Epic Games’ first female Unreal Engine instructor: AI won’t replace artists, here’s why

But I think the next big question is what games are we creating for the world? We have extraordinary cultural depth, mythology, history, visual identity, and storytelling traditions that haven't been fully explored through interactive entertainment.
Hello and welcome back to Pocket Gamers in the hot seat. Now, today I'm interviewing one of our fantastic speakers for PGC Jordan, which is of course taking place in Amman on November 7th and 8th. So, it's quickly approaching at the time of recording. My guest today is an authorized Unreal Engine instructor with Epic Games. And in fact, she's the first woman to be authorized by Epic Games to be an Unreal authorized instructor. She also leads Unreal Engine community chapters in both Amman and Riyadh. Sandra Kawar, welcome to the hot seat. Thank you so much for joining me today.
Thank you so much, Mariam. And I look forward to talking to you today and

definitely to be a speaker at PGC Connect Amman this year.
Yeah, we're so excited to have you join us, Sandra. Now, I gave a little bit of an introduction as to who you are. But for those who don't know who you are, Sandra, do you mind telling our audience a little bit about yourself and what it is that you do?
Uh thank you, Mariam. Definitely for sure. So, basically my background is from the film. I've studied the film in New York and I've worked for the past around 17 years as a producer director in the film industry basically in the US, UK, and the MENA region. Uh the past 10 years, I started to get very much interested into the interactive experiences and using technology within the creative industries. So, at that time I started with Unreal Engine. By the way, I'm a self-learner in Unreal Engine. I studied it in my own. I started to do my portfolio and Epic

Games approached me like, "Look, Sandra, why don't you uh apply as an Unreal authorized instructor?" I gave workshops at that time, definitely. So, I applied for it and luckily became the first woman as an Unreal authorized instructor at that time. And I became as an Unreal the official Unreal Engine chapter lead for Amman and Riyadh. Right now, you know, the technology is evolving. AI is becoming really the star of of of the world right now and actually most of of the companies, even Unreal Engine, are shifting towards that to to to cope with the pace what's happening in the globe. So, I became like my own company became as an official partner for ByteDance C Dance for the MENA region. And served as a judge for the AV Awards for 7 years and three academic qualifying film festivals. And definitely right now my focus is giving a hand into building an ecosystem in the MENA region where we

link the creative industries with technology.
I love that, Sandra. Now, you mentioned you're a teacher essentially. So, you lead Unreal Engine chapters in both Amman and Riyadh. So, I want to know how are the two creative scenes different? And what do you think having a foot in both those areas that they can actually learn from each other?
I think what's fascinating is that both cities have incredible incredible creative talent, but the ecosystems have very different energies. I'll explain. Like Riyadh is moving at an extraordinary pace. There's a real sense of ambition with significant investment in gaming, entertainment technology, and digital content. Creators in Riyadh and in Saudi in general are increasingly thinking about building studios, developing IPs, intellectual properties, and becoming part of a much larger industry. Amman, on the other hand, has an incredible spirit of innovation and

resourcefulness. Jordanian creators are used to work with smaller teams and more limited resources, so they become very adaptable. There's a strong entrepreneurial mindset, and people often wear, you know, several creative and technical hats. Uh I've experienced both sides. What's exciting for me leading the Riyadh chapter and co-leading the Amman chapter is seeing how these two ecosystems can complement each other. Riyadh can benefit from Jordan's independent spirit and creative problem-solving. Jordan can benefit from the scale of ambition, industry partnerships, and opportunities emerging in Saudi Arabia. I don't see uh these uh cities are as competitors. I see them as potential creative partners.
Mm, I love that. Now, let's talk a little bit about communities. So, take us, Sandra, inside what a Riyadh chapter meetup actually looks like. Who's showing up? Is it mostly game devs, or do you get people from, you know, architecture, film, and simulation, too?

What does that kind of meetup look like?
Uh yeah, Maryam. Uh one thing I really love about Unreal Engine is that it brings together people from industries that wouldn't necessarily meet otherwise. [clears throat] And that's exactly the kind of community we're building in Riyadh and Amman. It's definitely not limited to game developers. We have a wider mix of interests from game developers, environment artists, architecture, immersive experiences, virtual production, real-time cinematics. So, all of these like categories. Uh for example, one meetup format we've worked with involved several short presentations where creators share their screens, demonstrate what they're developing, and exchange ideas with the community. I really really uh to be honest, I really like this uh approach because it's not simply someone giving a lecture, you know, this kind of formal approach. It's about creators learning from other creators. And coming, you know, uh as I told you,

Maryam, uh from a filmmaking virtual production background, I find that crossover particularly is exciting. A lighting artist working in games might inspire someone through making and and same in other industries. The technology becomes a common creative language. For me, the purpose of these chapters isn't only to teach people Unreal Engine. It's to connect talent, encourage collaboration, and help creators discover opportunities they might never have considered.
Mhm, I love how collaborative it is as you're speaking about it, Sandra. That's the first word that sort of comes to my mind is the sort of collaboration. I I really really love that. Um, what's one project from your community that kind of made you think, "Yeah, this one is world-class."
Uh, actually, there is a I would give an example. It's There is one initiative that really represents the potential I see in our community is the build creators program happened in Riyadh. Focused It was focused on Unreal Editor for Fortnite or UEFN. What excites me

