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Indie
43 Essential Game Dev Tips That Are Immutably Correct and Must Never be Disputed by Anyone Ever!
Game development advice is often a ludicrous minefield of abject nonsense, posturing and unserious pontification - will this talk be any different? During this session, Paul will break down a selection of common themes, problems and points of contention that can arise during any game development project and attempt to establish whether universal gamedev wisdom truly exists.
The talk will take on a very wide scope, from game design to technical issues and on to legal and commercial matters. Its objectives are to provoke discussion within teams, provide a reminder of some basics that are readily forgotten in the heat of production and encourage developers to challenge convention.
Session Takeaway
- How to design and pitch commercially competitive games without compromising creativity
- Key company building fundamentals for indie developers
- A delightful selection of stimulating tips to argue about with your team
Aero Astro Arts - Creating Games Lightyears Ahead
In this session Mark with outline our methodology for creating our big vision indie video game titles, challenges, and innovative solutions we have implemented as a small self-funded studio to keep up with larger fully funded powerhouses. We will talk about the way we use our tools to save time and money. While keeping our distinctive visual appeal.
Antonio will talk about branding and the logo's importance and history, in the context of a video game's identity.
Mark will talk about creating a big impact in the industry for the next generation and becoming a trusted member of the industry community.
Session Takeaway
- You can still create amazing gaming experiences with little to no money or help
- After doing it alone it is ok to network, build alliances and participation in the village
- Break, bend and change the norms of industry by creating your own doors, when they are all locking you out
Breaking the Cycle: Our Journey from the Streets to Game Development
My lecture touches on our journey into game development & focuses on how we've learnt to be adaptable by using structured project management tools to plan realistic timelines. We break projects into smaller tasks - we aim big but plan small. Managing timelines & avoiding scope creep & burnout is crucial - i will talk about how we deal with this, & how we break each task into smaller milestones, setting flexible deadlines, and prioritising our well-being - we'd like to share our time frame challenges & how we manage them with you.
We aren't your “standard type” of game developers. Our journey was shaped by crime, gangs, & hardship, where survival took priority, trapped in cycles of petty crime with no clear way out. We needed a change.
My Co-founder Dwayne, passionate about video games, became a self-taught game developer, mastering Unreal Engine and 3D design & I explored entrepreneurship, eventually earning an honorary master’s degree in business. Starting Ragdoll Games was a bold leap, driven by passion and determination, without formal training or a business plan, requiring us to juggle multiple roles while self-funding. I'll touch upon us facing obstacles, managing disabilities, and tackling the immense challenge of learning and planning as we progress.
We continue pushing forward through obstacles, proving that with risk-taking, planning & perseverance, transformation is possible. Game development is a marathon, demanding patience and persistence. Create your own starting line, keep pushing, and believe in your vision.
Session Takeaway
- Think big but plan small - how to use a work breakdown structure
- How to manage your timeline
- How to avoid burnout, time & Scope creep
Can’t We All Just Get Along: How Marketing & Production Can (and Must) Work Together
Marketing and production often feel like they’re pulling in different directions—one pushing for more visibility, the other focused on delivering the best possible game. But when these teams collaborate effectively, the results are powerful. In this session, a producer and product manager from Fireshine Games share their experiences working together on Tales of Seikyu’s Early Access launch as well as an upcoming unannounced game. Through real-world examples and a candid post-mortem, they’ll discuss how aligning development milestones with marketing strategies leads to stronger marketing beats and launches, better audience engagement, and a smoother workflow for everyone involved.
Session Takeaway
- How to integrate marketing into your development process without disrupting production.
- Tips for balancing creative vision with audience expectations.
- The good, the bad and the ugly from a real-world Early Access launch.
- Actionable steps to improve communication and workflow between teams
Fera: The Sundered Launch - Lessons Learned Self-Publishing a AA Game in Early Access in 2024
From 2021 to 2024, our team at Massive Damage decided to take a giant leap - from making smaller indie titles to a self-published AA game - with Fera: The Sundered Tribes. It was a story of "firsts" as we switched from Unity to Unreal Engine 5, dove into multiplayer, tackled making a 3rd-person open-world action game, and doubled our staff, all in one go.
Spoiler alert: It didn’t go exactly as planned. But we learned a hell of a lot along the way.
