Best practices, models and frameworks that will help you run and grow a business in the videogames industry. https://www.martijnvanzwieten.com
BWB#52: The Best Business Videos in the GDC Vault
Hello friends,
Greetings from Utrecht!
I'm coming off of a bit of an event hot streak right now.
The past three months I've had an event each month, and that's a lot more than I'd gotten used to.
And since I did a talk at each of these events, I think I might have lost something like 30% of my productive non-client time to event prep.
All worth it, for sure, but I'm also happy that I'll have more time to work on new things over the summer...
... or just play Final Fantasy XVI 😇
Final Fantasy is probably my favorite game series, so you better believe I dove right in when FFXVI came out.
It's a definite departure from previous iterations, with a much heavier focus on action than RPG, but I like it! As long as it's got crystals, chocobos, moogles, summons, and cover art by Yoshitaka Amano, I'm in.
Today at a glance:
- Essay: The Best Business Videos in the GDC Vault
- The Promise and the Proven
- There is no self
- 2023 Game Publisher Guide
The Best Business Videos in the GDC Vault
Incredible knowledge and insights are everywhere, if you know where to look.
One of my favorite ways of learning about the practice of studio management and leadership in the games industry is by watching other people talk about their experiences on stage.
To me, there are three key reasons this format works so well:
- There's a certain connectedness in listening to other people's stories that is harder to feel in other media.
- The format of a presentation means that the speaker has had to bring back their message to the absolute core, and
- if you have a really good speaker, you will be both educated AND entertained
Unfortunately, the field of management and leadership is woefully underrepresented in most event programs.
And because of that, you'd have to visit a LOT of conferences to see a decent amount of talks on the subject.
Enter the GDC Vault.
The GDC Vault is filled with recordings of talks given at GDC over the years.
Most of their videos cover topics specific to game development, but a handful focus on the art of effectively running your studio.
Even better, these talks are shared by veteran game developers who have ample experience in the field.
And the best news is that I've already filtered them out for you.
Below I've listed, in no particular order, my favorite 7 videos, along with a short description of the talk.
So, grab a drink and a snack, and enjoy learning about videogame business by some of the best in the industry.
Check out each individual video below, or go straight to a playlist I made that contains these, and even more gems from the GDC Vault.
And if you know of a video that should really be in this playlist, let me know!
---
Intensely Practical Tips for Growing an Indie Studio
In this 2018 GDC session, Weather Factory's Alexis Kennedy presents a talk about the lessons learned building Failbetter Games, and the lessons taken into a second studio founding, focusing on war stories and practical advice.
Game Studio Management: Making It Great
In this 2015 GDC talk, Schell Games' Jesse Schell shares six concrete methods he has found to keep a studio happy, healthy and producing great games.
Game Studio Leadership: You Can Do It
In this 2017 GDC session, Schell Games founder Jesse Schell presents simple principles of game studio leadership that can help anyone become a better leader, no matter how big or small the team.
Advanced Entrepreneurship: Avoiding Total Studio Disaster
In this 2017 GDC talk, Execution Labs' Jason Della Rocca discusses how game developers can be better entrepreneurs in order to build a successful smaller studio.
Studio Design: Building a Foundation for Success and Avoiding Business Disaster
In this GDC 2019 session, Execution Labs’ Jason Della Rocca explores the fundamentals of business design so games and studios are set up for success from day one.
A Crash Course in Business and Leadership for Indie Game CEO's and GM's
In this 2017 GDC session, industry veteran Don Daglow covers the most critical issues that face newly-minted indie development leaders: managing money, key people issues, and keys to finishing what you start.
Small Teams, Big Dreams: How to Build a Small Team to Do Great Things
In this 2015 GDC talk, HandCircus' Simon Oliver delivers practical advice on how smaller game development teams can make the most with limited resources to make the best games possible.
The Best Bits
The Promise and The Proven: In this essay, Kim Nordström explains the tension in pitch decks between “the promise” and “the proven”. Basically, he cautions teams to make sure that what they promise is in balance with the arguments that support that vision. Can you support the vision you’re outlining with any arguments or data points that make it believable, such as team experience or game KPIs that provide a strong basis? This is a great mental model to lay over your pitch deck to see if you’re overpromising or not.
There Is No Self: Very interesting article I found via Wouter van Noort on linkedin. Contrary to Western philosophy, Eastern philosophy posits that the self we identify with is just an illusion, a byproduct. There is now (Western) research that supports this, and I’m hopeful that this will lead to increased support for and research into practices like mindfulness and meditation in time.
2023 Game Publisher Guide: Don’t think I’ve shared this year’s version yet, and I’m sure it’ll be useful to many of you: Powell Group’s big ol’ publisher list, updated for 2023. Go get those publishers!
See you in two weeks!
Martijn
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Martijn van Zwieten
Best practices, models and frameworks that will help you run and grow a business in the videogames industry. https://www.martijnvanzwieten.com
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