05 Oct A Q&A with two former interns: ‘bring an umbrella’ and more useful advice.

For the last 4 months we were joined by Florent and Loïc, two game design interns from the SUPINFOGAME school in France. With their internship coming to an end, we sat down and talked about their time at Paladin, how it is like to live in The Hague and to share their advice for future Paladins. 

Let us start at the beginning, how did you guys end up at Paladin?

Loïc: ‘I was actually contacted by you guys on LinkedIn. It felt like the perfect opportunity for me, as I was actively looking for an internship abroad. 2 Skype calls later we were hired!’

Florent: ‘Same for me, and Paladin felt like a great match. As a designer I really wanted to face challenges in bigger production then I was used to at school. Luckily I found that at Paladin, and was involved during an important part of the production.’

That was quick. How was it like to suddenly be living in The Hague?

Florent: ‘It was only a 3 hours car ride, but the difference is definitely noticeable. Everybody uses their bike here, and people don’t hesitate to speak English to help you. It makes you feel very welcome.’

Loïc: ‘And The Hague is a great city to live in. The beach was only 15 minutes away, and the city offers plenty of interesting places to visit or hangout.’

And the studio, anything from the first days you still remember?

Florent: ‘Plants haha!’

Loïc: ‘The working environment is very healthy. The layout of the teams, the plants and the exterior, it is all very nice.’

Florent: ‘We also quickly had the feeling that we were part of the team, everyone was super friendly. The Round Tables (weekly company meetings) were super helpful to update us on the studio projects and feel connected to the bigger picture.’

Loïc (left) and Florent (right) during their last Round Table.

Talking about the day to day, how was working as an intern like at Paladin?

Florent: ‘Great, I learned a lot from my teammates but also from other teams. The best thing was to work into a very safe space with a lot of passionate people.’

Loïc: ‘There is an overall enthusiasm and professionalism in the company. It is the real deal.’

Florent: ‘We also had the feeling we arrived at a breakthrough moment for the studio. There are so many awesome projects being developed.’

And do you feel like you made a positive impact?

Florent: ‘I hope so! I had the chance to join a starting project. As a result, I really have the impression I made an impact to the project. It’s also a little bit heartbreaking to leave it as well.’

Loïc: ‘I was the only designer on the project I worked on, so I like to think I made an impact :)’

How do you feel about going back to school now? How did your experiences here sharpen your blades?

Florent: ‘Mixed feelings. I am really excited to use my experience at Paladin to work on a new game in my last school year. On the other hand, I am of course a bit sad to leave the team and the project behind.’

Loïc: ‘Same here, I’ve learned a lot during my internship about how to run a project, deal with milestones and understanding your target audience. Curious on how I can use that knowledge in the next year. To be completely honest, I also miss France a little bit :).’

Any advice for future Paladins?

Loïc: ‘The coffee is better in the meeting room ;)’

Florent: ‘Bring an umbrella!’

We are always looking for ambitious, motivated and talented interns to join our team. Want to have a similar experience like Loïc and Florent? Check out the current vacancies at our official careers website.