The 1 Hour Video Game MBA

yimmasabi

<div class="IPBDescription">by Flayra</div>The GDC Vault just made Flayra's "1 hour video game MBA" talk available to the public:
<a href="http://gdcvault.com/play/1014394/1-Hour-Video-Game" target="_blank">http://gdcvault.com/play/1014394/1-Hour-Video-Game</a>

Thank you Flayra and all


What is MBA?

Can you rec & post the video of this talk here?

zex

"master's degree in business administration,"

To be perfectly frank I don't know how to feel about this... it seems kind of rich for this to be the title of a talk to professional game developers and CEOs, considering UW's financial history.

KuBaN

<!--quoteo(post=1835712:date=Mar 2 2011, 08:30 PM:name=zex)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (zex @ Mar 2 2011, 08:30 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1835712"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->To be perfectly frank I don't know how to feel about this... it seems kind of rich for this to be the title of a talk to professional game developers and CEOs, considering UW's financial history.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Seriously? A game company's rocky financial history--regardless of the cause or circumstances--repudiates ALL of the information it's members might be able to provide?

It takes ZERO EFFORT to criticize someone's work. Meanwhile, regardless of your likely unwarranted opinions, these guys are making contributions to the community on a nearly daily basis. What are you doing?

zex

A game company's "rocky financial history" is relevant when they purport to give other professionals who have paid a significant sum of money to attend GDC a "master's degree in one hour" in running a game development business. Seriously. In fact I can't think of anything which is more relevant to that particular subject than... the speaker's history of running a game development business. Seriously.

I'm not saying "Flayra" has no useful information to provide, I'm saying the the title of the talk would strike me as somewhat hubristic even disregarding his company's "rocky financial history."

extollo

title is tongue in cheek. 20,000 attendees - good title to get people to come. much better than 'one hour talk on the business plans and challenges experienced by a small independent game development team'

Zek

Since when is UWE's financial history "rocky"? They're an indie startup, of course they were never swimming in cash before releasing a game.

zex

Perhaps Kuban could explain what he meant by that. But I have a feeling you already know, or you should considering you've apparently been around since 2002.

TychoCelchuuu

UWE has gone from a mod team to an indie dev studio and has financed themselves through donations, casual games, LUA development tools, angel investors, pre-order bonuses, and pre-orders. They've done basically everything. Now whether you think they've been successful or not or whether they've done as well as they might have is another issue, but I think it's pretty clear why Charlie is a fantastic person to talk about this sort of thing. I doubt that he'd claim to be the king of all business issues, but it's impossible to argue that he's not in a position to give advice about just about everything an indie dev would need to think about in terms of being a developer. I mean, he has first hand experience with delayed games and all that, too: it's important to have people who haven't just had everything go perfectly for them from beginning to end. The more challenges that UWE has faced, the more they can prepare others for them.

juice

No one at UWE has an MBA (correct me if I'm wrong). Therefore, they had to learn what was needed on the fly. "In one hour" probably refers to this crash course they experienced, and what they found important in maneuvering the business aspects with what self-taught education they had.

zex

<!--quoteo(post=1835729:date=Mar 3 2011, 04:03 AM:name=TychoCelchuuu)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (TychoCelchuuu @ Mar 3 2011, 04:03 AM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1835729"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->it's impossible to argue that he's not in a position to give advice about just about everything<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->

good thing nobody said anything like that

kabab

<!--quoteo(post=1835712:date=Mar 3 2011, 12:30 PM:name=zex)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (zex @ Mar 3 2011, 12:30 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1835712"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->"master's degree in business administration,"

To be perfectly frank I don't know how to feel about this... it seems kind of rich for this to be the title of a talk to professional game developers and CEOs, considering UW's financial history.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->Give me a ######en break seriously..

They are doing pretty dam awesome imho..

They want from 1 guy working in his apartment to now a team of what 6-7 people full time, all without having to sell out to a publisher, this takes some pretty serious cash flow to achieve.

That is an amazing achievement to be able to build a business up from nothing to what it is now, the NS2 IP alone would be worth millions imho.

