Jason Robar

I'm a massive Fallout fan. Going back to Wasteland, then the original Interplay Fallouts (FO1, FO2, Tactics), and into FO3 (still the best in the series, IMO -- don't waste your time talking to me about NV), etc. I've talked a lot about how FO3 was a big inspiration for TLD. So know that I am as big a fan as probably can be. I was really interested to hear from both gamer and non-gamer folks in my social circle who really bounced off of the Amazon series, due to what they described as the "extreme violence". This includes people who are fans of the game, and people for whom the TV series is their first entry point into the IP. I've only seen the first episode so far, but I have to say...I agree with them? It's very clear that Nolan/Joy are huge fans of the IP, and I know the show was developed under the watchful eye of Bethesda, as it should be. But IMO, they really missed the mark on the depiction of violence. It's massively overdone and 100% unnecessary. And I think it speaks to the challenges of adaptation from interactive to non-interactive media. Over-the-top violence is a hallmark of the Fallout IP, no question. Actually, I think it's fair to say that "OTT" is really the core pillar of the Fallout IP in general. There's a huge wink behind everything in the game. And you accept it, because you're the one pulling the trigger. You're the one choosing the "Bloody Mess" perk so you can see enemies literally explode (which I have to assume is an homage to Wasteland, and the "___ exploded like a blood sausage..." combat description). But this stuff just does not translate well to linear media. When we are playing games, we are immersed in those worlds, and we don't stop to think of how brutally violent we are in them, how casually we dispatch hundreds or thousands of enemies during the course of completing a game. We are desensitized to it in the game. And it's ok, because we know it's not real. It's part of the magic, part of the covenant we have between ourselves and the game. TV isn't real either. But it's made of the "real world". Amazon's Fallout is not animated or 3D, it's live-action. It's made of pieces of the world we live in. We can see ourselves in this violence. As OTT as the IP is, and as successful as the show has been so far, I personally feel that they missed the mark with the depiction of violence. I think they have unnecessarily alienated folks who would have otherwise really enjoyed the show. (And yes, I know videogame violence doesn't translate to violence in the real world. I'm not talking about that.) I'll keep watching, but for me I wish Nolan/Joy and Bethesda had had the foresight to recognize that straight up adapting the level of violence in the game was not necessary for the adaptation to be successful. I don't think the game fans would have enjoyed it any less if the violence had been less graphic, and I think a lot of the folks who are newly discovering Fallout might have had a better experience with it.

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Had a great chat with some fellow dev veterans about the basics of production—stuff that’s often missing on projects but makes a massive difference when done right. One big gap we kept coming back to: validating estimates. Here’s the thing: individual estimates might seem fine, but over time and across teams, they’re consistently off. That’s why it’s so important to measure and track the historical patterns of estimates vs. actual outcomes. When you do that, you start to see a truth—like a team that commits to X workload but only delivers 70% of it on average. With that insight, you can adjust future plans to set realistic expectations. This approach helps nail down milestones based on reality, whether that means prioritizing scope or sticking to a fixed deadline. If scope is king, you give the date. If the date is immovable, you define what can actually get delivered. When I interview production or program management candidates, at some point I always ask how they came up with their dates. Was it handed to them, or did they calculate it? Then I follow up with how they validated those dates were realistic? This is where most candidates stumble. Many just say, "The team told me what they could do by the date," and leave it at that. The problem is, people are notoriously bad at estimating, especially for long-term tasks and honestly, if you’re just taking estimates from the devs and passing them up the chain, I find myself wondering what value you're adding to this process in the first place. Why not skip you and go straight to the devs? In this process, a large value of the producer is in the validation step—digging into whether those dates hold up under scrutiny. After all, a big part of a producer's job overall is protecting the team, even from themselves. That means taking their estimates, validating what’s possible, and being the one to push back on both the team and communicate this out to the stakeholders. Without all that, you’re headed for crunch, every time. Learning to validate dates is one of the most important level-ups for associate and mid-level producers. Having this skill and being able to articulate how you do this can be the difference between landing a job or not. Then, once you’re on the team, it’s what sets apart producers who deliver from those who don’t. Hope this helps!

