Aileen Viray
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AILEEN VIRAY
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| Upon graduating with an English BA in Literature from CSULB in 2008, I became part of the video game industry by pure chance, which led to my current position as Marketing Manager at Aksys Games, a boutique localization studio and video game publisher. I never thought being an avid gamer in my youth would lead me to such a career, but reflecting on my college life, I realized I spent a majority of my free time doing internships which gave me the foundation to pursue creative marketing. In addition to the writing, communication, analytical, and organizational skills I developed as a student, I made sure to supplement my studies with outside experience. I’ve held positions at Quicksilver/Roxy (graphic design intern), Art Center College of Design (via the Getty Multicultural Foundation), 20th Century Fox (publicity/creative services, and separately, global promotions), and ended with a marketing/PR internship at video game publisher Tecmo, who hired me full-time after my stint as an intern.
It wasn’t until recently that I realized how I utilized my skills as an English major in my career. Working with a vast range and variety of target audiences, it’s impossible to use the same marketing strategy for every game I work on. Recently, a study was conducted where psychologists found that reading fiction improves empathy. As an English major, I learned to psychoanalyze different characters by being able to read into their thoughts, actions, and how they are perceived by others (including the reader). With that came an interpersonal understanding of character types I would normally not interact with in society, which helped me conceive creative marketing strategies targeted towards audiences that are very unlike myself. Other projects outside of my main career include working on an indie game as a game designer and blogging/managing the music lifestyle website I co-founded with former and current CSULB students called What’s Good With It. Current projects I’m working on can be found at http://www.aksysgames.com, http://whatsgoodwithit.com, and http://runner2.com. |
