Deconstructor of Fun

By Deconstructor of FunLeisure Video Games

Deconstructor of Fun episodes

March 11, 2024 Industry Turmoil and Opportunities Ahead with Goldman Sachs and Lightspeed Venture Partners
DoF Newsletter:
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Hemal Thaker
https://www.linkedin.com/in/thakerhemal/
Moritz Baier-Lentz
https://www.linkedin.com/in/moritzbaierlentz/
In this eye-opening podcast, industry insiders Hemal and Moritz provide candid insights into the current state of the gaming industry, discussing market challenges, the impact of layoffs, the dynamics of venture capital and publisher models, the potential of Web 3, the role of AI, and predictions for the future.
From navigating downturns to seizing emerging opportunities, this conversation offers valuable advice for founders and executives alike, shedding light on the realities of the gaming landscape while inspiring optimism for the road ahead.
1 hr 29 min
March 04, 2024 Crucial Remote Work Strategies with Andy Duthie, Executive Producer at My.Games
Join our newsletter: www.deconstructoroffun.com/subscribe
Andy Duthie, Executive Producer of a soaring title HAWKED, joins the podcast to peel back the curtain on remote team management and offer his playbook on how to make remote work work and projects of all sizes and scopes.
Andy Duthie: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andyduthie/
1 hr 28 min
February 29, 2024 TWIG #272 Is Apple Arcade Rotten? Unity's new transparency
Jen, Kress, Laura, and Phil continue with the food puns analogies and decide if Apple Arcade is rotting after a mobilegamer.biz article. Also, the cast praises Unity for its newfound transparency, hits some of the Nintendo Direct Highlights (which aren't that high), keeps taking layoffs, and uncovers Playtika’s new strategy.

Apply to join the Slack Community.
https://www.deconstructoroffun.com/slack

Event links to apply or register:
Think Games Istanbul:
https://adsonair.withgoogle.com/events/think-games-istanbul-2024
GDC Beta Hat & DoF Pre-Game Party March 17 - ⁠https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSceighlzx-X0Khv2NMmJom29dtWhAsEpros-1xhBCNQfIqqAA/viewform⁠
Xsolla, DoF, Mattel Party March 19: https://events.xsolla.com/gamenightgdc2024
DoF, AppsFlyer, Data.ai Brunch March 19: http://dataai-gdc-brunch.splashthat.com/DoF

Hosts:
Michail Katkoff @mkatkoff ⁠www.linkedin.com/in/michailkatkoff/⁠
Eric Kress @ekress ⁠www.linkedin.com/in/erickress/⁠
Laura Taranto @laurataranto ⁠www.linkedin.com/in/laurataranto/⁠
Phillip Black @econosopher ⁠www.linkedin.com/in/phillip-black-economist/⁠
Jen Donahoe @Jen_Donahoe ⁠www.linkedin.com/in/jenniferd⁠
1 hr 10 min
February 26, 2024 Insights from Building (& Exiting) Three Companies with Paul Gouge, Founder of Fourth Star
Join us in Istanbul:
https://adsonair.withgoogle.com/events/think-games-istanbul-2024
Paul Gouge is one of the best founders in the industry. He has built three companies over the past two decades. These companies have not only made fantastic games but have also been acquired four times, with Playdemic, being bought first by Warner Brothers and then by EA under Paul’s leadership.
In this episode, Paul talks about his fourth company, Fourth Star. And how that is the culmination of all his learnings to date.
1 hr 25 min
February 22, 2024 TWIG #271 F*wad ads, Xbox nothing news, Eggcellent puns for Eggy Party
The TWIG crew breaks down the Xbox news. The egg puns fly as the crew debates who wins the Eggy Party, Stumble Guys, Fall Guys battle. We feature our first-ever TWIG junior segment with a friend of the pod Henry Lowenfels and his sons Mickey (8) and Rocky (10), who don't mind ads in Roblox but call people who make ads in console games F*wads. Any cursing was 100% supervised and approved by parental consent. Don't cancel the hosts, please!

