GameMakers

By Joseph KimLeisure Video Games

GameMakers episodes

May 11, 2024 The Frontier of AI NPCs with Convai's CEO | Purnendu Mukherjee
Purnendu Mukherjee, CEO of Convai, shares insights into innovative approaches to developing human-like AI characters that can intelligently interact with users, perform actions, and engage in natural and responsive conversations.
This discussion sheds light on the future of interactive gaming, educational tools, and real-world applications of AI NPCs, from Mukherjee's personal journey, which sparked his deep interest in the mechanics of the human mind and AI, to the technical challenges and societal impacts of integrating AI within virtual spaces.
OUTLINE:
0:00 Introduction to Convai and AI NPCs
1:19 Purnendu's background and how he got into working on AI NPCs
04:22 - Current limitations of AI NPCs and what's needed to make them indistinguishable from humans
5:00 - Technical Challenges and Innovations
07:34 - Overcoming latency issues with AI NPCs
08:50 - Potential AI applications in gaming and why AI NPCs are attracting significant funding
15:17 - Differentiating factors and focus areas for Convai compared to competitors
19:19 - Steps for developers to integrate Convai's technology into a game
24:12 - Comparing effort and impact of using AI NPCs vs traditional dialogue trees and behavior trees
29:25 - Economics and business model of Convai - pricing for different types of games
34:31 - Bringing down costs for games with massive usage and appeal to global audiences
38:48 - Early traction and use cases Convai is seeing from customers today
43:18 - Potential for AI to enable new kinds of gaming experiences
47:55 - Feasibility of doing a fully AI-driven Dungeons & Dragons game with current technology
50:16 - Optionality if Convai solves AI NPCs for gaming to expand to other domains
53:14 - Purnendu's entrepreneurial learnings and the meaningful suffering of a startup journey
59:04 - Constructive criticism from GDC and Convai's commitment to enabling great art
59:55 - Conclusion
👇 EPISODE LINKS:
- Conv.ai: https://conv.ai/
- Purnendu Mukherjee: https://www.linkedin.com/in/purn3ndu/

SUBSCRIBE TO GAMEMAKERS:
- Newsletter: https://gamemakers.com/
😃 —CONNECT WITH ME! —
• MY INSTAGRAM → @jokim1
• TWITTER → @jokim1
• LINKEDIN → https://www.linkedin.com/in/jokim/
1 hr 7 min
April 20, 2024 Embracer vs. Ubisoft: A Deep Dive into Two Struggling Gaming Giants (Pixels & Profits)
We compare two major gaming companies, Embracer and Ubisoft, on this episode of Pixels and Profits.
✅ Business performance
✅ Valuation
✅ Future outlook of both companies
We analyze their strategies, financials, and potential for growth.
Timeline Summary:
00:00 - Introduction to the topic and overview of Embracer's business
03:00 - Discussion of Embracer's financials and debt situation
10:15 - Embracer's restructuring efforts and asset sales
13:45 - Embracer's tabletop gaming business and profitability
16:20 - Outlook for Embracer's PC and console division
21:20 - Embracer's mobile gaming business and challenges
24:25 - Valuation and investment potential for Embracer
26:45 - Introduction to Ubisoft's business and strategy
29:55 - Ubisoft's financials and revenue per employee issues
37:10 - Ubisoft's upcoming titles for fiscal year 2024

42:40 - Ubisoft's future outlook and titles for fiscal year 2025
49:50 - Valuation and investment potential for Ubisoft
52:05 - Concerns about Ubisoft's development strategies and efficiency
56:10 - Ubisoft's mobile gaming efforts and challenges
58:30 - Closing thoughts on Embracer and Ubisoft's future prospects
SUBSCRIBE TO GAMEMAKERS:
- Spotify Podcast: https://spoti.fi/3Cpyq7i
- Newsletter: https://gamemakers.substack.com/
😃 —CONNECT WITH ME! —
• MY INSTAGRAM → @jokim1
• TWITTER → @jokim1
• LINKEDIN → https://www.linkedin.com/in/jokim/
— POPULAR CONTENT —
🤑 Economy of the Metaverse with Tim Sweeney https://youtu.be/h6ClJxjuRvw
ℹ️ How to Build the Amazon of Game Companies https://youtu.be/bkd2TOpKt4I
🔮 Gaming Trends | A Look Ahead at 2021 https://youtu.be/NejFzHtpiZI
🖥️ The Future of PC Gaming https://youtu.be/_QT7O3Wxi2s
🔴 Games Industry M&A https://youtu.be/65nyPk6WNrs
🔴 Netcode for Multiplayer Games https://youtu.be/tHq3PzmjhLw
🔴 IDFA Deprecation Product Impact https://youtu.be/Ojec4wGKpso
🔴 Trip Hawkins on the New High Score https://youtu.be/5egTSQ6AiRA
🔴 LiveOps F2P Best Practices https://youtu.be/tmzqqnYbjNY
1 hr 19 min
March 30, 2024 Game Developer Conference (GDC) 2024 Recap: Themes, GDC Talks, Takeaways, and Rumors
We discuss key themes & trends, critical takeaways, GDC panels/talks, and rumors from GDC 2024.

