GameMakers

Excerpt from GameMakers full interview: Pixels & Profits #1. Watch the full discussion here: https://youtu.be/2G539NGHfVI SUBSCRIBE TO GAMEMAKERS: - Newsletter: https://gamemakers.substack.com/ 😃 —CONNECT WITH ME! — • MY INSTAGRAM → @jokim1 • TWITTER → @jokim1 • LINKEDIN → https://www.linkedin.com/in/jokim/ — POPULAR CONTENT — 🤑 Economy of the Metaverse with Tim Sweeney https://youtu.be/h6ClJxjuRvw ℹ️ How to Build the Amazon of Game Companies https://youtu.be/bkd2TOpKt4I 🔮 Gaming Trends | A Look Ahead at 2021 https://youtu.be/NejFzHtpiZI 🖥️ The Future of PC Gaming https://youtu.be/_QT7O3Wxi2s 🔴 Games Industry M&A https://youtu.be/65nyPk6WNrs 🔴 Netcode for Multiplayer Games https://youtu.be/tHq3PzmjhLw 🔴 IDFA Deprecation Product Impact https://youtu.be/Ojec4wGKpso 🔴 Trip Hawkins on the New High Score https://youtu.be/5egTSQ6AiRA 🔴 LiveOps F2P Best Practices https://youtu.be/tmzqqnYbjNY

Excerpt from GameMakers full interview: Pixels & Profits #1. Watch the full discussion here: https://youtu.be/2G539NGHfVI SUBSCRIBE TO GAMEMAKERS: - Newsletter: https://gamemakers.substack.com/ 😃 —CONNECT WITH ME! — • MY INSTAGRAM → @jokim1 • TWITTER → @jokim1 • LINKEDIN → https://www.linkedin.com/in/jokim/ — POPULAR CONTENT — 🤑 Economy of the Metaverse with Tim Sweeney https://youtu.be/h6ClJxjuRvw ℹ️ How to Build the Amazon of Game Companies https://youtu.be/bkd2TOpKt4I 🔮 Gaming Trends | A Look Ahead at 2021 https://youtu.be/NejFzHtpiZI 🖥️ The Future of PC Gaming https://youtu.be/_QT7O3Wxi2s 🔴 Games Industry M&A https://youtu.be/65nyPk6WNrs 🔴 Netcode for Multiplayer Games https://youtu.be/tHq3PzmjhLw 🔴 IDFA Deprecation Product Impact https://youtu.be/Ojec4wGKpso 🔴 Trip Hawkins on the New High Score https://youtu.be/5egTSQ6AiRA 🔴 LiveOps F2P Best Practices https://youtu.be/tmzqqnYbjNY

Sarah Thomson is a long-time games industry veteran, having had an extremely successful career in business development at companies like IUGO, Gree, Sony (PlayStation), Google, and most recently at Bad Robot Games. We discuss her experience and thoughts on female diversity in the gaming industry. Get ready for a real discussion where we try to address topics more meaningfully. OUTLINE: 0:00 Intro 1:30 How should women be treated in the workplace, if differently from men? 6:45 JK's experience with diversity in India 9:41 Male-to-male vs. male-to-female engagement 14:50 Importance of being open on both sides | Focus on intent, understand emotions 27:30 How to give feedback when bias occurs? 31:17 Risks of giving feedback and retaliation? 36:50 Why is the games industry so male-dominated? 41:14 Benefits of different perspectives and female diversity 48:45 How to encourage diversity? 53:23 Diversity in startups vs. large organizations | Is JK copping out on diversity? 59:37 Is diversity vs. efficiency a false trade-off? The impact of macroeconomy on diversity 1:05:36 Contacting Sarah/final message from Sarah 👇 EPISODE LINKS: • Sarah Thomson LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarahthomson/ • Iron Galaxy Studios: https://irongalaxystudios.com/ • Bad Robot Games: https://www.badrobotgames.com/ SUBSCRIBE TO GAMEMAKERS: - Apple Podcast: https://apple.co/34hfOtv - Spotify Podcast: https://spoti.fi/3Cpyq7i - Newsletter: https://gamemakers.substack.com/ - Don't miss an episode on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/GameMakersStudio 😃 —CONNECT WITH ME! — • MY INSTAGRAM → @jokim1 • TWITTER → @jokim1 • LINKEDIN → https://www.linkedin.com/in/jokim/ — POPULAR CONTENT — 🤑 Economy of the Metaverse with Tim Sweeney https://youtu.be/h6ClJxjuRvw ℹ️ How to Build the Amazon of Game Companies https://youtu.be/bkd2TOpKt4I 🔮 Gaming Trends | A Look Ahead at 2021 https://youtu.be/NejFzHtpiZI 🖥️ The Future of PC Gaming https://youtu.be/_QT7O3Wxi2s 🔴 Games Industry M&A https://youtu.be/65nyPk6WNrs 🔴 Netcode for Multiplayer Games https://youtu.be/tHq3PzmjhLw 🔴 IDFA Deprecation Product Impact https://youtu.be/Ojec4wGKpso 🔴 Trip Hawkins on the New High Score https://youtu.be/5egTSQ6AiRA 🔴 LiveOps F2P Best Practices https://youtu.be/tmzqqnYbjNY

I'm back after a few months. Here are some recent thoughts on dealing with adversity that has come up this year. I really thought 2023 was gonna be easy! Lol. FORTUNATELY, I'm still struggling with challenges which is making me a better person. As my wife recently told me: "Don't focus on what we can't do or can't have, let's focus on what we can do." LFG everybody. Hope you're all killing it!

Mayur Bhimjiyani is the CEO and co-founder of Hypernova, an India-based F2P games studio building a GTA-like game focusing on the Indian market. Mayur speaks about his background, the history behind Hypernova, and why they are building Mayanagari, a game Mayur hopes to become as successful as GTA. OUTLINE: 0:00 Intro 1:02 Why do so many Indian game devs call Hypernova the most exciting game studio in India? 4:45 Why build Mayanagari - the GTA for India? 16:33 The history behind Hypernova 22:07 Mayanagari stage and launch plans 26:10 Mayanagari monetization model 33:30 The evolution of the India games industry- RPGs 35:38 New game dev vs. liveops in India (Zynga vs. Hypernova) 40:07 Positive areas and areas of improvement for new game dev in India 44:30 What do you look forward to from India game dev market? 45:20 How to contact Mayur or find out more about Mayanagari?

