www.insightssuccess.com DECEMBER 2017
The way of business solutions
THE
MOST DESIRABLE
Game O Pedia How VR Gaming Will Help Introverts To Socialize
Cloud Gaming Gaming over the Cloud – The New Realm of this Era
Martin Carlesund CEO
Evolution Gaming The World Leader in Live Dealer Gaming
Editorial
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t’s the gaming industry that is driving much of the innovation in video, VR, AR and collaborative technologies today—something that has important effects on how we work, especially with far-flung colleagues. Recent developments in 4K (Ultra High Definition) and technologies like Computer Assisted Design (CAD) and Computer Assisted Manufacturing (CAM) has leveraged the level of detail which is made possible by these tools, and it’s never easy to imagine the seamless results these developments can bring into reality. That’s just the beginning of what games could offer businesses. Technologies like virtual reality, multi-user environments, and real-time gameplay are immersing gamers in war zones or distant planets today, but will be used by organizations to build a more collaborative workforce tomorrow.
Gaming: Shaping the Future of Work
The days are not very far when we would be joining a meeting that exists in virtual space – a conference room rendered in 3-D, complete with all types of facilities. As we and our colleagues would join, we would see our avatars enter the room and sit around the table. Those types of meetings would be a live example of immersive simulation of an in-person meeting, created with the help of motion sensors that would track physical movement or gloves equipped to capture hand movements and body language. Gaming is leading the way in another important area of technology: user engagement. In the near future extending gameplay would be a top priority among game designers and it would be one of the prime ways to hold people’s interest by fostering personal connection. Gaming is the new way to change, so be ready to be a part of this change.
Sagar Bhattacharjee
Editor-in-Chief Pooja M. Bansal Senior Editor Ariana Lawrence Managing Editor Sagar Bhattacharjee Co-Editors Suhel Mashayak Jecob Thomas Contributors Nikita, Ajit, Ananda Visualiser David King Art & Design Director Amol Kamble Co-designer Alex Noel Picture Editor Poonam Mahajan Art Editor Aparna Vanzul Business Development Manager Mark Harris Steve Smith Marketing Manager Karen Holland Business Development Executive Thomas, Joseph, John, Mary Research Analyst Jennifer Circulation Manager Robert Database Management Steve Technology Consultant Swapnil Patil sales@insightssuccess.com
December, 2017 Corporate Ofces: Insights Success Media Tech LLC 555 Metro Place North, Suite 100, Dublin, OH 43017, United States Phone - (614)-602-1754 Email: info@insightssuccess.com For Subscription: www.insightssuccess.com
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Copyright © 2018 Insights Success, All rights reserved. The content and images used in this magazine should not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior permission from Insights Success. Reprint rights remain solely with Insights Success.
C O N T E N T S
C O V E R S T O R Y
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Evolution Gaming: The World Leader in Live Dealer Gaming
A R T I C L E S 16
24 World:
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GamePlan Consulting:
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An Ingenious Gaming Solution Provider
Providing Business Solutions to a Global Audience
Editor’s Pick Media Industry and its' Digital Transformation
Cloud Gaming Gaming over the Cloud – The New Realm of this Era
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Kavio Cluster: The Safety Cushion Every Gaming Company Needs
Sycoforge: Marching Ahead Towards a Gaming Revolution
Media Insider The Future Trends in VFX Industry
Future of Gamication Augmented Reality, Virtual Reality and eSports: The Buzzwords of Gaming Industry where the Future lies
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Whitepot Studios: An Extraordinary Game Development and Creative Media Studio
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Game O Pedia How VR Gaming Will Help Introverts To Socialize
Tech Talk Entertainment and Media – Embracing Digital
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The Rise of Gaming Industry
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hose days are gone when people used to play games with the help of enormous gaming consoles attached with machines of discrete components. At that time gaming was a less entertaining medium rather it was a cumbersome burden to handle and operate those consoles. But now gaming has entered into a whole new era of transformation and now those machines are rusting and falling apart and we can sense something new is coming. Lately the idea of gaming with machines is becoming obsolete, and is moving over to the cloud, and this has proved to be nirvana not only for the gamers but also for the game developers. With all these rapid developments, gaming industry has taken a positive turn, and there are some unique companies which have their share in taking gaming experience to a new level. In this sector consumer demand is huge, and so is the competition. Numerous companies are striving hard to deliver top-notch solutions based on the consumer needs to mark their prominent footprints in the industry. Here, in this issue of our magazine, we have listed “The 10 Most Desirable Gaming Solution Providers 2017”, which are providing distinguished and diversified solutions to their consumers. Our cover story is Evolution Gaming, which is the world leader in video-streamed Live Dealer gaming, working with more top-tier operators and brands to deliver top notch services. Apart from the cover story, we have also listed 24 World for creating responsive platforms and optimize products to provide a strong technology backbone for supporting the ever-increasing need of presence on various forums. Endorphina for creating the best online gaming experience and cutting-edge technology to create games that attracts discrete players. GamePlan Consulting for being a 360 global consultancy specialized in helping game companies identify, strategize and deliver great solutions to their challenges. Golden Race for the successful launch of its popular dog racing gaming and selling over 8,000 licenses of it. Kambi Sports Solutions for providing premium sports betting services to licensed B2C gaming operators. Kavio Cluster for creating an environment that enables and encourages businesses in gaming industry. SBTECH for providing award-winning sports betting solutions and a full range of management services to their 50 partners worldwide. Sycoforge for providing high-quality unique gaming experiences to its fervent customers and Whitepot Studios Limited for creating extra ordinary Android, iOS, and PC games using Unity. We have included articles “Augmented Reality, Virtual Reality and eSports The Buzzwords of Gaming Industry where the Future lies” and “Gaming over the Cloud – The New Realm of this Era”scripted by our editors in the amazing folios of this magazine. We also have, “How VR Gaming Will Help Introverts to Socialize” derived from the thoughts of Andreea Vaduva. So, do flip the pages of our magazine to unveil the prominent contributions of these Gaming Solution providers.
