Deconstructor of Fun

This week, we get a peak behind the curtains of how videogames are covered in the enthusiast press, thanks to IGN VP & Publisher John Davison. A veteran of games media, game development and entrepreneurship, there is no one better positioned than John to explain how games are covered in the current multimedia era. We use John's recent piece explaining how Squanch Games' High on Life unexpectedly won the Gamescom coverage competition thanks to easily digestible humor and the power of Tik Tok. This episode is chock full of lessons about how to make your game stand out in a crowded field, getting the attention of games journalists, and the importance of easily digestible messaging to helping your game cut through the noise. This interview is hosted by Ethan Levy. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/deconstructoroffun/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/deconstructoroffun/support

A packed house for this week's TWiG as we delve into some juicy topics. Quick updates on Netflix Games latest hires (of course), Cyberpunk 2077, Apple's platform ruling on NFTs, the GTA VI hacker and more. For our headline topics, we discuss The Battle for Twitch's Soul following their announcement of deprecating the 70/30 revenue split for top streamers. We also go deep on ex-Machine Zone CEO Gabe Leydon's newest company, Web3 outfit Limit Break games, and how they're making waves with their "free-to-own" business model for NFT games. This week's episode is hosted by Eric Kress, Eric Seufert, Laura Taranto and Ethan Levy. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/deconstructoroffun/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/deconstructoroffun/support

Born from the ashes of a studio closure, Mighty Bear Games was founded by an experienced team of F2P veterans whose work crossed browser and mobile games. Having built up their studio and tech stack with Butter Royale and Disney Melee Mayhem, the studio's pivot to Web3 has seen it secure a $10m investment to build games for the blockchain. With Mighty Action Heroes nearing its initial mint, Ethan speaks with Might Bear CEO Simon Davis about his studio, his experience in F2P and his transition to Web3 gaming. In addition to Web3, they talk about learning from the pain of crunch and the lessons learned leading games and studios that have led to Mighty Bears culture and focus on the people who make the games. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/deconstructoroffun/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/deconstructoroffun/support

Laura gives off strong American Psycho vibes with her choice of recording venue. Eric makes us all jealous with his recap of the BITKRAFT conference. Ethan makes mood boards. But more seriously, we talk the latest Call of Duty reveal, Sims 4 going F2P, the big Grand Theft Auto 6 leak and how it will have no negative impact on the product's eventual sales dominance. We go deep on Nintendo direct and Laura amazes us with her commitment to completing lengthy JRPGs. Ethan tells the story of ex-Rocksteady dev Kim MacAskill, who sets an amazing example in living her values after removing herself from consideration from a Women In Games Lifetime Achievement Award because Rockstead, her former employer and a company she stood up against due to the misogyny experienced therein, was a sponsor of the event. This week's episode is hosted by Eric Kress, Laura Taranto and Ethan Levy. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/deconstructoroffun/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/deconstructoroffun/support

Tokenomics is back and what an absolute treat of an episode. This week, we're joined by two of the top VCs in the Web3 gaming space, Anton Backman of Play Ventures and Nico Vereecke of BITKRAFT, who are here to give us an inside look of how VCs are approaching investing during the latest Crypto Winter. Good news for all the gaming entrepreneurs out there, we learn that the VCs are still investing in worthy projects. In fact, they have an obligation to keep seeking out and investing in the best projects on behalf of their funds. Our host, Ethan Levy, asks all the questions a prospective gaming entrepreneur could want to ask from two of the top VC firms in the game. All ideas expressed here are the opinions of the guests and host, and do not represent the official position of their respective firms. Nothing contained within is financial advice. Please consult a qualified financial advisor before making any personal investments. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/deconstructoroffun/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/deconstructoroffun/support

After 16 months in soft launch, Supercell's Clash Quest has reached the end of its run. The game has not achieved the business objectives set by Supercell and the game will shut down. Following an excellent postmortem by Laura Taranto, Javier Barnes and Anette Staloy, host Ethan Levy sits down with the writers to discuss what went right and what areas of improvement for Clash Quest. We discuss the writer's experience playing and interacting with the Clash Quest community over the past year and a half, what they enjoyed about the game, and why they think the game was not able to meet its retention and monetization targets. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/deconstructoroffun/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/deconstructoroffun/support

