

GameMakers
Joseph Kim
The GameMakers podcast publishes current, entertaining, and in-depth discussions on F2P game development. Topics that we cover include the business of games, F2P monetization, liveops, game design, game development processes, team structure, and more.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Jul 19, 2022 • 29min
Bayesian Thinking for Startups with @SebPark
Today I speak to Seb Park regarding how startups should incorporate "Bayesian Thinking" into their strategic decision-making process. This means how to incorporate new information for a startup best and how to use that to gain a massive competitive advantage.
SUBSCRIBE TO GAMEMAKERS:
- Apple Podcast: https://apple.co/34hfOtv
- Spotify Podcast: https://spoti.fi/3Cpyq7i
- Newsletter: https://gamemakers.substack.com/
- Don't miss an episode on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/GameMakersStudio 😃
—CONNECT WITH ME! —
• MY INSTAGRAM → @jokim1
• TWITTER → @jokim1
• LINKEDIN → https://www.linkedin.com/in/jokim/
— POPULAR CONTENT —
🤑 Economy of the Metaverse with Tim Sweeney
https://youtu.be/h6ClJxjuRvw
ℹ️ How to Build the Amazon of Game Companies
https://youtu.be/bkd2TOpKt4I
🔮 Gaming Trends | A Look Ahead at 2021
https://youtu.be/NejFzHtpiZI
🖥️ The Future of PC Gaming
https://youtu.be/_QT7O3Wxi2s
🔴 Games Industry M&A
https://youtu.be/65nyPk6WNrs
🔴 Netcode for Multiplayer Games
https://youtu.be/tHq3PzmjhLw
🔴 IDFA Deprecation Product Impact
https://youtu.be/Ojec4wGKpso
🔴 Trip Hawkins on the New High Score
https://youtu.be/5egTSQ6AiRA
🔴 LiveOps F2P Best Practices
https://youtu.be/tmzqqnYbjNY

Jul 17, 2022 • 7min
Starting vs. The Grind | JK Vlog #1
When you're at the office super late and hella tired, you do weird shit like starting a Vlog.
I'm Joseph Kim, CEO of Lila Games and we are trying to build a mobile gaming studio out of Bangalore, India.
SUBSCRIBE TO GAMEMAKERS:
- Apple Podcast: https://apple.co/34hfOtv
- Spotify Podcast: https://spoti.fi/3Cpyq7i
- Newsletter: https://gamemakers.substack.com/
- Don't miss an episode on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/GameMakersStudio 😃
—CONNECT WITH ME! —
• MY INSTAGRAM → @jokim1
• TWITTER → @jokim1
• LINKEDIN → https://www.linkedin.com/in/jokim/
— POPULAR CONTENT —
🤑 Economy of the Metaverse with Tim Sweeney https://youtu.be/h6ClJxjuRvw
ℹ️ How to Build the Amazon of Game Companies https://youtu.be/bkd2TOpKt4I
🔮 Gaming Trends | A Look Ahead at 2021 https://youtu.be/NejFzHtpiZI
🖥️ The Future of PC Gaming https://youtu.be/_QT7O3Wxi2s
🔴 Games Industry M&A https://youtu.be/65nyPk6WNrs
🔴 Netcode for Multiplayer Games https://youtu.be/tHq3PzmjhLw
🔴 IDFA Deprecation Product Impact https://youtu.be/Ojec4wGKpso
🔴 Trip Hawkins on the New High Score https://youtu.be/5egTSQ6AiRA
🔴 LiveOps F2P Best Practices https://youtu.be/tmzqqnYbjNY

