AskGM #1: We Kick Off Ask GameMakers! (2019)

Key insights

5 takeaways

01
The Ask GameMakers initiative provides a public consulting platform to help independent studios improve game performance and commercial viability.
02
The project was launched in response to significant industry demand, triggered by over 30 unsolicited requests for consulting services following an outreach campaign.
03
Consultations are conducted in a transparent, educational format to create a public repository of shared knowledge for the broader development community.
04
The initiative functions as a crowdsourced think tank, encouraging community members to offer strategic solutions to the specific development hurdles faced by guest studios.
05
Community members are incentivized to contribute high-quality advice through rewards for suggestions that are successfully implemented and result in measurable performance improvements.

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Transcript

everybody so I did a LinkedIn post offering free game consulting to folks out there who would be interested in having game consulting for myself and it got a great response got over 30 30 requests for various types of game consulting and so just thinking more about what we could potentially do to help make that more fun more interactive and more educational for everyone is to actually record and publish that live on YouTube and so what I'm doing now is creating a section it's essentially a playlist on the game maker youtube channel called ask GM or ask game makers where I'll be publishing you know these recorded video conversations or interviews where we're trying to help different game companies with specific problems and let's see what happens but anyway I just want to announce that ask GM it's gonna go live soon if not today

then tomorrow but hope you join hope you watch comment let us know if there's something that we missed and if you have recommendations put them in there and you know hopefully you can do a better job than we can so anyway again that's going live and please do join us and [Applause] [Music] [Music]

Summary

The Ask GameMakers initiative establishes a public consulting platform designed to assist independent developers and studios in navigating market challenges and improving game performance. By transitioning private advisory sessions into a transparent, educational format, the project aims to foster a collaborative environment where industry professionals and community members can collectively troubleshoot development hurdles. The core objective is to provide actionable insights that help studios refine their products and achieve greater commercial viability.

The initiative originated from a high level of industry demand, evidenced by over 30 unsolicited requests for consulting services received following a professional outreach campaign. These requests span a diverse range of development issues, reflecting the common pain points faced by modern game creators. By documenting these consultations, the platform creates a repository of shared knowledge, allowing the broader gaming community to observe the problem-solving process and contribute their own strategic recommendations.

This project emphasizes community engagement as a primary driver of success, actively encouraging viewers to participate by offering alternative solutions to the problems presented by guest studios. To incentivize high-quality contributions, the program rewards community members whose suggestions are successfully implemented and result in measurable improvements to a game’s performance. This interactive model serves as both a mentorship tool for developers and a crowdsourced think tank, aiming to bridge the gap between expert guidance and community-driven innovation within the global game development landscape.