IndieGameBusiness®

Welcome to another episode of IndieGameBusiness! Today, we have a special duo with us: Lucas Pessoa de Freitas, Business Developer Manager at Robot Teddy, and Richie de Wit, Founder & Business Development Consultant at Bear Knuckle. Our focus for today's discussion is the ever-relevant topic of "Publishing vs Self-Publishing."

In this episode, we'll dive into the nuances of publishing and self-publishing, exploring factors such as ownership, risk-taking, and the reasons behind choosing one approach over the other. Our guests will share insights into the considerations that go beyond financial aspects and why prioritization is crucial.

We'll also explore the challenges and rewards of running a game development business versus developing games as a side project. Business development will take center stage, with a deep dive into its role at every stage of game development when pursuing a self-publishing route.

Strategic thinking about funding opportunities, the importance of networking, and approaches to building valuable connections in the industry will be key themes. Our guests will share their experiences and expertise in funding, investing, publishing, and navigating emerging technologies.

Stay connected with Richie de Wit and Lucas Pessoa de Freitas on social media:

Richie de Wit:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/richiedewit

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/richiedewit/

Lucas Pessoa de Freitas:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/lucaspessoaf

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lucaspessoaf/

Join us for this insightful discussion on publishing vs self-publishing, business development, funding, and emerging tech. It's sure to be a valuable episode!

#IndieGameBiz #PublishingVsSelfPublishing #GameDevelopment #BusinessDevelopment #FundingOpportunities #IndieGameNetworking

Today, we are talking with Jason Schklar from UX is Fine! about how he has become a successful freelancer in the gaming industry and things that you need to do to help you succeed.

Jason's LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jschklar/

Jason's Twitter - https://twitter.com/jackalshorns

UX is Fine! Twitter - https://twitter.com/uxisfine

https://uxisfine.com/

To learn more about the show or our online business matchmaking events for indie developers visit: indiegame.business

Indie Game Business is produced by The Powell Group: powellgroupconsulting.com

Watch the official live stream: twitch.tv/indiegamebusiness

Watch Indie's live stream: twitch.tv/INDIE

Join the Indie Game Business Discord: discord.gg/indiegamebusiness

The Twitters to follow -

Indie Game Business: twitter.com/BusinessIndie

Powell Group Consulting: twitter.com/PowellGrp

Jay: twitter.com/Powell_Jay

INDIE: twitter.com/TheRealIndie

Donate to Extra Life with our link: extra-life.org/participant/IndieGameBusiness

Join the Indie Game Business Extra Life Team: extra-life.org/team/indiegamebusiness

Building on years of grant writing experience and successful funding for Only By Midnight, I will share my perspective on how to craft funding applications both public and private.

Some highlights:

Consider the human behind the application who is doing the reading. How to best engage their attention. How to not lose their attention.

Consider the objectives of a public program, such as the CMF. They are not interested in funding your project because you want it to succeed; they have their own objective, such as stimulating employment in a sector. Understand how to read between the lines a little and make sure to weave this into your application.

Consider the writing process, how to get support, and why it is so important to get additional eyes on your application before you send it.

Consider how to speak to risk, which is a fundamental question for both private and public investment.

The audience takeaway, particularly for someone who is interested in applying for funding but hasn't done so before, is that there is a path to success through the process and resources available to help. Ideally, they would also gain some insight into a couple of key areas, the type that would help them strengthen their application and make the difference in achieving a successful application. This is the information that Andrew 5 years ago would have wanted to know, much of which I am fortunate enough to have received from my own mentors along the way.'

Andrew Czarnietzki

Only By Midnight

Andrew Czarnietzki is the lead developer, functioning as a Programmer and Designer. Andrew has over 15 years of experience in the games industry. He is a co-founder of Serious Labs and has shipped over 18 serious game titles as Programmer and Lead Designer, including a line of award-winning VR Crane simulators. Only By Midnight represents Andrew applying his expertise from Serious Labs towards the unique business, creative, and technical challenges found in making games.