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one are those days when people were bound to go to a casino if they wanted to play a dealer game. In this rapidly advancing technological world we have advanced ourselves to an extent where ardent gamers and technologists have made it possible to bring live casino to our own place. Now, if you want to play a dealer game, then just log into your computer and Voila! You will be welcomed to a spectacular world of live dealer gaming, where you can play dealer games at your own place, and at your own convenience and comfort, without visiting any land based casinos. Playing at an online casino offers several advantages over playing in a land based casino. It’s far more convenient, as you can play whenever you want without having to leave your home. You are also generally welcomed to a plethora of better choice of games, and one can easily get the same value added services via the bonuses and rewards that most of the land based casinos offer. One such company which is adding real value to the live dealer gaming industry is Evolution Gaming, which is the world leader in live dealer gaming and was founded with a vision of transforming the gaming world with high-quality live gaming solutions for discerning players.
of Evolution Gaming’s inception, all of them had a commendable experience of working in gaming sector. Richard had been developing nascent Live Casino solutions, and Jens and Fredrik also had considerable experience in the gaming sector. This founding trio remains with Evolution to this day. Their leadership and the persistence has assisted the company to taste enormous success and been the reason to become the acknowledged leader in video-streamed Live Casino gaming solutions sector. Later in 2015, Martin Carlesund joined Evolution as Group CEO with the remit to further develop the company and help it attain new heights in the gaming industry. Initially, Evolution was listed on Nasdaq First North Premier, Stockholm in March 2015. Then on 7 June 2017, Evolution moved from First North to the main Nasdaq Stockholm market, and it was the achievement which was meant to be cherished as well as applauded by all. Commenting at that time, Martin said: “It was a special feeling to ring the opening bell and affirm that Evolution has grown to become a large cap company since our IPO slightly more than two years ago. The list change is clear proof that the organisation has matured and professionalised during its time in a public environment.”
Meet the Forerunners of Evolution Gaming Offering World-class B2B Services to the Clients Evolution Gaming was founded in 2006 by Jens von Bahr, Chairman, Fredrik Osterberg, Chief Strategy Officer and Richard Hadida, Creative Director. They all shared a vision for transforming the gaming world with high-quality live gaming solutions for discerning players, and at the time
Evolution’s key focus is delivering the very best player experience. They achieve this not only through a worldclass portfolio of Live Casino games but through a complete and totally comprehensive world-class B2B offer
“Our values deliver value for our licensees”
Martin Carlesund CEO
“We carry out our mission and pursue our vision according to company values applied to all areas of our operations” for their licensees. That total offer is built on six pillars: Operational Excellence; Licensee Customisation; Product Innovation; Maximised Mobile; Land-based Casinos; and Regulated Markets. These six pillars effectively summarise the key attributes that have been fundamental in taking evolution from a start-up to a world leader. Operational Excellence is core to Evolution’s service. With 400+ Live Casino tables operating from their seven European studios (new studios are also opening very soon in Canada and Georgia), their licensees are offered an unrivalled scale, efficiency and service sophistication. Evolution offers Licensee Customisation which means the greatest flexibility to meet the needs of each licensee’s brand, markets and players, from mainstream to VIP. The Product Innovation pillar is all about Evolution’s constant investment in R&D and relentless desire to push beyond boundaries. This has resulted in innovations such as their award-winning Immersive Roulette, Baccarat
Control Squeeze and Dream Catcher money wheel, which was named Digital Product of the Year at the latest Global Gaming Awards. Evolution takes pride on designing award-winning games that offer ‘stickability’, while, of course, offering a full range of timeless classics — Roulette, Blackjack, Baccarat, poker variants et al — but often with a modern twist. They deliver it all via the best HD live stream, ensuring the full portfolio is available across all devices, in landscape and portrait view on mobile, and all beautifully optimised for each screen size and operating system. Maximised Mobile sums up our commitment to offer the largest range of mobile-optimised live tables and languages for tablet and smartphone, to help licensees make the most of the very considerable mobile opportunity. The Land-based Casinos pillar covers not only ‘on-premise’ live studios within traditional land-based casinos but also their Dual Play convergence solutions.
Individually or together, each can help traditional operators improve customer loyalty and attract new demographics. For Evolution, Regulated Markets is primarily new and re-regulating jurisdictions, which is central to their offering for licensees. Their commitment and investment in this area has delivered powerful first-to-market advantage for so many of their licensees, and will continue to do so.
