Behind The Screens - Release the Kraken! And games, too; with Helene Bertolotti, Release and Certification Specialist @DON’T NOD

Teaser: we're talking Oscar Martinez, how to handle toxic managers and why kindness and hot chocolate are a central part of Helene's life.

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Welcome to the next chapter of 'Behind The Screens'!

After our thrilling debut with Romain Messer, we’re diving back in with another incredible behind-the-scenes expert. This time, we’re shining the spotlight on Hélène Bertolotti, Release & Certification Specialist at DON’T NOD.

In this interview, get ready to delve into Hélène’s world of game releases, where she juggles certifications and deadlines with kindness and hot chocolates. Discover how she navigates the labyrinth of certification and release processes, ensuring that every game smoothly transitions from development to players' screens.

Buckle up and join us for another insightful and engaging conversation as we explore the magic and mettle behind game releases with Hélène Bertolotti!

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Can you explain what you do as a Release & Certification Specialist?

As my job title says it very well, I’m in charge of the release AND certification of the game.

Let’s start with the Certification part at first, because without certification, no game can be released.

Certification: I’m working with most of the platforms, no matter their size (Steam, PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo, GOG, Epic Games Store…). Each platform has its standards, its technical requirements, process and deadlines.

Once the game is ready to be certified, I need to send it to the platforms for certification. A Certification team from the platform will check the game, point out the bugs/crashes/major issues. If the issues are major or if the guidelines are not respected, the game will not pass. And we need to fix the bugs and do the process again until the game goes Gold. When the game goes Gold, it means the game is certified,

ready to be released. We got the authorization from the platform to distribute our game. Yay!

Release: In parallel, I set up the public store page and the release of the game. When you are looking for a game on Steam or on PS5, the store page you see is set up by the Release Manager.I’m working closely with the Marketing team and Producers team who provide me with all the assets, metadatas and technical information related to the game (text descriptions, screenshots, trailers, age ratings, all technical info). I set up everything in the backend of each platform and I set up correctly the pricing and release date info depending on our strategy (launch discount, date of the release, which country…).

Then, when the Certification and Release parts are complete, we just need to wait for D-Day!

(Note that both missions are complementary. I don’t need to wait for the certification to complete the Release part.)

If you had to create a slogan for people that do your job, what would it be?

I’m so bad at that! But let me give it a try.

“Make it happen.”

Does it sound cringe?

By this slogan, I mean that Release Management is tough because we have so much coordination to do. With various teams, different personalities with different talents and ego, with different partners and their own process, all the teams are so involved together, we can and have to make it happen.

It took me 4 days to find this slogan. My brain was so empty. And magic, it just popped a few minutes ago, and it was like obvious. Haha.

Release management's mission seems to be to ensure seamless launches. How do you balance the pressure of flawless releases with the reality of unforeseen issues?

Interesting question! Because I have learned that the release of a game never goes as expected, haha. Never. NE-VER. NE-VEEEEER (got it?).

As we need to respect the process of each platform – knowing that each platform has its own process – it’s important/crucial to have in mind all the deadlines. But we all know we all have different pipelines within the same company. The Marketing team has its own deadline, the Producers team too, the developers team as well and so do I!

So I need to juggle all the deadlines and the issues to deliver the final game on time.

I need to be organized, conscientious, flexible, attentive, diplomatic and I MUST be able to react quickly if unexpected issues show up.

My secret? Kindness! And hot chocolate (YES, even in Summer!) with giant whipped cream.

What fictional character do you think would make a great release manager & why?

Huh! So creepy, my first thought goes to Dexter Morgan from the TV show ‘Dexter’. But… he is a serial killer. But sooo organized. And he anticipates!

My second thought goes to Oscar Martinez from the TV show ‘The Office’. He is efficient, organized as well, and rational.

What do you think people misunderstand the most about your job in the gaming industry?