To learn more about the show or our online business matchmaking events for indie developers visit: indiegame.business

Indie Game Business is produced by The Powell Group: powellgroupconsulting.com

Watch the official live stream: twitch.tv/indiegamebusiness

Watch Indie's live stream: twitch.tv/INDIE

Join the Indie Game Business Discord: discord.gg/indiegamebusiness

The Twitters to follow -

Indie Game Business: twitter.com/BusinessIndie

Powell Group Consulting: twitter.com/PowellGrp

Jay: twitter.com/Powell_Jay

INDIE: twitter.com/TheRealIndie

Donate to Extra Life with our link: extra-life.org/participant/IndieGameBusiness

Join the Indie Game Business Extra Life Team: extra-life.org/team/indiegamebusiness

As a game developer, it’s imperative to do research and make data-driven decisions to support a game throughout its lifecycle.

This comprehensive talk will provide insight relevant to the entire lifecycle of a game, and the content will be relatable to all developers, no matter where they are in their development journey.

In the prototype/concept phase, I will cover how to conduct a competitive analysis to get a feel for what’s already in the market and how developers can position themselves for increased visibility.

This phase includes understanding the best platforms for your game, interpreting player reviews, rankings, and critical and influencer reviews. For those in the production/development face,

I will walk through how to conduct target audience analysis by using existing tools and resources available for free.

Next, I will cover playtesting from a product and marketing perspective and the most important questions you should ask to help with marketing the game.

Sales projections play a vital role in the pre-launch phase, and I will help developers create reasonable expectations for the performance of their game.

Finally, I will cover post-launch tactics to aggregate sales data to form dashboards, how to track store reviews, and the importance of tracking promotions and discounts.

By the end of this talk, attendees will have a complete set of guidelines and best data practices to guide them throughout the development process.

To learn more about the show or our online business matchmaking events for indie developers visit: indiegame.business

Indie Game Business is produced by The Powell Group: powellgroupconsulting.com

Watch the official live stream: twitch.tv/indiegamebusiness

Watch Indie's live stream: twitch.tv/INDIE

Join the Indie Game Business Discord: discord.gg/indiegamebusiness

The Twitters to follow -

Indie Game Business: twitter.com/BusinessIndie

Powell Group Consulting: twitter.com/PowellGrp

Jay: twitter.com/Powell_Jay

INDIE: twitter.com/TheRealIndie

Donate to Extra Life with our link: extra-life.org/participant/IndieGameBusiness

Join the Indie Game Business Extra Life Team: extra-life.org/team/indiegamebusiness

This talk will explore game publishing, from Fundamentally Games' perspective of their journey to shake up what it means to be a publisher. What do developers actually need and want from a publisher, how has the industry's transition to games as a service affected this, and how can publishers add value in today's market?

Ella Romanos

Fundamentally Games

Since 2008 Ella has been helping build and manage games development teams and projects, having started out as a programmer and co-founding game development studio Remode as a graduate. Prior to Fundamentally Games, Ella spent 6 years consulting with game developers, investment funds, and games-related organizations and has a deep understanding of the resources, funding methods, processes, and commercial considerations of taking games to market. She has been directly responsible for releasing over 50 games and has acted as head of the studio, executive producer and advisor, for many organizations, most notably, Pinewood Film Advisors, Agatha Christie Ltd, and Altara Games Fund. Ella also acts as a mentor and has provided input into academia including undergraduate and master's courses across the UK, and writing content and exams for AQA exam board’s games courses. She has been twice mentioned as MCV’s UK Top 100 Women in Games, named in Develop’s ‘Top 30 under 30’, and has sat on the board of directors of UKIE, the UK trade body for games, for 5 years.

To learn more about the show or our online business matchmaking events for indie developers visit: indiegame.business

Indie Game Business is produced by The Powell Group: powellgroupconsulting.com

Watch the official live stream: twitch.tv/indiegamebusiness

Watch Indie's live stream: twitch.tv/INDIE

Join the Indie Game Business Discord: discord.gg/indiegamebusiness

The Twitters to follow -

Indie Game Business: twitter.com/BusinessIndie

Powell Group Consulting: twitter.com/PowellGrp

Jay: twitter.com/Powell_Jay

INDIE: twitter.com/TheRealIndie

Donate to Extra Life with our link: extra-life.org/participant/IndieGameBusiness

Join the Indie Game Business Extra Life Team: extra-life.org/team/indiegamebusiness