operations staff ensuring that everything runs smoothly. Their game integrity and risk staff monitor operations 24/7 to ensure that operations run securely and that licensees’ and players’ interest are protected. Evolution’s product teams are constantly working on extending and improving their portfolio. Their designers, meanwhile, make sure that each game UI is intuitive and easy to use on all devices. Converting Hurdles into Opportunities
Employees are Central Element to Evolution’s Success Employees in all areas and at all levels have been absolutely central to Evolution’s success. The company’s game presenters are the face of Live Casino and as Evolution is a B2B provider; they are the face of a multitude of brands, a responsibility that they take very seriously. Indeed, their presenters receive arguably the best training in the industry through the Evolution Academy. Their smiling faces and professionalism, and the engagement and interaction they achieve with players, are vital factors in attracting players back to the tables again and again. Behind the scenes, of course, Evolution has all their
The Live Casino industry is undergoing a drastic transformation phase and the number of Live Casino providers has increased significantly in the last few years as barriers to entry have reduced. New entrants have been attracted by other factors, too: Live Casino has been one of the fastest growing gaming sectors and is forecast to continue to outpace the growth of other gaming verticals. These new entrants face considerable challenges, not least in the areas of operational excellence and the scalability of their solutions. Also, many offer only commodity Live Casino solutions in an attempt to undercut the market. However, the gulf between these basic solutions and the level of quality, sophistication, support and sustainability offered by
Evolution is huge. Tapping the right market potential at right time; Evolution has garnered itself to be a renowned brand in the gaming industry, and with 400+ tables across multiple studios, Evolution is undeniably the market leader. Evolution is also looking forward to extend its agreements with existing licensees, attract new licensees and seek out new markets and opportunities to further strengthen their leading position. Upcoming Studios
“We are the world-leading Live Casino that meets each operator's exact needs”
Evolution is well positioned for continued growth. In the very near future, they will be opening their eighth and ninth studios, in Canada and Georgia, respectively. The first of these new studios will deliver Live Casino services for BCLC (British Columbia Lottery Corporation) initially, before rolling out services for operators in other Canadian provinces. Meanwhile, the Georgia studio in Tbilisi will serve as Evolution Gaming’s third major Live Casino studio alongside their Riga and Malta studios. This will greatly extend the company’s services to existing and new licensees. As mentioned earlier, the company believes that they will also see continued strong growth from mobile and from the land-based sector. Overall, Evolution will ensure that they remain at the forefront of new markets, whether this means extending their existing offering from the current studios or investing in further new studios in new territories. Advice for the Budding Startups from the CEO’s Desk “Offer a niche solution, something that operators can buy into and which differentiates your offering from ‘me too’ providers,” asserts Martin.
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Company Name
Management
Brief
24 world 24worldonline.com
Muhammad Rahimtoola Director
24 World creates responsive platforms and optimize products to provide a strong technology backbone for supporting the ever-increasing need of presence on various forums.
Endorphina endorphina.com
Lucie kadlecova Marketing Manager
The company unites the best online gaming experience and cutting-edge technology to create games that attract players with not only its beautiful design and authentic atmosphere, but the real thrill of gambling.
Evolution Gaming evolutiongaming.com
Martin Carlesund, CEO Jens von Bahr, Chairman Fredrik Osterberg Chief Strategy Officer
Richard Hadida
Evolution Gaming is the world leader in video-streamed Live Dealer gaming, working with more top-tier operators and brands to deliver top notch services.
Creative Director
Gameplan Consulting gameplan.com.br
André Faure CEO Henrique Martin CCO Martin Wachter
Golden Race golden-race.com
CEO
Luz Ortega Marketing & Events Director
Kambi Sports Solutions Christina Haralambous Chief Communications Officer kambi.com
GamePlan Consulting is a 360 global consultancy specialized in helping game companies identify, strategize and deliver great solutions to their challenges.
Golden Race is a young, dynamic company born in the field of sports betting in 2006 with the successful launch of dog racing, with over 8,000 licenses sold. Kambi is a B2B provider of premium sports betting services to licensed B2C gaming operators. Their services encompass a broad offering from front end user interface through to odds compiling, customer intelligence and risk management, built on an in-house developed software platform
Kavio Cluster kaviocluster.org
Timo Ylikangas Ambassador of KAVIO Cluster
Kavio Cluster is an environment that enables and encourages businesses in gaming industry for better competitiveness in wide, global markets with the help of a cluster network.
SBTECH sbtech.com
Mr. Ron Zlluf Marketing Director
SBTech provides award-winning sports betting solutions and a full range of management services to their 50 partners worldwide.
Sycoforge sycoforge.com
Michela Rimensberger CEO
Sycoforge outstands at providing high-quality unique gaming experiences to its fervent customers.
Whitepot Studios Limited whitepotstudios.com
Adam Whiteside Co-founder Vicky Potts Co-founder
Whitepot Studios is a games development and creative media studio based in Belfast, Northern Ireland. They make Android, iOS, and PC games using Unity and are a two-person team consisting of Adam Whiteside and Vicky Potts. They’re currently part of the 2017 intake of the business accelerator hub Entrepreneurial Spark programme.
