‘Clandestine’ affair: RRC grad scores gaming world success
An artist at heart, Danielle King had no doubts about forming a creative arts company. But it was her time in Red River College’s Small Business Management program that really put her at the top of her game.
“When we landed our first big project, Clandestine: Anomaly, I can tell you in all honestly that we might not have made it through if I didn’t have the practical business skills I acquired at RRC,” says King, who co-founded the Winnipeg-based company ZenFri with her husband Corey in 2009, and graduated from RRC in 2010.
“The creatives in us would have drowned.”
After receiving $700,000 from the Canadian Media Fund and plenty of worldwide recognition, ZenFri’s Clandestine: Anomaly was released in June 2015. The groundbreaking mobile game uses augmented reality with GPS to allow players to crash land an alien vessel in their own city. It’s the biggest original game ever made in Manitoba – and it marks the start of other big things for ZenFri and King, who recently took the time to discuss her experience at RRC, the gaming world, and her future.
What drew you to RRC’s Small Business Management program?
I was drawn to RRC and the Continuing Education [option] due to classes offered in the evening and part-time, which fit my schedule and let me pursue creative endeavours during the day. While business and management were never really what I dreamed of doing for a living, I also don’t see it as a diverging path. I see it as having the skills to supercharge the path I was already on, which is to be a creative.
What was the program like?
I really enjoyed the Small Business Management program and especially the amazing library filled with books on business. I learn best with my nose deep in a book, so the wide availability and extensive collection of materials in the library was extremely useful. I was definitely one of those students who would drag 10 books to class with me to read during breaks. This balance between reading, talking to the instructors and taking the Continuing Education programs helped ensure that I could both learn what the instructor knew would help me succeed, as well as tailor my knowledge to suit my goals.
How did your experience at RRC help prepare you for your career?
After just coming from the Film Studies Program at the University of Manitoba, it was refreshing to change my learning habits to how RRC works, with more emphasis on practical skills such as payroll, managing human resources, applying for business loans, and anything else that might come up in the first years of a business that needs the owner’s attention.