ScardyBob

<!--quoteo(post=1835729:date=Mar 2 2011, 07:03 PM:name=TychoCelchuuu)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (TychoCelchuuu @ Mar 2 2011, 07:03 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1835729"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->UWE has gone from a mod team to an indie dev studio and has financed themselves through donations, casual games, LUA development tools, angel investors, pre-order bonuses, and pre-orders. They've done basically everything. Now whether you think they've been successful or not or whether they've done as well as they might have is another issue, but I think it's pretty clear why Charlie is a fantastic person to talk about this sort of thing. I doubt that he'd claim to be the king of all business issues, but it's impossible to argue that he's not in a position to give advice about just about everything an indie dev would need to think about in terms of being a developer. I mean, he has first hand experience with delayed games and all that, too: it's important to have people who haven't just had everything go perfectly for them from beginning to end. The more challenges that UWE has faced, the more they can prepare others for them.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->

All true, but I think the usual process is for people to have a few released games under their belt before they do such a presentation. UWE is a bit unique in that they are not just making a game, but building an engine. In fact, I'd be more interested in hearing from Max the successes and failures he's had in trying to do that.

UWE is really quite similar to Valve circa 1997. The biggest difference is that UWE is trying to pioneer an indie method of financing via its community and truly making its game development process public, warts and all. I certainly appreciate their efforts.

KuBaN

Wow, look at what I started...
<!--quoteo(post=0:date=:name=zex)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (zex)</div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->Perhaps Kuban could explain what he meant by that. But I have a feeling you already know, or you should considering you've apparently been around since 2002.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
I know little to nothing about the financial history of UWE, and my apparently being around since 2002 definitely does not imply that I should. "Rocky" was an umbrella term I apparently used erroneously. I could infer little else from your previous "considering UWE's financial history" statement coupled with the general tone of the rest of the message. My apologies.

<!--quoteo(post=0:date=:name=zex)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (zex)</div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->A game company's "rocky financial history" is relevant when they purport to give other professionals who have paid a significant sum of money to attend GDC a "master's degree in one hour" in running a game development business. Seriously. In fact I can't think of anything which is more relevant to that particular subject than... the speaker's history of running a game development business. Seriously.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->

I think you're taking the title of the lecture just a little too literally. Perhaps that is where my misunderstanding came from, since I assumed you were addressing the substance of the topic and not fixating on this trivial detail. I apologize if this is the case.

<!--quoteo(post=0:date=:name=zex)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (zex)</div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->I'm not saying "Flayra" has no useful information to provide, I'm saying the the title of the talk would strike me as somewhat hubristic even disregarding his company's "rocky financial history."<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->

It's just marketing, man. The title of the talk, like any title of most things that are sold, is made to attract your attention.

Squeal_Like_A_Pig

Charlie gave an impressive presentation today to a very large and packed room full of close to 200 people. Unfortunately GDC doesn't allow you to film the talks yourself and post them, but GDC films the lectures and makes them accessible to people who buy all access passes.

Over the years Charlie has accumulated more then enough wisdom worth sharing, both through extensive reading of business books, talking and working with business people and investors, and through the day to day experience of running a game studio (not to mention his years spent working at other game companies before Unknown Worlds). The talk didn't focus solely on the financial side, it was a comprehensive summation of a variety of business strategy books that he has read, extracting just the best gems of wisdom from each, and relating them to his own experiences. He talked about bootstrapping a company, finding a company mantra that you feel passionate about and best represents you, different business models for small companies versus larger companies, and how to make the right strategic choices and be as effective as possible with limited resources. Some of the talk highlighted things that we've found worked well for us at UW and even things that we haven't done as well as we would have liked and hope to improve on.

The talk was intended for people with that spark inside of them, who want to start their own thing. About finding the right business partner to take that plunge with, how to face and overcome your fears, and how to make your dreams a reality. Charlie is a great speaker, and I really have to hand it to him, to be able to get up in front of that many people, and make an hour long presentation that holds their attention, gives them plenty of worthwhile advice, and sends them away inspired. You'd never see me go NEAR a podium and microphone, as I'd probably stare blankly at the audience for a minute, wet myself, and then curl up in a ball and pass out.

--Cory

zex

<!--quoteo(post=1835746:date=Mar 3 2011, 07:12 AM:name=KuBaN)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (KuBaN @ Mar 3 2011, 07:12 AM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1835746"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->"Rocky" was an umbrella term I apparently used erroneously.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->

I had a feeling you'd try to weasel out of your statement, LOL. As far as I know, and I haven't been paying attention for a decade like you have, I was under the impression that UW went bankrupt and then was bailed out by a private investor, and then went bankrupt again at which point they decided to announce the game's release a couple years early ("2009") in a successful gambit to raise enough money to finish it from pre-orders. That's what I was referring to by "financial history" which you accurately described as "rocky."