This talk pulls no punches about the hard lessons we learned by biting off more than we could chew. I’ll walk through how a dream project spiraled into unchecked scope creep, ballooning costs, and a scramble to publish too soon. We’ll talk about marketing misfires that set expectations sky-high and targeted the wrong audience, pricing errors that turned off potential early adopters, the challenges of self-publishing, how Early Access expectations have changed, and the funding nightmares that nearly shut us down - twice.
I’ll also share how we tried to claw our way back once everything started to unravel. From revisiting our price point to overhauling onboarding, addressing core quality-of-life issues, and learning the power of transparency, we made every possible effort to salvage both the game and our studio's reputation.
For indie studios aiming to move up to AA or even in ambition, this honest, raw, behind the scenes post-mortem on Fera: The Sundered Tribes production and launch will show you how to recognize and avoid the pitfalls we stumbled into… and how to recover if you’ve already fallen in.
Session Takeaway
- How to set realistic scope boundaries and avoid overcommitting to new technologies, genres, and features all at once
- Key marketing and pricing pitfalls, drawn from firsthand experience targeting the wrong audience and overcharging in Early Access
- Practical strategies for self-publishing, including cost-effective ways to handle QA, PR, and localization
- Tips for managing “multiple firsts”—from switching engines to doubling team size—and building enough learning time into your schedule
- Actionable methods to secure backup funding, bridge financing, and investor support so your studio can stay afloat when unexpected setbacks arise
Good Vibes Only - A Producer’s Guide to Successful Collaborations in Game Dev
The era of solo developers is over - these days even the most self-sufficient of us will inevitably end up relying on the support of others to release their game, whether that be platform holders, co-development teams, or a publisher or agency. Opening up your private creative process to others can be tricky, though, especially when you’re putting everything on the line.
Join experienced publishing producer Mj Lewis to get to grips with the importance of playing nice with others in game development - from structuring your systems and processes for easy collaboration, to building healthy and long-lasting working relationships even in times of conflict.
This session will give practical advice on how to be good to yourself and those around you in hectic, high-stress situations, without compromising on the quality of your game.
Session Takeaway
- Insight into what makes a good working relationship when you’re trying to ship a game
- Planning a project with collaboration in mind
- Establishing and maintaining healthy relationships
- Managing conflicts and worst-case scenarios
- Advice on looking after yourself and others during high-stress situations
The Indie Edge: Attracting Talent When You’re Not AAA
Joe Burridge brings a unique perspective from scaling companies across the startup and AAA gaming worlds. In this talk, he’ll empower indie developers with the tools to attract and retain top talent in an industry dominated by major players. Drawing from his experience scaling tech companies, moving into games and witnessing exponential growth at EA and Epic Games, and now supporting ~90 startups as part of a VC firm, Joe will share actionable strategies on interviewing best practices, crafting compelling employment brands and embracing a "moneyball" hiring philosophy. This session is your playbook to make your indie studio a magnet for incredible talent.
Session Takeaway
- Hire for Fit and Potential: Master interviewing techniques to uncover cultural alignment and untapped talent overlooked by AAA studios.
- Build an Irresistible Employment Brand: Learn how to showcase your studio’s unique strengths to attract passionate candidates.
- Adopt a Strategic "Moneyball" Mindset: Leverage unconventional hiring strategies to assemble a dream team on an indie budget.
The Ouroboros Express - A Postmortem
The game devs: Applying for jobs. The industry: On fire. But did that keep this scrappy team down? Nope. This is the story of how I directed a game team of 40 to develop a fully-voice acted visual novel game on Steam with high-quality production processes. Dig into our tech stack, ways of working, lessons learned and more.
Session Takeaway
- Nitty gritty production practices on 0 budget
- Managing and motivating a team
- Communication and collaboration best practices
Unlocking Game Data @ Koffeecup
In today's competitive gaming landscape, data is a critical asset, but many studios struggle to harness its full potential. This talk explores how Koffeecup is pioneering a data-driven culture in game development, integrating analytics, event tracking, and player feedback into a cohesive system. Attendees will learn how to establish a robust analytics pipeline, implement effective KPIs, and use machine learning to enhance player engagement. The session offers real-world case studies on transforming raw data into actionable insights that drive both creative and commercial success. Whether you're a developer, designer, or data strategist, this session will provide practical takeaways for leveraging game data more effectively.
Session Takeaway
- Understand the importance of KPIs in game development and how to design them effectively.
- Learn how to build and implement a scalable data pipeline for gaming analytics.
- Explore real-world applications of machine learning to improve player engagement.
