INSIGHT INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY ANAXI
Kim Rogers Head of Studio & Content Anaxi
Kim, how did you get your start in the gaming industry?
Like many people I know in the gaming industry. By accident.
I was working as a bank teller, depositing cheques for a local company and I got to talking to people from the gaming business in town. I was studying for a math degree at the time, without really knowing what I was going to do with it. I just knew I liked it. And so, when I went home and looked online, locally there was a position for a math intern. I applied and seven days later I was hired.
When I look back on my childhood, I should have known the direction I’d take. I grew up in Nevada, surrounded by the gaming industry. Quite literally, as my grandma had a slot machine in her dining room. Tere is a picture of me and my sister as young kids at grandma’s playing that game. So, when I reflect on it - this was obviously where I was going to end up.
I’ve always enjoyed math because the outcome is either right or it’s wrong. I’m very analytical and very structured. I think math is both of those things, but it’s also art - and I say that because you can have an infinite number of ways to get to the same answer - and that’s where the creativity of math comes into play. It wasn’t until I became a math intern that I understood and appreciated that within gaming.
In the gaming industry we are all working with the same set of regulations, we are making pay tables with very similar outcomes, all the answers are correct, but how we are getting there… that’s secret sauce of the math, that’s where the creativity comes into play. Creativity shows itself in different forms within gaming products, there’s the math architecture, the visuals and presentation. Acknowledging all those talents brings the full perspective to life.
When you joined Aristocrat, what experience in the gaming sector did you have? Did you see yourself becoming a Studio Head?
I spent 13 years of my career at IGT. During that period, I’d say that I didn’t actively seek out new opportunities, rather I was both
encouraged to explore different opportunities and directly offered different opportunities across the business. It was from a perspective of “you like math - have you ever thought about game design?” And “You seem to be good at game design but enjoy driving the overall vision - have you thought about producing?” “Now you’re a producer, how do you feel about joining our content organisation?” I’d like to think that I did a really great job at expanding my exposure during those 13 years, but I do think one thing that got away from me, was asking: “What is it I want to be doing?”
Te time between being a product manager and going back into a studio as a game design manager, was a time that I really found my love for games - and being involved in the creation of games. Ten Covid happened, and I found myself getting familiar with Aristocrat and was asked to join one of the land-based studios as a Game Design Director.
I’ve always enjoyed math
because the outcome is either right or it’s wrong. I’m very
analytical and very structured. I think math is both of those things, but it’s also art - and I
say that because you can have an infinite number of ways to get to the same answer - and that’s where the creativity of
math comes into play. It wasn’t until I became a math intern that I understood and
appreciated that within gaming.
About a year after starting at Aristocrat, with my game design & product management background, I was asked to join the team that would build Anaxi from its infancy., and Tis consisted of driving our content and product strategy for launch, as well as being heavily involved in our build and buy strategy over the last couple of years, which has included both ROXOR and the pending acquisition of NeoGames. Trough this opportunity, the next step of becoming one of our Studio Heads became a natural evolution, positioning myself as a key leader and driver in the foundation of the business.
Have you always had one foot on a career ladder - were those rungs clearly defined and have you followed that path for your 17 years in the gaming industry?
Tere wasn’t a time inwhich I thought “I know I want to be a studio head in ‘X’ number
WIRE / PULSE / INSIGHT / REPORTS P51
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