<!--quoteo(post=1835746:date=Mar 3 2011, 07:12 AM:name=KuBaN)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (KuBaN @ Mar 3 2011, 07:12 AM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1835746"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->I think you're taking the title of the lecture just a little too literally. Perhaps that is where my misunderstanding came from, since I assumed you were addressing the substance of the topic and not fixating on this trivial detail. I apologize if this is the case..<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->

How is it possible you misread the sentence "it seems kind of rich for this to be the title of a talk" as addessing anything BUT the title of a talk? Anywayy, if this is the case, yyour apology for your embarrassing lack of reading comprehension is accepted.

DISCLAIMER: This post is not a critique of UW's business history, just a factual explanation of why the talk title "1 hour video game MBA" struck me as hubristic. I'm sure the talk was informative regardless.

Insane

The last four posts were deleted for being aggressive and generally trollish. Continue acting like children and I close the thread.

Harimau

I laughed at zex, so serious. Obviously the title was tongue-in-cheek. I mean, at first it seemed like he knew that, then he just went off the deep end imo.

Runteh

Thank god, a crack down. Really appreciate that you guys are extremely lenient with some of the posts on here, but some go too far.

The problem often comes from people who are either too young or inexperienced to understand that it requires money to live, run a business and cost outgoings before you even think about the complexities of starting a project of this magnitude, etc, etc..

My computer is not really capable of running NS2 satisfactorily, but I have always been a fan of mods and the Indie community. Watching NS2HD's videos show through the quality of this game, and even though I can only really run it in 640x480 you can feel it coming together.

I spent a lot of time in the early CS betas through to 1.0 and beyond, and it was awesome, and this has the same feel about it. Once the server side issues start to become better and better, I think it will 'really' take off.

Tig

wait, when have we ever acted like adults?

<img src="http://www.nicholashillyard.com/images/ns2_skyfalls/CharlieSheen_Trolls.jpg" border="0" class="linked-image" />

countbasie

<!--quoteo(post=1835747:date=Mar 3 2011, 07:38 AM:name=Squeal_Like_A_Pig)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Squeal_Like_A_Pig @ Mar 3 2011, 07:38 AM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1835747"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->You'd never see me go NEAR a podium and microphone, as I'd probably stare blankly at the audience for a minute, wet myself, and then curl up in a ball and pass out.

--Cory<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->



Wait. Was it what I think it was? Was it.......a joke..? Maybe not a joke....but a recognizable amount of humor. You are on your way, Cory! Keep up!

PS: If it was just a serious description of presentations that you had to do back in school, then I am sorry and I eat my words.

KuBaN

<!--quoteo(post=1835774:date=Mar 3 2011, 08:37 AM:name=Harimau)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Harimau @ Mar 3 2011, 08:37 AM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1835774"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->I laughed at zex, so serious. Obviously the title was tongue-in-cheek. I mean, at first it seemed like he knew that, then he just went off the deep end imo.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->

This was sort of the source of my misunderstanding.

@zex: wasn't trying to weasel out of anything man. I explained my error, AND I apologized for it, while re-stating my point. No reason to rub it in, brother.

Back on topic: I would have loved to be present at this lecture, especially after reading on the GDC page that Flayra cites 4-Hour Work Week as a reference! The book was very insightful and it would have been cool to hear the result of some of it's practices in a game studio!

Harimau

A shame GDC have to be so tight about it...

yimmasabi

Cory, thank you for detailed explanations. I read few days ago but just find a time to say thank you today :)

Hugh

<!--quoteo(post=1835747:date=Mar 3 2011, 05:38 PM:name=Squeal_Like_A_Pig)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Squeal_Like_A_Pig @ Mar 3 2011, 05:38 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1835747"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->The talk was intended for people with that spark inside of them, who want to start their own thing. About finding the right business partner to take that plunge with, how to face and overcome your fears, and how to make your dreams a reality.
--Cory<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->

Ahhh Cory I wish I could have been there. That sounds great - Charlie would have had the room hanging on every word. If there is any lesson that I learnt from all of you when I visited, it's that chasing that spark is possible.

PS Did anyone else notice that the talk was being given in Room 303?


<!--coloro:#000000--><span style="color:#000000"><!--/coloro-->And if I may lose my temper for just a moment here, what the **** is wrong with all the people at the start of this thread!?<!--colorc--></span><!--/colorc-->

zex

<!--quoteo(post=1836009:date=Mar 5 2011, 12:54 AM:name=NS2HD)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (NS2HD @ Mar 5 2011, 12:54 AM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1836009"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->And if I may lose my temper for just a moment here, what the **** is wrong with all the people at the start of this thread!?<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->

If text is blacked-out, that means you're allowed to disregard mods warning not to be "aggressive and generally trollish?" This is very interesting, I may have to take advantage of that sometime.