OUTLINE:

0:00 Bloomberg article on stack ranking at Blizzard

1:01 Introduct to speakers: Matthew Kanterman, Drew Levin, and Brett Nowak

1:48 High level thoughts on stack ranking as a practice

5:33 Stack ranking poll results - Majority are against

7:30 JK hypothetical situations to use stack ranking

25:40 Character vs. cruelty in stack ranking during recruiting

36:30 Management rationale behind stack ranking

39:27 Should the Blizzard manager have been fired?

47:10 Stack ranking ties to capability of management layer

50:45 Stack ranking for performance evaluation

1:07:10 Why employees should get close to company value creation to avoid layoffs

1:08:40 JK's crazy stack ranking performance evaluation idea - investing virtual $ in co-workers

1:26:40 Final thoughts on getting canceled

👇 EPISODE LINKS:

- Matthew's reference to The Office Clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3wqQXu13tLA

- Matthew Kanterman, Director of Research at Roundhill Investments: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthew-kanterman-cfa-b6345133/

- Drew Levin, Director of Product at Riot Games: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drew-levin-7a225626/

- Brett Nowak, CEO at Liquid & Grit: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brett-nowak-8920675/

SUBSCRIBE TO GAMEMAKERS:

- Apple Podcast: https://apple.co/34hfOtv

- Spotify Podcast: https://spoti.fi/3Cpyq7i

- Newsletter: https://gamemakers.substack.com/

- Don't miss an episode on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/GameMakersStudio

😃 —CONNECT WITH ME! —

• MY INSTAGRAM → @jokim1

• TWITTER → @jokim1

• LINKEDIN → https://www.linkedin.com/in/jokim/

— POPULAR CONTENT —

🤑 Economy of the Metaverse with Tim Sweeney https://youtu.be/h6ClJxjuRvw

ℹ️ How to Build the Amazon of Game Companies https://youtu.be/bkd2TOpKt4I

🔮 Gaming Trends | A Look Ahead at 2021 https://youtu.be/NejFzHtpiZI

🖥️ The Future of PC Gaming https://youtu.be/_QT7O3Wxi2s

🔴 Games Industry M&A https://youtu.be/65nyPk6WNrs

🔴 Netcode for Multiplayer Games https://youtu.be/tHq3PzmjhLw

🔴 IDFA Deprecation Product Impact https://youtu.be/Ojec4wGKpso

🔴 Trip Hawkins on the New High Score https://youtu.be/5egTSQ6AiRA

🔴 LiveOps F2P Best Practices https://youtu.be/tmzqqnYbjNY

Happy Thanksgiving! 

I'm in India this year and had a Mexican burrito bowl in the office by myself. Lol.

As I sat in the office late at night, I recorded another cringe and weird video for my kids.

Too many people undervalue opportunity! I just wanted to let you know that I'm grateful this Thanksgiving for the opportunity to try to build something meaningful. It's not looking good right now, but that's what entrepreneurship is all about: how do we take a low-probability scenario and turn it into a high-probability outcome? 

LFG!

We deep dive on eSports. Current market and growth projections, what kinds of games do well, business model, structure, prize pools, key trends, geographic differences, and more! Join us with our esteemed group of speakers: Ilaria Caputo (EA), Matthew Kanterman (Ball Metaverse Research Partners), and Hugo Tristao (Newzoo). Speaker links below.

👇 EPISODE LINKS:

Ilaria Caputo, https://www.linkedin.com/in/ilaria-caputo/

Matthew Kanterman, https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthew-kanterman-cfa-b6345133/

Hugo Tristao, https://www.linkedin.com/in/tristaohugo/

Stoffer Touborg was a lead game designer on Eve Online at CCP, led Wild Rift at Riot, and currently acts as Executive Producer on Bitcraft Online for Clockwork Labs.  

Stoffer is one of the most thoughtful game industry executives I know, and I regularly ask Stoffer for advice on leadership, organizational principles, and recruiting.  

Today we talk about not just about coming up with a desired set of company values and culture, but how to actually implement or install these within a company.   

SUBSCRIBE TO GAMEMAKERS: 

- Apple Podcast: https://apple.co/34hfOtv

- Spotify Podcast: https://spoti.fi/3Cpyq7i

- Newsletter: https://gamemakers.substack.com/

- Don't miss an episode on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/GameMakersStudio 

OUTLINE: 

0:00 Intro 

2:13 Stoffer Touborg Background 

3:07 Definition of Company Culture and Warning for New Employees 

6:06 Values vs. Culture Definition 

9:10 Employees Need to Confirm Cultural Fit, Values Need to be Good, Given Context, and Fair 

14:16 Installing Values/Culture in a Company, Communication vs. Implementation 

16:47 Values Manifestation Board 20:45 Why is Company Culture Critical? Sometimes Values Don't Matter 

25:40 How to Deal with Employee Cultural Misalignment 

31:34 Executive Accountability for Culture Mismatches 

32:15 Recruiting for Culture Fit 36:30 How to Deal with Culture Exceptions for a Specific Need - "The Dennis Rodman Rule"   

👇 EPISODE LINKS:  

Stoffer Touborg: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kristoffertouborg/

The Game Stoffer is Working on, Bitcraft Online: https://bitcraftonline.com/ 

😃 —CONNECT WITH ME! —  

• MY INSTAGRAM → @jokim1 

• TWITTER      → @jokim1 

• LINKEDIN      → https://www.linkedin.com/in/jokim/   

I speak to Rahul Chowdhri, an investor at Stellaris Venture Partners, about the venture capital market in India, the current state of investment here, and his outlook on investments in gaming in India.  

OUTLINE: 

0:00 General landscape of venture capital in India 

2:20 Specialist vs. generalist VCs, the definition of micro-VC 

3:35 Sudden investment interest in gaming in India 

4:48 Should investors invest early in gaming or wait for talent to emerge? 

5:17 Info on Stellaris and what they look for from a pitch? 

6:25 Typical funding for Seed vs. Series A in India 

7:13 Expectations for Series A 

8:09 What do you look for in an entrepreneur/CEO? 

12:11 How should entrepreneurs consider the global economy in their fundraising? 

