As the Testing Manager for Lionbridge’s new gaming lab in Montreal, Jason Ciciola can live out his passion for gaming through his work. Whether he’s setting up the office or making sure that game testing is running smoothly, Jason is committed to breaking barriers and upholding Lionbridge’s standards of quality.
Tell us a little about your role at Lionbridge Games.
I am the test manager of our new Montreal games lab. As a part of that role, I work with customers to onboard their projects and make sure they’re up to the standards that we hold as Lionbridge. I also make sure that the office is continuing to run and, if people are working from home, they’re continuing to run. Their morale is key to us.
What do you enjoy most about your role?
I joined Lionbridge Games to build a great testing lab, so setting everything up has been exciting. Another plus has been that every person I’ve met has been very pleasant, nice and helpful. The great team culture has been my favorite part!
What does a typical workday look like for you?
They’re all pretty atypical. A common thread is calls—I have calls pretty much every day. I’m not a coffee drinker myself, but I usually start my days with a Monster energy drink, as gamers do. Then I settle into my emails, catch up with customers, and then dive into my calls and start going through action items.
What first made you interesting in gaming?
When I was six years old, my parents bought me a Nintendo. There’s actually a little tattoo of Mario on my wrist. Some great advice I got when I was young was find something you love to do and find a way to make money doing it. And I’ve run with that.
Are there any games or trends in gaming you’re particularly excited about?
A lot of new consoles are launching at the end of this year—the PlayStation 5 and the new Xbox series. Every time there’s a new console generation, I get excited for what that’s going to mean for games and how they’re going to be better and faster. I’m also in the middle of a game called Ghost of Tsushima. It’s a very long game, but man, it’s a good one.
How long have you lived in Montreal? What do you enjoy most about the city?
I’ve lived in Montreal for all but nine months for my life. My favorite thing about the city has got to be the restaurants. You can get every type of cuisine imaginable.