Event links to apply or register:
Think Games Istanbul:
https://adsonair.withgoogle.com/events/think-games-istanbul-2024
GDC Beta Hat & DoF Pre-Game Party March 17 - https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSceighlzx-X0Khv2NMmJom29dtWhAsEpros-1xhBCNQfIqqAA/viewform
Xsolla, DoF, Mattel Party March 19: https://events.xsolla.com/gamenightgdc2024
DoF, AppsFlyer, Data.ai Brunch March 19: http://dataai-gdc-brunch.splashthat.com/DoF

Hosts:
Michail Katkoff @mkatkoff www.linkedin.com/in/michailkatkoff/
Eric Kress @ekress www.linkedin.com/in/erickress/
Laura Taranto @laurataranto www.linkedin.com/in/laurataranto/
Phillip Black @econosopher www.linkedin.com/in/phillip-black-economist/
Jen Donahoe @Jen_Donahoe www.linkedin.com/in/jenniferd
1 hr 14 min
February 20, 2024 How GGP & GDC support under-estimated groups and throws the best GDC parties
Join Jen Donahoe TWIG co-host and Strategic Marketing Consultant at Beta Hat and JadeInferno and Gordon Bellemy, CEO of GGP (Gay Gaming Professionals), to hear how GGP supports underrepresented or, better phrased, under-estimated groups in the game industry.

GDC2024 features a number of events that everyone can benefit from. Come join us!

Find all the event information at GGPs LinkedIn page events section

March 20, 3:30pm GDC - LGBTQ+ Executive and Entrepreneurship and Allies Roundtable moderated by Jen Donahoe

March 20, 7:30 GGP Networking Event at DNA lounge right next foor to the Zero Proof board game night at Buzzworks

March 21, 5:40 PM GDC Breaking Boundaries Roundtable

44 min
February 19, 2024 The Inner Works of a Game Publisher with John Wright, Kwalee’s Publishing Head
Join us in Istanbul:
https://adsonair.withgoogle.com/events/think-games-istanbul-2024

John Wright, VP of publishing at Kwalee joins the podcast to discuss publishing in 2024. The thing is, publishing on mobile is experiencing a bit of a renaissance. This is due to all the ever-restricting privacy changes and the decrease in available capital smaller companies were using to scale their games.
1 hr 14 min
February 15, 2024 TWIG #270 The BIG Supercell Talk
event links: GDC Marketing Brunch /GDC Tech Brunch
When Supercell CEO Ilkka Paananen drops his annual blog post, the gaming folks around the world rush to read it. The TWIG crew is no different. Though we might be a tad mod critical…
In this episode, we also discuss Disney’s investment in Epic. What are the implications of this deal? Why does Epic need this money? And what is Epic's future?
This episode is brought to you by Eric Kress, Jen Donahoe, Philip Black and Mishka Katkoff.
1 hr 3 min
February 12, 2024 Product Deep Dive: Whiteout Survival's $400M Loot
Join Jen Donahoe and Laura Taranto in a cozy yet banter-filled deconstruction of Century Games' Whiteout Survival. You'll feel like you’re stepping into a meeting with product and marketing, figuring out how to make and market the next great game as we deconstruct winners.
Have a game you want to see on Product Deep Dives? Contact us at [email protected]
Intro 00:00 - 05:08
Century Games Key Takeaways 05:08 - 06:57
Key Takeaway 1 06:57
Key Takeaway 2 09:19
Key Takeaway 3 11:08
Key Takeaway 4 14:38
Key Takeaway 5 17:12
Data.ai Review 21:49
Century Games Company Review 25:50
Whiteout Survival Predecessors 27:10
Whiteout Survival Decon 33:46
Summary 58:00
1 hr 1 min
February 08, 2024 TWIG #269 The Tremendous Yet Troubled State of Gaming
Think Games Istanbul talks announced:
https://adsonair.withgoogle.com/events/think-games-istanbul-2024
No matter how you look at it, we’re witnessing the inevitable demise of Xbox. All signs (read: leaks) are pointing to the fact that Microsoft’s foray into gaming is coming to an end. The crew analyses why this happened and what it will mean for both the ecosystem and the people involved.
In this episode, we also deconstruct Matthew Ball’s essay “The Tremendous Yet Troubled State of Gaming”. The piece was too long even for ChatGPT, so you can thank us later for going through the insightful yet painful read. Matt, we love you. Please write more often and shorter articles…
The doom and gloom of this episode is brought to you by Eric Kress, Jen Donahoe, Philip Black and Mishka Katkoff.
1 hr 8 min

About Deconstructor of Fun

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Deconstructor of Fun podcast is created by games professionals for games professionals. We explore the business side of the games industry with the goal of bringing listeners content that is relevant, insightful, and entertaining on a weekly basis.