Eric Kress and Laura Taranto celebrate the 200th Episode of TWIG with a special guest, Joe Kim. In this episode, we take a walk down memory lane remembering the start of TWIG, how and when the hosts joined, discuss Scopely's acquisition of Stumble Guys, and a recap of Ubisoft's most recent announcement on mobile games and Netflix, and complete with a rant from Eric. Our headline covers Microsoft and Sony and the battle of exclusivity on platforms… or not. Oh, and here's the episode Joe Kim DOESN'T WANT YOU TO HEAR > Working With BIG Entertainment IPs on Mobile --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/deconstructoroffun/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/deconstructoroffun/support

Eric Kress, Laura Taranto, and Eric Seufert discuss Apple's growing ambitions with its advertising business, the latest wave of layoffs that hit companies like Snap and Bytedance as well as Tencent's investment into Ubisoft's parent company. Most importantly, in this episode you'll hear about Seufert's latest Uber debacle, an update on Kress' son's thriving basketball career, and find out which continent Laura is recording the podcast this week. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/deconstructoroffun/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/deconstructoroffun/support

Whether you know it for its role as a hub of the Flash game development scene or in its later incarnation as a F2P mobile publisher, you are likely familiar with Kongregate. They have been making a lot of moves in the blockchain space recently, between their extension of The Bitverse into Web3, the announcement of NFT-powered game Blood Vessels, and the announcement of their $40m Web3 developer fund in partnership with Immutable. In this week's episode, Ethan talks to Kongregate CTO Max Murphy and CBOO Michelle Shaw about their Web3 ambitions, the partners they're looking for from their $40m fund, and just why Kongregate is so excited about the applications of Web3 in gaming. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/deconstructoroffun/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/deconstructoroffun/support

Despite the goodbyes, as both Mishka and Adam exit TWiG, this episode is filled with laughter and good times. Or maybe it is because the two fellas from the North are taking a hike? hosts: Eric Kress, Ethan Levy, Laura Taranto, Eric Seufert --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/deconstructoroffun/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/deconstructoroffun/support

Right before heading out for our party at Gamescom, our very own Eric Kress sat down with Mishka Katkoff to talk about his long career in games, his biggest regrets, where his independency stems from, and why you can't really cancel him. Show Eric some love by sending him a DM on Linkedin. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/deconstructoroffun/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/deconstructoroffun/support

While Kress, Laura, and Mishka were hosting a banging party at Gamescom, Ethan and Seufert carried the TWiG torch. The guys discussed 4 -day work weeks, flexible hours, and culture building for early-stage start-ups. They also talked about Embracer rolling up Lord of the Ring and The Hobbit into their vast portfolio. And they made sure to cover Diablo 4 live service plans, which were detailed in the quarterly report. hosts: Ethan Levy & Eric Kress --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/deconstructoroffun/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/deconstructoroffun/support

This one is a treat! This week our stalwart host Ethan Levy interviews Graeme Devine, a true game design legend. From his groundbreaking work on 7th Guest and 11th Hour to Doom 3, to Age of Empires III and Halo Wars, to Magic Leap, Graeme has found success across many different platforms. Now, as a co-founder of QXR Studios, Graeme has added another notch to his belt with WAX-powered blockchain CCG Metropolis Origins. In this episode, we cover some of the highlights of Graeme's illustrious career, how he found himself working on XR at Magic Leap and what attracted him to Web3. Most importantly, we discuss what he's learned through the launch and operations of QXR's first blockchain game in Metropolis Origins. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/deconstructoroffun/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/deconstructoroffun/support

The crew starts off by recapping Unity's rejection of AppLovin and why it went the way it did. Adam does an update on Supercell's games in soft launch now that Clash Quest became yet another could-be-hit in the company's soft launch graveyard. Finally, the guys debate what's the right role of market research in early game development. Hosts: Laura Taranto, Adam Telfer, Eric Seufert --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/deconstructoroffun/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/deconstructoroffun/support

