IndieGameBusiness®

Today on IndieGameBusiness, we are thrilled to have Joshua Garrity, the Head Game Scout at Secret Mode, join us to explore "What Publishers are Looking For." In this episode, Joshua will guide us through the intricacies of game scouting, pitching, and business development. He will share insights on crafting the ideal pitch and help us identify red flags that can hinder your pitch's s...

Welcome to another enlightening episode of Indie Game Business! Today, we have a distinguished guest, Ben Kvalo, the Founder and CEO of a confidential and as of yet unannounced video game publisher. Join us as we dive into the topic of "Unlocking Success: Indie Game Publishing's Promising Future." In this conversation, Ben will provide insights into the shifting landscape of the game...

Join Christian Fonnesbech, Head of IP Development at Leverage, as he shares valuable insights from his highly successful talk in Europe. In this enlightening video, Christian reveals the 9 most common mistakes in game IP and brand development. From underestimating the long-term value and focusing on things instead of characters, to the importance of uniqueness, relatability, and integrating IP wit...

Join Steph Briles, Owner of Oak City Indie Games, as they share valuable insights on networking with social anxiety and provides tips for breaking into the industry from scratch. In this informative video, Steph discusses the importance of social media, highlights great places for networking, emphasizes the significance of local communities, and addresses the anxieties associated with leaving a AA...

Join Mason Moreau, Digital Marketing Coordinator at Tripwire Interactive, as he delves into the crucial process of evaluating a game's efficacy as a competitive product in the marketplace. In this insightful video, Mason answers important questions like when to conduct this evaluation, why it's a vital step in a game's go-to-market plan, and how to remain realistic about your game'...

In this exciting episode, we have Chris Byatte, the Co-Founder of SPLACE, joining us to discuss "Bringing the Fun Back with SPLACE." During our conversation, we will explore various intriguing aspects of SPLACE and its unique approach to social media and community platforms. Chris will share insights into the motivation behind entering this area and highlight what sets SPLACE apart from...

Welcome to our captivating episode! Today, we have a very special guest, Jonathan Hill, who will take us on a journey exploring "Video Games: The Art of Transformation." During our conversation, we will delve into various thought-provoking topics, including mental health, self-acceptance, creativity, and the transformative power of video games as a form of art. Jonathan will also share h...

Welcome to our show! In this episode, we have a special guest, Masao Kobayashi, who will shed light on "What it's Like to be a Project Manager on AAA vs. Indie." During our conversation, Masao will compare and contrast project management in a 500-person team versus a smaller indie team of 10 members. We will explore the differences in risk management approaches and discuss the unique...

Welcome to another exciting episode of our show! Today, we have Bobby White as our special guest. Join us as we delve into the topic of "Developing and Launching a Game with Subsequent Updates." During this episode, we will explore various aspects of game development and launching, including the dynamics of international teams, the incorporation of language learning aids within games, an...

Join us for our next episode of Indie Game Business where we will be discussing "How successful PR and marketing can land you an investment or publishing deal." Our special guest, Wahid Lodin, will be sharing his insights into the importance of marketing when it comes to securing investment or publishing deals for your game. In this episode, we will explore different marketing strategies...

Welcome to our show! Today, we have a special guest, Alyssa Padia Walles, the Executive Director of the IGDA Foundation. Alyssa has an impressive career in the video game industry, including launching the Walt Disney Gift Catalog and Sony PlayStation, and re-launching the Atari brand. In this episode, we will discuss the IGDA Foundation and what it does. Alyssa will explain the application process...

Welcome to Indie Game Business! In this episode, we have Oscar Hogervorst, founder of Steam Data Suite, to discuss the challenges of publishing on Steam today and how his platform can help publishers optimize their visibility, store page, and marketing. Oscar's extensive background in games, marketing, and data has led him to develop tools to tackle the challenges that arise with the increasin...