Jul 15, 2022 • 1h 2min
Garena Free Fire: Secrets to Success and Analyzing The Fall
Mobile free-to-play game design experts from Naavik - Thomas Baker (former lead game designer at Electronic Arts and lead on Real Racing 3) and Eva Grillova (former game designer from Wooga and SocialPoint) - have written a super in-depth analysis on Garena Free Fire.
Find out how Free Fire was able to achieve success to become the world's most downloaded shooter game of all time! Further, why has Free Fire dropped by over 30% since last year? What are the big risks and opportunities ahead for the game?
SPECIAL OFFER FROM NAAVIK:
🔥🔥🔥 Get the Garena Free Fire Pro report for FREE here: https://naavik.co/deep-dives/free-fire-world 🔥 🔥 🔥
SUBSCRIBE TO GAMEMAKERS:
- Apple Podcast: https://apple.co/34hfOtv
- Spotify Podcast: https://spoti.fi/3Cpyq7i
- Newsletter: https://gamemakers.substack.com/
- Don't miss an episode on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/GameMakersStudio
OUTLINE:
0:00 Intro
2:11 Secrets to Success
7:55 SEA Organization
11:45 Localization Focus
19:00 Competitive Landscape
25:25 Revenue Decline
26:47 Monetization Scheme
34:30 Biggest Risks
47:40 Impact of Free Fire Max
52:10 Future Expectations
👇 EPISODE LINKS:
- Thomas Baker, Consulting Partner, Naavik Consulting
- Eva Grillova, Game Design Consultant, Naavik Consulting
- Naavik: https://naavik.co/
😃 —CONNECT WITH ME! —
• MY INSTAGRAM → @jokim1
• TWITTER → @jokim1
• LINKEDIN → https://www.linkedin.com/in/jokim/
— POPULAR CONTENT —
🤑 Economy of the Metaverse with Tim Sweeney https://youtu.be/h6ClJxjuRvw
ℹ️ How to Build the Amazon of Game Companies https://youtu.be/bkd2TOpKt4I
🔮 Gaming Trends | A Look Ahead at 2021 https://youtu.be/NejFzHtpiZI
🖥️ The Future of PC Gaming https://youtu.be/_QT7O3Wxi2s
🔴 Games Industry M&A https://youtu.be/65nyPk6WNrs
🔴 Netcode for Multiplayer Games https://youtu.be/tHq3PzmjhLw
🔴 IDFA Deprecation Product Impact https://youtu.be/Ojec4wGKpso
🔴 Trip Hawkins on the New High Score https://youtu.be/5egTSQ6AiRA
🔴 LiveOps F2P Best Practices https://youtu.be/tmzqqnYbjNY

Jul 11, 2022 • 1h 13min
UA Apocalypse, Product Validation, Impact Global Recession, Employee Compensation (Philosophy #17)
We talk about a lot of hot topics people have been discussing in the games industry. Topics:
#1. The dramatic decline in user acquisition marketing - UA Apocalypse
#2. Impact of global recession
#3. Employee compensation
SUBSCRIBE TO GAMEMAKERS:
- Apple Podcast: https://apple.co/34hfOtv
- Spotify Podcast: https://spoti.fi/3Cpyq7i
- Newsletter: https://gamemakers.substack.com/
- Don't miss an episode on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/GameMakersStudio
OUTLINE:
0:00 Intro
2:50 UA Apocalypse
16:35 Product Validation
35:10 Impact of Global Recession
1:01:10 Employee Compensation
😃 —CONNECT WITH ME! —
• MY INSTAGRAM → @jokim1
• TWITTER → @jokim1
• LINKEDIN → https://www.linkedin.com/in/jokim/
— POPULAR CONTENT —
🤑 Economy of the Metaverse with Tim Sweeney https://youtu.be/h6ClJxjuRvw
ℹ️ How to Build the Amazon of Game Companies https://youtu.be/bkd2TOpKt4I
🔮 Gaming Trends | A Look Ahead at 2021 https://youtu.be/NejFzHtpiZI
🖥️ The Future of PC Gaming https://youtu.be/_QT7O3Wxi2s
🔴 Games Industry M&A https://youtu.be/65nyPk6WNrs
🔴 Netcode for Multiplayer Games https://youtu.be/tHq3PzmjhLw
🔴 IDFA Deprecation Product Impact https://youtu.be/Ojec4wGKpso
🔴 Trip Hawkins on the New High Score https://youtu.be/5egTSQ6AiRA
🔴 LiveOps F2P Best Practices https://youtu.be/tmzqqnYbjNY