This one is a treat, y'all! Our stalwart host Ethan Levy interviews Graeme Devine, a true game design legend. From his groundbreaking work on 7th Guest and 11th Hour to Doom 3, to Age of Empires III and Halo Wars, to Magic Leap, Graeme has found success across many different platforms. Now, as a co-founder of QXR Studios, Graeme has added another notch to his belt with WAX-powered blockchain CCG Metropolis Origins. In this episode, we cover some of the highlights of Graeme's illustrious career, how he found himself working on XR at Magic Leap and what attracted him to Web3. Most importantly, we discuss what he's learned through the launch and operations of QXR's first blockchain game in Metropolis Origins. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/deconstructoroffun/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/deconstructoroffun/support

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 --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/deconstructoroffun/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/deconstructoroffun/support

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). --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/deconstructoroffun/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/deconstructoroffun/support

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 --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/deconstructoroffun/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/deconstructoroffun/support

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. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/deconstructoroffun/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/deconstructoroffun/support

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 --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/deconstructoroffun/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/deconstructoroffun/support

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 --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/deconstructoroffun/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/deconstructoroffun/support

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. InnoGame's approach to publishing salary bands 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 --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/deconstructoroffun/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/deconstructoroffun/support

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: UnCaged Studios Guests: Shahaf Bar-Geffen, Raz Friedman Host: Mishka Katkoff --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/deconstructoroffun/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/deconstructoroffun/support

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: Questions and Feedback Sponsors: Google, ironSource, Xsolla, Recur Hosts: Laura Taranto, Eric Kress, Adam Telfer and Mishka Katkoff --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/deconstructoroffun/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/deconstructoroffun/support

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: Questions and Feedback Sponsors: Google, ironSource, Xsolla, Recur Hosts: Laura Taranto, Eric Kress and Eric Seufert --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/deconstructoroffun/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/deconstructoroffun/support

Consolidation, IDFA, metverse, Web3 and now a recession… During just the last couple of years, we've seen some wild phenomena affect the games industry: First, lockdowns caused engagement spikes. Second, we saw a streak of consolidations with record-breaking deals. Third, the impact of the privacy changes started taking effect, all the while as the crypto boom turned into crypto winter... Today, the industry is influenced by some very interesting trends and headwinds: We are facing a global recession. There's fierce competition for talent. And the costs of customer acquisition are going up. At the same time, we see the formation of walled gardens that threaten smaller companies that don't have unique content. To dive deep into the issues above, we were joined by Hemal Thaker, the Global Head of Gaming & Interactive Entertainment at Goldman Sachs, and Kartik Prabhakara, the Founding Partner of Aream, an independent investment bank providing M&A and financing advice to technology companies. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/deconstructoroffun/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/deconstructoroffun/support

Hold on to your AirPods because we have more than a full house on this episode. There's no more doom and gloom. Mishka and Seufert drop teasers for two upcoming parties. We analyze if Blizzard is “back”. Talk Stumbel Guys, Fall Guys, Sybo and Clash Quest. And take the episode home by talking about the master plan behind creating standards for open metaverse interoperability. Links: Questions and Feedback Sponsors: Google, ironSource, Xsolla, Recur Hosts: Mishka Katkoff, Adam Telfer, Laura Taranto, Eric Kress and Eric Seufert --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/deconstructoroffun/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/deconstructoroffun/support

The team discusses Riot joining Microsoft's GamePass. Talks about the $24M made by Diablo Immortal after the first two weeks. Reviews the abysmal number of downloads Netflix games has racked up to date. Dives deep into how to survive the mobile marketing winter. And with Ethan back on the podcast, covers your most essential crypto updates, as the wheels are coming off the first iteration of blockchain games. Links: Questions and Feedback Sponsors: Google, ironSource, Xsolla, Recur Hosts: Ethan Levy, Adam Telfer, and Eric Seufert --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/deconstructoroffun/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/deconstructoroffun/support

Every scaling story is different and offers something valuable for the industry to learn from. The story of Superplay and Dice Dreams is no different. We had the privilege to sit down with Noam Banon, CMO of SuperPlay, to talk about how their game Dice Dreams was able to find success in the highly competitive mobile games market of today. And we were lucky to get Sumit Chandel from Google to join the conversation to talk about the way that game developers unlock growth with Firebase's wide set of tools - just like Superplay did. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/deconstructoroffun/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/deconstructoroffun/support

