The Old Guard: British Legends panel

pieces of yours history is early ok hello everybody black lunch too dizzy I'm I hmmm i have i'm actually in people will be my 30th here in the games business would you believe join me and April 1986's journalist on a publication corner computer train weekly which was the original trade publication for the UK home computer market in royalty at I quit CW and launch the game step and watch 10tv absolutely then sports things like developer joiners licensing noppies p sleep retail we launch mobile determine in about 10 days go into the bubble that was the one rocket that were walk what there were a rough back home and down with had a real Romans music and lots of areas in entertainment and tech media including cycling we've actually sold to an American company

called me by media end of 2012 around the time I investing in a gas company called curve digital which was one of the only digital only gay publishes specializing in any products developing for consular polishing for smaller studios which couple weeks ago personnelles we merged or been acquired by the company that I was coaching so I'm now chairman of curve digital entertainment which is a bigger operation which includes language if they don't know on our mentioning of the balls oh my god talk about elbows yes which is one that we have to do it exactly about my usual quota you can explain my about now notably go on the high and last of all I'm not quite been in the gaming industry for the longest two hours but 28 years and my in relation to this I started a that I think possibly the

first mobile games company in 1999 or one of the first ones anyway where we did what content alone with nothing early on and then morphed and we change that business around two or three times but in that period there was a company called morphine wireless we want to bath tub and to develop rewards so it was quite nice the one in the only mobile games back that was epic you around so that's nice subsequently I've been around in the games industry more or more operating on peripheries working in interesting bits of mobile internet game content online content and more recently I've kind of stepped away from the games industry as an employee but I'm also know the vice chairman of Kings aid the games industry charity so I've still got very big foot binding but I'm one of the old guy so I think

quite the opposite ear but not fun over the game we would not talking I was actually a to the one of the UK danbury games with lab report which matt made for three back in two thousand three four two thousand three days walk away so a phone anyway moving on FFM enough of that era yes about that somehow i previously branding of reflections which is one of the area Gators years in the UK roommate driving valve each other is etc which is narrow by yourself last few years i've been working your thumb style or a mobile distributor of publisher i was still little bit of consulting on the side but primarily we are interested in helping developers go to market outside of the traditional about app stores now because it's tougher than the traditional ones so there you go hey

cool hello I'm pigment and yeah I'm quite old school I think we've been around provided message years in the industry my first proper games at your George's virgin games actually working with Mac and a family which was a very long time ago currently I work for beautiful why does the producer for drama children's so I get to work on one of the things I've got to and Sherlock Sarah duck the pw that's what fun things needs me 18 sohn jung-in in Austria clearly not interesting enough anyway so the lot of talk that goes on about the old-school industry versus the musical in the freezer because the end of retail physical retail want but shifts are digital but none of the lessons that apply I like to choice that what lessons do you think you learn back in the old days you still

think are relevant today Stuart any kind of thought about or is it all for am I wrong is it the evidence changer to learn from scratch we learn stuff from party well I was doing media rather than software really in terms of how games company operates already on the inside for the first time in a couple years but somebody's always taken interesting what's going on I think the biggest difference is obviously I'll there was a time when people just used to think about the UK the small companies moved quickly and obviously in a digital environment Terry territories don't worry he'll I think there was a time where felt like there was a lot of suppliers as a sales and distribution market from curves perspective you know we've got three or four customers intent though Sony Microsoft in and it's dean and if you are so I think um the thing that I've noticed is that there is more

product than ever which is well everybody always said every year it's easier to get to market but it's harder to sell anything if after communicate too important stop old school media kind of we're here so the work the welcome present past and we've set up ties into them that would have very average products which shell very loudly and that would go in distribution and there will be kind of half the battle because that would grow boxes and other people you can't delay so no you should be that day that because you've given up all right no no because I kind of veered off it's a smart TV on doing stuff over there the longer I'm still I've still got some one big for you go to the games I need an events like this and you know go for hire really but certain community in answer to your question is this kind of with this quite a few I don't make a couple much mottos that I use this still