Jul 9, 2022 • 1h 6min
Culture Communication Isn't Enough + Employee Incentive Systems (Philosophy #18)
Joseph Kim and Brett Nowak talk about cultural installation (not just conveying or communicating culture) and about how to create incentive systems for employees.
SUBSCRIBE TO GAMEMAKERS:
- Apple Podcast: https://apple.co/34hfOtv
- Spotify Podcast: https://spoti.fi/3Cpyq7i
- Newsletter: https://gamemakers.substack.com/
- Don't miss an episode on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/GameMakersStudio
OUTLINE:
0:00 Intro
2:01 Installing Culture (Not Just Communication of Culture)
41:45 Employee Incentive Systems
😃 —CONNECT WITH ME! —
• MY INSTAGRAM → @jokim1
• TWITTER → @jokim1
• LINKEDIN → https://www.linkedin.com/in/jokim/
— POPULAR CONTENT —
🤑 Economy of the Metaverse with Tim Sweeney https://youtu.be/h6ClJxjuRvw
ℹ️ How to Build the Amazon of Game Companies https://youtu.be/bkd2TOpKt4I
🔮 Gaming Trends | A Look Ahead at 2021 https://youtu.be/NejFzHtpiZI
🖥️ The Future of PC Gaming https://youtu.be/_QT7O3Wxi2s
🔴 Games Industry M&A https://youtu.be/65nyPk6WNrs
🔴 Netcode for Multiplayer Games https://youtu.be/tHq3PzmjhLw
🔴 IDFA Deprecation Product Impact https://youtu.be/Ojec4wGKpso
🔴 Trip Hawkins on the New High Score https://youtu.be/5egTSQ6AiRA
🔴 LiveOps F2P Best Practices https://youtu.be/tmzqqnYbjNY

Jun 29, 2022 • 55min
Will Harbin on Lessons from Kixeye and Making a Comeback
Will Harbin was CEO at Kixeye during the early 2010s when the company launched some of the most innovative games to the market at that time: Desktop Tower Defense, Backyard Monsters, War Commander, and Battle Pirates. The company was poised to become the next big gaming juggernaut but did not quite make the transition to mobile.
Today Will is making a comeback with Kixeye 2.0, his new company Global Worldwide which recently launched Kingdom Maker. Don't miss this fascinating discussion, outlined below.
SUBSCRIBE TO GAMEMAKERS:
- Apple Podcast: https://apple.co/34hfOtv
- Spotify Podcast: https://spoti.fi/3Cpyq7i
- Newsletter: https://gamemakers.substack.com/
- Don't miss an episode on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/GameMakersStudio
OUTLINE:
0:00 Intro
0:46 Will on Kixeye's Controversial Past
3:05 Kixeye's Famous Recruitment Video
5:50 Social vs. Transitioning to Mobile
10:45 How Losers on Social Like Supercell Won on Mobile
15:25 The Early Mobile F2P Market 21:40 The F2P Gaming Market Today
24:24 "Full Economic Mastery"
25:15 The Story of Kingdom Maker and Global Worldwide aka Kixeye 2.0
33:20 On Kixeye Culture 38:00 Why Did Will Believe in Kingdom Maker for 6 Years?
42:25 Product Validation Approach 46:00 On Game Publishing and Scopely
51:10 View on Current F2P Gaming Landscape
👇 EPISODE LINKS:
- Will Harbin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/willharbin/ 😃
—CONNECT WITH ME! —
• MY INSTAGRAM → @jokim1
• TWITTER → @jokim1
• LINKEDIN → https://www.linkedin.com/in/jokim/
— POPULAR CONTENT —
🤑 Economy of the Metaverse with Tim Sweeney https://youtu.be/h6ClJxjuRvw
ℹ️ How to Build the Amazon of Game Companies https://youtu.be/bkd2TOpKt4I
🔮 Gaming Trends | A Look Ahead at 2021 https://youtu.be/NejFzHtpiZI
🖥️ The Future of PC Gaming https://youtu.be/_QT7O3Wxi2s
🔴 Games Industry M&A https://youtu.be/65nyPk6WNrs
🔴 Netcode for Multiplayer Games https://youtu.be/tHq3PzmjhLw
🔴 IDFA Deprecation Product Impact https://youtu.be/Ojec4wGKpso
🔴 Trip Hawkins on the New High Score https://youtu.be/5egTSQ6AiRA
🔴 LiveOps F2P Best Practices https://youtu.be/tmzqqnYbjNY