OUTLINE:
0:00 Intro
2:35 VC, publisher investment in gaming is down
3:50 Moving to tighter efficiency in game development
7:05 More pain coming, 3-6 more months of industry rationalization
15:30 UA deterioriation since beginning of year
17:17 AI & Liveops key areas of focus
21:40 Importance of marketing and UA for mobile game success
23:45 Sensor Tower acquisition of data.ai
30:45 GDC Talks
37:10 Frank + Frank Supercell Brawlstars talk
41:20 King’s AI Talk - how they improve liveops on Candy Crush Soda Saga
43:15 Epic’s UEFN talks
49:05 Ken’s GDC tips
55:10 Key takeaways
1:05:40 GDC rumors
SUBSCRIBE TO GAMEMAKERS:
- Spotify Podcast: https://spoti.fi/3Cpyq7i
- Newsletter: https://gamemakers.substack.com/
1 hr 17 min
March 21, 2024 Atomic Scaling with Ludovic Bodin | Lessons From the Games Industry to the World!
Ludovic Bodin is an entrepreneur, investor, and now author of the book Atomic Scaling. Ludovic has learned lessons from the titans of the games industry and created a framework he believes can be applied to any other industry.
Learn more about the lessons from Supercell, Valve, Zynga, and others and how they can apply to your games studio or company outside of games.
OUTLINE:
0:00 Intro
1:20 How Ilkka Paananen, CEO of Supercell inspired Atomic Scaling - Keeping teams small for as long as possible
7:08 How Gabe Newell, CEO of Valve, further inspired Atomic Scaling - Lessons from the games industry are widely applicable
9:35 Ludovic’s great book endorsements, learning from game industry experts, and the sharing culture in gaming
12:21 Motivation to write Atomic Scaling
14:10 3Ps 3Rs framework explanation- People, Prediction, Playbook and Revenue, Reach, Retention
14:52 People principle
22:00 Prediction principle: prediction vs. prophecy - hypothesis, measurement, then change
34:22 Playbook principle - getting the team on the same page
42:13 Revenue, Reach, and Retention
44:05 LiveOps and the LOVE framework - Live product development, Organized event calendar, Very special sales & offers, Engagement and re-engagement
47:10 What should readers take away?

49 min
March 20, 2024 Liveops Lessons from Temple Run & Bejeweled Blitz ft. Eve Chang
Eve Chang shares her invaluable experiences and lessons from working on iconic mobile games like Temple Run and Bejeweled Blitz. Get ready for a session full of actionable insights and strategies that could redefine your approach to game development and live operations.
Outline:
[00:00] Introduction to Eve Chang and Overview
[01:10] Eve Chang's Journey in Game Development
[02:10] Eve's Approach to LiveOps
[06:55] Designing and Product Decisions for Live Games
[13:45] Biggest Lessons Learned from LiveOps
[22:55] Eve's Take on the Current Market Environment
[26:35] Final Thoughts and Where to Find Eve Online
Key Highlights:
🔑 Eve reveals her strategic framework for LiveOps, emphasizing market analysis, player desires, and aligning game objectives.
🔑 Insights on making design and product decisions that resonate with players while enhancing game longevity.
🔑 Eve shares candid lessons from her extensive career, including successes and missteps that have shaped her approach to LiveOps.
🔑 A look into the current state of the mobile gaming market and advice for developers navigating these challenging times.
Links:
Eve Chang LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/evechang/
Subscribe to our channel for more insights from industry leaders and game development veterans. Don't forget to like, share, and comment below with your thoughts or questions for Eve!
28 min
March 15, 2024Nvidia - On the way to becoming the world's most valuable company | Pixels & Profits #9
Matthew Kanterman, Joseph Kim, and Brian Peganoff discuss Nvidia as well as gaming related offerings from the company:
Nvidia business overview