_Thresh_

It's impossible to understand what running a project like this is like until you live it. You learn more in the first 2 months of running it than you will in a uni course.

So anyone throwing stones. Accept that you know nothing. Run a few of your own projects, then comment.

######ing kids these days.

zex

<!--quoteo(post=1836022:date=Mar 5 2011, 02:01 AM:name=_Thresh_)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (_Thresh_ @ Mar 5 2011, 02:01 AM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1836022"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->It's impossible to understand what running a project like this is like until you live it. You learn more in the first 2 months of running it than you will in a uni course.

So anyone throwing stones. Accept that you know nothing. Run a few of your own projects, then comment.

######ing kids these days.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->

"_Thresh_" is clearly a decades-long veteran of the games industry <!--coloro:#000000--><span style="color:#000000"><!--/coloro-->i mean any other option would mean that post was mind-bogglingly hypocritical. <!--colorc--></span><!--/colorc-->

Lets be serious for a second. I thought I made it abundantly clear that when I said my posts are "not a critique of UW's business practices," I was not critiquing UW's business practices. So, _Thresh_, your post being obviously directed at me even though in typical passive-aggressive fashion you're calling out "anyone" rather than being straight, why don't you explain what exactly you are upset about? How is the fact that none of us has run an independent game studio relevant to anything whatsoever that I have posted in this thread?

###### kids these days.

_Thresh_

<!--quoteo(post=1835712:date=Mar 3 2011, 12:30 PM:name=zex)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (zex @ Mar 3 2011, 12:30 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1835712"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->"master's degree in business administration,"

To be perfectly frank I don't know how to feel about this... it seems kind of rich for this to be the title of a talk to professional game developers and CEOs, considering UW's financial history.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->


This.

Yes i've run these projects. I finished my first deal with a multi-million dollar company when I was 23. Working in the industry as a tech entrepreneur is hard. You learn everything on the job. Part of the reason I follow this game is because I highly respect what Charlie is doing and his fortitude despite his mistakes.

If I mis-interpreted what you said I apologize. But if you're saying Charlie shouldn't be lecturing on start-up business administration, and if you're saying that without having run you're own project... enough said.

zex

<!--quoteo(post=1836033:date=Mar 5 2011, 02:06 AM:name=_Thresh_)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (_Thresh_ @ Mar 5 2011, 02:06 AM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1836033"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->If I mis-interpreted what you said I apologize. But if you're saying Charlie shouldn't be lecturing on start-up business administration [...]<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->

Apology accepted. "misinterpret, insult falsely, apologize" seems to be an ongoing theme in this thread.

KuBaN

<!--quoteo(post=1836035:date=Mar 4 2011, 09:09 PM:name=zex)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (zex @ Mar 4 2011, 09:09 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1836035"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->Apology accepted. "misinterpret, insult falsely, apologize" seems to be an ongoing theme in this thread.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
<span style='color:#000000;background:#000000'>I'm really not trying to start #### here, but if three people misunderstood you, perhaps there is a reason for the trend.</span>
Is that how you do it?

player

<!--quoteo(post=1836022:date=Mar 5 2011, 02:01 AM:name=_Thresh_)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (_Thresh_ @ Mar 5 2011, 02:01 AM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1836022"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->It's impossible to understand what running a project like this is like until you live it. You learn more in the first 2 months of running it than you will in a uni course.

So anyone throwing stones. Accept that you know nothing. Run a few of your own projects, then comment.

######ing kids these days.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Now you're exaggerating. It's not necessary to have built an engine from scratch to understand some of the hurdles along the way, as well as having critique on some of the odd decisions made. To take NS2 as an example, using Flash in your game obviously raises eyebrows as it's notorious for being slow and unstable. Same as using a scripting-language (Lua) to drive all your gameplay. This is common sense, and not something you'd only find out after being halfway into such a project. There have been a number of fruitless endeavors on the side of UWE, as indeed every game-development team has (DNF anyone?), and I'm sure UWE wil be telling all about these in order to help others not make the same mistakes (which many will inevitably). The reason why we're all here discussing this is because UWE (unlinke 3DRealms, Blizzard, Valve et cetera) does not have significant quantities of cash to camouflage those inevitable hurdles and thus are far more publicly exposed.