This talk attempts to cover what the indie scene can learn from the corporate sector, and what the corporate sector can learn from the indie developers. Based on observations made over 9 years as both an indie developer, game incubation manager and now producer, Emil tries to bring the game industry just a little bit closer to each other. Talk given at Game Scope Festival, August 26th 2016 by Creative Producer Emil Kjæhr.

1. Business
Vs Indies
Discussion on what we can
learn from each other - and
why we’re really not that
different
CONTENT DISCLAIMER
The views expressed in this talk are entirely my own, and are based
on observations made watching the games industry over the last 9
years.
BUT - Funday Factory would like to focus more on the areas where
we are the same, rather than the places where we’re different.
Together we can make the games industry great again an awesome
place to work and build great things!

2. FUNDAY
facts
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!
Facts and Focus
Founded in: 2011
Owned by: Mediaworkers Group
Number of employees: 30
Games released: 16 until now
Game Selection from 2015-2016:
- LEGO Juniors: Create & Cruise
- LEGO Juniors: Quest
- LEGO Superheroes: DC Mighty Micros
- Spellbinders in collaboration with Kiloo
- Axe in Face 2 in collaboration with Hugo Games Aps
+ Multiple on-going projects covered under NDA

3. ABOUT
Me
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1

4. A Few Quick Highlights
Worked on several LEGO
& IP titles for mobile.
4
Emil Kjæhr
Creative Producer at Funday Factory
BSc in Medialogy + 50% of MSc
29 years old
Favourite colour: Blue!
Established game
incubator in Viborg,
Denmark funded by EU
at The Animation
Workshop
Shipped a small game
prototype for the OUYA
with two friends; was
featured on Jimmy
Fallon’s Tonight Show,
Polygon and The Verge
Organized and participated
in ~20 game jams -
organized 10+ game
conferences and talks.
| 25.08.2016

5. Stuff that indie developers could benefit from
knowing!
FIVE TIPS
for indies
5
!| 25.08.2016

6. 6
Or someone on your team that wants to deal
with stuff like teams, budgets and deadlines
and who knows how to say “no” in 20
different ways. Knowing when to say no is
70% of what a producer has to do.
You need a
1
TIPS FOR
indies
producer
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7. 7
During this talk you’ve already missed your
first 7 deadlines. You should treat deadlines
as something holy and unbreakable. (we all
miss deadlines every now and then, but don’t
start out a sprint saying “if we don’t make it
all the way this sprint, we’ll just extend the
sprint indefinitely” - the team loses sight of
when a production ends; next stop is
disillusion with no defined and clear end in
Define
2
deadlines
TIPS FOR
indies
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8. 8
Sleep around a bit. It’s healthy! Preferably
short flings! If your first game idea is the *one
game that you’ve been thinking about since
1st grade* it’s probably a really bad idea to
have that be your first game. Your team lack
experience, and finding financing will be a lot
tougher. Also, avoid basing your entire
company around a single game idea. Have a
long-term strategy as well.
No love
3
affairs
TIPS FOR
indies
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9. 9
Don’t ever work without a contract.
Remember to work out a contract when
working with people - even if they’re your
friends. Remember to add your mistakes to
the next contract; this is why you’ll
sometimes see contracts that are 15+ pages
long; there’s probably a contractual horror
story behind every single paragraph.
Protect
4
yourself
TIPS FOR
indies
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10. 10
It’s okay to gather an appetite when you’re
out as long as you eat at home! Don’t be
afraid to look at other games out there, and
being honest about your sources of
inspiration.
Before Minecraft there was Infiniminer
Before Angry Birds there was Crush the Castle
Before Guitar Hero (2005) there was Guitar Freaks (1999)
Before Subway Surfers there was Temple Run
Look at
5
pretty games
TIPS FOR
indies
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11. 11
FIVE TIPS
for companies
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12. 12
Send teams to game jams, free up ~10%
work-time for personal projects. This
encourages creative thinking and potentially
introduces cool new tech to your productions.
At Funday whenever a programmer or artist is
in-between projects, they’re free to propose
tasks they think could be cool to work on -
this improves existing processes internally. 1
TIPS FOR
companies
You need a
creative outlet
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13. 13
Be willing to challenge your clients; be okay
with losing pitches and RFPs.
Remember why you entered the industry;
don’t forget that this is a magical medium.
Don’t forget why you’re here. 1 match-3
rainbow pony game with freemium
mechanics is okay. After 200 maybe you need
a break and space to do something else. 2
TIPS FOR
companies
Don’t get lost
in spreadsheets
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14. 14
The mushroom theory of management
doesn’t work (keep them in the dark, feed
them shit and watch them grow). Be open
with your employees - they become much
more invested in the company as a whole and
feel a greater sense of ownership when they
know how things are going.
3
TIPS FOR
companies
Abandon the
mushroom
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15. 15
This isn’t a work-for-hire game, it’s your
game. Own it! Give people ownership of
everything they make. Trust the people you
hire and allow them to work in smaller teams.
Allow programmers to be game designers,
and game designers to program.
But remember to check in to ensure that
people don’t blame themselves if issues arise. 4
TIPS FOR
companies
Ownership
is happiness
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16. 16
Create a safe space - it’s not enough to say
there is one. It can be the Creative Director
sitting down with each game designer, or the
CCO sitting down with producers. It’s
important to have a valve or outlet where you
can talk about the stuff that is difficult or
gives you pause about a production or a
team. 5
TIPS FOR
companies
Safe spaces &
being honest
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17. 17
THREE TIPS
for everyone
| 15.06.2016 !

