This presentation focuses on independent game developers who want to adopt a startup mentality to how they run their business. Regardless whether you do that through work for hire, being self-funded or by chasing funding. The main content of this talk include insights, examples and proven practices that will allow game developers to improve the foundation of their game startup.

1. Building a Solid Foundation
for a Game Startup
The valuable lessons I’ve learned from running a game startup
in Finland and working with an indie team in Sweden.
@vgvisionary
Slideshare.net/vgvisionary

2. Quick Disclaimer
Nothing in this talk is new,
but we just don’t talk about it often enough!
@vgvisionary

3. Question
Are you prepared to run
a game startup?
@vgvisionary

4. Answer:
Ask yourself Don’s questions:
http://gdcvault.com/play/1022021/Going-Indie-10-Questions-to
@vgvisionary

5. Table of contents
• Who is this dude?
• The lessons I really really hope you won’t have to learn
the hard way after this talk (or at least you will be able to
fix them faster when you stumble over them).
• The road ahead for any game startup
• Summary
• Questions
@vgvisionary

6. Who am I?
This is a talk by
Vlad Micu
Business development manager at
Data Realms
Former Head of Studio at
Critical Force Entertainment
Used to be the PR Manager of
Get Social
Did production, game design and creative direction for
arkavis Siam co. ltd. in Thailand
Wrote for many other international outlets including
Gamesauce.org, TechInAsia.com,
PocketGamer.biz, Control Magazine,
Gamer.nl, XBLAFans.com, Casual Connect
Magazine and many more.
@vgvisionary
@vgvisionary

7. Partners & Clients

8. My personal lessons & mistakes
• Agreements &
Responsibilities
• Adversity & the
Reality of Running a
business
• Constant Growth and
getting Outside
Perspective
• Learning to take the
punches
@vgvisionary

9. A Culture without Shame helps
And a tight-knit community based on
mutual trust is quite nice as well.
www.igda.fi
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10. The Right People & Responsibilities
“You know in a startup, you only need three people.
You need someone who can make something. You
need someone who can sell it. And you need someone
to collect the money. That’s the only three roles in a
startup. So which one are you?”
– Guy Kawasaki
@vgvisionary

11. Different Attitude & Vocabulary
• Sustainable traction
– who’s ever used that word?
• Cash flow positive
– or this one?
• Share holders/Revenue share
agreement
• Business plan!?
• Go-to-market strategy?
• Product/Market fit
Recommended by @derkdegeus
@vgvisionary

12. (Swedish) Commercial
pragmatism
http://www.dataspelsbranschen.se/media/150924/game_developer_index_2014.pdf/

13. REALLY have Everything
Written Down
• Meeting minutes, e-mails
& contracts.
• Use team communication
platform Slack!
• Get your licenses straight:
https://tldrlegal.com/
Watch Dmitri Dubograev’s talk:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YXL79-rmvjw
@vgvisionary

14. Having a lawyer & biz dev
person on board
• Find a lawyer for
equity/rev share
• Get a board of
advisors
http://www.wipo.int/edocs/pubdocs/en/copyright/959/
wipo_pub_959.pdf

15. Contracts are Designed
against Assholes
Chris Natsuume’s talk:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K0UL_QOho6g&list=PLEoI6ST6os509lBweWPn67UYaMrMDSOLS&index=4
Be a dick and demand it. Clauses can always be
changed and/or waived later if needed.
@vgvisionary

16. Never Stop Learning
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CBYhVcO4WgI
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17. Learn with (Comic) Relief
And squeeze in some Work/Life balance
in there while you’re at it!
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18. Embracing Stoicism
http://fourhourworkweek.com/2009/04/13/stoicism-101-a-practical-guide-for-entrepreneurs/
The best way to approach life, the Stoics suggest, is to think
of oneself as an archer who does his or her best to fire the
arrow well but accepts that once it has flown it may be blown
off course and miss the target. In this analogy, our intentions
are like preparing to fire the arrow, but the outcome of our
actions, like hitting the target, is beyond our control and
partly the result of external events.
@vgvisionary

19. Find Veterans & Advisors
Let them give you much needed perspective
@vgvisionary

20. The Demo Scene
Optimized code > everything else
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WyGwv2F3-Fo
@vgvisionary

21. Proprietary Tech still matters
• With publishers, platforms
and other potential
partners
• Unique look and feel vs.
Unity or Unreal Engine
• For PR & Marketing
purposes
• Even potential
commercialization &
licensing options (id
Software, Crytek, etc.)

22. http://i.imgur.com/yacucU1.jpg
The BetaDwarf team lived in a university classroom for 7
months before getting discovered and kicked out
Office space is expensive everywhere
in Karlshamm, Sweden
@vgvisionary

23. Pitch all the Time, Everywhere
• Know who you are and
who you aren’t
• Know what the other
person wants and doesn’t
have
• Use that to disarm your
opponent and put
him/her in the defensive
• Make yourself rare/scarce
Learn from Eminem!
http://techcrunch.com/2014/01/18/how-to-get-an-mba-from-eminem/
@vgvisionary

24. Embrace Competition
“A wise man can learn more from his enemies
than a fool from his friends”
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25. A Support System Really Helps
Colleagues
Mentors & PeersTherapist
Friends
A FUCKTON of books
@vgvisionary

26. Don’t let Misfortune Define You
http://mobile.nytimes.com/2013/07/02/magazine
/evermans-war.html?referrer
@vgvisionary

27. The #1 Skill is still Resilience
The Fins have ‘Sisu’ (perseverance)
@vgvisionary

28. Finnish Sisu +
Swedish Commercial pragmatism
http://www.dataspelsbranschen.se/media/150924/game_developer_index_2014.pdf/
@vgvisionary

29. Summary
• Get your agreements straight!
• Get both legal & outside perspective.
• Embrace adversity & the reality of running a
Business.
• Keep taking those punches, you’ll get there!
@vgvisionary

30. Appendix
What ‘Triple I’ means for us
• Long term goals & plans
• Proprietary technology and
modding community
• Unique vision and business
attitude
• Advisors and veterans on board
for legal, design, business, etc.
• Looking for unlikely partnerships
• Strong PR & Marketing effort and
significant budget
• Being ready for anything from
Worst to Best case scenarios

31. Most importantly
Talk with each other about failure & adversity,
entrust each other with those stories.
Fully foster your community of peers!
@vgvisionary

32. Bonus tip: watch my other lectures
www.youtube.com/vgvisionary
@vgvisionary

33. Contact me
• @vgvisionary
• Mail me at v.micu@vgvisionary.com
• Slides: www.slideshare.net/VGVisionary
#imlonely

34. Sign up for the
Pioneer Program!
signup.planetoidpioneers.com
PP Test Builds, Slack community, content sharing!

35. Thanks!
Questions?
Let’s talk more outside!