Every day our teams are working to improve CRYENGINE and the CRYENGINE service for users all around the world. Today we’re chatting with Project Manager Sopo Esiava who joined us in 2016 and is working on our web team. Find out about how she is helping to improve the user experience, CRYENGINE Marketplace, and how you could join the team at CRYENGINE too, below.

Hey Sopo. Thanks for joining us. How did you end up joining Crytek?

Full disclosure: it was not the love of Crysis that brought me to Crytek, but having a chance to be part of something like CRYENGINE seemed, and definitely is, inspiring.

What is your main focus at the moment?

The main focus of the web team in the short term is to redesign and rebuild CRYENGINE Marketplace. At the same time, developers are focusing hard on using the microservices approach properly. Avoiding tight coupling between services and ensuring the communication between those services are smooth is challenging, but pays off as you can deploy changes in each of the systems independently from each other. We’re also working on improving the deployment pipeline and looking into alternative deployment platforms like Docker, to make deployments faster and easier. Overall, it comes down to having continuous integration and continuous delivery done right.

Another thing we’re addressing is improving the user experience. To avoid the problem of inconsistency of the interface and experience, our UI designers and developers are working on a living style guide, where assets like design components can be shared. This gives us an improved level of consistency across the platforms.

I spend a lot of time with the engine development and business teams to better understand the driving vision of the engine and to better align web/launcher development with the engine development. Ah, and I must not forget about our community! Checking out what the community thinks, or needs - or complains about :) - is part of my daily job and a lot of our developers here are doing the same.

What are the most satisfying moments working on CRYENGINE projects at Crytek?

When we’ve released something and we see positive feedback from the community. That way we know we’re making a difference. And when you and your team are able to laugh and make jokes at the end of a stressful day or a release.

What does it take to do your job well?

Lots of coffee!

What trends do you see coming down the line in your discipline?

Agile practices and trends have been a big game-changer for us. Of course, this is not something new anymore. Agile methodologies are already creeping in industries outside of software development, which I think is awesome.

Have you got any tips for anyone aspiring to work in your field?

When it comes to managing software development, one thing to always remember is that great software really does come from great people. Making sure that tasks are implemented, requirements are met, and overall technology is aligned with the business direction of the product is great and a must, but keep in mind that in reality, developers are the ones who do the actual work. I believe that, as a manager, you should focus not only on the tech part of the equation, but also on helping the developers grow, making sure they don’t blindly implement tasks, but understand and align with the bigger picture. You have to make sure developers have a say and are active participants not only in implementing, but also in shaping the vision of the product.

What are you playing at the moment?

I’m playing Geometry Wars a lot and the old Atari Classics from the bundle I got for PS4. I’m also playing Doom. Well, sucking at it, to be more accurate. My all time favorite game is Pac-Man!

Is having an adorable dog in the office an essential aspect of Project Management?

At least one is required. I’m very spoiled in that regard at Crytek. And no, I’m not covered in dog hair at all times…

Thanks Sopo!

We’re currently recruiting across all disciplines at Crytek, including a new Junior Web Designer position working on our CRYENGINE web service. If you’re creative, ambitious, and passionate about design, check it out. If you’d like to discover more about life at Crytek, and find out more about the people working to make CRYENGINE better every day, you can check out our previous Meet the Team features, including David Kaye, Lead System Engineer, and Brian Dilg, Learning Manager. As Sopo says, we check out feedback from the community daily, so we look forward to your comments, insights, and ideas on the forums, Facebook, and Twitter.

- Your CRYENGINE Team