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Sumo Digital announced a 15% cut in its workforce, roughly impacting 250 individuals. Among these 250 individuals was the team of Timbre Games, which also confirmed that the studio was being shut down. Timbre Games was founded in 2021 and made a part of Pipework Studios. Although Timbre had yet to launch any games, its website indicates that it was in the middle of two game projects. Unfortunately, game developers face more loss than the parent company when something like this happens. Who knows how Timbre's team might be coping after putting in millions of efforts to build the games and losing everything in a single blink? In their support, this is list 2 of some of the Timbreeos who were impacted by the closure. Every bit from the community counts, so requesting you all to help this reach recruiters and game studios currently hiring. Sophie Mallinson — In 2017, she was Arkane Studios' (Lyon) Narrative Designer who worked on Dishonored: Death of the Outsider and Wolfenstein: Youngblood. By 2019, she had become a Principal Narrative Designer for Arkane's Deathloop. It is quite interesting to note that after Arkane, she went on to work for EA on Star Wars and later for EA's own studio - Maxis Studios on The Sims Series. Nadia Lohan — With over a decade's worth of experience in Production, before Timbre, Nadia was a Producer at Blackbird Interactive and worked on Minecraft Legends. Notably, she has experience in the VFX industry and coordinated for blockbusters like Mulan, Guardians of the Galaxy, and Maleficent. Vivek Ramkumar — Here's a talented Game Designer who has worked on titles like Sleeping Dogs and Tryst, built his own first-person indie game, and has experience in LiveOps Design. Prior to Timbre, he was a senior Technical Designer for Relic Entertainment. Gerritt Turner — Before Timbre, Gerritt worked at Wizards of the Coast on a lot of Magic: The Gathering's writing, designing and overall creative. They even have an experience in Brand Writing for Hasbro. Yuliia Bocharova — Prior to Timbre, she was a Lead 3D Artist for Blackbird Interactive and worked there for 3+ years. You should check out her ArtStation portfolio: https://lnkd.in/gKEwykG5 Vincent-Gabriel Canadian — A talented VFX Artist who has worked for Studios like Frima, Behaviour Interactive, and Nesting Games. Vincent specializes in real-time VFX for video games! #layoffsupport

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Last week, we learned that gaming giant Zynga apparently abandoned its web3 project: Sugartown. What happened? There was no press release or other notice aside from the tweet below, but the founders of Sugartown hyped up Zynga’s divestment here as a “historical moment” and a great acquisition. I think otherwise. The whole reason I liked Sugartown was the fact that Zynga was involved. But, similar to Dimensionals, this is yet another case study of web2 executives that have no clue what they’re doing in web3 gaming, aside from following the hype-train. In August 2023, Zynga announced the project and built up anticipation for a free mint, which was slated for September 2023. Here's why I think they left: 1.) They did a free mint. In general, free mints are a bad idea. These typically invite the wrong kind of holders (primarily, value extractors), as well as lots of bots that scoop up most of the supply. In addition, by giving these assets away for free, they missed a big revenue opportunity that a proper sale can bring in. 2.) No new product, plus token gating. After their free mint, Zynga then hyped up their product launch. I’m sure many in the industry like myself were hoping they were going to do something big and new. Unfortunately, not. What Zynga did was apparently launched a bunch of shelved games in their back-catalog that they weren’t using and put them all under this Sugartown brand. Or at least I think that’s what happened from what I saw on YouTube. I wouldn’t know because THEY TOKEN GATED THEIR GAMES!! For those that don’t understand, this means that you had to own one of their NFTs to play their games, meaning they limited access to their less than 9,999 holders; which is a massive mistake. Any entrepreneur can understand that you don’t want to limit your user base. Period. You need an accessible version of your product for everyone, even if there are aspects of that you want to limit to particular users & NFT holders. 3.) Due to their decisions above, they boxed themselves in, leaving them with no path to revenue. They could've cashed in if they developed a fresh new game here with proper monetization, as we know they have the expertise to do so. And, they could've cashed in with a proper mint, or even launching a token. But, they didn't sell anything, they didn't launch a token, and they didn't create any new game or IP. Overall, I think this was a huge missed opportunity for Zynga, and a net loss for the web3 gaming space. I can't but help to think they were horribly misled here by people that don't understand crypto gaming. Ps, I’m sure there were other reasons they divested this project – there’s lots of legal concerns in crypto – but there’s currently no official statement from Zynga so we’re only left to speculate. #gaming #web3gaming #zynga _____ Follow Joseph Rubin for more on gaming & tech. 🎮