Against the backdrop of a crypto winter that has many a team re-evaluating their go-to-market plan, Illuvium pressed ahead with their land NFT sale, taking in over $72m in a well-organized, well run, low-gas fee land sale. In today's episode, we go deep inside Illuvium with System and Economy Designer Khalid Alroumi. In this wide-ranging talk, we get an inside look at Illuvium and the many challenges the team faces as it works to forge a long-term sustainable, multi-game, token-based economy that balances the needs of multi different player types. This was an eye-opening conversation about what it is like working as an economy designer in this new frontier of architecting ownership-based digital economies. This interview is hosted by Ethan Levy, Executive Producer of Legendary: Heroes Unchained at N3TWORK, and Anton Backman, Principal at Play Ventures. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/deconstructoroffun/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/deconstructoroffun/support

This was a BIG week for console and PC games. We talk about Diablo 4, Modern Warfare 2, Overwatch 2, Stormgate... We got our first take on all of them. We also discuss Summer Game Fest, Saudi Arabia's $1B investment into Embracer, and how to optimally spend a massive stack of cash in Diablo Immortal. As always, we kick off the episode with corrections. Keep the (anonymous) feedback coming and we'll keep correcting ourselves. Links: Questions and Feedback Sponsors: Google, ironSource, Xsolla, Recur Hosts: Eric Kress, Adam Telfer and Eric Seufert --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/deconstructoroffun/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/deconstructoroffun/support

A couple of months ago we covered BANDAI NAMCO's new studio in Barcelona assessing their 4-day work weeks, lack of hierarchy, and deadlines (you can read our analysis here). We concluded that it all sounded almost too good to succeed. Well, Massimo Caporale, who heads mobile publishing at the BANDAI NAMCO Mobile, heard our analysis and wanted to come on the podcast to elaborate more and share what they've learned thus far from building what many call the Supercell under the Barcelona sun. Kudos to Massimo for being open and taking the time to address our initial analysis. Host and Guest: Mishka Katkoff & Massimo Caporale Links: Careers at BANDAI NAMCO Mobile Questions and Feedback Sponsors: ironSource, Xsolla, Recur --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/deconstructoroffun/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/deconstructoroffun/support

Adam does a light dive on Diabo Immortal after playing it intensively since launch. Eric Kress breaks down the decline of the mobile games market by looking at the performance of top genres and titles. Eric Seufert analyzes Apple's update to SKAd Network. The crew also talks E3, Pokemon Go passing $6 billion in lifetime revenue, and Summer Game Fest with Geoff Keighlye. Links: Questions and Feedback Sponsors: Google, ironSource, Xsolla, Recur Hosts: Eric Kress, Adam Telfer, Eric Seufert and Laura Taranto --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/deconstructoroffun/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/deconstructoroffun/support

Though veteran game designer spacedog chooses to remain anonymous, trust us, you've played some of the hit free-to-play games she has contributed to. As one of the developers behind the upcoming blockchain game Void Runners, spacedog recently authored the whitepaper for the game and iterated on it in public with her discord community. In this interview, we discuss Void Runners, the considerations behind writing a whitepaper for your game, and what it's like to work on your game's design in public. This interview is hosted by Ethan Levy, who currently serves as Executive Producer of Legendary: Heroes Unchained at N3TWORK. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/deconstructoroffun/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/deconstructoroffun/support

The most comprehensive breakdown of the Battle Pass system in games. This analysis discusses best practices, biggest fumbles, and optimal ways to price and balance Battle Pass in your game. Host and Guest: Mishka Katkoff & Javier Barnes Links: Questions and Feedback Sponsors: Google, ironSource, Xsolla, Recur --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/deconstructoroffun/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/deconstructoroffun/support