We have two extremes. Those who think the Release Manager just drag and drop some nice pictures and click on a few buttons to release a game. And those who think the Release Manager should know all technical info related to the game or to the backend.

We don’t know the platforms’ back-end by heart. It changes/evolves constantly to adapt itself to our needs. If I say “please, let me check”, it’s not because I don’t know. So please, don’t judge! It’s rather because the guidelines often change and I need to give you a proper answer. It’s that simple.

What's the most unexpected thing you've had to deal with during a game release?

A “just-in-time project”. The game had been certified less than one week before the release date due to a critical issue, and the store page was approved just one day before the release date. It was… very stressful, and I needed to negotiate everyday with the platform.

It’s very important to grow a strong relationship with the teams working for each platform. The teams you are working with are not only the ones who certify your game. They are your partners and it’s necessary to think “partnership”, to be honest and to be clear with them.

Which aspects of your job suit you best?

Organized - With the education I have received, I’m somehow organized in my personal and professional life. This is a must-have in my job as we need to respect each deadline to release a game properly. And the more platforms we release on, the harder it is.

Stay calm – Release Management can be very stressful, so it’s important to keep a cool head. Lucky me, I’m a calm person. In my personal life, I deal with struggling situations by staying calm because I know we will always find solutions if we want to. I’m not saying it’s easy, but I’ve learned to do it that way.

What recurring release or certification mistake annoys you the most?

Tough question! Because the certification and the release set up should be almost perfect as the whole process needs to be approved by each platform before the release.

But there are exceptions, and I can share my examples with you. Those are my experiences but I know I’m definitely not the only one.

As a Release Manager, we depend a lot on the other teams. What annoys me the most is to receive wrong information about a version to release or a greenlight I received while I shouldn’t.

Once, I received a greenlight to release a DLC. And when we released it, we noticed by surprise that the game was priced at 0€/$ in-game. So, we needed to react quickly to fix this with a patch.

Several times, just before clicking on a release button, I have been told to “Stoooooooooop” because a major bug had been found and we needed to postpone the release. It happens. But when it’s recurring, it’s so annoying.

Imagine this situation like a chain. When one is broken, the rest of the chain cannot be stable. Those two examples involve other teams but this third example involves the Release Manager only and it could be quite amusing when it happens to others (I’m not cruel, it’s just funny!): when the Release Manager releases a game sooner than expected or if the price on the store page is wrong.

What's a challenging moment in your career, and how did it shape your growth?

I have met and had toxic managers, and it was challenging to get my head above water. I was so drowned, I felt so humiliated, and those people made me feel so guilty. One of them told me I was weak and even wrote ‘get stronger’ in my objectives for the year. What a joke. But what a blessing to have wonderful coworkers to help me get through this.

I have learned to quickly identify those bad behaviors and to protect myself. To not be alone with them and to give some high kicks to defend myself.

When you have bad experiences, I don't necessarily see them as failures. I know many people associate failure with finality, thinking you can't recover from it. But for me, you can learn a lot from life's difficulties, and I don't necessarily see them as failures.

From something bad, we can always move forward, learn and do better – if we have the will. So for my career, I’d rather use ‘experience’.

What’s something that makes you happy in your job?

People. I have the chance since I’m a Release Manager to meet great teams. I learn with them, I grow with them, I laugh with them.

Having good teams cheer you up even when you have bad days. I have the chance to have a job with various teams with different jobs and different personalities. So I learn a lot from their constraints, I understand them and discuss with them. It helps a lot to drive a project in good condition.

What’s your favorite thing about your professional self?

My sense of humor, I guess? I like making jokes with coworkers. It helps a lot to have a good day, to know each other even better. And when a project is particularly difficult, it’s a blessing to know we can count on each other to laugh and make our day lighter.

What's your go-to stress-relief activity after a big game release?

Eating chips?

No kidding, I have so many activities in mind after a game release and one of them is to share a good meal with people I love. Then I just like playing another game, drawing or simply listening to music (+ drawing while listening to music of course).