Lol. We discuss the nuance in definitions and scope of work-life balance, differences between work-life balance and work-life integration, compensation issues for people working a lot at start-ups, and other touchy subjects.

I generally don't edit, but went way too far on this so we edited a bunch of stuff out. 

About Us:

- Joseph Kim, CEO, LILA Games

- Brett Nowak, CEO, Liquid & Grit

Read about it in the GameMakers newsletter: https://gamemakers.substack.com/

We discuss mobile ad revenue and monetization going into 2022 and beyond.   

We initially talked about mobile ad revenue back in January and got a lot of great feedback. Check out the original video we did back in January:

- Mobile Ad Revenue in 2021   

So, what happened in 2021? 

Why didn't CPMs collapse and what are we seeing now? 

How did the market play out from our expectations back then going into IDFA to what actually happened?  

Content Overview: 

0:00 Intro 

1:06 CPMs & Ad Rev 

12:54 Contextual Ads 

15:00 Programmatic 

18:39 Genre + Hypercasual 

23:31 Operational Changes 

27:35 Data Transparency 

36:00 Data Wars of 2021 

52:19 Role of Admon Team 

56:38 Data Strategy Role   

59:55 Winners & Losers 

1:05:37 Industry Implications 

1:09:54 Predictions  

Speakers: 

- Josh Chandley, COO of WildCard Games

- Sofia Gilyazova, Head of Ad Monetization, SocialPoint (TakeTwo's Mobile Games Division)

- Offer Yehudai, Chief Marketing Officer, Digital Turbine/Fyber   

Read about it in the GameMakers newsletter: https://gamemakers.substack.com/

We discuss the Peter Thiel concept of 0 to 1 vs. 1 to N in the context of product management. We believe there is a pretty big distinction between new game development which is oriented around this 0 to 1 concept and the 1 to N or live-ops PM.

Links:

- Zero to One by Peter Thiel

About Us:

- Joseph Kim, CEO, LILA Games

- Brett Nowak, CEO, Liquid & Grit

Read about it in the GameMakers newsletter: https://gamemakers.substack.com/

Today we discuss Data Usage & Ethics in Gaming.  

It’s not just about what are acceptable practices when it comes to market intelligence, there’s a bigger picture around data that impacts privacy at the device level with Apple and Google impacting IDFA, and even further with the data by companies that may be in competitive situations to their customers. Note that it was just announced that Applovin has just acquired MoPub for example.  

Regular Hosts: 

- Joseph Kim, CEO of LILA Games: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jokim/

- Brett Nowak, CEO of Liquid & Grit: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brett-nowak-8920675/ 

Guest: 

- Lars Doucet, President of Level Up Labs. Twitter: @larsiusprime, Blog: https://www.fortressofdoors.com/ 

Read about it in the GameMakers newsletter: https://gamemakers.substack.com/

We discuss the future outlook and potential emerging opportunities for blockchain gaming.  

Who better to discuss than:  

1. Chong Ahn, VP of Product at Mythical Games (Blankos Block Party) 

2. Brian Peganoff, Ex-Senior Dir of Corporate Development & Strategy at Glu Mobile 

3. Mitch Zamara, Lead Designer, Million on Mars  

Read about it in the GameMakers newsletter: https://gamemakers.substack.com/

With long histories in product management specifically in the games industry, we have a REAL discussion on what it takes to be a great PM.  

Hardcore and real talk from guys who have worked on very successful products. I led the #1 top-grossing game King of Avalon plus a lot of other shit. Brett was a lead PM on Zynga Poker which was contributing 22% of Zynga's revenue at the time.   Real talk you won't get anywhere else. This talk is for hardcore PMs only!   

Follow this channel if you want to hear more philosophy on current and important issues in the F2P games industry.  

The story behind JK getting assassinated: HERE  

Recommended Books on PM: 

1. The Principles of Product Development Flow by Donald G. Reinertsem 

2. Principles by Ray Dalio 

3. Extreme Ownership by Jocko Willink 

4. The Hard Thing About Hard Things by Ben Horowitz 

5. Atomic Habits by James Clear 6. The Score Takes Care of Itself by Bill Walsh  

Read about it in the GameMakers newsletter: https://gamemakers.substack.com/

Moonton's Chief Game Designer Skyhook talks about MOBAs and the keys to success for Mobile Legends: Bang Bang.  

Questions asked:  

0:00 Intro 0:25 Classification of MOBAs? 

2:14 Difference in design between MOBA and RTS? 

4:07 How did Mobile Legends succeed when other MOBAs failed? 

5:57 What was the hardest challenge in Mobile Legends' success?  

Read about it in the GameMakers newsletter: https://gamemakers.substack.com/

In this deep conversation with Lars, we were able to speak to the key challenges that remain behind blockchain and crypto in gaming. 

Key problems discussed: 1. Degraded Blockchain Problem, 2. Some Problems with Play to Earn, and 3. The Problem with Land Sales.  

Links: 

- Lars Blog- The Fortress of Doors

- Degraded Blockchain Article (Lars post from Fortress of Doors)

- Land Speculators Will Kill Your Game's Growth (Game Developer)

Also check out the original, full interview with Lars that has a wider ranged discussion on Bitcoin and cryptocurrency on Super Stonk Bros here 

Read about it in the GameMakers newsletter: https://gamemakers.substack.com/

LILA Games CTO Avinash Pandey discusses key tech challenges in scaling mobile F2P games with Epic Games' Technology Evangelist Arvind Neelakantan.  

Read about it in the GameMakers newsletter: https://gamemakers.substack.com/

Watch it on the GameMakers YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/GameMakersStudio

Deep discussion on what global strategic game publishers like Stillfront, SEGA, and Scopely look for when expanding into India from a development or market perspective.  

Moderator:     

- Justin Keeling, General Partner, Lumikai Fund  

Speakers:     

- Alexis Bonte, Group COO, Stillfront Group    

- Saito Go, Executive Officer & Head of Japan Asia Publishing, SEGA Corporation    

- Justin Scarpone, SVP & GM Asia, Scopely  

Read about it in the GameMakers newsletter: https://gamemakers.substack.com/