A Human-Centric Approach to Mobile gaming industry by Ömer Yakabagi

Let's let's talk about something real. Like our uh world of mobile gaming is fully built on creativity and fun, pure joy. But like imagine we could flip the script and like put people first in everything we do. So like let's let's talk about for example startup culture especially studios um companies [Music] etc. Half gamers the midnight crew talking UA adverts and game design too mate feel bringing the insight we're rocking those vibes till the early daylight master on the prize tracking data through the cyerspace like a wizard in disguise lift us to the high and smack slows are beautiful they click it fast

don't delayh Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. [Music] Hello everyone. Aoy. So today I'm your host uh Yakob Premier and uh No, no, definitely not. Uh actually John Wright used this joke with mate and I wanted to have it for Yakob my buddy. Uh so hello everyone. Uh here as in Turkish pronunciation globally it's Yakabagi. Um and today we'll be talking about mobile gaming revival. I know it sounds big but I swear there's no here. Uh so first of all thanks to ton of gamers crow like not just uh mate but also dear friends Felix Jakob uh appreciate it and it's nice to be

here in this monologue session. So like when mate asked me uh would you be up for this like half an hour uh monologue speech I was thinking what's what could it be you know like it's it's something really big um that's why I wanted to talk about the industry itself current situation and how about the not just you know atteent side who who are we how is it going actually I really want to touch upon this um human vibes as well. But before very quickly uh about who I am. So who is Omed? I actually like back then studied English language teaching continued with uh tourism industry for some years and afterwards I started uh working uh at media company and since like four years I have been in different fields like UI monetization not just at

network side but also hands-on operations. Um, so yeah, right now I'm actually founder of Gigen. It's a mobile gaming website where we have a journal really cool content from industry experts and also having uh some newsletters uh sharing the weekly highlights from mobile gaming industry and I also actually um like have the jobs platform in our websites. Actually I love the like support and feedback from uh many of you like really love it improved it uh a lot according to feedback uh so yeah please uh keep sending uh feedback that's highly appreciated uh and actually the numbers are uh growing crazy already like over 10k uh a month like from Google Analytics you know and yeah I actually opened the uh website like just six months ago like it's really crazy. Thank

you. Thank you everyone. So about today's topic uh I would like to talk about mobile gaming revival what it means. Um actually I really want to take you on a fun journey where we face up to the real challenges in the industry while like dreaming about future you know it's about great gaming creativity uh connection always good vibes like from events etc. But actually uh we really need to be aware that our work is um not just about uh money also not just about fun. It's like mix of everything. I want to talk about this. So it's not um uh it's it's about making experiences that's entertain, heal, and bring us together

like connecting, you know, that's what I mean with human centric. I I love mobile gaming and [Music] um it will be kind of like Trump's sentence, you know, let's make mobile gaming great again. Uh I know that's like uh kind of but we really need to uh understand that this revenue focused KPI focused uh stressful uh situation or like majority of the companies uh I don't see it's um going in a sustainable way. We really need to you know do something. So that's why actually big kudos to everyone who keeps the spirit alive every day. Uh love it like really appreciate it. So uh what I mean about the like problems let's call it as facing the realities. So actually I call

this as challenges we should we can overcome. So let's let's talk about something real like our uh world of mobile gaming is fully built on creativity and fun pure joy. But like imagine we could flip the script and like put people first in everything we do. So like let's let's talk about for example startup culture especially studios um at tech companies etc. Like right now most of them are startups like it's crazy but even like five years uh old companies are startups as well and that's making them uh very aggressive because they need to go for revenue right so our fast fast-paced startup world demands this like aggressive culture and in Turkey actually we call this as peak culture so like rapid growth and big numbers escalating so there is actually no room

or fun side at all like uh you know people are working too hard. It's like being stuck in a neverending race where the finish line is like always out of reach. Like, okay, this one, this one, here's the KPI. Like, it's kind of like the um Rebbit uh carrot sample, you know, like uh sorry, not uh donkey uh carrot. It's like they putting it like this and it's always running. So yeah, like but what if we could slow down and focus on what matters most? like our industry people. Picture a work day where you like have time to, you know, catch your breath, enjoy a quick game break, uh, and you still smash your goals. Like, uh, when we put people first, make it humanentric, every win actually feels that, um, much

