Guest Lecturer - Ami Langton

Our final guest lecture was this week; it was presented by Ami Langton who is a video games publisher for the company Ripstone. She talked about how if a development team had a publisher it will be easier for them to become successful.

What I didn’t really know was that publishers create all the advertising and marketing for a game and they make sure that game is getting heard about. One thing that Ami talked about that I sort of knew about already was that publishers get hold of YouTuber’s and Vloggers to play the new games to get them more out there to everyone. The popularity of the YouTuber’s such as John Bain (TotalBiscuit) can really help a game sell well if they give a positive review.

On to the subject that Ami was talking about in the lecture, which is self-publishing versus working with a traditional publisher. This was interesting to learn as I had never thought about what would be beneficial for a team publishing wise. A great article I read from Jools Watsham who is the co-founder & director at Renegade Kid, which talks about what he faced when creating his indie company.

“For the first 5 years of Renegade Kid’s existence we worked with publishers to develop and release our original games, using – what some may call – the traditional publishing model. However, for the past two years we have embraced self-publishing”

Jools talks about his experiences working with and without publishers. He explains that working with publishers is enjoyable as you have a sense of security and can work on bigger and enjoyable projects which can lead up to AAA games. Yet what surprised me was the fact that he preferred self publishing, he says, “I now feel with the development and publishing of our own games is unmatched”. There is risk involved with self publishing, it can be scary and not for everyone but it can be a rewarding experience. “But, for me; this is what I have been working towards my whole career.”

References:

Jools Watsham . (2013). Self-Publishing vs. Working with a (Traditional) Publisher. Available: http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/JoolsWatsham/20130930/201223/SelfPublishing_vs_Working_with_a_Traditional_Publisher.php. Last accessed 8th May 2015.