Jun 23, 2022 • 38min
Sebastian Park on why User Generated Content is the Future of Games
Sebastian Park is a co-founder of the UGC publishing company Infinite Canvas and a venture partner at BITKRAFT Ventures. He was also formerly VP of eSports for the Houston Rockets and co-founded Clutch Gaming.
Seb talks about his beliefs on why user-generated gaming is the next frontier for the games industry.
SUBSCRIBE TO GAMEMAKERS:
- Apple Podcast: https://apple.co/34hfOtv
- Spotify Podcast: https://spoti.fi/3Cpyq7i
- Newsletter: https://gamemakers.substack.com/
- Don't miss an episode on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/GameMakersStudio
OUTLINE:
0:00 Context and Intro to Seb Park
3:45 Why User Generated Gaming is the Next Frontier?
9:35 How Does UGC Manifest in Games?
12:50 Biggest Opportunity in UGC?
19:25 Infinite Canvas Publishing Model
21:22 UGC Discovery
24:35 Value Proposition of a UGC Publisher
27:10 Examples of Good UGC Creators
33:25 Are UGC Platforms Winner-take-all?
👇 EPISODE LINKS:
• Seb Park on Twitter: @SebPark
😃 —CONNECT WITH ME! —
• MY INSTAGRAM → @jokim1
• TWITTER → @jokim1
• LINKEDIN → https://www.linkedin.com/in/jokim/
— POPULAR CONTENT
— 🤑 Economy of the Metaverse with Tim Sweeney https://youtu.be/h6ClJxjuRvw
ℹ️ How to Build the Amazon of Game Companies https://youtu.be/bkd2TOpKt4I
🔮 Gaming Trends | A Look Ahead at 2021 https://youtu.be/NejFzHtpiZI
🖥️ The Future of PC Gaming https://youtu.be/_QT7O3Wxi2s
🔴 Games Industry M&A https://youtu.be/65nyPk6WNrs
🔴 Netcode for Multiplayer Games https://youtu.be/tHq3PzmjhLw
🔴 IDFA Deprecation Product Impact https://youtu.be/Ojec4wGKpso
🔴 Trip Hawkins on the New High Score https://youtu.be/5egTSQ6AiRA
🔴 LiveOps F2P Best Practices https://youtu.be/tmzqqnYbjNY

Jun 20, 2022 • 1h 27min
Entertainment IP in Games - The Complete Guide by 3 World-class Experts
Three of the greatest experts on Entertainment IP in Games give perhaps the most in-depth discussion on impact, deal structure, issues, and advice. You don't want to miss this if you have any interest of licensing IP in your game!
SUBSCRIBE TO GAMEMAKERS:
- Apple Podcast: https://apple.co/34hfOtv
- Spotify Podcast: https://spoti.fi/3Cpyq7i
- Newsletter: https://gamemakers.substack.com/
- Don't miss an episode on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/GameMakersStudio
OUTLINE:
0:00 Intro
1:26 Speaker Backgrounds
14:15 Impact of IP on Games
32:52 Fitting Gameplay and IP
39:45 Big Problems with IP
45:47 Licensor Objectives
48:44 Terms & Deal Structure
57:10 Exclusivity
1:00:34 Other IP Considerations
1:04:28 Licenses Gone Wrong
1:14:05 IP vs. Integration Deals
1:22:48 Advice to Secure Deal
👇 SPEAKER LINKS:
- Ames Kirshen. VP, Studio General Manager & Creative Director at Atomic Arcade: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ameskirshen/
- Pete Wanat, Chief Creative Officer at Nifty Games: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pete-wanat-468089176/
- Ed Zobrist. USC Lecturer, Former Head of Publishing at Fortnite: https://www.linkedin.com/in/edzobrist/
😃 —CONNECT WITH ME! —
• MY INSTAGRAM → @jokim1
• TWITTER → @jokim1
• LINKEDIN → https://www.linkedin.com/in/jokim/
— POPULAR CONTENT —
🤑 Economy of the Metaverse with Tim Sweeney https://youtu.be/h6ClJxjuRvw
ℹ️ How to Build the Amazon of Game Companies https://youtu.be/bkd2TOpKt4I
🔮 Gaming Trends | A Look Ahead at 2021 https://youtu.be/NejFzHtpiZI
🖥️ The Future of PC Gaming https://youtu.be/_QT7O3Wxi2s
🔴 Games Industry M&A https://youtu.be/65nyPk6WNrs
🔴 Netcode for Multiplayer Games https://youtu.be/tHq3PzmjhLw
🔴 IDFA Deprecation Product Impact https://youtu.be/Ojec4wGKpso
🔴 Trip Hawkins on the New High Score https://youtu.be/5egTSQ6AiRA
🔴 LiveOps F2P Best Practices https://youtu.be/tmzqqnYbjNY

