Lea Schönfelder | Lead Game Designer

Lea Schönfelder | Lead Game Designer

Lea Schönfelder grew up in a household where games were not thought particularly well of so it wasn’t until she was studying illustration and animation at Kassel University that she first got a taste of a gaming lifestyle. Inspired by her brother’s work in Russia working with homeless children, Lea recalls making a hand drawn game about where pencilled images cut out and scanned in which was the beginning of her passion for games design. 

ustwo Games’ Monument Valley was her favourite game of all time because it was made for people who hadn’t played games before and when she landed a job as senior designer on Monument Valley 2, it was the first time that she felt it wasn’t a disadvantage to be an outsider. Lea was the lead designer on UsTwo’s Assemble with Care, alongside previous BAFTA Breakthroughs, Chris Cox and Adrienne Law. Lea is currently a production manager at Nerial and is soon to launch her own studio, Fein with another women, with a view to making polished arthouse games for gamers who are interested in culture. 

Lea feels especially honoured by the BAFTA Breakthrough recognition as she is inspired by previous winners…. And feels a little intimidated too! She has always loved the atmosphere at the BAFTA events and panels that she has attended and is especially excited to learn from people across the Film and TV industry too.