about initiatives like this is the opportunity for emerging creators to move beyond simply learning software and start thinking like actual game creators. Uh, it's not just about building a beautiful environment anymore. Uh, it's about asking important questions. How does the player experience this world? How do we tell a story through the environment? How do art, technology, and interaction work together? So many questions we need to tackle. And that's an important shift. Because when we talk about world-class talent, I don't think it's only about having the biggest budget or the most advanced equipment. It's about creative thinking, attention to detail, understanding the audience, and having the ambition to compete internationally.
Mhm. And moving on to the industry, Sandra, you mentioned a little bit of before what the advantages are of each sort of region. But Saudi and Jordan, they're both investing heavily in games. These are both, you know, countries that

have high stakes in the games industry. What do you think the biggest thing that's holding the local talent back right now? Is it skills? Is it funding? Is it visibility? Uh or is it something completely different? I mean, you mentioned a little bit before what the strengths and weaknesses are, but what is the What's really holding them back in your opinion?
That's a really interesting question. Uh because uh I think all three are connected. Uh but if I had to choose one, I'd say visibility and more importantly access to real opportunity opportunities. We have talented artists, developers, programmers, and storytellers across the region. Uh of course, there are still specialized skills we need to develop, particularly when it comes to advanced production pipelines and delivering games at an international standard. But what happens after someone completes their training? Where do they get their first uh professional projects? How do they meet publishers? How do they find investors

or become part of an international development team? That's the gap uh Miriam that we need to address. Uh Saudi Arabia is investing heavily in building um its gaming ecosystem, which creates uh exciting opportunities. Jordan already has a strong foundation of technical talent and independent game development. However, uh funding alone doesn't automatically produce successful games. Okay? And training alone doesn't create an industry. We need to connect education with production, production with funding, and funding with access to international markets. I'd love to see more regional collaborations, mentorship programs connected to actual studios, and opportunities for emerging developers to showcase their games to global uh publishers. Uh because uh creating talent uh is only the beginning. Giving talent the opportunity to succeed is what really builds an industry.
Mm. I love that. Now, I want you with my next question to have to pull out your crystal ball, and I want you to look 5 years out from now. What is the MENA

games industry looking like? Where is it heading? You are in this sort of unique position where you see it play out in real time, but what are your predictions?
Oh, that's interesting. Actually, I'm optimistic. I'm optimistic. I think we're moving into a period where MENA will increasingly be recognized not just as a major gaming market, like now. Everybody's looking at the MENA major gaming market, but as a region that actually creates games and original intellectual properties. Uh and that's a very important distinction between both. Uh for years, much of the conversation has focused on how many people in the region play games. But I think the next big question is what games are we creating for the world? We have extraordinary cultural depth, mythology, history, visual identity, and storytelling traditions that haven't been fully explored through interactive entertainment. Uh I also expect a greater collaboration between the gaming, film, animation, and uh

immersive technology industries. And of course, the AI, artificial intelligence, and real-time production tools are making certain parts of the creative process more accessible to smaller teams. But accessibility alone won't guarantee success. Gameplay, originality, publishing, and understanding the audience will remain essential. My hope is that over the next 5 years, uh we'll see more original regional games, more sustainable independent studios, and more collaboration between countries.
Mhm. You mentioned AI there. That leads me quite nicely to my next question, Sandra. So, your talk at PGC Jordan, which we're so excited for, um is titled AI is a creative partner, the future of game art and cinematics. Now, this frames AI as a creative partner. Without giving away too much, what does Where does that partnership work well, and where does it sort of break down?
I love this question. Thank you, Miriam, because I think we're having the wrong conversation when we simply ask whether

AI will replace artists. Uh for me, the much more interesting question is how can AI expand what a creative person is capable of imagining and producing. As a director and someone who works in real-time production, I see AI as an incredible tool during creative exploration in the exploration phase. For example, you can explore different visual directions, generate early concepts, experiment with lighting and atmosphere. Test cinematic ideas or create visualizations before committing to the full production. That ability to iterate quickly can be extremely valuable, particularly for smaller studios and independent creators. AI can generate possibilities. It cannot replace creative intention, definitely not. It doesn't truly understand why a particular camera movement creates emotion. No. Why a character's silence might be more

powerful than a dialogue. Or what makes a gameplay experience meaningful to to a player. And technically, we still face challenges with consistency, precise control, as you're aware, Mariam, production-ready assets, and integrating generative results into professional workflows. So, I don't believe in simply pressing a button and calling the result creativity. Definitely not, that's not that the case. The human creator still needs to make the decisions. Shape the experience, evaluate the results, and take responsibility for the final work. My philosophy is very simple in this. AI should expand the artist's creative freedom, not replace the artist's creative identity. And that's what I mean by a creative partnership.
Mm. Okay, now, what can attendees, last question for you here, Sandra, what can attendees expect from your session at PGC Jordan? You gave us a little bit of a teaser,

but what do you hope they actually leave the room with? A new piece of knowledge they have from listening to your talk.
My session is called AI as a creative partner, the future of game art and cinematics. And what I really want to do is move beyond the hype surrounding artificial intelligence. Uh, because everyone's talking about AI. Uh, but I think many creatives are still asking the same questions. Where does it actually fit into my workflow? How can I use it without losing my creative identity? And how do I make it genuinely useful? So, I'll be approaching this from a creator's uh, perspective. We will explore how AI can support visual development, game art, cinematic storytelling, and the creative decision-making process. I'll also discuss where it works well, where it struggles, and why understanding the strength and limitations uh, of these tools is so important.
Sandra, thank you so much. It's been

such a pleasure um, talking to you today. Thank you so much for taking the time.
Thank you, Maryam. Thank you. Thank you very much.
And for all our listeners, don't forget you can catch Sandra's talk at PG Connects Jordan on November 7th and 8th in Amman. Tickets are available at pgconnects.com. Thank you so much for all our listeners, and until next time.