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he global gaming industry has been observing a rapid growth over the last decade due to the increase in utilization of advanced technologies for the aggregation of games and videos on a global scale. Furthermore, proper alignment of various business models and platforms is also supporting growth of the gaming industry across the globe. In the recent past Asia-Pacific has been dominating the global gaming market due to the presence of numerous developing economies, and increasing adoption of different games across the region. With technological advancements in the gaming industry, companies are focusing on Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality enabled games and related products having improved the global gaming scenario. 24 World is one such firm causing waves in the gaming industry. It is a digital agency proficient in designing and developing customized games, be it digital, board or pervasive. 24 World has been working as a Digital Agency with clients to maximize their potential into the technology world. The company was launched on an agency model basis, providing holistic technology solutions for clients in their process of change towards the ‘Digital Age’. The firm has worked actively in the financial,
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media and FMCG sectors over the years. 24 World has also established operations in Japan and worked on solutions for that particular market since the last three years. The brain behind 24 World Founder and Director, Muhammad Rahimtoola is a strong business development professional who studied at the University of Western Australia. He is an experienced Executive Director with demonstrated history of working in the information technology and media industry. He is skilled in Digital Strategy, Management and Television Programming. Leading clients into their journey towards the Digital Age is a vital component of his vision for 24 World. Muhammad was inspired by the fact that gaming devices and strategy are one of the most engaging forms of interactions available today. Gaming is a key area which has allowed for multiple level brand engagement and this allowed the firm to be able to engage with customers or the potential market in a different arrangement. Setting Benchmarks with Renowned Services 24 World has a strong developmental base which enables the growth onto creative and client service based detailing. The ability to conduct
continuous research and experimentation for newer platforms and technologies is a feature of their working environment and practices. It has been dominant in the Development and Creative services area, although they also offer Digital Marketing, Branding and Business Management support avenues. Following are the core services provided by 24 World: Game Design:They design and develop games according to the requirements of their customers. E Commerce: Their e-commerce client base includes distinguished banks, insurance companies and fashion gurus. Mobile Application: They have been helping small and large businesses to reach out to their customers at the most predictable of places. Digital Marketing: Their campaign planning and PPC management are endorsed tactics that drive targeted results for desired objectives and challenges. Content Distribution: They are a YouTube verified partners and a reliable content distribution network offering publishers effective delivery channels. Social Media Marketing: They believe that being social means more than being social. It takes a wellthought out plan and an editorial calendar.
Happy Clients of 24World The company caters to a wide array of clients including UBL Bank, NIB Bank, Adamjee Insurance, Jubilee Insurance, EFU Insurance and more. To work in a market that has grown exponentially, requires great adaptability, and that is the key to their standing commitment with projects. The company and staff have adapted to key changes in needs of the market especially with the advancement into the ‘mobile age’. Clients benefit from access to better tools for technology along with global expertise of experience to handle matters. Future Endeavours 24 World plans to diversify into multiple product areas specifically in segments of video, animation, stats all possibly linked to gaming outputs. The availability of platforms set forth by tech giants has allowed plenty of youth potential to come forward. However, a serious effort to polish and acknowledge talent will lead to better results with specific products and their maintenance.
Muhammad Rahimtoola Founder & Director
The firm launched the first publisher sporting portal from Pakistan earlier in 2016 catering to the sport of Cricket by the name of ‘Score Line’. This platform is set to diversify into multiple output segments based on content driven results. Benchmarks Created by 24 World in Gaming Industry 24 World has used character creativity effectively in the ‘dry’ financial sector. To create engagement for potential customers and existing users the firm developed the essential steps of Life Insurance into a ‘Needs Analysis Tool’ - this tool was later replicated for the Kenyan market and localized accordingly by the agency for their needs. 24 World recently was awarded the ‘Best Emerging Technology’ category at the local Pakistan Digi Awards for their innovative case studies in the financial sector. Character development and strategy is an effective tool for communication which falls somewhere between the impact of video and illustration. This is where 24 World feels that the canvas for Game development becomes ever more crucial in emerging high populated markets like Pakistan.
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ith the rise of VR adoption and the involvement of the gaming industry in developing content for VR, the topic of social impact takes the stage again: is VR ruining, improving or ignoring our social life? Facebook took on the challenge to measure the implications of social VR, stating that VR can facilitate social connection for introverts. A statement that falls in line with their acquisition of Oculus VR and hiring Rachel Franklin, former VP/GM for The Sims 4, as Head of Social VR. However, the study doesn’t mention if
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the respondents are self-identified as introverts / extroverts or if they’ve fallen into one of these categories, following a reliable psychological test. Another variable is the definition of introversion, as some people confuse it with social anxiety. According to personality theories introverts need to recharge their batteries by solitary activities, reflection on one’s self or spending time with a few closed ones, while extroverts recharge their batteries by spending time with other people, engage in social activities and would rather avoid alone time. Few people are purely one or the other, usually is more of a matter of degree, which can vary during one’s life.
Game O Pedia
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Andreea Vaduva is Community Manager for Black The Fall, the Communisminspired puzzle game developed by Sand Sailor Studio. The Bucharest based indie development studio is working now on a VR title with online and oine social implications.
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The tricky part of the introversion-extraversion categorisation is that there are sociable introverts who go to parties and speak to big audiences, followed up by the necessary retreat to solitude. And there are extroverts who do very well addressing large audiences and introducing themselves to anyone, but struggle at socializing at a more intimate level. Therefore, regardless of the introversionextraversion balance, it’s social anxiety that people would like to overcome in the quest of forming healthy relationships. Anxiety is a constant fear of present and, more often, future events, based on imagined scenarios that could go wrong and affect us physically or emotionally. Some of these scenarios are healthy and necessary, but others can be based on past events or on fearful childhood phantasies, that wouldn’t stand a reality check. The normal human response to these scenarios is to build a behaviour around them, in order to avoid painful situations. And this is where VR comes in!
On the other hand, for those of us struggling to improve our social skills have found VR social games to be helpful in various ways:
In addition to the VR apps designed to overcome various phobias (including fear of public speaking) by being placed in scenarios specifically designed to gradually confront the user with his object of fear; there are also a couple of social VR games (such as Rec Room), that people have played. Luckily, some of them generously shared their thoughts on, in this Reddit thread. Reading through the comments, I’ve noticed the following situations on the uncomfortable end of the social spectrum:
4. Any relationship that starts in VR can then grow in real life (someone confessed they got engaged after meeting in a social VR app).