14:36 Advice for entrepreneurs who want to pitch Stellaris   

👇 EPISODE LINKS:  

- Stellaris Venture Partners: https://www.stellarisvp.com/

- Rahul Chowdhri: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rahulchowdhri/ 

SUBSCRIBE TO GAMEMAKERS: 

- Newsletter: https://gamemakers.substack.com/

- Don't miss an episode on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/GameMakersStudio

Today's focus will be on the F2P game design discipline. How it’s evolved, what does it take to be successful as a game designer, the tools and practice of a F2P game designer, and where does John think the future is headed for F2P game design.

👇 EPISODE LINKS:  

- PlaySimple Games: https://playsimple.in/

- John Kelly LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-kelly-99b3966/ 

SUBSCRIBE TO GAMEMAKERS: 

- Newsletter: https://gamemakers.substack.com/

- Don't miss an episode on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/GameMakersStudio

I interview Matthew Emery aka "The Games Consultant" about what it means to build a F2P liveops "Playbook."  

Listen to this Q&A between me and Matt!  

SUBSCRIBE TO GAMEMAKERS: 

- Apple Podcast: https://apple.co/34hfOtv

- Spotify Podcast: https://spoti.fi/3Cpyq7i

- Newsletter: https://gamemakers.substack.com/

- Don't miss an episode on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/GameMakersStudio 

OUTLINE: 

0:00 Intro 

1:01 Matt's 19-Year Background & Current Business 

2:24 High-Level Framework for Thinking About LiveOps: How to Survive?
7:10 How to Deal With Low KPI Metrics? ROI-First Approach 

12:57 Coming Up With Improvement Initiatives 

15:39 How to Gauge Initiative Impact Through Multi-Variate/Split Testing? Stat-sig or Not? 

19:00 New Game Dev vs. Live Operated Games 

21:50 What Should a Live-ops "Playbook" Include? 

27:12 Biggest Mistakes & Learnings from Matt's Experience 

30:10 Recommendations on Critical Best Practices / High ROI Areas 

33:48 Why Aggressiveness is Critical in Multivariate Testing? 

37:38 Final Recommendations - Need to Understand UA, Why CPI Goes Up?  

👇 EPISODE LINKS:  

- Matt Emery: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthewemery/

- IAP Merchandising Playbook #1| Special Offers that Sizzle: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/iap-merchandising-playbook-part-1-special-offers-matthew/

- IAP Merchandising Playbook #2| Visual Hierarchy: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/iap-merchandising-playbook-part-2-visual-hierarchy-matthew/

- IAP Merchandising Playbook #3| MVP Store Design: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/iap-merchandising-playbook-part-3-mvp-store-design-matthew/?trackingId=vtcxmGEzQWK04H3PDuD2lw%3D%3D 

😃 —CONNECT WITH ME! —  

• MY INSTAGRAM → @jokim1 

• TWITTER      → @jokim1 

• LINKEDIN      → https://www.linkedin.com/in/jokim/

Drew Levin is currently Director of Product at Riot Games and before that a Director of Product Management at Zynga.  

Zynga vs. Riot: two companies with wildly different approaches to game development, decision-making, and a culture of debate and discussion. Even more, Drew worked as a political campaign manager before game development.  

I believe Drew is uniquely experienced in speaking very deeply about different cultures and approaches to having constructive debates within a corporate context.  However, more broadly, in our talk today, we discuss the following:     

- #1. The problem at many companies focused on winning vs. discussion and seeking truth     

- #2. Impact of company culture      

- #3. Specific techniques to facilitate more constructive discussions     

- #4. Ideas and ways in which we can improve discussions

👇 EPISODE LINKS:  

- Drew Levin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drew-levin-7a225626/

- Adam Grant, "How to Argue about Abortion": https://adamgrant.bulletin.com/how-to-argue-about-abortion/

- Paul Saffo on Strong Opinions, Weakly Held: https://www.saffo.com/02008/07/26/strong-opinions-weakly-held/

- AORs by Asana: https://wavelength.asana.com/workstyle-aors/ 

SUBSCRIBE TO GAMEMAKERS: 

- Apple Podcast: https://apple.co/34hfOtv

- Spotify Podcast: https://spoti.fi/3Cpyq7i

- Newsletter: https://gamemakers.substack.com/

- Don't miss an episode on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/GameMakersStudio

When you're at the office super late and hella tired, you do weird shit like starting a Vlog.  

I'm Joseph Kim, CEO of Lila Games and we are trying to build a mobile gaming studio out of Bangalore, India.  

SUBSCRIBE TO GAMEMAKERS: 

- Apple Podcast: https://apple.co/34hfOtv

- Spotify Podcast: https://spoti.fi/3Cpyq7i

- Newsletter: https://gamemakers.substack.com/

- Don't miss an episode on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/GameMakersStudio 😃 

—CONNECT WITH ME! —  

• MY INSTAGRAM → @jokim1 

• TWITTER      → @jokim1 

• LINKEDIN      → https://www.linkedin.com/in/jokim/   

— POPULAR CONTENT — 

🤑 Economy of the Metaverse with Tim Sweeney https://youtu.be/h6ClJxjuRvw

ℹ️ How to Build the Amazon of Game Companies https://youtu.be/bkd2TOpKt4I

🔮 Gaming Trends | A Look Ahead at 2021 https://youtu.be/NejFzHtpiZI

🖥️ The Future of PC Gaming https://youtu.be/_QT7O3Wxi2s

🔴 Games Industry M&A https://youtu.be/65nyPk6WNrs

🔴 Netcode for Multiplayer Games https://youtu.be/tHq3PzmjhLw

🔴 IDFA Deprecation Product Impact https://youtu.be/Ojec4wGKpso

🔴 Trip Hawkins on the New High Score https://youtu.be/5egTSQ6AiRA

🔴 LiveOps F2P Best Practices https://youtu.be/tmzqqnYbjNY

Mobile free-to-play game design experts from Naavik - Thomas Baker (former lead game designer at Electronic Arts and lead on Real Racing 3) and Eva Grillova (former game designer from Wooga and SocialPoint) - have written a super in-depth analysis on Garena Free Fire.  

Find out how Free Fire was able to achieve success to become the world's most downloaded shooter game of all time! Further, why has Free Fire dropped by over 30% since last year? What are the big risks and opportunities ahead for the game?  

