ENCOURAGING

THE GAME DEVELOPMENT

CULTURE

Žilvinas Ledas

Who am I?

Žilvinas Ledas● Teach game development at Vilnius University● Co-founder at Tag of Joy (www.tagofjoy.lt)

● Chairman at Lithuanian Game Developers Association

● Sometimes write stuff at GameOn.lt

Follow: @zledas

Connect: linkedin.com/in/zledas

Summary

● How the community was/is built in Lithuania?● Philosophy in our company.

Part 1Game Development Industry In

Lithuania

Early Days (2002)

● Less than 20 enthusiast game developers.● Some meet-ups.● Second GameJam in the world.

– “Hey, they had this awesome Indie Game Jam in California, lets do one in Lithuania!”

● First companies (e.g. “Ivolgamus”: PS1, PC).

Inspiring Team

● Same guys do stuff:– Win Microsoft Imagine Cup (2005).

– Develop AA-grade RTS game“PSI Syberian Conflict” (2006).

● Then go on their own:– One goes to be 4th employee

at “Unity Technologies”.

– Another goes to DICE.

– ...

Can We Have More People, Please?

● More enthusiasts.– But still < 10 companies :(

● 2009 “LT Game Jam” rebirth.– Again, by the same people, now working in Unity.

– Starts to attract new people.

LT Game Jam

11 participants

~30 participants

~200 participants

Game Jam Is Great For...

● Meeting people in person (aka future team-mates).

● Sharing ideas.● Inspiring people to create games.● Attracting people from other industries.● Creating prototypes with crazy mechanics.

Start-up Culture

● Indirectly useful.● Again:

– Meet people.

– Participate in events.

– Get some mentorship.

– Talk to investors (on this – later).

> 40 Companies

Game Press

● Monthly games-related journals in local language.● Online sites, video and news outlets.● Raising awareness and reviewing local games.

New Problem – Communication

A lot more people develop games now, but knowledge sharing is poor if you only meet them once a year during a Game Jam :(

For new people/companies it's hard to approach older/bigger ones.

Lithuanian Game Developers Association

● Improve communication.● Organize more events.

– Game Jams.

– Conferences.

● Have more international relations.● Educate investors and government bodies.

● Raise awareness.● Local and international speakers.● >300 participants.

● Meet-ups.● 2-3 speakers.● Mostly for students.● Show prototypes and socialize.

● 2014-06-28, Vilnius● Technical talks and experience sharing.● You are invited :)

– Event language – Lithuanian :(

Communication Benefits

● 9 companies got selected to AppCampus.fi.● Universities start offering courses and study

programmes.

Some Recent Games From Lithuania

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YyhWOU9jW74

Part 2Developing A Company

The Problem

Want to create a game – need some money.

Available Paths To Choose

● I need no money! I can create games in spare time!

● Have an idea? Search for an investor!● Make a quick prototype, search for a

publisher.● Make “work for hire” projects, create your

games in between.

Spare Time

● Good:– No investors and publishers involved – more creative

freedom.

– Work and rework as you please.

● Bad:– Less time for game development because of your day job.

– Hard to have a dedicated working team.

– Hard to know good practices if you don't have previous experience.

Investor

● Good:– “Quick” money.

– Full time on your game.

– Connections.

● Bad:– Most investors “fear” games as they don't have knowledge of

games industry.

– “Potential investors” ≠ “done deal”.

– Additional people who may want to influence your creative process and your game.

Publisher

● Good:– Usually you can get at least the part of the money for the

development of your game.

– Marketing.

– Ton of good advices and polish.

● Bad:– Still you need to have a nice prototype to show.

– Additional people who may want to influence your creative process and your game.

Work For Hire

● Good:– No investors and publishers involved – more creative

freedom.

– Less strict time-lines.

– You can gather a team and gain (at least teamwork) experience.

● Bad:– Less time for your own games means you may be too late with

your idea.

What We Did

● Started in spare time (3 years ago).● Moved to full time, while trying to

communicate with some investors, but couldn't find ones competent in game development.

● Moved to work for hire while developing own games in between.– Only projects that are games or gamified visual apps.

● A team of 7 people.

Some work for hire projects

Our Strategy

● High quality.● Innovative features.

ABC Book 3D

>70 000 downloadsaverage rating >4.5

Monster Buster

Windows Phone first50 000 EUR grant

Active Participation Is A Must!

● Participate in local and international events.– Yes, it is a time sink and benefits are not immediate.

● Share your ideas and vision with different people.– It helps to work out the details.

– Potential team members.

Active Participation Is A Must!

● Prototype in hackathons.– We tested a lot of ideas and mechanics at

AppCamp/StartupWeekend/GameJam.

– A way try out new technology (Unity3D, AR, VR).

– Get instant feedback from people.

– Validate ideas.

– 2-3 days and you know if it's worth working further.

– Sometimes you get prizes :)

Active Participation Is A Must!

● Submit to various competitions and awards.– Don't be lazy and submit your games everywhere!

– It's a part of marketing.

– Local/global recognition is good for the company and the team (motivation).

● Don't be afraid of the press!– But know how to approach them.

Žilvinas LedasFollow: @zledasConnect: linkedin.com/in/zledas