Working in the games industry is a dream for many. But such a dream can quickly become a burden. If the pressure at work isn't already hard enough, living in a pandemic is an additional burden. It is therefore particularly important to recognize the first signs of mental illness. Our host Lars Jansen talks about this with Andy Barker and Brian Cool…

Today it is really easy to release a game. But the number of competitors is immense and you need attention to sell your game. So good PR is important. In this episode Liana Murphy, Chief Operating Officer at Vicarious PR, joins us and we talk about PR for video games and about the changes that take place.…

Most of you will probably remember your first VR moment – but the challenge often lies in getting people back after the initial “wow factor”. Alex Silkin, Co-Founder and CTO at Survios, has been working in the field of virtual reality for about a decade and has certainly helped to push the boundaries of what’s possible, thereby defining the VR expe…

There’s a controversial set of topics everyone – not only in the games industry – seems to be talking about at the moment: blockchain, crypto, and NFTs. Oftentimes using all these terms synonymously, some think it’s going to revolutionize our industry, others condemn it as the biggest plague since the beginning of time. As always, reality is more c…

In this episode of "devcom podcast" our host Lars (he/him) welcomes Pauliina Törnqvist (she/her). Pauliina is producer for one of the biggest franchise in the gaming industry, "Call of Duty". She talks about her journey through the industry starting from her home country Finland over Germany to USA and give us some insights about her colourful hist…

Code Coven is the first global games industry accelerator for underrepresented talent. Equality, diversity, and inclusion is embedded into their DNA. With Tara Mustapha (She/Her) and Karla Reyes (She/Her), Lars (He/Him) talks about what Code Coven offers to help marginalized developers succeed through the structured programs and further initiatives…

Jess Mulligan and Don Daglow are online games pioneers with a combined total experience of over 80 years in making games. They both helped shape our industry as we know it today and in this special episode in advance of our devcom Developer Conference 2021, we talk about why they can call themselves "true citizens of online gaming". We take a look …

Mimimi Games at its core has been around for more than 10 years and is well-known for titles like Shadow Tactics or Desperados III. They recently won the German Computer Games Award for Best Studio 2021. In this episode, Founder & Managing Director Johannes Roth gives us some insights into the studio's journey and what they learned over the years t…

In this episode, we welcome Thomas Bidaux, CEO at ICO Partners. In a conversation with our host Lars Janssen, he shares his thoughts about the current state of crowdfunding and self-publishing. What has changed over the past few years? What do you need to know if you want to get your game funded? How do you self-publish within the current ecosystem…

Shaun Rutland is the CEO and Co-Founder of Hutch Games Ltd. After more than five years working for PlayStation at Sony, he left the company to found his own. In this episode, our host Lars Janssen talks with Shaun about the risks and the challenges of setting up a new company and making the switch from being a developer to becoming a CEO.…

In this episode, our host Lars Janssen talks to Gerard Whelan, David O´Connor and Christian Fonnesbech from Leverage about building brands and IPs for games – an important aspect of game development that sometimes gets ignored. Our guests will share some insights into the differences between a brand and an IP and why they are especially important f…

This special episode is part of the "devcom Tech & tools Summit" and we have a full house. Lars welcomes Tanya X. Short (Captain of Kitfox Games), Andrzej Wójcicki (Adavio.it), Christoffer Holmgård (CEO of modl.ai) and Niels Justesen (AI Researcher at modl.ai). The perfect round to talk about AI and how it can be used in video games. They also dive…

In this episode, our host Lars Janssen welcomes two guests: Siggi Árnason, the founder of VIBE Mobile, a new music platform that allows you to create your musical identity through sound and visuals without the requirement of a musical background whatsoever, and Dr. Lyubomyr Matsekh, Business Development Manager for ELEKS and Project Manager for var…

Today, our host Lars Janssen welcomes Robin Gray. Robin is the Co-Founder of Gray Jones Media, a fast growing LGBTQ media company that produces high-quality LGBTQ content via TV, online magazines, podcasts, and live events. They talk about the idea behind this company and about Robin's other important projects like the work as an ambassador for "Sa…

In this episode of the devcom podcast, our host Lars Janssen welcomes Gundolf S. Freyermuth and Björn Bartholdy, two key people behind the success of the Cologne Game Lab. The institute has just celebrated its 10th anniversary and we take a look at the history and how the team managed to build the Cologne Game Lab into one of the most renowned plac…

In our latest episode of the devcom podcast, our host Lars Janssen welcomes Uri Marchand, CEO and Co-Founder of Overwolf. Overwolf is the leading platform for in-game apps and mods. Uri and Lars are talking about how it all started in 2010, the main idea behind the platform, how it has evolved in recent years, and the role of user-generated content…

In this episode of the devcom podcast, our host Lars speaks with Chris Cataldi, Co-Founder and COO at Genvid Technologies. Chris offers us a view into the techniques and development of interactive streaming. He also shares some insights into their massive interactive live event "Rival Peak" that just finished its first season on Facebook. So, let's…

In this episode of "devcom podcast", Lars talks to Matias Myllyrinne, CEO at Redhill Games. Matias originally started in the games industry with little experience at Remedy in 1999, moving on to Wargaming and then, in 2018, founded his own studio. He talks about his journey, why you would risk a safe job and move to video games, and how to lead thr…