SPECIAL OFFER FROM NAAVIK:  

🔥🔥🔥 Get the Garena Free Fire Pro report for FREE here: https://naavik.co/deep-dives/free-fire-world 🔥 🔥 🔥   

SUBSCRIBE TO GAMEMAKERS: 

- Apple Podcast: https://apple.co/34hfOtv

- Spotify Podcast: https://spoti.fi/3Cpyq7i

- Newsletter: https://gamemakers.substack.com/

- Don't miss an episode on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/GameMakersStudio 

OUTLINE: 

0:00 Intro 

2:11 Secrets to Success 

7:55 SEA Organization 

11:45 Localization Focus 

19:00 Competitive Landscape 

25:25 Revenue Decline 

26:47  Monetization Scheme 

34:30 Biggest Risks 

47:40 Impact of Free Fire Max 

52:10 Future Expectations  

👇 EPISODE LINKS:  

- Thomas Baker, Consulting Partner, Naavik Consulting 

- Eva Grillova, Game Design Consultant, Naavik Consulting 

- Naavik: https://naavik.co/ 

😃 —CONNECT WITH ME! —  

• MY INSTAGRAM → @jokim1 

• TWITTER      → @jokim1 

• LINKEDIN      → https://www.linkedin.com/in/jokim/   

— POPULAR CONTENT — 

🤑 Economy of the Metaverse with Tim Sweeney https://youtu.be/h6ClJxjuRvw

ℹ️ How to Build the Amazon of Game Companies https://youtu.be/bkd2TOpKt4I

🔮 Gaming Trends | A Look Ahead at 2021 https://youtu.be/NejFzHtpiZI

🖥️ The Future of PC Gaming https://youtu.be/_QT7O3Wxi2s

🔴 Games Industry M&A https://youtu.be/65nyPk6WNrs

🔴 Netcode for Multiplayer Games https://youtu.be/tHq3PzmjhLw

🔴 IDFA Deprecation Product Impact https://youtu.be/Ojec4wGKpso

🔴 Trip Hawkins on the New High Score https://youtu.be/5egTSQ6AiRA

🔴 LiveOps F2P Best Practices https://youtu.be/tmzqqnYbjNY

We talk about a lot of hot topics people have been discussing in the games industry.  Topics:

#1. The dramatic decline in user acquisition marketing - UA Apocalypse

#2. Impact of global recession

#3. Employee compensation

SUBSCRIBE TO GAMEMAKERS: 

- Apple Podcast: https://apple.co/34hfOtv

- Spotify Podcast: https://spoti.fi/3Cpyq7i

- Newsletter: https://gamemakers.substack.com/

- Don't miss an episode on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/GameMakersStudio 

OUTLINE: 

0:00 Intro 

2:50 UA Apocalypse 

16:35 Product Validation 

35:10 Impact of Global Recession 

1:01:10 Employee Compensation  

😃 —CONNECT WITH ME! —  

• MY INSTAGRAM → @jokim1 

• TWITTER      → @jokim1 

• LINKEDIN      → https://www.linkedin.com/in/jokim/   

— POPULAR CONTENT — 

🤑 Economy of the Metaverse with Tim Sweeney https://youtu.be/h6ClJxjuRvw

ℹ️ How to Build the Amazon of Game Companies https://youtu.be/bkd2TOpKt4I

🔮 Gaming Trends | A Look Ahead at 2021 https://youtu.be/NejFzHtpiZI

🖥️ The Future of PC Gaming https://youtu.be/_QT7O3Wxi2s

🔴 Games Industry M&A https://youtu.be/65nyPk6WNrs

🔴 Netcode for Multiplayer Games https://youtu.be/tHq3PzmjhLw

🔴 IDFA Deprecation Product Impact https://youtu.be/Ojec4wGKpso

🔴 Trip Hawkins on the New High Score https://youtu.be/5egTSQ6AiRA

🔴 LiveOps F2P Best Practices https://youtu.be/tmzqqnYbjNY

Joseph Kim and Brett Nowak talk about cultural installation (not just conveying or communicating culture) and about how to create incentive systems for employees.  

SUBSCRIBE TO GAMEMAKERS: 

- Apple Podcast: https://apple.co/34hfOtv

- Spotify Podcast: https://spoti.fi/3Cpyq7i

- Newsletter: https://gamemakers.substack.com/

- Don't miss an episode on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/GameMakersStudio 

OUTLINE: 

0:00 Intro 

2:01 Installing Culture (Not Just Communication of Culture) 

41:45 Employee Incentive Systems  

😃 —CONNECT WITH ME! —  

• MY INSTAGRAM → @jokim1 

• TWITTER      → @jokim1 

• LINKEDIN      → https://www.linkedin.com/in/jokim/   

— POPULAR CONTENT — 

🤑 Economy of the Metaverse with Tim Sweeney https://youtu.be/h6ClJxjuRvw

ℹ️ How to Build the Amazon of Game Companies https://youtu.be/bkd2TOpKt4I

🔮 Gaming Trends | A Look Ahead at 2021 https://youtu.be/NejFzHtpiZI

🖥️ The Future of PC Gaming https://youtu.be/_QT7O3Wxi2s

🔴 Games Industry M&A https://youtu.be/65nyPk6WNrs

🔴 Netcode for Multiplayer Games https://youtu.be/tHq3PzmjhLw

🔴 IDFA Deprecation Product Impact https://youtu.be/Ojec4wGKpso

🔴 Trip Hawkins on the New High Score https://youtu.be/5egTSQ6AiRA

🔴 LiveOps F2P Best Practices https://youtu.be/tmzqqnYbjNY

Will Harbin was CEO at Kixeye during the early 2010s when the company launched some of the most innovative games to the market at that time: Desktop Tower Defense, Backyard Monsters, War Commander, and Battle Pirates. The company was poised to become the next big gaming juggernaut but did not quite make the transition to mobile.   

Today Will is making a comeback with Kixeye 2.0, his new company Global Worldwide which recently launched Kingdom Maker.  Don't miss this fascinating discussion, outlined below.  

SUBSCRIBE TO GAMEMAKERS: 

- Apple Podcast: https://apple.co/34hfOtv

- Spotify Podcast: https://spoti.fi/3Cpyq7i

- Newsletter: https://gamemakers.substack.com/

- Don't miss an episode on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/GameMakersStudio 

OUTLINE: 

0:00 Intro 

0:46 Will on Kixeye's Controversial Past 

3:05 Kixeye's Famous Recruitment Video 

5:50 Social vs. Transitioning to Mobile 

10:45 How Losers on Social Like Supercell Won on Mobile 

15:25 The Early Mobile F2P Market 21:40 The F2P Gaming Market Today 

24:24 "Full Economic Mastery" 

25:15 The Story of Kingdom Maker and Global Worldwide aka Kixeye 2.0 

33:20 On Kixeye Culture 38:00 Why Did Will Believe in Kingdom Maker for 6 Years? 

