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11:15am
Reedah El-Saie Brainspark Games11:15am - 12:00pmRoom 7Indie BootCamp FREEFunding Your Gaming Startup: Mastering & Leveraging Grants!
Thursday 10th July11:15am - 12:00pmRoom 7In the current climate founders, indie games studios and startups are struggling to secure funding or survive. Grant funding is often overlooked or perceived as too challenging. But there’s more to a grant then just drafting the application.
From researching the right grant for your startup, to building relationships, enhancing your project visibility and understanding the importance of execution and delivery to level up and unlock the next grant, Reedah El-Saie, founder of Brainspark Games, and winner of 8 Innovate UK grants amounting to £1.7m will share top tips and insights.
Session Takeaway
- How to draft your own grant
- Maintaining visibility throughout your project
- Create a ‘win win’ for yourself and your funders
12:15pm
Ben Joy Etch12:15pm - 1:00pmRoom 7Indie BootCamp FREEA Guide to Revealing Your Unannounced Game
Thursday 10th July12:15pm - 1:00pmRoom 7Announcing a game for the first time is an exhilarating yet stressful endeavor. After dedicating months, or more likely years, to development, the time finally arrives to make that crucial first impression. Whether presenting on a big stage, participating in an online showcase, or unveiling solo, the process involves a number of considerations, increased involvement from various parties, and the imperative of secrecy.
In this session, we'll explore the essential steps necessary for a successful announcement. While we won't delve deeply into game development specifics, we'll cover leak prevention strategies, optimal trailer creation practices, website and store page setup, supporting marketing campaigns, ideal timing, licensing, and establishing launch goals. Understanding that success metrics vary for each launch, we'll discuss how to define success, tailored to your specific circumstances.
Additionally, we'll address teamwork dynamics—how external partners can best support studios/publishers and vice versa—to maximize collaboration efficiency.
This talk doesn't aim to trivialize the significance of the moment; rather, it is intended to offer reassurance drawing from firsthand involvement in numerous high-profile announcements, and equip you with the confidence that, ultimately, everything will fall into place.
Session Takeaway
- A list of considerations when preparing to announce your game
- Leak prevention methods
- How to get the most out of your external partners and agencies
- Tips on picking the right optimization strategies and defining success
- Reassurance that everything will be okay
2:00pm
Nicola Strina Blink Games2:00pm - 2:45pmRoom 7Indie BootCamp FREEI Did Survive ‘til 25… Now What? A Start-up Retrospective
Thursday 10th July2:00pm - 2:45pmRoom 7Blink Games started its game development journey in 2023, backed by a renowned animation studio, crafting high-quality indie games. “If you pitched me this 3 years ago, I would have signed it on the spot”... We heard this many times, prompting us to think that things in the industry were changing. This is the story of how we tried securing funding for our game navigating a market in decline. How we realized that big indie projects are too risky for publishers, and why validating a game idea is essential to move the conversation forward.
In this talk, you will gain an understanding of everything we learned about creating and pitching games in this economy and how we’ll iterate on our game development philosophy to adapt to an ever-changing market.
Session Takeaway
- The indie game industry isn’t dying, it’s evolving. Adapt, and you’ll thrive
- Publishers are in low-risk mode. Focus on small games, validate your idea, reduce the budget and have quick production iterations
- To validate your idea, use platforms like Itch.io. Set clear KPIs. If you hit your KPIs, congrats, the game idea is validated, if not kill it and start fresh. Rapid prototyping is the way forward
- If your game takes 3 years and 2 million in budget (especially if it’s your first game) you may want to cut, cut and cut. No one is risking this much unless you show strong KPIs that suggest a substantial return on investment. Focus on the core fun of your game and create a smaller, more focused version of your original idea. Save extra features for a possible sequel
- To further lower costs, look into government grants, tax breaks, and outsourcing
- Transmedia content is on the rise. Think about exploiting existing IPs. Building on established IPs can bring a built-in audience and lower the financial risk
3:00pm
Shawn Alexander Allen NuChallenger3:00pm - 3:45pmRoom 7Indie BootCamp FREEIndies, Please Don’t Prematurely Launch Your Game!
Thursday 10th July3:00pm - 3:45pmRoom 7Game development is tough, but often tougher than making the game is the final push to ship your game. In the highly competitive games market, having a polished release with good UX, in depth settings adjustment and a whole slew of little touches that just make the game feel GOOD is considered bare minimum. And yet, time and time again, I have seen developers launch their game in a state that despite being technically *done*, it feels rushed and incomplete, and usually sinks like a brick in the ocean. But do not despair! This talk will give you the details you need to make your game feel as finished as possible!
Session Takeaway
- An attention to detail is key to shipping your games
- Your options menu can make or break a player's experience
- Technical issues can tank a great game's reputation while polish can elevate an okay, or good game in player's eyes
4:00pm
Yasmina Fadel Maximalist4:00pm - 4:45pmRoom 7Indie BootCamp FREEPhoenix Indies: Rising from Redundancy
Thursday 10th July4:00pm - 4:45pmRoom 7The Phoenix Indies Roundtable brings together founders of indie studios that emerged from industry-wide redundancies. This session tackles the big question: What happens after layoffs?
With 46% of game industry workers affected by company restructures and 10% losing their jobs, starting an indie studio has never been more tempting. A common setback for those looking to take the leap is that the skills needed to create great games don’t always translate into running a business. This roundtable discussion sheds light on the process of starting an indie studio, the common challenges, and the lessons learned along the way—making the journey feel less daunting.
Yasmina shares her experience co-founding Maximalist in an open discussion that guides attendees toward resources to build confidence and gain the tools necessary to create a new generation of game studios. Indie development isn’t just about survival—it’s about building something better.
Session Takeaway
- How to turn frustration into opportunities for creativity and positive change
- Indie Studio 101: A practical guide to launching your own studio
- New funding models, tools, and resources that make indie success more possible than ever