Welcome to Indie Game Business! In this episode, we will be discussing "Creating an Integrated Marketing Strategy" for your game. Our guest today is Dwayne Waite Jr., the Marketing Director for Gaming Events at ReedPop, one of the largest event organizers for the gaming industry. In this episode, we will dive into the importance of having a holistic marketing strategy for your game, why...

This session will focus on playtesting as a tool developers can use in order to improve their game and predict the score at launch. We will touch on different forms of playtesting and how each can be utilized at different development stages. #GamePlaytesting #GamingQA #GameDevelopment #SteamScore #GamingInsights #DevelopmentStages #GameTestingTips #GamingQualityAssurance #GameDevelopmentInsights #...

Learn from my mistakes. Learn how to run a streamlined marketing campaign that integrates your community and content creators. I discuss tips & tricks and current best practices of how to run an integrated marketing campaign that incorporates community, content creators, and how that content should live on all platforms like YouTube, TikTok, and Twitch. #CommunityIntegration #ContentCreators #...

It's entirely possible for a small team to make a big noise. But how do you do it authentically, organically, and free-range? Eric and Steve's work was nominated for Best Indie PR/Marketing Campaign of 2020 and they'll walk you through the thought process, steps, and tools they used to do it on a limited budget...but a bigger budget would have been nice. Hear about asset utilization, m...

This roundtable explores the creative approach behind promoting indie games to the intended core audience as well mass market by truly capturing a game's voice. #IndieGamePromotion #GameMarketing #CreativeApproach #CoreAudience #GameVoice #IndieGameDevelopment #GamingCommunity #IndieGameInsights #IndieGameSuccess #IndieGameRoundtable

Peglin came out of seemingly nowhere to sell over 100K units in less than 2 weeks in Early Access. How did it happen, what worked, and what didn't? #GamingSuccess #IndieGameDevelopment #GameSales #GamingInsights #GameDevelopmentTips #GamingSalesStrategy #GameMarketing #IndieGameMarketing #PeglinSuccessStory #GameLaunch

In a world struck by economic turbulence and austerity, how can the video games industry preserve and promote artistic integrity and originality? How can developers avoid 'selling out', and how can investors and publishers continue to bet on 'risky' projects and encourage ingenuity? This conversation will examine approaches to finding balance between revenue generation and innovati...

Game discoverability has been the Holy Grail for the indie games community for ages. How do you approach different channels, does more mean better and which channels are worth it long term versus short term gains? Do you need to be everywhere all at once? Best practices from Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram - lessons learned both in the independent and AA ranges of the games market. #SocialM...

Steam Next Fest is a great opportunity to promote your game to some of the ~120 million people on Steam. We recently participated in a Next Fest…and although we crossed the finish line and came out better for it, we were not as prepared as we could have been. The goal of this session is to give you some idea of what to expect when participating in Steam’s Next Fest and how to best prepare your min...

You’ve heard a lot about the value of community. What you haven’t heard is how your collaboration as a developer can either facilitate a thriving community or ruin your chances for successful marketing. Jenesee walks you through the ideal relationship between communications, production, marketing and QA. Whether you’re running a self-funded project or working with a publisher, this session will he...

The first few weeks of every indie game's development are critical. That's when the key questions of Who's on the team, What are we building, What do we build first, When do we have to ship, How do we build the game (and even Why we're committed to doing so) get answered. This session will cover a list of key best practices that veteran teams use to set themselves up for success, a...

Felix will walkthrough 10 common pitfalls in publishing agreements that developers fall into, how to watch out for them and how to avoid. This will be a practical session focussing on key commercial issues that draws on Felix's rich experience working in-house as a senior lawyer for publishers and developers on both sides of the table. #GamePublishing #GameDevelopment #PublishingAgreements #Co...

Companies don’t think their current recruiting process is a problem as there seems to be an endless lineup of talent. But employee turnover costs are a real and an expensive problem. Replacement costs are 1.5 – 2 x an annual salary and these costs come off your bottom line. And times have changed; people are demanding more from their employers. Kaaren, founder of happy hive, will share a new way t...