UCI Outline
15
IS THIS YOU?!!!
Transcript of UCI Outline
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!!!?