Future growth drivers

Valuation

Competitive landscape

Future outlook
53 min
March 05, 2024 The Measurement Crisis (in mobile UA) | #1 of 5 in State of Measurement Series
We are seeing severe impacts around privacy and the ability to measure any post-device ID kind of fingerprinting world. So, we wanted to put together a five-part series helping advertisers understand the measurement crisis and the different tools and measurement signals available.
#1. The first podcast in the series will be the overview of the measurement crisis.
#2. The second podcast will be the actual state of last touch and the real value that last touch is bringing you.
#3. The third podcast will educate on incrementality testing and how it can be leveraged in a privacy-first world.
#4. The fourth one will be the promise of MTA 2. 0 and data clean rooms. So you understand some of the more fringe benefits of tools coming to you that may impact last touch.
#5. The last podcast is a summary roadmap to measurement success, helping you, the advertiser, take everything you've been educated on, turn it into action and succeed.
OUTLINE:
0:00 New series: State of Measurement in a Privacy-first World introduction
2:24 Intro to the Measurement Crisis in mobile user acquisition (UA)
4:30 Recap on why we have problems attributing installs today
8:17 How incentives exacerbate the measurement problem
11:42 What is the actual impact of IDFA deprecation to UA?
16:43 Andrew believes that incrementality shows that the impact of IDFA may be a perceived rather than actual problem
22:12 Warren's dynamic polling approach, how to make goal based buying work, and overview of IDFA workarounds
31:16 What does Kwalee and other game studios do for UA now?
33:30 How to react to loss of fingerprinting
40:00 What are limitations of MMM or incrementality?
46:35 Who will be impacted most by loss of fingerprinting?
47:40 What does the future state of measurement look like?
SUBSCRIBE TO GAMEMAKERS:
- Newsletter: https://gamemakers.com/
51 min
February 27, 2024 Philosophy: Escaping the doom loop
Doom loops are a cycle of self reinforcing negative decisions and behaviors that lead to bad outcomes.
In this episode I talk about my own experience trying to break my doom loop impacting both my professional and personal life.

16 min
February 20, 2024 Philosophy: Doing the hard thing
At most companies doing the hard thing is uncomfortable and we avoid addressing some of the most critical issues that can mean the difference between success and failure.

This is an audio read of my Philosophy Monday newsletter post. If you want to hear an audio version of those posts, let me know!

Go to gamemakers.substack.com and comment there and I'll do more of these in the future.
23 min
February 12, 2024 Gaming x AI: How Atlas makes models for 3D worlds 200X faster! (ft. CEO Ben James)
Dive into the future of game development with Joseph Kim as he interviews Ben James, CEO of Atlas, a groundbreaking company at the forefront of integrating AI into the creative process of game design. In this exclusive interview, discover how Atlas's cutting-edge technology is transforming 2D reference images into fully-realized 3D models, propelling the development of immersive 3D MMO worlds into new realms of efficiency and creativity.
What You'll Learn:
✔️ The innovative AI technology behind Atlas and its ability to revolutionize the creation of 3D assets.
✔️ How Atlas's platform is making the game development process faster, more efficient, and boundlessly creative.
✔️ The practical applications of Atlas technology in early game concept testing and beyond.
✔️ Ben James's insights on the potential for AI to augment rather than replace human creativity in game development.
✔️ The future of game design and how Atlas is positioning itself to empower developers with new tools for creative expression.
Key Takeaways:
🔑 Understand the capabilities and advantages of using AI in game design and asset creation.
🔑 Discover how Atlas is enhancing the workflow of game developers and artists with its AI-driven platform.
🔑 Explore the ethical and practical considerations of AI in creative industries, with a focus on collaboration between human creativity and artificial intelligence.
Whether you're a game developer, artist, or enthusiast excited about the future of game creation, this interview offers valuable insights into how AI technology is set to redefine the landscape of game development. Join us as we explore the cutting edge of gaming innovation with Joseph Kim and Ben James.
🎮 Timestamps:
00:00 Introduction
01:30 Atlas's Mission and Technology
05:00 Transforming 2D Images into 3D Worlds
10:00 The Impact on Game Development Workflows
15:00 AI's Role in Creative Processes
20:00 Future Possibilities and Ethical Considerations
25:00 Q&A with Viewers
Subscribe to our channel for more insights into game development, interviews with industry leaders, and the latest trends in game technology. Don't forget to hit the like button and share this video with fellow gaming aficionados. Your support helps us bring more exciting content your way!
#GameDevelopment #AIInGaming #AtlasTech #3DModeling #GameDesignInnovation
35 min

About GameMakers

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The GameMakers podcast publishes current, entertaining, and in-depth discussions on F2P game development. Topics that we cover include the business of games, F2P monetization, liveops, game design,…