About Me
Hi, I'm Ann Bernevega, a game producer based in Kajaani, Finland.
I'm studying for a Bachelor's Degree in Business Information Technology, Game Development at Kajaani University of Applied Sciences (KAMK). Although my official specialisation is game programming, I have worked primarily as a producer across my projects. I chose programming because it was the area of game development I understood least, and I wanted to gain the technical knowledge needed to better understand how games are developed.
Before KAMK, I graduated from Koulutuskeskus Brahe with a vocational qualification in media and visual expression, specialising in animation and game production. I moved to Finland in 2021 to pursue my education and build a career in the games industry.
Why I Make Games
Games became very important to me in my early teens when I was feeling completely lost and alone in this world. They gave me comfort when I needed it and introduced me to new fandoms, communities and people. Most importantly, they gave me a place where I felt like I belonged.
That experience is still a big part of why I make games today. I want to help create games that make people feel something, whether that's excitement, comfort, curiosity, relaxation or simply the joy of spending time in a world they love.
What I enjoy most about production is taking a raw idea and helping bring it to life. I love finding the smaller details that give a game its personality and make it feel like it has a soul. I also enjoy bringing structure to development, solving problems and helping people reconnect with what excited them about the project. To me, passion is what gives game development its purpose. I believe game development is a form of art.
Production allows me to be involved in many different parts of development. There is always something new to learn, a problem to solve or a better way to help the team, and that's exactly what makes the role so interesting to me!
My Approach to Production
For me, good production is about taking care of both the project and the people making it. A producer sometimes has to make difficult decisions, but the team should still feel comfortable communicating honestly, sharing concerns and asking for help.
I try to balance being friendly and approachable with being firm when the situation requires it. If something isn't delivered on time, I don't ignore it, but I also don't immediately assume the worst. I talk with the person, find out what happened and work with them to decide what we should do next.
Communication is one of the most important parts of how I work. I don't always wait for people to come to me, because not everyone finds it easy to speak up when they're struggling. I check in with teammates, pay attention to changes in motivation or workload and try to notice problems before they become serious.
I also care about keeping the team connected. I've organised team activities and informal hangouts, especially while working remotely, because good teamwork isn't built through task lists alone. I want people to understand what is expected of them while still feeling trusted, supported and excited about what they're creating.
My production experience includes project planning, milestone and schedule management, Scrum and Agile workflows, multidisciplinary team coordination, risk and scope management, stakeholder communication, remote collaboration and supporting team members. I've also practised budget planning and cost estimation as part of my university work.
Experience
I've contributed to more than 10 playable games, prototypes, student projects and game-jam projects across Steam, itch.io and client platforms. This includes two games released on Steam, one of which reached more than 800 wishlists, as well as several playable projects published on itch.io.
My largest producer-led project was Once Upon a Page, created by a seven-person team consisting of programmers, artists, a designer and me as the producer. A lot went wrong during development: we switched engines, struggled with communication between disciplines and gradually lost motivation as a team. I organised a meeting where everyone could speak openly about what wasn't working and suggest what needed to change. Together, we identified the main problems, reduced the scope and reorganised responsibilities. This helped us get the project back on track and deliver the game on time.
For Scaredy Cat, I worked with an international team of exchange students from Singapore and contributed to production, programming and publishing. We had a short development period, but maintained clear communication, completed the planned features and released the game on Steam. It was my first Steam release and taught me a lot about international teamwork and keeping a project moving under a tight schedule. It was later recognised at the Kajaani Game Awards 2025.
I also helped create a mobile game for an Icelandic design company. We worked from an external brief and delivered the game for the company's event, where it was played by more than 100 people. The project gave me practical experience working with a client, responding to feedback and delivering a finished game for a specific audience and deadline.
During my four-month internship at Nitro Games, I worked with a team on an Unreal Engine prototype. I communicated directly with our client representative, Leo Kihlman, to gather feedback and help turn it into improvements. Whenever I saw an opportunity to help, I also took on work outside my original responsibilities. This included expanding the game world, writing lore and dialogue, and helping shape the story. The internship gave me valuable professional studio experience and confirmed that game production is the direction I want to continue pursuing.
Technical Background
Most of my projects have been developed in Unity for PC and mobile, and I also have experience working with Unreal Engine. My programming studies have given me a practical understanding of C# and C-based programming concepts, code structure and technical workflows, even though production is now my main professional direction.
I may not be applying as a programmer, but I can follow how code and technical systems work. This helps me communicate with developers, understand dependencies and recognise how decisions about features, scope and schedules affect implementation. It also helps me communicate across programming, art and design instead of treating each discipline as a completely separate part of development.
Beyond Game Development
Creativity has always been a big part of my life. I've been interested in photography since I was 15 and have organised two photography exhibitions. I also graduated from music school, received awards for piano performances, played badminton competitively and have done singing, martial arts, swimming and circus activities.
Outside game development, I enjoy reading, learning new things and taking care of my many plants. I'm also passionate about languages and have seriously studied several of them.
I'm a native Russian speaker, speak Finnish at approximately B2 level and have professional working proficiency in English.
What I'm Looking For
I’m looking for opportunities as a Game Producer where I can bring structure and clarity to development, support the people behind the project and help multidisciplinary teams turn early ideas into polished, finished games I can be proud of.
I’m currently based in Kajaani and am open to remote work or relocation anywhere within Finland.