4 Questions with Dominik Schön
Interactive Media - Games and Beyond
Dominik Schön discovered his passion for computer games already in high school. He started developing his own small games and decided to study at Filmakademie in 2015. In 2021, he received his diploma in Transmedia/Games Directing. His final project, A JUGGLER'S TALE, was published at the end of 2021 and has now won another award at the German Computer Game Awards – this time in the category "Best Game World and Aesthetics".
Read on to learn more about Dominik and studying at Animationsinstitut.
Interview with Dominik Schön
Editorial note: The following interview was already published in its original form in March 2021.
What does "Be Creative" mean to you in the context of interactive media?
With interactive media, you can really have fun being creative: You do not develop a film or a project in a predefined format, but look at which environment suits the idea best. This can be a website, an installation or a classic computer game - but through these different possibilities, a creative idea also becomes a creative implementation, which challenges which challenges and inspires you anew each time. During my time at Animationsinstitut, I was able to tinker with animated short films, gaming apps, PC games and something as crazy as an interactive sandbox.
More than a sandbox – the AR Game Wonderful World
When did you discover your love for interactive media and how did you ultimately find your way to Animationsinstitut?
For me, it all started in art class with the topic architecture where I was designing buildings on the computer. I wanted to do more with my models and found out by chance that you can actually develop your own games quite easily with the help of game engines. At that time, the apps game market was still quite new and it totally excited me that I could develop something on my PC that friends could then download and play on their cell phones. After a few internships in German game studios, I applied to Filmakademie for Interactive Media in 2015 on the recommendation of a friend.
What do you do after graduating from the Animation Institute and what are you working on now?
During my studies at Animationsinstitut, I founded a company with three fellow students. We also developed our diploma project together. After graduation, we will continue to work on games for PC and console in this group - first, our long-standing project A Juggler's Tale will be released and then we will see what new things we can come up with. I think in such a fast evolving industry there will always be new challenges and I'm very curious to see what technology people will be working with and thinking about in 5 or 10 years.
A Juggler's Tale – available for PC and Consoles!
Why should you study Interactive Media at Animationsinstitut and what tip do you have for potential applicants?
Filmakademie is an insanely great place to meet people with the same creative enthusiasm and try out new projects and ideas. If you only want to develop computer games, you should know that the first years of basic studies consist of general courses on film, storytelling and animation - you don't really get started with games and interactive projects until the 3rd year (project studies). If applicants are creatively motivated and open to trying out new things and experimenting digitally, then I think Interactive Media is just right.