Thomas Hulvershorn, Operations Manager of Outplay Entertainment, gave a presentation on the significance of language knowledge in business, specifically in the video game industry. He discussed how games are a big, global business and how localizing games into other languages improves financial results. He emphasized that language skills are important for getting jobs in the games industry and broadening career opportunities. The presentation was aimed at language students to inspire them and convey how linguistic skills correlate with career prospects.

2. “Sprechen sie Game?”
Significance of Language
Knowledge in Business
Thomas Hulvershorn
Operations Manager Outplay Entertainment
1+2 Language Policy: Looking Back and Moving
Forward
National Cross-Sector Conference 9/9/2016
Dundee University

3. Personal Report Card, S1 / Year 7

4. Invitation to share experience with Students

5. Games are Big Business

6. The UK was estimated to be the 6th
largest video game market in 2015 in terms
of consumer revenues

7. Established 2011 in Dundee
Outplay Entertainment is the
largest independent Mobile
Games Developer in the UK

11. Translating Games into different Languages

12. Improved financial results when localising Games

13. Games companies have a multinational composition of staff

14. Main messages when talking to Language Students:
• Games are fun
• Working in Games is an option
• Languages are important in the Games Industry
• Languages help you finding a Job and widen your
horizon
• It’s never too late to get stuck in

15. Where are
Games made?
How are Games
made?
Who is making
Games?
Excerpt from slides we present at Schools to S3 / S4 students

16. Games are made in the UK, example Outplay in Dundee

17. Friendly and creative Work environment

18. Designer Developer
Tester Artist
Overview of different roles in a Games Studio

19. Cultural Awareness
What the British say What they mean
That’s not bad That’s good
I would suggest… Do it!
Very interesting Clearly nonsense
I got few minor
comments
Rewrite completely

20. Language knowledge will open your cultural horizon and introduce you to new things

21. Presenting at Woodmill Highschool in Dunfermline 2015

22. The happy winners of the translation / design competition

23. What did you take away from the Talk?
“ It’s important to have another language these days”
“ I understood why Languages can help me get a better job”
“ It was inspiring to hear someone use a foreign language (ie Thomas using English
when his native tongue is German) when delivering the Talk”
“ It was good to hear how language correlates with the world of work”
Other
“Languages + Outplay = real world “
“ Learn, play, live”
Student feedback from the talks

24. End of a personal journey

25. “How can we increase the
awareness in schools about the
vocational relevance of languages?”

26. Thanks
Thomas.Hulvershorn@outplay.com
@DerHul