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A fresh batch of recruitment news here

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Calling Investors: Invest in the original Xbox “Duke” controller… I am working with a new gaming peripherals company set to take the world by storm and they are looking for investors to join the team. Founded by Duke Schnepf, son of gaming visionary, and Xbox founder, Brett Schnepf, backed by multiple founding fathers of the Xbox, this company is pushing the boundaries of the gaming peripherals sector. Their journey began with Brett Schnepf, a luminary whose contributions to gaming history are etched in stone. As a founding member of the Xbox console team, Brett's design prowess shaped modern gaming, with iconic creations like the Sidewinder PC controller and the legendary Duke controller. Today, Duke Schnepf carries forth his father's legacy. Upside and a half! In late 2024, a major streaming platform will release a series chronicling the founding of a pioneering gaming console (can you guess which one) and the launch of Duke's ground-breaking products, offering an intimate look at the visionary minds behind this revolution. Looking for investments of $10K, $20K, $50K, $100K, $250, $500K, and $1M. Higher investments with equity shares are available for discussion. We foresee full returns and profits delivered within 1 year. If you're interested in being part of this exciting journey, please get in touch to set up a call ASAP. #Gaming #InvestmentOpportunity #Innovation #GamingPeripherals #TechInvestments #gamedev #investors #angelinvestors #gameinvestor #PEinvestment #AngelInvestment

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And YET we keep mindlessly pouring capital into this genre - why?! Yes, its the biggest genre. Its also the most satuated, the most competitive, and has the biggest, most well established teams executing at high quality. Meanwhile, many other genres can't get funded. Why? Its the "core gamer bias" I often talk about - investors are shooter players, so they want to be involved in making a shooter. They don't have the same passion, for example, about making cozy games. So even if cozy is a completely neglected genre with less competition and a higher chance of success, investors don't UNDERSTAND it and people tend not to invest in things they don't understand. Also, this is a great insight for any game… "How can we use *systems* to operate *over* content and extract as much retention as possible from a single piece of content?" Phillip Black I'm getting this tattooed on my forehead. Or perhaps will just get a hat made with it.

