Whenever we consider collaborating with influencers, usually top of mind is the bottom line. In other words, what kind of awareness and results can they get. More often than not though, this “transactional” way of thinking doesn’t lead to collaborations that deliver the results we’re looking for.  In todays episode, we explore exactly what makes an effective collaboration, discussing everything from mindset, creative freedom and how to avoid costly decisions while building mutually beneficial relationships that promote sustainability.    Ep 331 Shownotes ..read more

Managing any game community entails a lot of work and focus, but managing a team of managers across multiple communities, each one vastly different from each other can be outright overwhelming, especially when thinking about how to be strategic and hit certain goals. The good news is, it doesn’t have to be.  In today’s discussion, we approach how to be strategic across multiple communities from a simple perspective, that not only caters to each community, but how that helps carry out objectives while supporting your team and even helping other departments within your studio.    ..read more

Starting an indie game studio can be difficult but growing a sustainable one can be a challenging experience faced with a variety of unknown obstacles where every decision can impact your growth.  Today, we’re going to explore the indie side of business development by breaking things down into simple concepts that can make all the difference in how you establish relationship, discover opportunities, and even avoid some potential hazards along the way, keeping you on a path to mastering your studio’s growth.   Ep 329 Shownotes ..read more

When it comes to creating horror games, it can become quite a challenge to effectively deliver scares while keeping players fully immersed in the experience  In this special Halloween episode we dive into the horror genre, comparing effective (and not effective) ways both games and films have leveraged scares, pacing and a whole lot of other areas, unearthing and resurrecting creative ways to make horror games more immersive and frightening, while even sharing how some of these concepts can be applied to mes beyond the horror genre. Ep 327 hownotes:  ..read more

If there’s one thing indie studios and developers are always looking to do, it’s to increase the odds of their game’s success. However, trying to pinpoint exactly what that is, will always be a challenge to figure out. In today’s episode, we’re going to explore different concepts that can guide developers and studios to find their own solutions to this universal problem. By sharing objective-based processes and other approaches, we’ll reveal valuable insights and opportunities that can be leveraged to help increase your odds of success and do so within your means.  Ep 326 hownotes:   ..read more

We all know that key art for our games plays a critical role in setting expectations for players, but sometimes despite the best intentions, it can still fall flat, causing confusion and even friction for players.  Today we’re going to dig deep into what key art should consist of, the importance of knowing the market, and explore everything from concept, design, and distribution so you can get closer to mastering your game’s key art.   Ep 325 Shownotes ..read more

Whether we want to admit or not, everything we do during the development to the release of games involves some level of marketing. From communicating and sharing information to making claims that “no marketing” was done, marketing is an intrinsic component of development and carries well beyond awareness and promotion.  In this episode, we’re going to uncover some of the general misconceptions people have about marketing, how positioning and representation are just as important as creating awareness, and explore how some strategies can be counter-intuitive, in both positive and negative w ..read more

Learning how to adapt to the ever-changing game industry is a challenge that all studios and developers face. From understanding evolving market conditions to determining how to align projects with those demands, it can be a tough climate to navigate.  Today we’ll explore strategies that help set and maintain your project's course while learning how to adapt to market and other conditions, so your project and studio can sustain it’s course.     Ep 323 Shownotes ..read more

If there’s one thing developers generally have a strong supply of, it’s passion. While this is a great driving force that sparks motivation and creativity, it doesn’t always lend itself well when looking at projects from a marketing and business perspective, but it is possible.  So today we’re going to explore how one developer made some interesting revelations over the course of a couple of projects that allowed them to focus on their passion while taking a more pragmatic approach to the market, striking a functional balance between the two.   Ep 322 Shownotes ..read more

Getting wishlists is probably one of the main goals, bottom-line result we strive to acquire when getting games ready for release, and understandably so.  But often, we get so caught up in this key metric that we don’t stop to think about the importance quality plays in our wishlist acquisition, and just focus on hitting a total number before release. So today, we’re going to look at wishlists in general from the “bottom-up”, reviewing and thinking about the processes involved in acquiring wishlists, while also exploring the concept of how to “maintain” your wishlists, so you can do every ..read more