

How do you think this might disrupt the status quo?

Mobile games have evolved from hit products with short lifespans to live operations that engage players for years. The next step is to connect gameplay to other ways of communicating while being together with other people. Many of us believe that instead of having different services for gameplay, communication and co-creation, all of these will be easily accessible through any device.

You, of course, know that games and toys are not simply entertainment, but they can be used for important purposes. What is the “purpose” or mission behind your company? How do you think you are helping people or society?

Zynga’s mission is ‘Connecting the world through games’. I truly feel that games are a great way to reach a great number of people, bring fun to the world and enable individuals to experience something together in a safe, enchanting environment.

I’m very interested in the interface between games and education. How do you think more people (parents, teachers etc.) or institutions (work, school etc.) can leverage toys or gamification to enhance education?

Playing games and game mechanics are already commonly utilized in education in the form of interactive online puzzles and challenges. Games are great tools for simulating various situations and for simplifying complex topics. What’s more, stronger crossovers between digital and real worlds can enhance education even more. There are already tools like seppo.io that bring educational opportunities to small groups of learners in a real world environment — it’s a type of learning that I am very excited about doing with peers.

How would you define a “successful” game or toy? Can you share an example of a game or toy that you hold up as an aspiration?

A successful game is one that raises emotions and leaves a lasting memory.

What are the “5 Things You Need to Know To Create a Successful Game” and why. (Please share a story or example for each.)

1: All successful games are built for someone.

For example, FarmVille 3 is aimed at players who enjoy crafting and collecting a rich variety of animals. For the game to be successful, our team needs to understand the audience and to design meaningful gameplay.

2: Games can be vessels for emotions.

Personally, I am most motivated when there is a good balance between success and failure, where I can express a full breadth of emotions from anger and anxiety to awe and joy while playing a game.

3: Games can be fun for a minute or enjoyable for hours.

If FarmVille 3 players have only a bit of time to spare, they can just enjoy taking care of their animals or crafting items, tasks that aren’t too time consuming. If players have more time to spend on the game, they can customize and expand their farms.

4: Play is better with others.

Playing together with friends, family and other gamers in FarmVille 3 makes it easier to learn and achieve bigger goals than when playing solo — plus you can share in the fun and excitement collectively.

5: Successful games add something meaningful to your everyday life without being overwhelming.

I enjoy playing games but I also like kayaking, reading books and doing handcarts, among other things. To that end, successful games add magic to our everyday lives without getting in the way of our other hobbies.

You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. :-)

Forests are the lungs of the planet. Game forest initiatives, where players and game developers purchase real hectares of diverse forests to save the environment, are great ways to bring short-term positivity and also significant long-term impact to this planet. The best thing would be for everyone to be more eco-conscious and make more environmentally-friendly choices in their lives.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

“Blessed are the curious, for they shall have adventures,” by Lovelle Drachman. To me, being curious and ready for adventures help to challenge my professional self and remind me to always be open to the unexpected that’s waiting to happen.

How can our readers follow you on social media?

I am @Souplala on Twitter.

Thank you so much for joining us. This was very inspirational.