18. 18
This kills the industry. This comes from
experience - crunching for 4 hours before a
deadline at a game jam is pretty fun.
Crunching for several weeks isn’t.
If you’re planning with a period of crunch in
your production you’re planning it wrong.
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TIPS FOR
everyone
Avoid crunch
at all cost

19. 19
Burnout of talent robs us of the next big
thing. the most important resource we have is
each other. We can’t afford to lose anyone. If
you’ve ever seen anyone quit the games
industry to join some huge IT or advertising
company, their game ideas and thoughts are
potentially lost forever. Who knows if the
ideas we lost to burnout could have been the
next Inside, Fez or Subway Surfers.
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TIPS FOR
everyone
Friends don’t
let friends burn

20. 20| 15.06.2016 3
TIPS FOR
everyone
The games industry is still small - there’s room
for everyone. The industry is so small, and the
amount of creative potential in the games
medium so vast that there’s really not any
competition in the bigger scheme of things
(unless you’re literally Supercell vs King). So
talk to each other, attend industry events like
this one, be open with companies (but
remember NDAs).
There is no
competition

21. 21| 15.06.2016
Takeaway
for everyone
Indie devs Companies
When listening to talks and discussions from both indies and the WFH sector, this is
the image that sometimes pops up in my head. It’s like we’re sitting on opposite
ends of an argument that has no resolution, with literally zero shared values.

22. 22| 15.06.2016
Takeaway
for everyone
Indie devs Companies
ABANDON THE
BINARY
CONSTRUCT!
I propose that we abandon the binary construct of work-for-hire and indie
development being two *vastly* different things.

23. Creativity, Inc.: Overcoming the Unseen Forces That Stand in the Way of True Inspiration (2014)
23| 15.06.2016
Takeaway
for everyone
Indie devs Companies
And instead embrace the fact that companies, like so many other things in our
world, exist on a spectrum. Game studios can be indie-curious, or
work-for-hire-curios. And that’s okay. The industry is immensely richer and infinitely
more interesting for having room for all of us.

24. EMIL@FUNDAYFACTORY.COM
@ELECTRONICMILK
+45 2872 5231
SØNDERGADE 4
8000 AARHUS C
DENMARK
FUNDAYFACTORY.COM
Thanks for listening!
Questions? Insults?