Melissa (MJ) Lewis
Firestoke
Mj is an experienced producer and production manager currently heading up the production team at indie publisher Firestoke. Her background is in PC and console publishing, and areas of particular interest include localization, accessibility, and videogames as cultural artefacts. Credits include A Space For The Unbound, Potion Permit, Arcade Spirits: The New Challengers, and Hauntii.
Melissa (MJ) Lewis is speaking at the following session/s
Why You (Don’t) Need A Publisher For Your Indie Game
Aimed at indie teams and solo developers, this talk will cover best practices for early game development and seek to demystify the process of signing with a publisher - if you want and need to.
There are a lot of misconceptions about what it means to work with a publisher - for some it's the ultimate goal, and for others, something to avoid on principle. Regardless of your personal position on the matter, getting a game to release is no easy task, and there are lots of pitfalls to avoid - especially for smaller teams that don't have any resources to waste.
This session will give practical advice for developing a game in a robust and efficient way, and outline key areas in which a publisher can support that development. Ultimately the things learned in the session will be useful for all indie devs, no matter their position on publishing.
Session Takeaway
- Understanding of where and how a publisher can support indie game development
- Prompts to help you decide if you really need that support to achieve your goals
- Better understanding of the console development process
- Useful tips to encourage robust and efficient game development in small teams
Session speakers
