MCV/DEVELOP News, events, research and jobs from the games industry
Over 100 indie developers and small studios packed into St Mary’s Church in London yesterday to get invaluable advice on funding, marketing and more – and to pitch their games to publishers looking for new IP.
Interface returned to London for its second outing, with each conference session packed out. If you weren’t there, here are our top Take-Out Tips…
Charles Cecil, Revolution
When you’re at the prototype stage, try and find prototype funding.”
Chisel isn’t spelt win a Z.”
Paul Sulyok, Green Man Gaming
Do not put your house on the line to fund your business.”
Garry Williams, Sold Out
Don’t give away equity. Don’t give away your dreams because people will take it.”
Self publishing is still publishing. It takes time away from development.”
Go for anywhere you can sell it – not just Steam.”
Not all publishers are robber barons.”
Colin MacDonald, All4Games
Think about your elevator pitch – there is always a way to sum up your game in a single sentence.”
Get on a fucking plane. Go to see people, don’t wait for the money to come to you.”
You need to impress mobile gamers within 60 seconds.”
The term ‘build it and they will come’ is utter bollocks. If no one knows about your game, no one will play it.”
Gareth Williams, Premier PR
Every territory is different. What works in one territory may not work in others.”
Be wary of journalists, but be nice to them as well.”
Simply tweeting a PR message will not sell your game; have a conversation with your users on social media.”
9am UK time is a useless embargo outside of the UK.”
Andy Brammall, Unity
Use video, you never know what your community might come out with and what might go viral.”
Ella Romanos
A cultural test only takes ten minutes, so just do it.”
Get an accountant from the beginning so you know what you’re going to be claiming is right.”
Thomas Bartschi, Audiokinetic
Be sure to balance the tech and gameplay workload. Spending too much time on tech might not improve the overall immersivenes of the game.”
Think about how the audio can strengthen the emotional tone of your game.”
Natalie Griffith, Press Space
There is nothing free or easy about a Kickstarter campaign. If you don’t have an existing community, you’ll struggle to meet your goal.”
If you can’t get the point of your game across in a tweet, maybe rethink your game design.”
Agostino Simonetta, ID@Xbox
It has never been easier to get into games development, but that doesn’t mean it’s easy to make games.”
Feel free to ignore the market. Who could have predicted Angry Birds would be popular?”
If you start making a game that would be popular today, you’re already too late. Don’t follow the market, lead it.”
Jon Torrents, Communications Coach
Once you finished pitching, say thank you.”
Panel Session – Bringing Alternative Games to Market
People sometimes just want a different experience, if the price point is right people will take a risk on your game.”
You need ambassadors. If you’re trying to sell something as the perfect war game, no one will believe you unless you have gamers agreeing with you.”
The PC platform is the best platform for developers. But console is getting better.”
Be careful what you’re inspired by – don’t try to make a better Game X than Publisher Y.”
Have fun with what you create.”
Publishers hosting meetings at Interace and looking for new product included Curve Digital, Namco Bandai, Execution Labs, Channel 4 Games, KISS, Sold Out, Green Man Gaming and Double 11.
Sponsors included Unity, Audio Kinetic, Localize Direct, Sold Out and Green Man Loaded. QA specialist Testronic Labs also hosted the Coffee Lounge.
The firm’s CEO Brett Morris offered: Testronic Laboratories was very proud to support the Interface initiative, which provides such a fantastic service to indie developers.
Testronic works with some of the leading global video games developers and publishers but we always remind ourselves that every successful video game is born out of the passion, enthusiasm and endeavour of an indie developer.
We are therefore very proud to support indie developers with top quality QA services to ensure that the video games they bring to market meet the standards that today’s gamers have come to expect."
Details about the next Interface event will be announced shortly.