1. When playing a VR social game, it is expected of us to socialize, while on the streets no one has such expectations. So when in the mood for some alone time, exploring a social VR app incognito, might not be the best idea.
Going through the ups and downs of online social interaction, I’d say that the future of VR, as a tool to overcome anxiety, is user generated content in VR and customization of pre-established scenarios. The moment we will be able to put together our scariest and most exciting phantasies in VR ourselves and control them, we’ll fear them less. The moment we realize that we can survive the worst scenarios, maybe we’ll dare a bit more to face unknown and uncontrollable situations, which will bring along not just less anxiety, but also joy.
2. Interaction is happening in real time, which increases the anxiety compared to chat and messaging, which lets us be in control on the time spent on replying. Which only proves that VR socialising is closer to socializing in real life. 3. Although in VR we feel physically safe, we’re at a higher risk of being bullied, than in real life.
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1. In VR you can control the environment: join or leave as you please, or even change environment if the app allows. For an anxious person, control plays a big part in feeling more secure. 2. VR acts like a mask and just like in any type of environment, an online avatar or alias offers the chance of being someone else, which can be a crucial first step, for someone who has not yet accepted his / her own identity. 3. These social apps open a world of likeminded people, which increases the chance to successful social interactions, which leads me to the next point…
5. The most socially anxious people dare to interact a bit, rather than shutting down completely (which would be standard procedure in real life). Once this first step is made successfully, forming relationships is just one step away.
Editor’s Pick
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amePlan Consulting is a 360 - global consultancy specialized in helping game companies identify, strategize and deliver great solutions to their challenges. It is renowned by its 360 approach, that not only caters to small indie studios, but also for some of the major corporations like Bandai Namco, Trion Worlds, InnoGames, Autodesk and even government agencies. GamePlan Consulting’s mission is to be the go-to destination to Global business intelligence and communications within the gaming industry. The Birth of GamePlan Consulting André Faure, CEO of GamePlan Consulting has been working exclusively with games for the last 20 years, always performing in leading roles for companies like Microsoft, EGM Magazine, Tectoy (the most traditional gaming company in Brazil), Aeria Games and lastly at Gamehouse, a RealNetworks division. He always achieved great career results, being promoted and invited from company to company, thus becoming a reference in the market.
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By the end of 2013, he decided that it was time to start creating and delivering solutions to the market not only as an executive but also as a consultant, by having more freedom to act and deliver creative solutions. Another turning point at his career was the large demand he had to become a consultant - since, as a reference - he was being in high demanded for several companies to provide advice and support. Working in the industry for so long have its benefits, as to identify trends and changes - the return of the PC, the outstanding growth of the smartphone market, the indie revolution and several opportunities for gaming companies would appear. At the same time, he knew that these come at a price and that game developers, small and big, are good at making games, but a strategic, business and the very specialized communications component would be missing. Therefore, he built GamePlan to cater to those needs, thus rapidly achieving great success. Beside him is Henrique Martin, GamePlan’s co-founder and Content Chief Officer, a tech journalist/writer with 20 years of experience on covering B2B and B2C
consumer electronic markets. Creative Services with Flexible Approach From the time of its inception, GamePlan was created with a vision of being extremely flexible. A company that works within the boundaries of the games industry needs to be fast, smart and flexible enough to learn and adapt since the industry is so diverse and innovative. Team GamePlan is usually several steps ahead of others trying to deliver the same services and products but in an innovative way. Also, although GamePlan has clear capabilities - Business Strategy, Intelligence and Development in its business unit, and PR Intelligence (which is a very different service from what a PR agency offers, because is result-oriented), Specialized marketing solutions and branded content from its communications unit, team GamePlan’s first approach is always to deep dive into their potential clients’ needs. They do not offer templates, they offer solutions. In a market like gaming, this is key to achieving amazing results. Also, they have just announced a new product, GamePlan’s Fandom Management Framework,
which promises to revolutionize the way gaming companies approach their community growth and management, moving away from the more and more expensive paradigm of digital marketing campaigns.
“At the moment you start working with GamePlan, you are more than a client and you feel that immediately. This is the reason we are a consultancy, and not an agency or another sort of business. We consider ourselves literally part of our client’s team, and we strive to help them achieve what they need the most - results and ROI,” asserts André. “We are extremely data-driven, so all solutions need to be based on real benchmarks or very clear trends - our risk is our client’s risk, so we don’t play with that. At the same time, we are well known for our creativity and for delivering where others failed. How? We listen first and act later. If you are catering for an audience, you have to listen to their needs before thinking about your tactical strategy, and we that with every single project, short or long term. Our clients will have clear milestones, clear deliverables and a world-class team of experts that sum decades of videogame market expertise to land them a hand into the path of success,” André added.
