Stay ConnectedDeconstructor of Fun podcast is created by games professionals for games professionals. We explore the business side of the games industry with the goal of bringing listeners content that is relevant, insightful, and entertaining on a weekly basis.
Hosts:
Michail Katkoff www.linkedin.com/in/michailkatkoff/
Eric Kress www.linkedin.com/in/erickress/
Phillip Black www.linkedin.com/in/phillip-black-economist/
Jen Donahoe www.linkedin.com/in/jenniferdonahoe
Copyright: © Deconstructor of Fun
Seufert is back from Europe and has a couple of words regarding last week’s analysis of the Hypercasual games' economy following Google’s ad changes. We’ll deep dive into AppLovin’s gangster move. JamCity’s massive layoffs and Roblox’s bookings miss. The gang also discusses why Blizzard and NetEase scrapped Warcraft Mobile and PlayStation Mobile’s hiring spree.
hosts: Eric Seufert, Ethan Levy, Adam Telfer
Art outsourcing can become a game changer or a hopeless money sink. To discuss how to outsource art in the smartest and most effective way, the Deconstructor of Fun podcast was joined by Silver Saaremäel, co-founder and Art Director of a boutique art outsourcing studio Fantastic Vagabonds (ex-Wooga & Crytek), and Kshiraj Telang, Art Director from Moon Active (ex-King and Rovio).
Special guest star, Matej Lancaric, a household name in the user acquisition circles and a podcaster extraordinaire (Two and a Half Gamers) joins the TWiG crew to give his view on Google’s latest Play Store policies and Apple’s new ad placements for advertisers. We also discuss whether Rockstar can get their culture less toxic and whether that will impact their super violent franchises. And we discuss if you really can make a great free-to-play game with just three steps...
the Gamescom event (link)
hosts: Eric Kress, Laura Taranto, Mishka Katkoff, and Matej Lancaric
You know her from TV (That 70’s Show, Family Guy), Film (Book of Eli, Black Swan), and have probably even heard of her hit NFT collections (Stone Cats, The Gimmicks). But did you know that Hollywood star Mila Kunis is a closet World of Warcraft addict? And that her love of WoW has led directly to the creation of a brand new, Web3-powered gaming IP in the Armored Kingdom? Along with her raid party turned production and design team, she is working to build a new fantasy universe on the Near protocol. In this episode, Ethan Levy talks to Producer Lisa Sterbakov, Emmy nominated writer/designer Hugh Sterbakov and writer/designer Brian Turner about the inspiration behind the Armored Kingdom, their choice to go Web3 and partner with the Near protocol, and what it's like to go undercover raiding with a famous Hollywood star.
As you may guess from his dadtastic body, the host Ethan Levy is a big fan of Peloton’s bike and fitness platform. That’s why he literally jumped at the chance to speak with Jim Green of Peloton Interactive about the present and future of gamified fitness on the Peloton platform.
The two discuss Jim’s background in Facebook and mobile free-to-play, his transition to a Product role within a non-gaming org, the testing, launch, and reception of Peloton’s first game, the Guitar Hero-inspired Lane Break, and the future of gamified fitness for Peloton. Ethan also puts his wishes for a Vin Diesel-inspired bicep blow-out game to be designed for Peloton’s upcoming Guide product. It’s literally the only thing standing between Ethan and the fabled EA exec-approved body-mass index.
links: careers at Peloton
Ethan Levy is back to talk about the crypto Winter giving us an update from his blockchain snow castle. In addition to the latest high-school basketball news, Eric Kress analyzes Snap’s shares plunge. Mishka Katkoff discusses the pros and cons of having a transparent salary structure in a gaming company. And we discuss Netflix Games once again after receiving some insights on what the future portfolio might look like…
Signup for DoF x Phoenix Games x Naavik Gamescom party in Cologne on 25th of August! >>> LINK
Hosts: Erick Kress, Ethan Levy, Mishka Katkoff
The crew returns back to Unity’s merger with ironSource as Eric Seufert offers his view of the deal. There’s a conversation about the latest government ruling not to regulate loot boxes. Talk about Tesla’s new gaming initiative and Netflix’s latest batch of gaming veteran hires. We also talk about E3’s return to in-person events and what we can expect from it.
Hosts: Eric Kress, Eric Seufert, Laura Taranto
UnCaged Studios is pioneering AAA-quality Web3 gaming. Co-founded by seasoned Web3 and gaming experts, the studio has over a hundred years of combined experience designing and developing high production value, immersive gaming experiences with sustainable economies. Through its own platform, Game OS, the studio’s first release is an esports franchise called MonkeyLeague. In addition, UnCaged leverages Game OS to co-develop with and support game studios by providing core technical functionality, infrastructure, and live operations services.
links:
Guests: Shahaf Bar-Geffen, Raz Friedman
Host: Mishka Katkoff
With so many new games delayed the crew has their long-awaited debate on what is the optimal way of working for game studios. On-site, hybrid, or fully remote. Eric Kress whales on GameStop, which went full “crypto bro” in the middle of the crypto Winter. And gives his hyperbolic analysis of Unity’s merger with ironSource.
Links:
Sponsors:
Google, ironSource, Xsolla, Recur
Hosts:
Laura Taranto, Eric Kress, Adam Telfer and Mishka Katkoff
In this episode, Laura talks about why games are being delayed and whether mobile games suffer from it as much as PC and console games. We also discuss what the metaverse is. Analyze the impact of Samsung Gaming Hub coming to Xbox. And Eric Kress does doom and gloom updates on the mobile market.
Links:
Sponsors:
Google, ironSource, Xsolla, Recur
Hosts:
Laura Taranto, Eric Kress and Eric Seufert
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