Deconstructor of Fun

Growth Triggers is a new segment on Deconstructor of Fun podcast focusing on all matters growth. This podcast is definitely insightful, for sure entertaining and as always, highly opinionated. We call it how we see it. Your hosts Michail Katkoff and Eric Seufert

Welcome to TWIG #111! Today we cover: #1. Farlight 84 is an impressive and whacky looking battle royale that's heading for iOS, Android and PC next year #2. Will Fortnite's Subscription Work? #3. Supercell shutting down Hay Day Pop after less than a year Check out JK and his co-founders from LILA Games break down the Farlight 84 trailer: Farlight 84 Reaction & Analysis Hosts: - Joe Kim (@jokim1) - Adam Telfer (@adamwtelfer) - Eric Kress (@ekress) - Miska Katkoff (@m_katkoff) As always, pls feel free to send us feedback!

Welcome to TWIG 110! Today we cover: #1. Embracer Group acquires 13 studios: Here's everything you need to know #2. Apple will reduce App Store cut to 15 percent for most developers starting January  #3. Roblox IPO & some financials ($1.2b bookings in 9M 2020) Further, we are joined by guest host:    - Jon Jordan, founder of Steel Media whom you probably recognize from many gaming articles on PocketGamer.biz and elsewhere    - You should also check out Jon's Youtube Channel: Blockchain Gaming World Regular Hosts:    - Joe Kim (@jokim1)     - Adam Telfer (@adamwtelfer)     - Eric Kress (@ekress)    - Miska Katkoff (@m_katkoff) As always, pls feel free to send us feedback!

Three facts: 1. Marketability (CPIs) is the single most important metric of your business case 2. You can optimize marketability early on extremely cost-effectively  3. Most of the gaming studios fail to understand the first point until it is too late and thus refuse to concentrate on the second point. Marketability is perhaps the single biggest element of your game that you have direct control of and that can make - or break - your business case. Yet despite this, countless gaming studios fail to understand early enough who are their making their game for, how big is the target audience and what is costs to reach those players.  In this episode I'm joined with Joe Schaeppi (CEO of 12traits) and Jesse Lempiäinen  (CEO of Geeklab) as we discuss the following topics: 👉   Why marketability matters and when should you start optimizing for it? 👉   How will the IDFA depreciation affect optimization of marketability? 👉   What alternative ways should publishers look into to create audiences? 👉   How is the measurement of creative performance going to change? 👉  Is the role of marketability more or less important post IDFA?

Welcome to TWIG 109. Today we cover: #1. Apple is astonishingly confident in its new M1 Mac processors #2. Virtual Influencers Make Real Money While Covid Locks Down Human Stars #3. The argument for simpler games, in an industry obsessed with complexity Further, we are joined by guest host Ernest Wong to discuss Bringing more franchises to mobile is Activision Blizzard's biggest opportunity, says COO (from TWIG 107) Hosts: Joe Kim (@jokim1) Adam Telfer (@adamwtelfer) Kenny Liu Ernest Wong (@ErnestWongBWM) Hey people, LILA Games is hiring for a badass new F2P shooter game for mobile. We're hiring especially in Bengalaru, India: https://www.lilagames.com/job-openings/ We need PMs, designers, artists, and engineers. We especially need an AD!

The Chinese mobile market is expected to reach 21 billion Dollars in 2020 growing a staggering 17% year-over-year. In addition to having this massive - and from the Western perspective nearly impenetrable - home market, Chinese publishers have been having ever more success in the West.  Deconstructor of Fun podcast is joined by Daniel Ahmad, Yang Liu, and Eric Kress to discuss the characteristics of the Chinese mobile games market and how Western developers could better compete against their Chinese counterparts. The topics covered are:  Why are Chinese games are succeeding in the West when hit titles from Korea and Japan are struggling? Most Western hits haven’t become big in China. Why is that? Is there a moat that Western publishers can build against Chinese rivals in the West? What policies can be made to even out the competition? What is the market going to look like in 3 - 5 years?

Valorant's Game Director, Joseph Ziegler, and Lead Producer, Paul Belezza join the Deconstructor of Fun podcast to spill the beans on Valorant's origin story - from an idea to a game played and streamed by millions of fans around the World. We dive deep into Riot's creative process from the developer's perspective, talk team sizes, launch strategies, live services, community, and working with and for the passionate community. The game is growing and the team has an awesome pipeline of new content. They're looking for folks to help them realize the full potential of the game. And rumor says that listening to this episode can get you a step closer to working on one of the best tactical shooter ever made...

Ok people, this episode is just me (JK) and Miska. We lost some of our co-hosts when we very last minute audibled a change in news coverage. Anyway, as always, we sometimes may say things for dramatic effect. Hopefully none of you take things too personally as we are, in the end, fans of all game companies. Here are the specific news items we covered: Zynga’s acquisitions push it to record bookings of $628 million for Q3 2020 Why Glu Mobile Stock Skyrocketed Today EA revenues fall 14% to $1.15 billion for Q3 2020

What are the key challenges and issues with respect to hiring during pandemic?   While hiring has actually not slowed down in these crazy times despite coronavirus, we discuss challenges and issues due to current circumstances and best practices to help ensure great hires! Host:           - Joe Kim, CEO LILA Games: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jokim/  Guests:      - Simone Heard, Talent Acquisition, Jam City: https://www.linkedin.com/in/simoneheard/      - Moses Sison, Talent Acquisition, Unity: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mosessison/      - Neil Warlicht, Executive Recruitment, Stepping Stone: https://www.linkedin.com/in/neilwarlicht/   Topics Covered: Biggest Changes  Key Challenges  Best Practices & Processes  Best Indicator of Performance  Impact of Remote Work  Long-term Implications Yo! Btw, Joe Kim here and my company LILA Games is hiring. We will be in Bangalore, India. Positions we're looking for right here:  https://www.lilagames.com/job-openings/

Today we’re here to talk about the biggest challenges and mistakes early stage companies have in order to scale their companies and achieve success.   To speak to these issues we have arguably 3 of the best people in the world to talk about this: #1. Travis Boatman: Travis has held senior leadership positions at a bunch of major gaming and mobile gaming companies including Mattel, JAMDAT, EA, and Zynga. And most recently Travis founded Carbonated Inc. a mobile and PC games studio located in Southern California. Carbonated also raised an $8.5M seed venture financing round led by Andreessen Horowitz. https://www.linkedin.com/in/travis-boatman-3bb593/ #2. Gigi Levy-Weiss: Gigi has been a founder, senior executive, and investor in like a billion companies.But some notable companies in particular includes Playtika and Plarium. And Gigi today is a general partner at one of the most exciting venture capital firms NFX (https://www.nfx.com/).  https://www.linkedin.com/in/gigilevy/   #3. Kristian Segerstrale: Kristian was a co-founder of Glu mobile, CEO of Playfish acquired by EA, was a seed investor in Supercell, was a senior exec at EA, and now is the CEO of Super Evil Megacorp which will soon release their new MOBA shooter called Catalyst Black (https://catalystblack.com/). https://www.linkedin.com/in/segerstrale/   Topics Covered: Biggest Mistakes to Avoid  Creative vs. Data vs. Tech? Impact of Data in Games  Hiring for Cultural Fit  Initial Focus Post Funding  You Need to Plan + Panic!  How to Build Culture  Individual Contributor vs. Manager vs. Leader  How to Avoid Day 2