This week we spoke to Dan Bernardo from Playtra Games and Mark Rands and Boris Randelov from Barclays Eagle Lab.
(Playtra Games, 2021)
As an indie developer Dan has a clear passion for game design as well as providing job satisfaction for his employees. He emphasised how his company Playtra is about representation and how you can love what you do whilst still striving to make positive change. He used their current project as an example;
(Playtra Games, 2021)
Grid Fight: Mask of the Goddess is a grid-shaped tactical action game with RPG elements. Dan had asked each individual of the team who their role model was and every single one was female, so they made an all-female cast game. He said later that "If you're not having fun making it, no one else will have fun playing it!" These two comments were really inspiring for me. We often discuss crunch, or how you can only be successful in AAA game development when in fact indie games too are giving rise to a much more positive movement within the industry and allowing the team behind the development to enjoy the process. For example the 2020 game awards included a new category called Games for Impact ‘For a thought-provoking game with a pro-social meaning or message’ (The Game Awards, 2020), including titles such as Tell Me Why, SpiritFarer and Kentucky Route 0. Further discussion points;
· Prototyping – as much as possible with as little energy as possible
· Curiosity – have a desire to learn and understand. Be open-minded towards new ideas and ways of working
We later spoke to Mark and Boris from Barclay’s Eagle Lab who asked us what we wanted to do when we moved into the industry and a large proportion of my cohort said they wanted to found their own studio. I've always considered myself as incredibly ambitious so my answer was that I wanted to experience as much as I could and have the opportunity to learn from those around me. I found this to be an interesting contrast as I feel like I’m only just starting to learn about the intricacies and power of game design within my own practise and methods. We discussed:
· Skill-matching – suiting passionate individuals to the right opportunities
· Support – from triple A games to startups and indie businesses, they have resources to help all businesses in the game design industry. They can be involved at any point in the process, e.g. employing individuals with a specific skill set or finding investors (venture capitalists, business angels).
· Community – sponsoring E-sports athletes, involvement with organisations such as TIGA and WIGJ
Reflection:
For my future practise I've realised that I can stick to my principles and develop games that I love without breaking the bank. I need to adapt my process to allow more space for things I don't know. I'm never going to be an expert in finances or marketing but that's never been my goal. I need to appreciate that support is there and that help and suggestions from others will often lead to a more successful outcome.
References
Playtra games, 2021. Playtra Games. (Online) Available at: https://www.playtra.com/ (Accessed 10th January 2021).
Playtra Games, 2021. Grid Fight: Mask of the Goddess. (Online) Available at: https://www.playtra.com/grid-fight (Accessed 10th January 2021).
The Game Awards, 2020. Games for Impact. (Online) Available at: https://thegameawards.com/nominees (Accessed 11th January 2021).
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