6 Talks You Should See At DevCom 2019

If you follow our blog quite closely, then you’ll probably already have a pretty good idea of what this post is about. For those of you who are new, or have never been to DevCom before, then let us shine a light on what you can expect to find by reading on.

DevCom is back again for another year, this time with even hotter talks and sessions than the last. And as always, we’ve rounded out our top favorite talks to give you a helping hand in finding which ones are good for you. Let’s dig in.

Talk 1 – More than once a Time: KPI Storytelling (with Gamebook)

When: Sunday 18th August 2019 – 12.30pm to 1.30pm (Hall 11, Stage 4)

Speaker: Nico Nowarra, CBDO of Gamebook

Like every good opening chapter, Gamebook’s session is the perfect way to start DevCom 2019. Speaker, Nico Nowarra will guide you through the importance of weaving a convincing story, and exactly how you can make story-driven titles excel in today’s free-to-play market.

Using actual data from their title “My Love: Make Your Choice!”, Gamebook explains exactly why they made certain decisions along the development process, and how they found out what resonates with their audience.

Talk 2 – Stories to Go: Guidelines for effective Narrative Design in Mobile Games (with King)

When: Sunday 18th August 2019 – 1.30pm to 2.30pm (Hall 11, Stage 5)

Speaker: Valentina Tamer, Studio Narrative Designer at King

Narrative takes the lead again, this time with King’s very own Studio Narrative Design, Valentina Tamer.

Mobile gaming poses something of a challenge for developers who are keen to make content that gets players hooked, having developed more of an on-the-go nature. Just a few choice words and a compelling narrative could be all you need to make your mobile game the next Candy Crush, so make sure to catch Valentina’s session, to learn how to make your title stand out in one of the most competitive gaming markets out there.

Talk 3 – Global Trends: Analysis of 3 Billion Gamers (with GameAnalytics)

When: Sunday 18th August 2019 – 3pm to 3.30pm (Hall 11, Stage 1)

Speaker: Shariq Manji, Senior Product Manager at GameAnalytics

Maybe I’m a bit biased, but I don’t think you can attend DevCom 2019 without seeing this talk.

Using data from more than 70,000 games and 850 million monthly players, I’ll be disclosing fresh gaming analysis for 2019 H1, and diving into the latest trends regarding KPIs (e.g. retention, session length, and conversion). It’s hot off the press, so you won’t find first-hand analysis like this anywhere else.

Talk 4 – Rewarded Ads: The Marriage of Engagement and Monetization (with Kolibri Games)

When: Sunday 18th August – 3.30pm to 4pm (Hall 11, Stage 1)

Speaker: Nathaniel Barker, Director of Business Development at Kolibri Games

If you consider yourself something of an indie developer, publisher or studio, it can be easy to feel like you’re a long way from being top of your game, but remember: no indie starts off perfect.

That’s where Nathaniel comes in. Join him as he leads you through his experience of how to build and then monetize games that people will be talking about for years. What’s the golden rule, when starting out? Always put the player first!

Talk 5 – Improving Monetization through Behavioural Economics (with Space Ape Games)

When: Sunday 18th August – 5pm to 6pm (Hall 11, Stage 1)

Speaker: Andrew Munden, Live Operations Director at Space Ape Games

Picture the scene: it’s April 2019, and Space Ape Games has just released Transformers: Earth Wars. Except there’s a slight hitch – KPIs look positive, but then gross bookings drop way more than they expected. There’s more to this than meets the eye.

Andrew Munden is here to explain just how Mental Accounting can cause something like this to occur, and what you can do to prevent it from happening to you. On top of this, Andrew will explain how you can learn to improve the monetization of your titles moving forward, too.

Talk 6 – What comes first: the Story or the Game Design? (with Spiders)

When: Monday 19th August – 11.30am to 12.30pm (Offenbachsaal)

Speaker: Jehanne Rousseau, CEO at Spiders

Don’t worry, arachnophobes, the spiders haven’t taken over. Jehanne Rousseau, CEO of French game developers Spiders will take to the stage, to answer one of the biggest chicken-or-the-egg questions of the gaming world: what goes first, story or game design?

Developers shouldn’t have to choose between the two, surely? Why not BOTH? See how Spiders are able to spin their way to success, using this approach.

Attending DevCom 2019?

So am I. If you fancy catching up about our latest products and offerings, or about what features we’re currently working on, then feel free to book a meeting with me (I’ll be there for both days).