Safe in our World is an organisation that creates and foster worldwide mental health awareness within the video game industry. About this important topic our host Lars Janssen speaks with Ellie Osili-Wood, a video games presenter and journalist, and has been named as one of the most influential women in gaming. She is one of the patrons. Patrons ar…

Devcom podcast presents you a special episode with our host Lars Janssen. Today we welcome Felicia Prehn to talk about "decades of managing divers communities". With over 17 years of experience Felicia gives as a lot of insights into community management. Felicia is also the keynote speaker of the "call for change conferece". 00:00:15 - Welcome 00:…

Jens Begemann is the co-founder of Wooga. In this episode of "devcom podcast" he gives us an overview of the importance of a healthy company culture and creating a safe working environment for everyone. 00:00:00 Welcome 00:00:23 Introduction of Jens Begemann and Wooga 00:02:11 Why did you sell your successful company? 00:11:26 Looking for new roles…

In todays episode of "devcom podcast" our hosts Lars and Nico speaks to David Bateson and Mark Estdale. Mark is a british sound engineer and voice director and David is the legendary voice of Agent47 from the Hitman Series. Both give us a deep overview in the voice and sound production for a videogame. With a longtime experience in the business the…

Todays guest Prof. Odile Limpach has over 25 years experience in this industry. She is co-founder of spielfrabrique and professor at the Cologne Game Lab for Economics and Entrepreneurship. With our host Lars she speaks about her move from a big studio to founding her own company and the possibilities to publish as and Indie-Studio.…

Your game is ready! So what´s next? The launch, but how? and how does anyone notice it? In this episode of "devcom podcast" our host Lars Janssen speaks with Christian Pern. He is the Chief Marketing Officer of InnoGames. He has a lot of experience in release and mareket a video game and shares some of his insights like shares and revenues.…

In this Episode of "devcom podcast" our host Lars Janssen speaks with Johanna Janiszewski. Together with her husband she founded in 2016 her studio Tiny Crocodile Studios in Berlin. Their debut game "Monkey Swag" received the "Best Kid Award" at the "Deutscher Computerspiel Preis" in 2018. Johanna talks about founding a Indie-Studio, creating games…

With Teut Weidemann we welcome a real veteran of the German games industry. He was part of one of the first German game studios, Rainbow Arts, and worked for companies like Microsoft and Ubisoft. For more than a decade he has been the expert in F2P Games. In this episode of "devcom podcast" he gives us some insights into the F2P Market. 00:00:00 We…

With Astrid Mie Refstrup we speak to the co-founder of Triple Topping Games studio Astrid shares with us her stories about building up a small studio and finding the perfect team, providing everyone with a safe working environment. We also take a closer look at Kowloon Nights, a worldwide video game fund for developers. 00:00:00 Welcome 00:00:33 In…

Christopher Schmitz has a long time experience in the video games industry. Starting in the Demoscene his history looks like the who is who of the business like Blue Byte, Quantic Dream, IO Interactive, EA Ghost Games and now Remedy. As a COO (Chief Operating Officer) his last project was the well received title Control. In our newest epsiode of "d…

We proudly welcome Reneé Gittins. Reneé is the Executive Director of the IGDA (the International Game Developers Association) and CEO of Stumbling Cat, creator of “Potions: A Curious Tale”. Our host, Lars Janssen, chats with Reneé about the importance of diversity and inclusion. She shares her experience in what companies can do to create a safe en…

Moleman 4 is a documentary about game developement in hungary right within the cold war. An unknown fact is that many ames for the Commodore 64 were developed by Novatrade in Hungary. Szilárd Matusik made a documentary about this time and revealed some interesting facts. In this episode of ""devcom podcast" our host Lars Janssen talks about the doc…

In our newest episode of "devcom podcast" our host Lars Janssen welcomes Kate Edwards (Executive Director of the Global Game Jam). With Kate we speak about her career and how to start as a geographer for Microsoft Encarta and becoming an expert for culturalization, cartography and cultural sensitivities in video games. Also we get some special insi…

In this new episode of our "devcom podcast" our host Lars Janssen speaks to Mikka Luotio. Mikka has over 15 years exeperience in building and leading teams in Business development, Game production, Marketing, Product management & Partnership relations and is now Senior Business Development Manager at Xsolla in Berlin. Mika talks about the challenge…

In our latest episode of "devcom podcast" our host Lars Janssen welcomes Philomena Schwab. Philomena is a Swiss game developer, co-founder of Stray Fawn game studio and a board member of the Swiss Game Developers Association. She tells us about her experiences in founding a small studio in Switzerland as well as the power of good community manageme…

Right from the outset, music has been a vital part of video games. From chiptunes to the first orchestral recording, music has always enhanced the entire feel of games. A soundtrack can make the difference between a good game and an epic experience. In this episode of "devcom podcast", our hosts Lars Janssen and Nico Balletta welcome composer Garet…

This is the rerelease of the first episode of "devcom podcast". Our host Lars Janssen welcomes the top management tier of Intellivision Entertainment: legendary videogames composer and CEO, Tommy Tallarico; renowned game developer and board member David Perry; Xbox veteran and the company’s global MD, J Allard, and their President of European Opera…

Growing up in the 80s was almost fantastic in western europe. Access to new electronic devices and growing up with computers and consoles. But behind the iron curtain that is a different story. Lars speaks with Andrada Fiscutean and Jaroslav Švelch how it was to design games and get access to computers in eastern europe. They speak about building c…