May 1, 2022 • 33min
Product Manager to Founder | Akash Senapaty (From Zynga to Vah Vah)
After a career in product management at places like Zynga Natural Motion and Digital Chocolate, Akash Senapaty founded e-learning startup Vah Vah with 3 others from Zynga India.
What are the lessons learned? What was he able to translate from being a games PM at Zynga to entrepreneurship? What are his thoughts on the gaming companies and the opportunities in India?
SUBSCRIBE TO GAMEMAKERS:
- Newsletter: https://gamemakers.substack.com/
- Don't miss an episode on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/GameMakersStudio
👇 EPISODE LINKS:
- Akash Senapaty, Co-founder at Vah Vah: https://www.linkedin.com/in/senapaty/
😃 —CONNECT WITH ME! —
• MY INSTAGRAM → @jokim1
• TWITTER → @jokim1
• LINKEDIN → https://www.linkedin.com/in/jokim/
— POPULAR CONTENT —
🤑 Economy of the Metaverse with Tim Sweeney https://youtu.be/h6ClJxjuRvw
ℹ️ How to Build the Amazon of Game Companies https://youtu.be/bkd2TOpKt4I
🔮 Gaming Trends | A Look Ahead at 2021 https://youtu.be/NejFzHtpiZI
🖥️ The Future of PC Gaming https://youtu.be/_QT7O3Wxi2s
🔴 Games Industry M&A https://youtu.be/65nyPk6WNrs
🔴 Netcode for Multiplayer Games https://youtu.be/tHq3PzmjhLw
🔴 IDFA Deprecation Product Impact https://youtu.be/Ojec4wGKpso
🔴 Trip Hawkins on the New High Score https://youtu.be/5egTSQ6AiRA
🔴 LiveOps F2P Best Practices https://youtu.be/tmzqqnYbjNY

Apr 24, 2022 • 1h 22min
Web3 Opportunities for Game Devs
We discuss the current opportunity space for traditional game developers around Web3.
SUBSCRIBE TO GAMEMAKERS:
- Apple Podcast: https://apple.co/34hfOtv
- Spotify Podcast: https://spoti.fi/3Cpyq7i
- Newsletter: https://gamemakers.substack.com/
- Don't miss an episode on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/GameMakersStudio
OUTLINE:
0:00 Introduction
1:51 Why Web3?
6:20 What Does Web3 Mean?
24:37 Axie Hack & Big Risks
39:27 Emotional Web3 Devs
46:08 Areas of Innovation
1:00:49 Investment & Valuations
1:06:42 Companies to Watch
1:13:07 Community in Web3
1:18:00 Last Word & Prediction
🎤 SPEAKERS:
- Jeremy Horn, VP of Innovation at FunPlus: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeremyhorn/
- Joseph Kim, CEO of LILA Games: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jokim/
- Niko Vuori, CEO of Blockstars: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nikovuori/
- Chris Ye, CEO at UKEN Games: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cye/
😃 —CONNECT WITH ME! —
• MY INSTAGRAM → @jokim1 • TWITTER → @jokim1
• LINKEDIN → https://www.linkedin.com/in/jokim/
— POPULAR CONTENT —
🤑 Economy of the Metaverse with Tim Sweeney https://youtu.be/h6ClJxjuRvw
ℹ️ How to Build the Amazon of Game Companies https://youtu.be/bkd2TOpKt4I
🔮 Gaming Trends | A Look Ahead at 2021 https://youtu.be/NejFzHtpiZI
🖥️ The Future of PC Gaming https://youtu.be/_QT7O3Wxi2s
🔴 Games Industry M&A https://youtu.be/65nyPk6WNrs
🔴 Netcode for Multiplayer Games https://youtu.be/tHq3PzmjhLw
🔴 IDFA Deprecation Product Impact https://youtu.be/Ojec4wGKpso
🔴 Trip Hawkins on the New High Score https://youtu.be/5egTSQ6AiRA
🔴 LiveOps F2P Best Practices https://youtu.be/tmzqqnYbjNY