sweeter, much uh, enjoyable. And actually like uh last week with Matei uh we uh talked about like in our podcast the podcast um how do you maintain uh this work life balance and I even call it work family balance because like he's caring a lot about uh his family uh spending lots of time with uh his uh daughter and I I really love it and like he talks a lot about that to So love it. I wish everyone uh could you know make it that's work life balance. So yeah I I actually would like to go deeper. Let's let's go guys. So developers u I I really appreciate how game developers put that much effort. It's not just coding. It's also like putting their uh soul over there. So, let's be

honest, like too many developers turned coding into a never- ending checklist. It's like I'm talking about the startups especially, right? So, especially in Turkey, I know that like really long long working hours and it's like too stressful. Uh I I really cannot share so many details. Uh I I know some like internal information from many companies but I know that they are just buried um in the work. It's like uh some don't even get to play the games they build because they are like stuck over there. It's isn't it crazy that uh you don't enjoy playing the game that you develop like and it's it's so normal. Imagine a world where you could like experiment, tinker around and actually have fun with your own creations. Like when we give developers

the freedom uh to play and enjoy, we could bring back the like spark that make um make us fall in love with uh the industry. So uh that was a developer site and actually similar for designers, artists like they often face this intense pressure to turn out the content that's you know looks actually cool. Um and sometimes at the cost of their own creative joy like many don't even get a moment to step back and enjoy the art. It's it's not like that really. What if every designer could like spend time dreaming up about like wild ideas? Maybe this could be, you know, like it's not like that really. It's going in uh revenue direction and yeah, that's killing the creativity, you know, when we we have to just uh make it humanized, I think. How about the marketing like uh

use acquisition? It's like literally more than just data churners you know once upon a time like UA was all about creative storytelling like capturing hearts cool stuff now like it's it can feel like a like grind of data and numbers fully about CPI money leaving like no time to enjoy uh the games they are actually working Especially in hyper casual like uh I know that uh many of the UA guys don't even like care about the game like just bum bum bum bum and it's like literally boring work for them with lots of um actually manual work kind of. Uh so it's kind of like imagine if the focus shifted back to engaging playful storytelling where like your

ideas could shine just as much as the you know CPIs. Um, of course, similar for admon admination guys like chasing reven targets sometimes like strip away the fun and turning what should be a creative adventure into like relentless revenue game. So yeah uh overall uh I actually also have to uh touch upon the sales teams in the industry like they are under lots of pressure to hit high targets and you know that actually drains the energy right out of their work. It's real bummer like when the fun of connecting with players gets lost in the chase of numbers. So yeah, that's why I think uh we really need to get back to ourselves. Maybe that would be the sentence. So yeah. So so

why have we or how have we lost our spark like we drifted drastically away from like what's truly matters? Janine, creativity, human connection, pure joy like normally mobile gaming was meant to be our playground and actually not just for industry people. Imagine about like from we call it like 7 to 70 you know like uh it can be child or ly person with depression and elderly person like maybe even pretty sick. It's it's kind of actually even rediscover joy. It's it's sometimes a place to escape like unwinding you know it's time to remember um that's we we are human and we we just should

enjoy our life. I think from our side, we are not just here to meet targets. We are here to create moments of wonder and fun like we are all of us. We are the creators, storytellers, architects of uh worlds that bring smiles uh and little break from either everyday routine or horrible things like not everyone is so lucky you know it's maybe even poverty etc. these people get hope uh just you know having a sip having a breath uh over there but let's let's dream up about the like future where we uh can find this fun lead uh that's uh the focus in my speech

here I would say I would put number one as uh we need to celebrate creativity like you know um we should let creativity flow uh like you know experiment play around and make work feel like fun challenges and not just like task task business business money I think that that would uh change a lot in time it it sounds small but it's it will be big and I would put number to uh um investing in well-being, not just about um like physically, but also being mentally strong. Uh because we're talking about creativity and for that you like need to give yourself and