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🌟 Over 20 Years of Game Award Winning Industry Leadership – Now Seeking New Opportunities! 🌟 With over two decades of crafting engaging game experiences across mobile, PC, console, and MMO platforms, I'm excited to explore new opportunities, either through my LLC, FrostFire Games, or direct hire opportunities. My career has focused on leading teams, developing live service features, and implementing ethical monetization strategies, always keeping the player at the front of our minds. 🚀 What I Bring to the Table: ♦ Live Service Design & Operations: Expertise in designing and managing live service features, including seasonal content, meta systems, and monetization strategies. ♦ Team Leadership & Management: Proven ability to build and mentor high-performing design teams, fostering collaboration and driving successful outcomes. ♦ System Design & Balancing: Experience in developing and balancing complex game systems to ensure player retention and satisfaction. ♦ Monetization Strategy: Skilled in creating ethical monetization models for F2P and Premium games, aligned with player engagement goals. ♦ Cross-Platform Experience: Versatility across mobile, PC, console, AR/VR, and social games, with a keen understanding of each platform's challenges. ♦ Product Vision & Roadmap Development: Adept at crafting and aligning teams around clear product visions and roadmaps for long-term success. ♦ Pitching & Business Development: Strong track record in pitching game concepts and securing partnerships. 🎮 Key Roles: ♦ CEO / Design Director, FrostFire Games: Leading vision, design, and business models for multiple successful games. ♦ Director of Live Service, Final Strike Games: Driving live service design for unannounced AAA titles. ♦ Design Director / Lead Designer, Apex Legends Mobile: Leading design and live ops, earning multiple Game of the Year awards. ♦ Lead Product Manager / Design Manager, Wargaming: Overseeing publishing, progression, monetization, and social systems for PC and console games. ♦ Design Director / Co-Founder, Apella Games: Creating and leading the design and early access launch of an innovative action arena game. 🏆 Achievements: ♦ Successfully launching and sustaining live service games with high retention and monetization. ♦ Leading the transformation of a AAA game to a F2P model, boosting its market presence. ♦ Receiving multiple Game of the Year awards for Apex Legends Mobile on both iOS and Android platforms. ♦ Developing training programs that have advanced the careers of numerous designers. ♦ Consistently delivering game designs that resonate with players and meet market demands. I'm eager to collaborate with new partners or join a forward-thinking team to create the next big success. If you’re looking for someone with a deep understanding of the game industry, proven leadership, and a passion for innovative design, let’s connect! #GameDesign #LiveService #Monetization #Leadership #GameIndustry #Hiring

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Breaking Down "Roblox"- 1 1. Roblox’s Remarkable Growth Amid Industry Contraction  As the gaming industry experienced its largest contraction in nearly 25 years post-COVID, Roblox defied the trend. It shifted from a “new” sensation to a “familiar” staple, continuing its relentless growth. 2. Unmatched User Base Daily Active Users (DAUs): Over 80 million people log onto Roblox each day. Monthly Active Users (MAUs): With more than 380 million MAUs, Roblox has more users than Steam (2x), PlayStation (3x), and Nintendo Switch (3x). Comparative Scale: Roblox’s user base outnumbers the entire AAA gaming ecosystem combined and surpasses platforms like Spotify and Snap. 3. Engagement Metrics  Total Playtime: Users spend close to 6 billion hours per month on Roblox.  Comparative Engagement: This is more than double the total watch time on Disney+ each month and one of the most played games on platforms like PlayStation and Xbox. 4. Continuous, Resilient Growth  Despite the end of the pandemic, Roblox’s growth has remained linear, with the platform on track to surpass 500 million MAUs and 100 million DAUs.  Resilience: Unlike other pandemic darlings (e.g., Zoom, Shopify, Peloton), Roblox maintained and even accelerated its growth post-pandemic. 5. Healthy Composition of Growth   Increased Engagement: The share of DAUs has grown from 16% pre-pandemic to 22% today.   Demographics: Users over 13 now represent 58% of the player base, with U.S. and Canadian players increasing by 250%.   Global Expansion: APAC and ROW users surged by 650% and 750% respectively, making Roblox a global phenomenon. 6. Monetization and User Productivity   Revenue Growth: Run-rate spending on Roblox exceeds $3.8 billion and is expected to surpass $4 billion by year-end.   User-Generated Content (UGC): Roblox’s users are creating 170,000 virtual items and 15,000 virtual worlds daily. The platform has paid out over $3 billion to UGC developers since 2006. 7. The Profitability Paradox    Rising Costs: Despite skyrocketing revenues, Roblox remains unprofitable with a -38% profit margin over the last four quarters.    Significance: While revenues are 6.2x greater than pre-pandemic levels, losses have grown 18x, highlighting a critical challenge for the platform’s long-term sustainability. Roblox’s journey is nothing short of extraordinary. It has redefined what a gaming platform can achieve in terms of scale, user engagement, and global reach. However, the road ahead presents significant challenges, particularly in achieving profitability while maintaining its growth trajectory. The question now is:  How can Roblox continue to scale its operations and maintain user engagement while steering towards profitability? Source: Mathewball Website

