Inside Indie Games

Life after 2020: what does the future hold for indie devs?

In this final episode of our second series, our panel of industry experts join us for one last time to give us their thoughts on what the future may hold for indie games development. With continued uncertainty about what lies ahead in the months to come, and with small businesses feeling the brunt of the economic impact of the pandemic, our panel discuss the immediate effects of changes to working practices on their studios and the wider industry. Wrapping up this season in the only fitting way, our expert panel share their thoughts on what indie dev in the UK may look like post-2020. * Gina Jackson - Sold Out [https://soldout.uk.com/] * Paul Kilduff-Taylor - Mode 7 [https://www.mode7.games/] * Tara Reddy - LoveShark [http://loveshark.io/] * David Hamilton - Ninja Kiwi [http://ninjakiwi.com/] * Stephanie Warwick - Jolly Good Games [https://www.jollygoodgames.co.uk/] * Shaz Yousaf - Honey Tribe Studios [http://www.honeytribestudios.com/] Many thanks to all members of our panel for sharing their time and expert knowledge over the course of this season of Inside Indie Games.

Community Management

In this episode we're diving into the subject of building and managing an online community as the core of your audience. As game developers, securing engaged and passionate fans is confirmation of success. But your fans aren't just your customers, they're also your biggest marketers. Fans are the ultimate focus group for getting feedback, testing ideas, and developing new concepts. So how do we go about gaining and retaining those fans? How do we build that community around our game, and our brand? Should you consider hiring a dedicated community manager? And if so, how do you go about finding the right person for the job? Our expert panel join us once again to discuss this hot topic. * Gina Jackson - Sold Out [https://soldout.uk.com/] * Paul Kilduff-Taylor - Mode 7 [https://www.mode7.games/] * Tara Reddy - LoveShark [http://loveshark.io/] * David Hamilton - Ninja Kiwi [http://ninjakiwi.com/] * Stephanie Warwick - Jolly Good Games [https://www.jollygoodgames.co.uk/] * Shaz Yousaf - Honey Tribe Studios [http://www.honeytribestudios.com/]

Failing Forward: How to Bounce Back from Failure

Failure...few people like to admit to it, but we've all been there. Mistakes can, and in the creative world of games development, will happen. But what can indie devs do to pick themselves up and try again? From being 'ghosted' to taking reviews personally, is acknowledgement of mistakes made harder than making them? We speak to our panel of industry experts about their experiences, what advice they would give and why failure isn't such a bad thing. Our panel: * Gina Jackson - Sold Out [https://soldout.uk.com/] * Paul Kilduff-Taylor - Mode 7 [https://www.mode7.games/] * Tara Reddy - LoveShark [http://loveshark.io/] * David Hamilton - Ninja Kiwi [http://ninjakiwi.com/] * Stephanie Warwick - Jolly Good Games [https://www.jollygoodgames.co.uk/] * Shaz Yousaf - Honey Tribe Studios [http://www.honeytribestudios.com/]

Marketing and Selling Your Game

Each episode in this season is essential listening, but none more so than this one! What can small studios realistically do to effectively market and sell their game? Research, outreach, community engagement, authentic communication...all of these aspects of marketing and selling games are discussed in this episode. As ever, we're joined by our panel of industry experts, and they're going to talk us through the tactics and strategies they've found to be most effective when it comes to selling and marketing. There is a LOT to learn from this one! * Gina Jackson - Sold Out [https://soldout.uk.com/] * Paul Kilduff-Taylor - Mode 7 [https://www.mode7.games/] * Tara Reddy - LoveShark [http://loveshark.io/] * David Hamilton - Ninja Kiwi [http://ninjakiwi.com/] * Stephanie Warwick - Jolly Good Games [https://www.jollygoodgames.co.uk/] * Shaz Yousaf - Honey Tribe Studios [http://www.honeytribestudios.com/]

Fast or slow, which is the best way to grow your studio?

Can business sustainability sometimes be sacrificed in the quest for growth? If fast growth is more appealing to potential investors, how do you manage the risks? In this episode we're diving into the subject of business sustainability and growth -  an ever hot topic for start up games dev studios. Is there a right way to grow your business? Along with our expert panel we explore how start ups can grow their company in a way that builds on expertise. This could be anything from budget and finances, to project management, workload, or staff happiness. Our guest panel for this episode, bringing their wealth of experiences and expertise, is: * Gina Jackson - Sold Out [https://soldout.uk.com/] * Paul Kilduff-Taylor - Mode 7 [https://www.mode7.games/] * Tara Reddy - LoveShark [http://loveshark.io/] * David Hamilton - Ninja Kiwi [http://ninjakiwi.com/] * Stephanie Warwick - Jolly Good Games [https://www.jollygoodgames.co.uk/] * Shaz Yousaf - Honey Tribe Studios [http://www.honeytribestudios.com/]