apply today one no games that the file from being too easy mainly info of the beauty part it's going to be eight it kind of sounds a bit trite but it's actually you know look at the stuff is making the most money now things like hash plant candy crush etc all the incredibly accessible works incredibly fiscal quarters and they let specific designed to get you in while making it very easy and very kind of interesting and not necessarily telling you a long until you move the other one is the other one of God is make sure you know who you'll be able to so when you make again candy crush and clutch players are also good examples here but so are other products you know you from if you're if you're appealing to a soft going on market if you're going off to someone are going after a market that where you're you're

kind of taking small amounts of money on them you need to make it approachable and usually when candy crush we never have made its money if the things that you're just walking around the spirit of spiders and starts you know different sweets or you know kind of pretty pictures then it's going to work so be careful when you're appealing to a certain market make sure your product applies to that market is but often seen situations where you're not very kind of employer kind of medieval times got very hardcore breakfast and vice versa at the trial there was another one come back to Finland that's fine whatever on see you get from being kind of making the aims to distribution for certain extent I mean you've had a big issue yeah i think if you this no one is clear that it's been said so far when you look at the actual making of games the there's a core skills as a business

because this corresponds to the same so you know you could design is a good concept technology p those are over wife to the new skills that need you know analytics and all that sort of stuff and generated with community isn't all that stuff that developers never Olive because we did welcome and that has become really important but one of the things that because of the sheer volume of games there are particularly in so there's about 300 ish games at Logan still retaining wall a very XO it used to be the case that you were reasonably sure of success if you made a very high quality getting because you will pick up a publisher Illinois and number Five's out they only use about as long as even doing it's stupid now it's absolutely no guarantee of success so the point on it's hard it's easy to

maintain tis true it's a lot of a lot to be successful in my opinion I think there was a period of time as well in sort of early age console days where you could put pretty much we do okay and that happened in mobile as well but that market has gone and it's not going to having the arts people would suffer because the markets discography so those are the main things and beyond I guess there are a few things you do need to make a great game that people love to play and if you don't do that then it is never to say I think you know the second thing is marketing is really important more than ever go back to Oscar said earlier you know it's about getting people's idols and telling them that your game is there if you don't do that then they won't know it's there they won't like what about when it goes so far I think something else that we

forget is that there is still retail market the amount of shelf space is incredibly limited and often paid for so you know I think it's important that whatever product you come up with actually has a space as a space for it on everybody should never leave us to be popular and make money but if it's not something that's gonna sit on that show up to stand out then it's not my cell so what keeps you you say in this industry you be involved it's even oh sure if you got something you are expiring to do this far to bring new it's because it's always joking about that that's the most exciting thing about this edition is staying sort of thing which is you making pretty interesting cool stuff but it changes so dramatically so often the skill so

briscoe for innovation of elegance for something up and stuff and that's what it is coming don't find it easy to get enthusiastic about new things to play with in new technologies and new platforms and you type of gameplay and all that sort of thing I mean now you're denying it but you're you're exactly do I leo you're actually really mean that for well yeah well I am a monk and don't come to come at it from a very odd angle oh jeez yes Marty is it's my focus and smarty is executing rubbish and happy knowledge is attacked and that's probably because it's designed by TV companies to write features their televisions designed by content companies are resigned by usable or designed by people honest animal user once so it's kind of but I you know I've spent six years now using a lot of the skills understanding i got from home development and being

both in our four core and my bowl degrom and I'm taking them and trying to bring it to spot to you need to cover I'm going to use that word could gain the fight that the process sorry about her is actually mark kind of making me more like soso justjust the understanding from years and years of trying to appeal server to people that but necessarily understand what you're trying to achieve so it's kind of fun helping them a hand holding me to the process steal from my perspective but I can actually go into a number of markets the first one I'm an outsider was new toys and we were successful tours we were kind of a number two and there's a brain then that continues in its very strong brand the choice is a really boring working full of old men have been doing it for a long time and sort of ways of doing business that haven't ever really changed you would none of you would want to work in