Henrique Martin CCO
André Faure CEO
Photo credit: Vanessa Serra Photography
Benefits for Clients
Future Roadmap of GamePlan 2017 resulted to a very good year for GamePlan. GamePlan has a rapidly growing team and they have just announced their first patent-pending product, Gameplan’s Fandom Management Framework, just a few days after YouTube and Facebook changed their algorithms towards more dependency from campaigns to create reach. “Out framework objective is exactly the opposite and is being developed by our social media and BI teams for over a year. We really believe in this product and expect great things from it - we are already implementing with success in several of our studio clients. This is a clear example of our perspective for the future: to keep innovating, looking closely towards the real trends of the industry and always being ready to cater global solutions to the industry. Adaptation, innovation and amazing results, this is what drives us forward,” says André while talking about their success and future plans. www.gameplan.com.br
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Thought Leader
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Cloud Gaming
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he gaming industry is witnessing an influx of enthusiasm and creativity in the business world unlike ever before. Today, entertaining games like Candy Crush Saga, Angry birds enjoy the prestige of being great business products, unheard of in history. However, coming up with such ideas and protecting them is still a difficult task. Envisioning great games require imagination and creativity which is a difficult feat to achieve. Moreover, millions of lucrative games are competing for the attention of a specific group of audience and many a times lose out just due to lack of right exposure. Hence, some countries like Sweden and Finland are providing the much needed secure environment for their gamers to carry their passion with pride and develop it into great products. These countries are providing the safety cushion every gaming company needs for their games to receive funding, establish a strong presence online and collaborate with industry leaders in a truly professional manner. The Cocoon That Nurtures tomorrow’s Butterflies One organization which plays a pivotal role in creating such a secure environment for gaming companies in Finland is Kavio Cluster. It is a
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regional Gaming Industry organization based in the city of Kajaani, a region of Kainuu, in Northern Finland. Today the Cluster is a vibrant collaborative community of near 20 independent Game Studios. In order to understand their effort, it is important to look at the ground reality of the gaming industry in Finland. The gaming industry in Finland is witnessing the rise of many creative startups backed by excellent technical education which values creativity. The results of such excellent education are apparent in Northern Finland, which hosts the second most successful gaming industry area in Finland. Hence, the Kavio Cluster is also a source of inspirational professional gaming education in Finland. It aims to make the Finnish industry battle ready to meet global challenges and protects it when the innovative ideas are at their most vulnerable initial stages. The History and Its Witnesses The organization has implemented their vision through providing an essential support network through closed cloud solutions which are almost free of charge during the development phase. Additionally, the organization provides collaboration and development opportunity for the most lucrative gaming segments, which are eSports and mobile gaming. As a result of their long-established
commitment, Kavio Cluster currently hosts world-class leaders in gaming, including Critical Force Oy and Virtual Frontiers OY, CSE Entertainment Oy and many more. Kavio Clusters helps the member companies to develop and publish their games to all existing platforms using the latest gaming techniques and technologies even for alternate contexts. The organization continues to be run in an extremely competitive fashion with various gaming industry leaders contributing to the cause as a daily routine. Kavio Cluster was formed with a vision that the Kainuu region in Finland is capable of producing great gaming companies which should compete with world-class companies from USA, UK, Japan, China, India and others. The Leadership That Makes It All Look Easy Kavio Cluster is a perfect example of great collaboration of Gaming Industry expert Timo Ylikangas who has over 20 years of relevant experience and Kainuun Etu Oy, who was instrumental in building the foundation of the organization. In its initial stages, the organization required bringing various stakeholders in the industry together on a common platform. Kainuun Etu, a non-profit organization helped establish trust among various stakeholders and bridge the gap between them to lay the founding brick
of Kavio Cluster. The organization has received an invaluable contribution from Kainuun Etu (OY), which has led the organization to win the “Best European Regional Development Agency of the year 2016”, prestigious award. The company currently also helps startups to get in touch with investors and publishers and industry leaders. Industry leaders often are a valuable source of insights for the novice gaming businesses which often lack the outsider-hands-on view experience and perspective. Kavio Cluster also provides funding to companies from important sources such as EU and national project funding, which is an immense source of strength for founders who lack financial resources and motivation to build great products. The Next Frontier of the World of Opportunities For a creative industry like gaming, the sky is the limit for success. Nevertheless, many gaming companies around the world are searching for effective solutions to monetize their games. Kavio Cluster helps companies of Finland to not only understand the different channels and platforms for monetizing their work, but also provides them several essential insights to be successful.
Timo Ylikangas
The next step for KAVIO is to help gaming companies launch new gaming products or services that provides hands-free experience in Analytics, User Acquisition, Community Management, Channel Building and Marketing. In many ways, Kavio Cluster’s relationship with industry leaders has revolutionized the industry with more collaboration between important stakeholders and creation of state-of-the-art opportunities. The organization will soon operationalize a professional investor fund to support their partner companies. The new revenue generation opportunities will create a boost for Finnish gaming industry with more opportunities and more growth in the upcoming future. It is imperative today for Finish gaming companies to grab the new opportunities created to boost games, gaming studios, investors and publishers.
