IS THIS

YOU?!!!

Is this how you felt

when you wrote your fist

line of

code???!

Then maybe you will enjoy

this!!!?

Then maybe you’ll enjoy

this!!!?

By Cameron Madani

November 20, 2014

With special guest star and

award-winning game designer Adam Bryant

Outline (Blah, Blah, Blah)

1. My Background

2. State of the Industry

3. How to get a Cool Job in Video Games

4. Rules From the Road

But before I start…

What do you want to get out

of this???!

My Background

Previous life

B-School and business plan in 2005

• Second job at Collision Studios in 2007 (Met Adam)

• Hired to raise money, stayed to make video games

Started World Domination Industries in 2009

K2/Reloaded in 2011

Co-Founded SimGeneral in 2013

Co-Founded TumblePlay in 2014

My Background

Notable events and stuff…

World Domination http://www.wdindustries.net/

• DREAMS + BEER + DREAMS = DRUNK DREAMERS x Demo to nowhere!!!

• Torchlight XBLA= Cool

• Picked a bad partner = Not Cool (Covered later)

• Bad management (ME), had to shut the doors in 2011

K2/Reloaded Games – Classic case of Making $25MM and Spending $40MM

TumblePlay

• Working with DreamWorks

• iOS App out in December, hopefully:/

SimGeneral

• How it came to be (Adam and I)

• Show an tell…

State of Video Game Ind.

From ESA:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/vj9xu

tmdlgsk5be/ESA_EF_2014.pdf?dl=0

State of Video Game Ind.

Where the jobs are: http://www.gamedevmap.com

(SF (208), Seattle (94), LA/OC (161), San Diego (27)

*Kickstarter: //List_of_video_game_crowdfunding_projects

Total Projects: Approx. 330

Fail: 49

Ongoing: 3

Success: 85%

Mean: $193K

Median:$75K

More of an art than science!!!?

* http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_video_game_crowdfunding_projects

How to get a Cool Job in Video Games

1. Programmers

2. Designers

a.No entry level:/

b.Technical designers are the coolest!

3. Producers

a. Usually through QA-> QA Manager

4. Artist

a. Technical artists are also cool!

5. QA

6. Other (like Adam and I)

Rules From the Road

1. Manage up

2. Develop attitude not just aptitude

3. Under Promise/Over deliver

4. Pace yourself

5. L/2T = $

6. Pay your dues

7. Learn from bad bosses

8. Believe in YOU!

Rules From the Road

For future Entrepreneurs

1. Pick good partners

a. At least one of you has to be good at business:/

b. Build for a market

2. Self Publishing

a. Kickstarter

b. No more Platformers, or whatever

the Platformers are this year

c. Don’t forget marketing

3. Finding a publisher

a. What they can/can’t they offer

Q&A

Thank You!!!?

cameron@simgeneral.com

adam@simgeneral.com