the toilet as far as I can see so the other night something a little bit perhaps been a bit more tech late and obviously games is effectively a tech market and I guess why are you staying in a business where you stay because it changes they excite you it allows young people to become successful as a lower barrier of entry that was appearing making the 90s where that disappeared because of the strength of the consoles but I think in the last few years with the explosion of mobile and digital publishing into she goes who are effectively our artists which is our version while I saw in music industry all have an opportunity to shine another thing is one mile swim against business so yeah varieties definitely something that keeps me motivated but generally I now work for a company that makes it television

programs and markets merchandise I mean that's essentially what you see worldwide is and many of them don't know anything about video games so you know I'm in a building with a thousand people who have no idea what goes on of these these conferences and behind the scenes making again what it takes so it's really interesting being able to work with those people with different media and be able to tell them about my experiences and and educate them I personnel outros working through thurs it was very much being the game specialist makes life a lot easier when you have a good multi contradict ticket so I'm going to sum up because we kind of get back onto sort are you and your I no longer you get involved into healthier mentoring people but what's the one these device some light pass on to the next generation ok about that yeah polski go everyone it's and it just

kind of comes from the fact that I because I share an office with a vengeance I'm still here clr something's going on but actually partner is about that the worries about being seen it's also market which is absolutely true and you gots that's helping you play a game but it's very interested to see how I talk about this stuff it's always at the top but there's actually quite a lot of written father and it's not to be in that if you're an interview small to your independent avella back don't be disheartened by the fact that you're probably never on your own you generate seven billion dollars a day huh bit not the kind of the top but bear in mind if you can generate a hundred pounds a day or two hundred hours a day through a relatively accessible product that there might be a mighty real time hundred thousand people a vassal that's a 60 grand the year wage that's none of us that's more and you get working for that

company or a something you can you spare time what you do this it's don't be disheartened by the fact that there are these people that's I'm talking millions and millions of dollars there's a lot of room at the bottom it's just a matter of making sure people know that the product there and making sure it's one that they want to play some good points from that what I would say is that if you want to be successful games industry play games people still make some classic gameplay mistakes that really what could be an amazing product so yeah I games see what people are doing the necessary Hector Calculon might spark off right in you know read books what's amazing their video games in head and I've encouraged everybody to

read lots and lots of fiction I think partly because of it if you really want it don't give up don't let the dream go if you want to say that it's some don't take no for an answer key a non believers doors keep sending letters keep and I'm sending them ideas it will work not mentoring make them count aligning if the core anything about be a brighter which is you're not right unless you're reading through our dead right in town today honey there's an aspect that we're not playing game knowing board games towards the video as well as making them we can't really fulfill yourself a target actually yelling pathetic it's kind of funny because you know working in pc world why I it must have been coming in through our Marty teams and for our brain teams we had somebody pitch something the other day and they said it's going to be a game when you use these things that

kind of geometric patterns we couldn't polygons and we're going to create these characters and polygons the you know I didn't say things just take their stories not not too much glad to be always but I think you have to be an optimist because its version is honestly is brutal now that so many people are doing it but you know better self believe is what because you don't just created because that's one another kick in oculus he hates it's brutal I'm just a final at songs that you need so you need to have a soul level exploits you have to keep persevering but a lot of talks essays keep lowering coming to events like this will help you work in in front of l-dopa quality keyboard warrior be a nice person raise your profile persevere keep going and if you

worked hard if you ain't good genuinely thanks for givin up I gotta say one other thing for any other pieces is ignore the naysayers anybody that negative and criticizes anything you do don't engage with them just important there it is enough of me although no I'm gonna thank you guys very much