your colleagues time to relax uh learning new tricks and enjoying the ride, you know. And like I have actually like four more pinpoints here I would call them like breaking down the barriers number three to like all developers, designers, marketers and everyone should be uh collaborating and actually like sharing ideas uh having that joy of mobile gaming and I I I don't see a lot actually And there we go to redefining the success because right now there is only one answer which is revenue. Nobody cares about like the smiles the genuine connections we create with our not only colleagues also with our players. So like I think uh of course

like uh I I said nobody but like there are already great companies like for example I'm big fan of Supercell. I I love how uh like you know company culture, how they have built their community. Um of course the games like and of course there are many more companies like that from another aspect. I actually want to talk about the industry events. I really love them. Not just, you know, big ones like Pocket Gamer, uh, Games Forum, um, and like many more, uh, Hit Game Conference, Mobictum, White Knights, uh, and many more. [Music] Um, I think our industry people are just awesome. like we are, you know, super chill uh cool vibes and you can literally go and shake hands with like

anyone and get to know each other like you know get friends and learn anything. Uh literally like just you know find the right people to ask and your network will grow very quickly. It's uh actually pretty unique like especially imagine finance uh or um you know uh many industries actually and it's like super uh formal boring I would call and that's why I think we should uh keep this uh vibes up and if we go back to for example pandemic time which was the golden era right that time was the like you know just skyrocketing uh because when the success is over there money flow is huge

all the VCs are like looking into investing let's like do you have any project yeah okay we are investing and that was really uh quick and easy that time um so now like especially since last two years it's kind of getting um in the opposite direction. So it's it affected uh our industry as well. So right now uh because of the financials what I mean with opposite that time was everyone was chill enjoying anyway like success was coming and right now it's actually super hot not just for studios also for like any can be at tech or even for VCs actually like right now it's so hard to find the right investments for studios to make profit able games also like getting investment for edtech companies

to like find companies finding a sweet spot in the industry. Um I can give like hundreds of examples here but what I mean uh these challenges affected the industry people as well. uh that's where uh I would like to uh like direct basically I think even in this scenario we really need to uh get back to our core mobile gaming wipes like I really um loved when Mate wrote about this sexist creative ads where we like you know lost our um how to say I think we can even say humanity like literally with uh pregnant

women like so many more things with animals I I saw horrible things like I I wish I didn't see them and I can't imagine like uh some UA people saw worse things and some of them are actually creating them and like using them so it's really crazy Uh that's why overall uh I would like to uh just I think pray that our industry will not lose its humanity, joy, fun. Uh right now I'm actually very happy to be in the industry. It's like so amazing and I'm glad to support the uh people industry people with content like uh not only media news but also educational uh content in our uh

blog and also sharing jobs. So it's literally about giving hope uh to many people that actually feel so bad after some like big layoffs or some crisis etc. They they have something to like uh share check etc. That's some of them like write to me and we chat that's also uh making me happy to be able to help in this way in an emotional way you know. Um we started our podcasting. We invite people like right now we have like um recorded with actually six people including two of gamers uh John Ride etc. And it's actually about them. It's just like uh who is Mate? Who is Felix? Who is Jakob? like uh literally humanentric fully even like

before mobile gaming what were you doing if it you know excludes the industry who who are you what are you doing how is your life actually uh what would you you know tell about uh the life you see from your perspective you know those type of uh cool questions pretty personal and we would like to grow uh distraction to also uh blog uh side as well like written form basically Okay. And yeah, we would like to do many more like these projects. Uh also like big uh thanks to Ein to support on the uh podcast and content side and so far like the big love from industry is I think making this doable. In the beginning I had like concerns you know like um not just uh how would the industry react but also like is it correct is it the best way etc. So uh that's my

direction also like I wanted to connect this topic to uh who I am and what I am currently doing in the and for the industry. So this is about mobile gaming revival and here is Amed and I would like to do my best to keep the positive great vibes in the industry whenever you feel down whoever you are you know uh happy to chat happy to support anything I can do so not everything is high level and uh we are all connected We should uh support each other. Our industry is small. We are not um as I mentioned banking or food industry, mobile gaming, just thousands of people. That's it. Uh yeah. Um thank you for having me. Thank

you for listening to me. Especially if you made it uh till here. Really appreciate it. So take care. [Music] [Music] [Applause] Heat. Heat. [Music]