42:25 Product Validation Approach 46:00 On Game Publishing and Scopely 

51:10 View on Current F2P Gaming Landscape  

👇 EPISODE LINKS:  

- Will Harbin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/willharbin/ 😃 

—CONNECT WITH ME! —  

• MY INSTAGRAM → @jokim1 

• TWITTER      → @jokim1 

• LINKEDIN      → https://www.linkedin.com/in/jokim/   

— POPULAR CONTENT — 

🤑 Economy of the Metaverse with Tim Sweeney https://youtu.be/h6ClJxjuRvw

ℹ️ How to Build the Amazon of Game Companies https://youtu.be/bkd2TOpKt4I

🔮 Gaming Trends | A Look Ahead at 2021 https://youtu.be/NejFzHtpiZI

🖥️ The Future of PC Gaming https://youtu.be/_QT7O3Wxi2s

🔴 Games Industry M&A https://youtu.be/65nyPk6WNrs

🔴 Netcode for Multiplayer Games https://youtu.be/tHq3PzmjhLw

🔴 IDFA Deprecation Product Impact https://youtu.be/Ojec4wGKpso

🔴 Trip Hawkins on the New High Score https://youtu.be/5egTSQ6AiRA

🔴 LiveOps F2P Best Practices https://youtu.be/tmzqqnYbjNY

Sebastian Park is a co-founder of the UGC publishing company Infinite Canvas and a venture partner at BITKRAFT Ventures. He was also formerly VP of eSports for the Houston Rockets and co-founded Clutch Gaming.  

Seb talks about his beliefs on why user-generated gaming is the next frontier for the games industry.  

SUBSCRIBE TO GAMEMAKERS: 

- Apple Podcast: https://apple.co/34hfOtv 

- Spotify Podcast: https://spoti.fi/3Cpyq7i 

- Newsletter: https://gamemakers.substack.com/ 

- Don't miss an episode on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/GameMakersStudio  

OUTLINE: 

0:00 Context and Intro to Seb Park 

3:45 Why User Generated Gaming is the Next Frontier? 

9:35 How Does UGC Manifest in Games?  

12:50 Biggest Opportunity in UGC? 

19:25 Infinite Canvas Publishing Model 

21:22 UGC Discovery 

24:35 Value Proposition of a UGC Publisher 

27:10 Examples of Good UGC Creators 

33:25 Are UGC Platforms Winner-take-all? 

👇 EPISODE LINKS:  

• Seb Park on Twitter: @SebPark 

😃 —CONNECT WITH ME! —  

• MY INSTAGRAM → @jokim1 

• TWITTER      → @jokim1 

• LINKEDIN      → https://www.linkedin.com/in/jokim/    

— POPULAR CONTENT 

— 🤑 Economy of the Metaverse with Tim Sweeney https://youtu.be/h6ClJxjuRvw 

ℹ️ How to Build the Amazon of Game Companies https://youtu.be/bkd2TOpKt4I 

🔮 Gaming Trends | A Look Ahead at 2021 https://youtu.be/NejFzHtpiZI 

🖥️ The Future of PC Gaming https://youtu.be/_QT7O3Wxi2s 

🔴 Games Industry M&A https://youtu.be/65nyPk6WNrs 

🔴 Netcode for Multiplayer Games https://youtu.be/tHq3PzmjhLw 

🔴 IDFA Deprecation Product Impact https://youtu.be/Ojec4wGKpso 

🔴 Trip Hawkins on the New High Score https://youtu.be/5egTSQ6AiRA 

🔴 LiveOps F2P Best Practices https://youtu.be/tmzqqnYbjNY

Three of the greatest experts on Entertainment IP in Games give perhaps the most in-depth discussion on impact, deal structure, issues, and advice.  You don't want to miss this if you have any interest of licensing IP in your game!  

SUBSCRIBE TO GAMEMAKERS: 

- Apple Podcast: https://apple.co/34hfOtv

- Spotify Podcast: https://spoti.fi/3Cpyq7i

- Newsletter: https://gamemakers.substack.com/

- Don't miss an episode on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/GameMakersStudio 

OUTLINE: 

0:00 Intro 

1:26 Speaker Backgrounds 

14:15 Impact of IP on Games 

32:52 Fitting Gameplay and IP 

39:45 Big Problems with IP 

45:47 Licensor Objectives 

48:44 Terms & Deal Structure 

57:10 Exclusivity 

1:00:34 Other IP Considerations 

1:04:28 Licenses Gone Wrong 

1:14:05 IP vs. Integration Deals 

1:22:48 Advice to Secure Deal  

👇 SPEAKER LINKS:  

- Ames Kirshen. VP, Studio General Manager & Creative Director at Atomic Arcade: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ameskirshen/

- Pete Wanat, Chief Creative Officer at Nifty Games: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pete-wanat-468089176/

- Ed Zobrist. USC Lecturer, Former Head of Publishing at Fortnite: https://www.linkedin.com/in/edzobrist/ 

😃 —CONNECT WITH ME! —  

• MY INSTAGRAM → @jokim1 

• TWITTER      → @jokim1 

• LINKEDIN      → https://www.linkedin.com/in/jokim/   

— POPULAR CONTENT — 

🤑 Economy of the Metaverse with Tim Sweeney https://youtu.be/h6ClJxjuRvw

ℹ️ How to Build the Amazon of Game Companies https://youtu.be/bkd2TOpKt4I

🔮 Gaming Trends | A Look Ahead at 2021 https://youtu.be/NejFzHtpiZI

🖥️ The Future of PC Gaming https://youtu.be/_QT7O3Wxi2s

🔴 Games Industry M&A https://youtu.be/65nyPk6WNrs

🔴 Netcode for Multiplayer Games https://youtu.be/tHq3PzmjhLw

🔴 IDFA Deprecation Product Impact https://youtu.be/Ojec4wGKpso

🔴 Trip Hawkins on the New High Score https://youtu.be/5egTSQ6AiRA

🔴 LiveOps F2P Best Practices https://youtu.be/tmzqqnYbjNY

After a career in product management at places like Zynga Natural Motion and Digital Chocolate, Akash Senapaty founded e-learning startup Vah Vah with 3 others from Zynga India.   