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Media Insider
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n this modern age of technological advancements and stiff competition, providing the best possible service to the customers is of prime concern for every organization. Times have changed and technological upgradation to the highest level is the need of the hour to survive and excel among competitors. The gaming industry has undergone a tremendous metamorphosis over the years. It has achieved remarkable success worldwide recently and has evolved from board games and video games to the most advanced technologies including 3D replications, virtual reality and augmented reality. Gaming service providers have evolved and upgraded in order to cope up with the tremendous competition and latest developments. Sycoforge is an elite gaming solution provider located in Zurich, Switzerland. It aims at creating unique gaming experiences for avid gamers. At Sycoforge, an interdisciplinary team of engineers, mathematicians, artists and creative architects work together to bring forth the ultimate gaming experience to the users. The team works together to bring to life the originally curated gaming universe, Arafinn, where never-before-heard languages
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and units of measurement are used. Since 2009, team Sycoforge has been working on making the Arafinn Universe a successful venture. Beyond Creating a Game A fact that sets Sycoforge apart from its competitors is that it not only creates ‘games’, but also a complete and self-contained universe. “Arafinn” is a unique fantasy universe that has its own geography, demography, sociology, centuries of documented history with huge genealogy trees of the most important families and cultures, original languages with own grammars and scriptures and so on. Players can always expect to have a red thread through all of its stories and games. Sycoforge is steadily moving ahead on its triumphant journey, and credits its entire team for the unparalleled dedication and hard work. The team has always been connected and related, and considers the organization as a ‘family business’. All the team members share a feeling of unity and oneness and the same vision which they pursue persistently without thinking about giving up. As a gaming solution provider, team Sycoforge feels that technological advances provide endless opportunities to almost everyone to create their own
game. On the other hand, it also feels that this is also a challenge, as it becomes more difficult to stand out from the crowd. The company considers it as a major opportunity for independent organizations to persist in a market that was dominated for a long time by big-players, and has been more balanced and democratized in recent years. The company gives importance to the principles of honesty and authenticity and strives to achieve customer satisfaction. It also believes in the policy of mutual giving and taking. As independent developers, as well as gamers themselves, team Sycoforge knows what customers expect of a good game and that delivering what one has promised is key to create a player-base that really enjoys - and therefore keeps buying – one’s games. The entire team works together with passion and dedication on a true-tooriginal world of fantasy, adventure and action. The team doesn’t compromise due to half-completed stories and aims at delivering the final product before the given deadline. The Driving Force of Sycoforge Sycoforge has been guided on its successful path by founding members Ismael Wittwer and Michela Rimensberger. They founded this organization with the objective of
providing the ultimate gaming experience to the customers and take it to the next level. Major Projects The major projects of Sycoforge revolve around the fantasy universe of Arafinn. Arafinn Universe Sycoforge has been working on the fabled World of Arafinn, a self-contained fantasy universe, since 2009. This universe has also grown and evolved over the years and consists of 25 provinces with 2600 cities and villages inhabited by more than 600 families, clans and tribes having their own political orientations and speaking their own separate language. Moreover, four main languages are spoken across the lands namely- Tirdish, Hildujr, Valdyrish, and Omturu. Each language has its own grammar and alphabet. Sycoforge has attempted to add details and breathe life into the Arafinn Universe by building different units of measure. Since some time the company has been working on a major game based on Arafinn, namely:
Michela Rimensberger
Arafinn-Return to Nangrim The first part of the Arafinn Universe will be known as ‘Arafinn-Return to Nangrim.’ It will revolve around the story and legacy of the almost forgotten nation of the Stonebeards who used to live in the inhospitable realms of the Nimbor Mountains. ‘Arafinn-Return to Nangrim’ is a first-person fantasy adventure with RPG-, Survival- and Puzzle-elements. It involves exploration, research, puzzle solving and defense strategies in order to uncover the mysteries and legends of Nangrim. Technically generated content and puzzles guarantee a different gaming experience for each and every player. The focus of the game is not on fighting; rather, the player should be prepared to defend himself against various dangers lurking in the shadows. A player has to fall back on the ancient knowledge of the Stonebeards in order to successfully survive in the countless halls of Nangrim. Future Plans The company plans to release a special gift to its fans around Christmas time that would attune them to the actual game. Then in the first quarter of 2018, it is planning to launch its Kickstarter campaign, which should help in speeding up production of the game.
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Future of Gamication
Augmented Reality, Virtual Reality and eSports: The Buzzwords of Gaming Industry where the Future lies
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he gaming industry has evolved to a great extent over a period of time. It has pushed the envelope and adopted cutting edge technologies that later became mainstream technologies like streaming online content, 1080p and 4K graphics. In today’s dynamic world as one trend ends, another is always just around the corner, ready to take the world by surprise and right now there are plenty of things to be excited about. Let’s dig a little deeper into the latest buzz of the gaming industry, and how things might change going forward. VR (Virtual Reality) is one such hot topic in the gaming industry. VR is something that was talked about for many years before its actual arrival. But when it hit the street, it did not boom as expected. However, there have been dramatic improvements to
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both the hardware and software in VR since its early days. VR is poised to have a huge impact on the gaming sector in many different forms. Online gaming sites are also reaping huge benefits of VR. With VR technology at the core, it is possible to create impressive virtual gaming experiences for customers to enjoy. Augmented Reality is the New Fascination for Gaming Industry Augmented Reality (AR) is another form of technology that is set to change the landscape of gaming. Where virtual realities provide gamers a complete virtual world experience, AR overlays virtual digital world on the top of the real world and gives gamer a thrilling experience. The latest flagship smartphones of Apple and developer frameworks like
Apple’s ARKit are bringing AR technology into the mainstream very rapidly. Many technology leaders are already presuming that AR could be much bigger than virtual reality, especially as AR is already proving to be a big hit in smartphones as more and more people are using mobile phones and tablets for gaming than Pcs. Over the last couple of years the gaming industry has witnessed an increased momentum around augmented reality (AR). The primary reason seems to be the overnight success of Pokémon Go, a location-based AR game which was downloaded more than 100 million times in its first month of launch. It reportedly earned $10m per day at the height of its popularity, and has attracted widespread attention and investment. Its ability to bring people together and promote a powerful sense of community is the prime reason behind the burgeoning growth. Most of the breakthrough technologies have done much the same, whether it is a social media innovation like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram or mobile activities involving texting, dating or gaming. VR on the other hand, has far limited access in the social arena. In 2017, Game Developers Conference was ruled by virtual reality. But due to immense popularity of Pokémon Go, augmented reality has become the new industry darling. It will be premature to say that VR has been out of the race completely but at GDC 2017, industry has seen the emergence of AR as a compelling technology for gaming and beyond. AR based games work their magic simply by dropping video game characters into a familiar and real environment which gives gamers a thrilling experience while playing. AR enables gaming character to run along real-world tabletops and bounce on sofas. With the new advancements in AR, players can scan a room
with their devices and create a 3D map of the walls and furniture. Gamers can place their virtual characters and objects on real tables and shelves, while other players can view the scene and join via their own devices. Due to these facets, gaming industry is embracing AR technology since it allows game players to experience a digital game played in a real world environment. e-Sports- an Idea becoming a Gaming Trend The other idea that is shaping the future of gaming industry is of competitive gaming commonly known as eSports. The acceptance of competitive online gaming is growing at an intense rate for both competitor and viewers. Many believe that the concept of eSports could bleed over to skill-based casino gaming in the coming times. Market Forecast According to renowned research giant Goldman Sachs, the virtual and augmented reality industry will become $85 billion market by 2025. Much of its share will belong to gaming industry. Most of these technologies require a lot of bandwidth to function in a hassle free manner. With 5G arrival is just around the corner, it will only give boost to these technologies and will play a pivotal role in changing the face of gaming to the next level. It is estimated that 5G connection can comfortably reach at a speed of around 10Gbps, which will make mobile gaming experience much better than earlier. With the advent of AR, VR and eSports, one can rightly presumes these technologies will only make gamers experience much more captivating one with lots of thrill and joy.