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It’s fantastic to see another major player in the gaming industry, Atari’s Infogrames, placing game preservation at the heart of its business strategy. As highlighted in a recent article, Atari CEO Wade Rosen is committed to preserving and re-releasing classic games in ways that respect their original integrity while making them accessible to modern audiences. This move further underscores the increasing importance of game preservation, not just as a cultural necessity but as a viable business opportunity. Recent reports, such as the 2023 Video Games Europe Key Facts and Newzoo’s insights, have highlighted the growing significance of preserving our gaming heritage. Initiatives like #StopKillingVideoGames, which has gained record popularity, are part of a broader trend recognizing the need to safeguard video games' cultural and historical value. With GOG already making game preservation a core aspect of its business model, it’s encouraging to see this movement gain more momentum across the industry. As more companies and initiatives join forces, the preservation of gaming history is becoming an essential focus that will benefit both the industry and players alike. https://lnkd.in/d_Mz8NM5

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Capcom has released a less-than-positive annual report. There's nothing critical in it; all the declines are tied to a pause in releases. Capcom certainly has a vast catalog of successful franchises for upcoming releases. Resident Evil (RE) stands out distinctly. While Capcom didn't start with RE, it played a crucial role in their history and has had a significant impact on the gaming industry as a whole. Today, RE comprises 32 releases across 33 platforms. These are incredible numbers and a testament to success. Moreover, judging by Metacritic scores, Capcom manages to maintain a high standard of quality. I gathered a timeline of all RE releases on one website (link in the comments). I thoroughly enjoyed watching videos, reading books, reminiscing about my own experiences playing the games, and playing with friends and colleagues. Here are a few interesting facts about RE and Capcom: - Resident Evil 4 was released on 14 platforms. - The first RE took 3 years to develop, instead of the usual 3-6 months for Capcom in 1996. Consultants hired from the U.S. advised shutting down the project when it was almost complete, predicting its failure. - Devil May Cry and Dino Crisis were born while searching for fresh gameplay for RE. - Capcom was one of the first companies to start paying revenue shares to developers, which is particularly noteworthy for Japanese companies. - Toy Story I and RE I were released around the same time. - For a while, music for RE was composed by a well-known Japanese composer who was said to be deaf. It later turned out that he wasn't actually deaf and didn't compose the music himself. PS. In 2026, the series will celebrate its 30th anniversary, and there will likely be a special release or edition. Or perhaps they'll simply release a version with full DualSense support.

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Today I want to tell a story. I've been holding onto it for a specific circumstance, but in case that doesn't happen, forgive the rough edges. For the longest time, I wanted to be a games journalist. I've known how to play games and deconstruct their mechanics ever since I spent many school summer holidays playing the same Playstation games over and over. I would be the kid that would read games magazines, mostly for the cheat codes, on occasion spotting an article about the next Pokemon game that I just had to tell my friends about. I was never taught or told that being a "critic" or "journalist" was a career, let alone in games. Media Studies wasn't even a subject my high school taught until sixth form options, so I'd have to get by with learning how to deconstruct the written word - often Shakespeare or "Of Mice and Men" - in English Literature class. Jump forward to 2014/5. I was in University, with the freedom to learn about "the media" and online video (YouTube) as I had experienced through college. Despite being on a TV Production course, and though we students all knew the influence social media was going to play in our careers, games were still part of my plan. Through friendships and unsuccessfully trying out for the Student Union's monthly news series as a "games correspondent", I was able to work on a project with a criminology student who also liked games. He ran his own YouTube channel, as I had done under many brands and guises over the years, but he was more consistent. I came on board as his camera operator during EGX Rezzed and we made a few interview videos together. One of which I want to bring to the attention of Hyper Luminal Games. Yes, happy birthday Hyper Luminal! 🎉 We've both changed since this video about Big Crown Showdown! Congrats on releasing Pine Hearts - a wholesome cosy game that is a love letter to the simple life in Scotland. I can't wait to play the full thing - Melissa kindly showed me it at WASD this year, it really was charming! Things have a weird way of coming back around. I don't believe in karma, but I've been watching the work of many studios that I admire and wondered where I fit, thinking maybe there are some answers in my previous work. So, this little story is tale of never forgetting your roots, and celebrating them where you can! Also, if I may be a bit cheeky: If you ever have the availability Hyper Luminal, I would love the chance to join your team! I can assure you my on-screen presence and ability to manage events & communities is far better than what I could manage 10 years ago. I'm happy to work on a relocation plan up to Dundee, be that to work for the core studio under Melissa's expert & bubbly guidance, or having the opportunity to scout for Little Nook's next great wholesome story to share. Here's to both our next chapters! Video:

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FRIDAY ROBLOX THINK PIECE... Is Roblox really aging up?  The answer is definitively yes, and easy to see if you know where to look. Examining a wealth of data from RoMonitor Stats, it is becoming a tale of two platforms.  1️⃣ One side of Roblox is truly for 6-12 year olds gamers. Simple games with no progression, collection, or game loop, featuring simple graphics, sometimes with very child-friendly themes, remain extremely popular and well-represented in the Top 25 Roblox games. Brookhaven, the #1 all-time Roblox game in users, is a perfect example of appealing to the platform’s youngest demographic. 🎯 20M+ DAU 🎯 200K Discord followers  ➡️ That’s 1% Discord:DAU ratio It’s furthermore famous for having minimal monetization, which is highly valued by the youngest demographic.  2️⃣ The other side is more grown up, 13-18 years old - a great example is Gamefam’s War Tycoon, the #1 Roblox military game. 🎯 350K DAU 🎯 100K Discord followers  ➡️ That’s 28% Discord:DAU ratio Highly monetized and players value the monetization layer of the game. We have seen this pattern across our portfolio and the platform itself. The younger the demographic of a Roblox game, the lower the Roblox DAU to Discord Follower ratio.  Stands to reason 🔷 6-12 year-old players are barely on social media 🔷 They have less to discuss around the games and the live ops 🔷 They are not ready to be “community members” 🔶 13+ year-old players are substantially on social media 🔶 Love gossiping about how the game is going and being operated 🔶 Love being community members __________________ We believe therefore that the Roblox DAU to Discord ratio is a key directional indicator of a game community's average age. ⬇️ We call this metric the “Community Age Index”.  🟣 We see the Community Age Index for anime-themed games. This is where Roblox’s most aged-up audience is aggregating - playing anime battling games like Blox Fruit, Strongest Battlegrounds, and Jujutsu Shenanigans. I’m sure a smart consultancy like Naavik could do some ranking math on the Community Age Index of these games and find some fascinating insights. 🟣 Why anime? Because this incredibly passionate audience is simply underserved for multiplayer content through official channels, so they have started making their own content to meet their gameplay needs. The promise of UGC in action! 🟣 So, is Roblox aging up? It is clearly keeping players in certain genres into their teen years in a way it wasn’t 5 years ago, and we can all thank the massive global popularity of anime for that!  So much more data to be shared from Gamefam, RoMonitor Stats, and other industry experts at our Slush event - FUTURE OF GAMING | UGC IS CHANGING EVERYTHING on Nov. 19th in Helsinki! Would love to hear your thoughts Aaron Bush Abhimanyu Kumar 🔜 IGDC KizmoTek Austin Tindal 💪 Nicolas Markham Alexandra (Alli) Guglielmino