What are the lessons learned? What was he able to translate from being a games PM at Zynga to entrepreneurship? What are his thoughts on the gaming companies and the opportunities in India?  

SUBSCRIBE TO GAMEMAKERS: 

- Newsletter: https://gamemakers.substack.com/

- Don't miss an episode on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/GameMakersStudio 

👇 EPISODE LINKS:  

- Akash Senapaty, Co-founder at Vah Vah: https://www.linkedin.com/in/senapaty/ 

😃 —CONNECT WITH ME! —  

• MY INSTAGRAM → @jokim1 

• TWITTER      → @jokim1 

• LINKEDIN      → https://www.linkedin.com/in/jokim/   

— POPULAR CONTENT — 

🤑 Economy of the Metaverse with Tim Sweeney https://youtu.be/h6ClJxjuRvw

ℹ️ How to Build the Amazon of Game Companies https://youtu.be/bkd2TOpKt4I

🔮 Gaming Trends | A Look Ahead at 2021 https://youtu.be/NejFzHtpiZI

🖥️ The Future of PC Gaming https://youtu.be/_QT7O3Wxi2s

🔴 Games Industry M&A https://youtu.be/65nyPk6WNrs

🔴 Netcode for Multiplayer Games https://youtu.be/tHq3PzmjhLw

🔴 IDFA Deprecation Product Impact https://youtu.be/Ojec4wGKpso

🔴 Trip Hawkins on the New High Score https://youtu.be/5egTSQ6AiRA

🔴 LiveOps F2P Best Practices https://youtu.be/tmzqqnYbjNY

We discuss the current opportunity space for traditional game developers around Web3.   

SUBSCRIBE TO GAMEMAKERS: 

- Apple Podcast: https://apple.co/34hfOtv

- Spotify Podcast: https://spoti.fi/3Cpyq7i

- Newsletter: https://gamemakers.substack.com/

- Don't miss an episode on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/GameMakersStudio 

OUTLINE: 

0:00 Introduction 

1:51 Why Web3? 

6:20 What Does Web3 Mean? 

24:37 Axie Hack & Big Risks 

39:27 Emotional Web3 Devs 

46:08 Areas of Innovation 

1:00:49 Investment & Valuations  

1:06:42 Companies to Watch 

1:13:07 Community in Web3 

1:18:00 Last Word & Prediction  

🎤 SPEAKERS:  

- Jeremy Horn, VP of Innovation at FunPlus: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeremyhorn/

- Joseph Kim, CEO of LILA Games: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jokim/

- Niko Vuori, CEO of Blockstars: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nikovuori/

- Chris Ye, CEO at UKEN Games: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cye/ 

😃 —CONNECT WITH ME! —  

• MY INSTAGRAM → @jokim1 • TWITTER      → @jokim1 

• LINKEDIN      → https://www.linkedin.com/in/jokim/   

— POPULAR CONTENT — 

🤑 Economy of the Metaverse with Tim Sweeney https://youtu.be/h6ClJxjuRvw

ℹ️ How to Build the Amazon of Game Companies https://youtu.be/bkd2TOpKt4I

🔮 Gaming Trends | A Look Ahead at 2021 https://youtu.be/NejFzHtpiZI

🖥️ The Future of PC Gaming https://youtu.be/_QT7O3Wxi2s

🔴 Games Industry M&A https://youtu.be/65nyPk6WNrs

🔴 Netcode for Multiplayer Games https://youtu.be/tHq3PzmjhLw

🔴 IDFA Deprecation Product Impact https://youtu.be/Ojec4wGKpso

🔴 Trip Hawkins on the New High Score https://youtu.be/5egTSQ6AiRA

🔴 LiveOps F2P Best Practices https://youtu.be/tmzqqnYbjNY

We talk about game studio fundraising and specifically Series A funding - what that means - and lessons, best practices, and mistakes based on my own experience with this current financing round.  

Understand the difference between Seed and Series A.  

Make sure you don't make the same mistakes I did. Don't be a lame CEO and make sure you take funding seriously!  

SUBSCRIBE TO GAMEMAKERS: 

- Newsletter: https://gamemakers.substack.com/

- Don't miss an episode on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/GameMakersStudio 

OUTLINE: 

0:00 Introduction 

1:43 Funding Environment 

13:13 What is a Series A?  

21:16 Investment Models 

34:59 Ideal Startup Profile 

44:01 Amount of Funding 

56:07 Investor Value Add 

59:16 Post vs. Pre-Money 

1:04:44 Investor Communication  

1:13:45 Having a Defined Process 

1:26:49 Biggest Mistake & Advice 

1:31:15 Wrap-Up & Contact  

👇 EPISODE LINKS:  

- Jobs at LILA Games: https://www.lilagames.com/jobs/ 💰 

LOOKING FOR FUNDING?: 

- BITKRAFT: https://www.bitkraft.vc/ (Led LILA's Seed and invested in Series A) 

- Galaxy Interactive: https://www.galaxyinteractive.io/ (invested in LILA's Seed and Series A) 

- Rainfall Ventures: https://www.rainfall.com/ (Led LILA's Series A)  

😃 —CONNECT WITH ME! —  

• MY INSTAGRAM → @jokim1 

• TWITTER      → @jokim1 

• LINKEDIN      → https://www.linkedin.com/in/jokim/

How should companies think about retaining employees? 

1. How much to invest in employees when they may wind up just leaving? 

2. How to retain employees besides just wage escalation? 

3. What should the attitude of employers be regarding the loss of employees? 

4. How to think about matching competitive compensation vs. letting employees go? 

5. Thinking about redundancy or building an anti-fragile company? 

SUBSCRIBE TO GAMEMAKERS: 

- Apple Podcast: https://apple.co/34hfOtv

- Spotify Podcast: https://spoti.fi/3Cpyq7i

- Newsletter: https://gamemakers.substack.com/

- Don't miss an episode on Youtube: 

https://www.youtube.com/c/GameMakersStudio 

😃 —CONNECT WITH ME! —  

• MY INSTAGRAM → @jokim1 

• TWITTER      → @jokim1 

• LINKEDIN      → https://www.linkedin.com/in/jokim/   

— POPULAR CONTENT — 

🤑 Economy of the Metaverse with Tim Sweeney https://youtu.be/h6ClJxjuRvw

ℹ️ How to Build the Amazon of Game Companies https://youtu.be/bkd2TOpKt4I

🔮 Gaming Trends | A Look Ahead at 2021 https://youtu.be/NejFzHtpiZI

🖥️ The Future of PC Gaming https://youtu.be/_QT7O3Wxi2s

🔴 Games Industry M&A https://youtu.be/65nyPk6WNrs

🔴 Netcode for Multiplayer Games https://youtu.be/tHq3PzmjhLw

🔴 IDFA Deprecation Product Impact https://youtu.be/Ojec4wGKpso

🔴 Trip Hawkins on the New High Score https://youtu.be/5egTSQ6AiRA

🔴 LiveOps F2P Best Practices https://youtu.be/tmzqqnYbjNY

The Russia Ukraine war has had a dramatic impact on many people’s lives. Huge impact to society, to our economies, and to various industries in different ways.  