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oday, gaming industry is undergoing a phase of rapid development with recent innovations and advancements in technology which have all contributed to the overall enhancement of the gaming experience. With the introduction of VR gaming as well as technological advancement of graphic and sound cards, 3D graphics accelerators and amazingly fast CPUs has unveiled a new era of gaming. Growing swiftly, the gaming industry is expected to generate revenues up to USD 90.07 billion in 2020. Though gaming industry has enormous potential to grow and serve the masses but there is a gap which need to be served. Whitepot Studios is one such gaming company which is ready to tap the potential and extract the maximum benefits from it while serving the game lovers with the best of their choice. Whitepot Studios is a game development and creative media solution company based in Belfast, Northern Ireland. It is founded by two ardent game lovers, Adam Whiteside and Vicky Potts. Counting on Whitepot’s achievements; they in the first year
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of their company’s inception successfully released their first game, Tubocity. A sci-fi endless runner, Tubocity became popular in no time and has been downloaded in over 35 countries within the first quarter since its release. Meet the Dynamic Duo of Whitepot Adam Whiteside and Vicky Potts are joint co-founders of Whitepot Studios, and are partners in life as well as business! Both Queen’s University Belfast graduates are the first in their families to go to the university, the pair founded start-up IVEA labs straight after graduation with two colleagues, which developed an interactive Bluetooth beacon solution to provide an interactive experience within exhibitions and museums. IVEA labs successfully attained funding from the prestigious Ireland Funds Business Plan Competition. Adam Whiteside and Vicky Potts were also the finalists in the Santander Universities Entrepreneurship Awards 2016 and secured a place on Invest NI’s Propel Programme. Following their time with IVEA labs, Adam and Vicky remained teamed up to follow their passions of making games and having creative freedom; and set up Whitepot Studios with help from the
knowledge gained from their previous start-up experience. Whitepot Studios, though early stage, has successfully launched their first title, attended Gamescom 2017 in Cologne exhibiting as part of the UKIE Stand, and have successfully attained funding from NI Screen’s Assembler programme for early-stage game prototype development. Some Outstanding Products and Services by Whitepot Whitepot Studios unique goal is to develop fun, emergent games that are primarily player-driven – in which the player’s experience is shaped by them and those they interact with, and will be different each and every time they play. Additionally, at Whitepot they offer creative media services such as games for hire, graphic design, and website design. Tubocity: Tubocity is a free mobile game for iOS and Android that really tests your reflexes – see how far along you can get, and maybe you’ll get the global highscore! Why Am I In The Past? WhoCares! Shoot The Romans: Ancient vs. Technology comes to a head in “Why am I in the past? Who cares! Shoot the
Romans,” (WAIITPWCSTR). It is a Windows based PC game which was developed using ‘Unity.’ Present Scenario of Gaming Industry from Adam’s Viewpoint The game development scene in Northern Ireland is flourishing and has grown even larger in the past year since we joined. The availability of free, industry-standard development tools like Unity has allowed anyone with a PC, some time, and dedication to develop a game and share it with the world – and that is really, really amazing. The motivation of young people to create things by themselves from scratch to add their own portfolio is incredibly inspiring, and I can’t wait to see what the next generation of developers – those, for example, currently making amazing Minecraft creations at a young age – will be like in 5, 10, or 15 years, asserts Adam. Adam also believes that, game jams and hackathons are a huge social opportunity which is not to be missed. Local gaming groups and organizations can arrange game jam meetups which co-incide with game jams running all over the world. Game jams allow teams to collaborate on a given theme within a very short space of time – and can produce something amazing and allow people to meet new friends, learn new skills, and surprise even themselves at what they can produce in the space of 24 – 72 hours!
Adam Whiteside, Co-founder
Vicky Potts, Co-founder
Turning Challenges into Opportunities Joining the local game development community and ensuring we absorbed each and every opportunity of help available has been invaluable in helping us gain new clients and make new relationships. Adam and I knowing each other so well and working so closely together has also been important in ensuring our success – we know exactly how talented the other is and can help each other through stressful crunch periods, and also those periods of celebration where things have gone well. Knowing your co-founder well is incredibly important, asserts Vicky. At Whitepot they aim to be a major break out company in Northern Ireland by 2019 with the release of their first PC game early that year.
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