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As Concord gets pulled from stores, it's funny to watch analysts repeatedly bend over backwards to ignore and misdiagnose the obvious biggest reason why it failed. Yes, it was a generic shooter entering into a crowded market. Yes, it had a $40 price tag. Yes, the character designers were bad. First -- no aspect of the gameplay impacted its sales because no one played this game. It could have the cure for cancer hidden inside of it and no one would know. Concord failed because it didn't have the goodwill of its audience. It failed because its developer promoted an unpopular ideology, because it was laughed at all over the internet, and no one wanted to be caught dead playing or supporting it. Concord is not alone in its failure. Dustborn failed. Suicide Squad's much mocked "Mrs. Freeze" failed. Dragon Age: The Veilguard, after who knows how much money was spent, will have middling sales at best. It is a combination of two things. Using games as a vehicle to promote political ideologies to an audience that is largely, and increasingly every time they do this, opposed to it. And corporatism, making games from a business-first mindset by people who don't know that much about games. Let me put this in perspective for you. The US population is 333 million. Only 77% of that number is over 18. Only 60% of that number votes in Presidential elections. Of people who vote in elections, only 25% are Democrats. Of that number, only half of Democrats consider themselves liberal. That is 19 million people. Consider also that that group is completely mismatched with the demographic makeup of gamers, who are, much to the dismay of developers and publishers, young, multicultural but largely white, men. These games come across as preachy politics-as-a-religion attempts at social engineering. People do not like it. The reason it keeps happening is that it is a sacred cow -- for many people working in games, it is the reason they work in games. But what you're doing is accepting mainstream budgets to make niche products. You're taking Marvel-sized money to fund Pureflix level projects. Eventually the budgets will shrink to match the niche audience they appeal to. Supply and demand. Meanwhile, market forces will drive other creators to serve the existing demand, and they will capture market share. (See: Black Myth Wukong). You can, if you like, ignore that the thing every failing game has in common and what gamers vocally say is the problem, is the problem, and continue to lose tremendous amounts of money. But the truth is, nobody likes this. Gamers don't like it. Foreign markets for games don't like it. Nobody likes this except a handful of upper middle class and upper class people in coastal American cities who largely don't play games. You can make any argument you want for why people supposedly *should* like it. But you can't change reality. People aren't buying these products. They are not popular. https://lnkd.in/eZPAHfcG

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Some great advice on pitching your game from a consummate pro.

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Progress Update: Learn, Earn, Play, SLAY 📚 🚀 Five months ago, Stemuli was a team of 4 FTEs and a handful of contractors. Today, with 25+ FTEs, we’ve established full Product, AI/ML, Gaming, and L&D departments. Our Stemuletes have been clearing hurdles to roll out the game to 100k+ new students next year. Witnessing their rapid progress as each team dove into product and brand building is nothing short of energizing. ⭐ The Highlights ⭐ - Overhauled the game’s art direction and UX/UI. - Produced 3 new environments. - Developed a mini-game within the main game to serve as a knowledge check. - Generated curriculum identifiers for common core standards across 56 courses. - Ingested thousands of pages of educational content with at least 99.5% accuracy. - Developed an educational quest generator. - Introduced our Career Discovery tool in the game. How it Transforms the Experience ⤵️ 📚 Learn: understand the role math has in suggested career paths related to the student’s interests. 💰 Earn: awarding in-game currencies for completing quests and mini-games. 👾 Play: equipping the core game with personalized generated quests and mini-games. 🚀 Slay: spend accumulated currency to customize personal spaces. Our AI is manufacturing time: unlocking new parameters and turbocharging our development speed—something that seemed unimaginable just six months ago. It's driving our go-to-market efficiency, slashing costs to a tiny fraction of what others are burning. Thanks Day 1’s for pushing our boundaries. Let’s educate the world, change the future.

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Match3 is not the best game economy. I know some who would say it’s not even economy! Also, digital board games are just video games with terrible UX. Listen to the episode for more on these hot takes from me and the fellas.

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Come learn about Xsolla's strategies to improve your mobile games revenue.

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Late Stage Gaming VCs: "We would be interested in companies generating $100M+ in annual revenue that are profitable." Early Stage Gaming VCs: "We would be interested in companies generating $100M+ in annual revenue that are profitable." #vctalk #joke

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