How has video game development been impacted by the war?  

Boris Kalmykov, CEO of Hypemasters is a Russian living in the UK but with most of his company formerly located in St. Petersberg. 

- How have his company and other companies with employees in Russia and Ukraine been impacted? 

- What about the impact on big companies with employees in Russia and Ukraine like Playrix and Plarium? 

- What is the impact of sanctions and how much worse can it get? 

- What is the potential for Ukrainians and Russians to work together in the future? 

- What is the outlook for Ukrainian and Russian game development companies?  

SUBSCRIBE TO GAMEMAKERS: 

- Apple Podcast: https://apple.co/34hfOtv

- Spotify Podcast: https://spoti.fi/3Cpyq7i

- Newsletter: https://gamemakers.substack.com/

- Don't miss an episode on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/GameMakersStudio 

👇 EPISODE LINKS:  

Crisis Management at Hypemasters: https://medium.com/hypemasters/crisis-management-at-hypemasters-eb80518c1f74 

🤝 GOOD NEWS! LILA Games just hired our first Ukrainian, hired by our Russian Art Director. 

If you are Ukrainian or Russian apply to LILA: https://www.lilagames.com/jobs/

😃 —CONNECT WITH ME! —  •

 MY INSTAGRAM → @jokim1 

• TWITTER      → @jokim1 

• LINKEDIN      → https://www.linkedin.com/in/jokim/

Today I’m here with my co-founder and CTO of LILA Games, Avinash Pandey. 

Having a frank discussion about the games industry here in India and what it’s going to take for India to become a place where world-leading games studios emerge.  

If China and Turkey can do it, why not India?

SUBSCRIBE TO GAMEMAKERS: 

- Newsletter: https://gamemakers.substack.com/ 

- Don't miss an episode on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/GameMakersStudio

We breakdown the mobile marketing activities of both Garena Free Fire Max and PUBG: New State, comparing and contrasting the user acquisition initiatives deployed in both games.   

We first start with a high-level overview of the top 3 mobile shooter games: PUBG Mobile, Call of Duty Mobile, and Garena Free Fire.  

Joining to review, discuss, and add meaningful insights to the presentation from SocialPeta we have 2 of the best mobile marketers in the world.  

SPEAKERS: 

- Matej Lancaric, current UA consultant but formerly from SuperScale and a bunch of other companies, has launched a ton of mobile games throughout his career 

- Nebo Radovic,  formerly from a bunch of really great game companies that did mobile marketing but currently at Zynga  

Note: SocialPeta examined the UA activity in both games and they created the report covered in the video.  

👇 EPISODE LINKS:  

- SocialPeta: https://socialpeta.com/

- Matej: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matejlancaric/

- Nebo: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nebojsaradovic/ SUBSCRIBE TO GAMEMAKERS: 

Newsletter: https://gamemakers.substack.com/

- Don't miss an episode on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/GameMakersStudio

A deep discussion on how we think about employee motivation to work. How should we think about it?   

We cover topics such as key factors that contribute to higher motivation, the importance of desperation, how it's important to help some employees tie potential outcomes to the work they do, and the importance of creating the right incentive systems to align work motivation.  

Read about it in the GameMakers newsletter: https://gamemakers.substack.com/

We discuss the best and worst of game dev in 2021.  

Our awards crew:  

Javier Barnes, Lead Game Designer at King 

Josh Burns, Founder at DigitalDevConnect 

Shannon Chang, Head of Operations at Trading.TV 

Niklas Herriger, Executive Coach at 8 Bit Coaching 

Matthew Kanterman, CFA, Senior Equity Research Analyst at Bloomberg LP 

Eric Kress, Principal at Gossamer Consulting Group, LLC K

en Landen, Lead Product Manager at Scopely 

Brian Peganoff, Ex. Senior Director, Corporate Development & Strategy at Glu Mobile  

AWARDS CATEGORIES:  

Biggest winner: Which games industry company was the biggest winner in 2021?  

Biggest loser: Which games industry company was the biggest loser in 2021?  

Best Game (HD or mobile)  

Worst Game (HD or mobile)  

Biggest Surprise   

Biggest Comeback  

Biggest Missed Opportunity  

Biggest News  

Game or Big Game Update You're Most Looking Forward To

We discuss the sustainability and economy behind the massive hit blockchain game Axie Infinity. Naavik has released a research report breaking down the economy and sustainability of the game (check out the link to the report below).   

Axie seems to have reached an inflection point in which the game may no longer be sustainable.  

Find out more about Axie, its economy, Sky Mavis and how they monetize Axie, and the potential future and sustainability of both Axie and Sky Mavis.  Btw, it's easy to cast stones, so we also take an optimistic look and discuss the potential solutions and upside of Axie and Sky Mavis.  

Check out this deep and very educational discussion now!  

LINKS: 

- Master the Meta newsletter: https://naavik.co/themetas

- Naavik Premium Research: https://naavik.co/premium

- Axie Infinity: Infinite Opportunity or Infinite Peril research report: https://naavik.co/business-breakdowns/axie-infinity 

PROMOTION:  

Check out the Naavik premium research service for games: https://naavik.co/premium

Use promo code NAAVIKGAMEMAKERS for a 10% discount off of the first 12 months of the subscription!

We brought together a number of experts from across the gaming ecosystem to have a casual but deep and informed discussion about the future of mobile gaming.  

In particular, what are key opportunities game developers should be aware of and what are the potential risks as we move into 2022 and beyond.  

