BIG Digital is an event that Terra Localizations and other big hitters in the video game industry look forward to attending each year. This year, however, is unique. The conference was moved to an online format due to the Covid-19 pandemic- but fear not! The change did nothing to slow the deluge of ideas to be shared nor games to be enjoyed. In June, Terra’s CEO Marina Ilari, Business Development Manager Florencia Fole, Business Development Associate Luciano Zacarías, and Project Manager Guillermo Umpiérrez attended BIG Digital 2020 from their home offices. During the five-day event, attendees had access to nearly twelve hours of daily streaming, including twenty five brilliant presentations. The Terra team returned with fresh concepts, broadened perspectives, and emboldened confidence.
Show and tell
With so much content available, it helps to work as a team. While Florencia and Luciano focused on business meetings, Guillermo was able to attend every single session and share his notes with the others. Most sessions didn’t focus specifically on localization, yet the team believes there’s always more to be learned about clients. Being localization and culturalization experts isn’t enough. Knowing what goes on behind-the-scenes with developers and publishes empowers them to understand why things are done or requested the way they are. This broadened perspective goes both ways. Marina and Florencia presented a talk on “The LATAM market untapped,” where they explained the unique traits of this emerging market and talked about the importance of culturalization. They dived deep into the characteristics and benefits of localization with professionals from every level of the industry. You can watch it here 👇.
Bringing it home
In the end, the team couldn’t help but feel proud. Not only had they shared and learned new ideas, but they were able to validate that their processes are correct and smooth. One of Florencia’s favorite sessions discussed how to choose the right partners. The advice rang true and she left feeling confident about how well Terra does in that arena. Another speaker discussed how passion is not a skill that can be learned, but rather a culture. The team is unequivocally passionate, jumping at the opportunity to discuss both their professional dedication to and personal love for video games. The enthusiasm they show for their work is refreshing and inspires confidence that they will give their all to each and every project and, presumably, to their favorite video games.
The new normal
Working 100% remotely may already be normal for Terra, but it’s new territory for many. During the pandemic, we must all adjust to what speaker Carla Rylance calls “the new normal.” This new normal is somewhat of an equalizer. “We’re all in our houses, not in the standard context of business meetings,” says Florencia. She explains how fine the professional line is when meetings can be interrupted by, in her case, a couple of rambunctious cats loudly demanding attention. While not normal for in-person conferences, it can be sincerely humanizing to interact with colleagues in a relatively personal setting. There are clear advantages to the online format, even if it’s not perfect just yet. The Terra team missed the in-person happy hours and other social aspects but, as Luciano points out, they could attend more sessions and enjoy more content than ever since the next event was only a click away. Regardless of what the new normal might be in the future, the Terra team feels prepared.
