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Mastering Retention Podcast

Ep.75: Strategies for successful studios

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1NBv2DsoK6c⁠

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🎙️ Mastering Retention Podcast: Building Successful Game Studios with Mika Ahonen

Host: Tom Hammond, Co-founder of UserWise

Guest: Mika Ahonen, Co-founder of Lightheart Entertainment

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Introduction

👋 About Mika Ahonen:

Co-founder of Lightheart Entertainment, based in Helsinki, Finland.

Previously worked at Rovio for eight years.

Holds a degree in industrial engineering but transitioned into game development.

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Journey into the Gaming Industry

🎮 Early Passion for Games:

Grew up playing video games extensively.

Initially did not study interactive entertainment.

Joined Rovio in 2011, starting in e-commerce before moving into free-to-play game design and product management.

🚀 Transition to Game Development:

Gained experience during Rovio's shift to free-to-play models.

Leveraged his e-commerce background to contribute to game monetization strategies.

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Founding Lightheart Entertainment

🌟 The Lightheart Story:

Founded in 2019 with a team of five co-founders.

Mika joined as the product co-founder after being approached by CEO Kalle Heikkinen.

Aimed to build a modern game studio where they themselves would like to work long-term.

🤝 Assembling the Team:

Emphasized the importance of knowing co-founders prior to starting a company.

Advised having in-depth discussions about values, company vision, exit strategies, and control before founding a studio.

🎯 Team-First Approach:

Started without a specific game idea, focusing instead on building a strong team.

Wanted to create games that could be developed by small teams within short production cycles.

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Developing Mr. Autofire

🔥 Creating the Game:

Decided to focus on action arcade games for mobile platforms.

Developed several prototypes in 2019; one evolved into Mr. Autofire.

The game is an action platformer with guns, inspired by classics like Metal Slug and Contra, optimized for mobile controls.

🚀 Prototyping Process:

Created half a dozen prototypes with quick development cycles.

Prototypes were scoped to be implementable by a programmer in a couple of days.

Selected Mr. Autofire based on its fun gameplay even in the greybox (early development) stage.

📈 Market Strategy:

Aimed to avoid heavy reliance on fake ads and instead focused on showcasing actual gameplay.

Recognized a market opportunity in action arcade games underserved on mobile.

Launched a small version of the game within a three-month time frame to test marketability and retention.

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Insights on Game Development and LiveOps

🎮 Hybrid Casual Games:

Discussed revenue breakdown, noting that Mr. Autofire earns about 60% from in-app purchases (IAP) and 40% from ads.

Emphasized that players view games as games, not as specific categories like "hybrid casual."

🔄 Lessons Learned:

If starting over with current knowledge, would focus more on a robust meta-structure and enhance the progression system.

Recommended building upon proven progression models rather than trying to invent new ones from scratch.

👥 Scaling the Studio:

Transitioned from a company with one game to developing multiple projects.

Highlighted the challenges of scaling, including the need to delegate and define clear responsibilities.

Doubled the team size to around 20 people to support the expansion.

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Hiring and Company Culture

🤝 Approach to Hiring:

Acknowledged the competitive job market and the difficulty of finding the right talent.

Hired a recruitment partner on retainer to improve the hiring process.

Focused on hiring self-starters who fit the company's self-managed organizational model.

🌐 Cultural Fit:

Prioritized cultural fit and skill level equally.

Willing to have multiple rounds of interviews to ensure a good match.

Stressed the importance of being honest about the company's strengths and weaknesses during the hiring process.

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Live Operations (LiveOps) Strategy

📆 Importance of Content:

Believes in providing high-quality content at a predictable pace.

Focuses on content that is both enjoyable for players and has monetization opportunities.

Emphasized that content should be at the center of LiveOps to keep players engaged.

🎯 Personalized Offers:

Utilizes a rule-based system for personalized in-game offers triggered by player actions.

Avoids a one-size-fits-all approach, preferring to cater offers to individual player behavior.

⏰ Understanding Player Behavior:

Designs LiveOps schedules based on when players have time to play, offering more content during weekends.

Aims to accommodate both short daily sessions and longer playtimes.

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Game Economy Design

💰 Designing the Economy:

Emphasized the complexity of game economy design and the ease of making mistakes.

Recommended starting with a proven economy system from existing successful games.

Warned against creating an economy system entirely from scratch due to high risk.

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Tips for Player Retention

🔑 Key Takeaway:

Highlighted the power of delivering good quality content consistently.

Suggested that a steady flow of engaging content is crucial for long-term player retention.

Encouraged developers to focus on both the fun aspect for players and the monetization potential for the company.

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Conclusion

🌟 Final Thoughts:

Shared valuable insights on founding a game studio, scaling teams, and developing successful games.

Encouraged aspiring game developers to focus on team dynamics, proven systems, and high-quality content.

Emphasized the importance of being adaptable and learning from each step in the process.

📞 Connecting with Mika Ahonen:

Careers Page:

lightheart.games/careers⁠

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Open to connections on LinkedIn—include a note mentioning where you found him.

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