SPEAKERS: 

- Nadav Ashkenazy, SVP Publishing Solutions, IronSource: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nadav-ashkenazy-34083aba/

- Ron Rejwan, Co-founder/CEO of new gaming startup Sneaky Panda, Former Co-founder/CTO of Jelly Button the makers of Pirate Kings: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ron-rejwan-1124013/

- Lexi Sydow, Head of Insights, App Annie: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lexisydow/ 

0:00 Intro 

1:40 Biggest Impact Change 

9:19 Mid/Hardcore Insurgency 

16:40 Services Drive Growth 

27:24 Social Multiplayer Crypto 

39:20 Metaverse  

49:37 Data Wars 

58:34 Chasing Quick Money 

1:05:50 Global Financial Crisis 

1:12:46 User Acquisition Costs  

1:18:21 Final Words  

Read about it in the GameMakers newsletter: https://gamemakers.substack.com/

What kinds of planning do product managers do in game development? 

We discuss the kinds of planning in concept/pre-production, production, and in live ops.   

What kinds of revenue forecasting and analysis should you do?   

How to plan for big innovations vs. incremental liveops beats?  

GUEST: 

- Adam Telfer, Senior Director of Product - Head of Central Product at WB Games: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adamtelfer/ 

HOSTS: 

- Joseph Kim, CEO at LILA Games: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jokim/

- Brett Nowak, CEO at Liquid & Grit: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brett-nowak-8920675/ 

👇 CHECK IT OUT  

GameMakers Newsletter: https://gamemakers.substack.com/

So today there are a lot of complaints about whether a 30% Apple or Google app store fee is fair. And even further, whether there should be competition and the ability to have an open ecosystem for alternative payments or even app stores.  

We have on with us today some folks who will talk about both the current situation behind App Store fees and speculate on where this is all potentially heading as well.  

SPEAKERS:  

- Chris Hewish, President of Xsolla. The company has solutions against alternative payments and payment solutions both on Web and for PC, but also increasingly with a focus on mobile.  https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrishewish/ 

- Matthew Kanterman, Senior Equity Research Analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence. Matthew in particular has a specific focus on gaming, Asia, mobile, and metaverse. https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthew-kanterman-cfa-b6345133/ 

- Brett Nowak, CEO of Liquid & Grit. Brett also coincidentally co-hosts a podcast series with me called Philosophy Friday.  https://www.linkedin.com/in/brett-nowak-8920675/ 

Read about it in the GameMakers newsletter: https://gamemakers.substack.com/

Today we discuss Data Usage & Ethics in Gaming.  

It’s not just about what are acceptable practices when it comes to market intelligence, there’s a bigger picture around data that impacts privacy at the device level with Apple and Google impacting IDFA, and even further with the data by companies that may be in competitive situations to their customers. Note that it was just announced that Applovin has just acquired MoPub for example.  

Regular Hosts: 

- Joseph Kim, CEO of LILA Games: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jokim/

- Brett Nowak, CEO of Liquid & Grit: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brett-nowak-8920675/ 

Guest: 

- Lars Doucet, President of Level Up Labs. Twitter: @larsiusprime, Blog: https://www.fortressofdoors.com/ 

Read about it in the GameMakers newsletter: https://gamemakers.substack.com/

Deep discussion on what global strategic game publishers like Stillfront, SEGA, and Scopely look for when expanding into India from a development or market perspective.  

Moderator:     

- Justin Keeling, General Partner, Lumikai Fund  

Speakers:     

- Alexis Bonte, Group COO, Stillfront Group    

- Saito Go, Executive Officer & Head of Japan Asia Publishing, SEGA Corporation    

- Justin Scarpone, SVP & GM Asia, Scopely  

Read about it in the GameMakers newsletter: https://gamemakers.substack.com/

We talk about the history and future opportunities for Instant Games. Joining us is Lars Doucet who wrote about this in his blog post (linked below) and Emily Greer, who as the former founder and CEO of Kongregate, has a strong perspective on this.  

LINKS: 

- Jon Lai, a16z partner, tweet on Instant Games: https://twitter.com/Tocelot/status/1404914355670437889

- Lars Blog Post "The Future of Games is an Instant Flash to the past": https://www.fortressofdoors.com/the-future-of-games-is-an-instant-flash-to-the-past/ 

- Read about it in the GameMakers newsletter: https://gamemakers.substack.com/

Speakers:

- Lars Doucet, President of Level Up Labs: https://twitter.com/larsiusprime

- Emily Greer, CEO of Double Loop Games: https://www.linkedin.com/in/emilygreer/

Moderator:

- Joseph Kim, CEO of LILA Games: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jokim/

We talk about game development methodologies and best practices with how to structure and execute game development.   

SPEAKERS:  

   - Chris Cobb, co-founder and CTO of Pragma Platform, who also formerly worked as an engineering lead at Riot Games, and held software development roles at both Popcap and Microsoft.  

   - Noemi Rouleau, Associate Producer at Square Enix Montreal. Noemi also worked in production at Ubisoft on games like RainbowSix Siege , For honor, and Assassin’s Creed Origins  

   - Xiang Shen, CTO at Century Games. Century is a multi-billion revenue Beijing-based games developer and publisher. Xiang also formerly founded mobile games studio Outact, and was formerly a technical director at Roblox, and worked in software engineering at Tencent, EA, and Ubisoft.    

TOPICS: 

0:00 Intro 

1:18 Team Structure 

9:00 Dev Team Roles 

20:40 Game Dev Phases 

36:18 Engineering Practices (CI, Code Review, Coding Standards) 

50:27 Dev Methodology 

1:03:18 Sprint Estimates  

1:14:10 Final Message

Today we speak to Shahar Sorek to answer a core and fundamental question behind video games. We will discuss the question: Why do people play video games?

JK discusses how Shahar's concepts are very similar to the Japanese game design concepts around "user needs": basically that players will play games to fulfill some latent psychological need or desire manifested through playing games.

Tom Kalinske has had a career as the King of Brands.

Tom first became well known for marketing Flintstone vitamins and then reviving Barbie and Hot Wheels at Mattel and then Launching Masters of the Universe.

In the games industry and perhaps most famously Tom’s efforts to turn around SEGA of America were chronicled in the book and recent CBS documentary Console Wars.

Tom famously turned around the SEGA console business growing SEGA of America from $72M to more than $1.5B in revenue.

Learn the lessons of how Tom revitalized the old, and created new massive hit brands.