This episode is all about headwinds. The crew discusses the global mobile gaming market, which is according to Data.ai set to hit $222 billion this year. Eric Kress dissects Sony's investor day. The crew also predicts Apex Mobile's success, marvels Diablo Immortal, and discusses Catalyst Black as an example of why MOBAs just don't work in the West. Links: Questions and Feedback Sponsors: Google, ironSource, Xsolla, Recur --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/deconstructoroffun/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/deconstructoroffun/support

Lately, there's been a lot of talk about Xbox building an advertising program and the implications this program may have on both business and players. We're joined by Dave Madden, President of PlayerWON, to discuss the best practices for in-game ads within PC and console games. Dave has plenty of insights to share as his company, PlayerWON, is the pioneer of in-game ads in the free-to-play console and PC games. Links: Dave Madden, PlayerWON, Deconstructor of Fun --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/deconstructoroffun/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/deconstructoroffun/support

Eric Kress dismantles the rumors of EA being for sale. Eric Seufert analyzes Snap's multiple lowered guidances. Laura Taranto looks into TikTok's push into gaming. Team also discusses recent two big mobile launches: APEX Legends from EA and Dislyte from Lilith. And what would be a TWIG episode without hearing the latest of Kress' son's basketball life... Links: Questions and Feedback Sponsors: Google, ironSource, Appsflyer, Xsolla, Recur --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/deconstructoroffun/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/deconstructoroffun/support

Before he joined L1 solution WAX as their Chief Gaming Officer, Michael Rubinelli had a long and accomplished career in gaming. Spanning companies including EA, THQ, Midway, Take Two, Disney, and Kixeye, Michael's career has taken him across many gaming platforms and business model transitions. In this interview, we talk about how WAX is the L1 solution purpose-built for gaming, the challenges of transitioning to blockchain gaming, the success WAX Studios has seen with Blockchain Brawlers as well as its role in game development and publishing. This interview is hosted by Ethan Levy, who currently serves as Executive Producer of Legendary: Heroes Unchained at N3TWORK. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/deconstructoroffun/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/deconstructoroffun/support

The $600M GAMES FUND ONE, a16z's inaugural fund dedicated to building the future of the games industry. A16Z has been investing in games for over a decade being the investor of the likes of Zynga and Oculus. We're joined by Jonathan Lai, General Partner at A16Z to discuss what makes GAMES FUND ONE stand out from the rest of the gaming and interactive media funds. Jonathan also breaks down what verticals the new fund is going after and how the fund evaluates founders. We also discuss the effect of the bear market on the games industry and the future of blockchain games. links: Jon Lai (@Tocelot) Deconstructor of Fun (email) --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/deconstructoroffun/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/deconstructoroffun/support

We discuss why Ubisoft shifts attention to mobile amidst declining sales. Kress provides a breakdown of the AppLovin quarterly review, where the company put on a show of the ages and got rewarded with a 35% growth in their stock price. We talk about Bethesda's delayed games and the implication of this. Adam breaks down why brain trust, which sounds so amazing on paper, rarely if ever works in real life. Links: Questions and Feedback Sponsors: Google, ironSource, Appsflyer, Xsolla, Recur --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/deconstructoroffun/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/deconstructoroffun/support

If you've been following crypto news over the past few weeks, you've undoubtedly seen plenty about the dramatic collapse of the Terra ecosystem against the backdrop of the onset of crypto winter. 30 days ago, $LUNA was at $81.45 and is now under $0.0002. $UST was at $1.00. and is now $0.09. Today we are joined by special guest Kenrick Drijkoningen, General Partner at Play Ventures and an early investor in Terra to explain the collapse of Terra, and how this collapse should influence the choice of chain for your web3 game project. Kenrick is joined in conversation by your regular hosts Ethan and Anton. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/deconstructoroffun/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/deconstructoroffun/support

Patrick Carney (aka. Chief Pat) is the founder and CEO of Tribe Gaming, an esports and influencer company for mobile games with over 100M monthly views on YouTube. Together with Pat, we talk about how to be successful with influencer marketing on YouTube. We discuss finding the right influencer for your game and how to get these influencers to talk about your game in an authentic way. Pat also analyzes the impact of IDFA on the demand for influencer marketing. Tribe Gaming works with the likes of Activision, Tencent, and Supercell. This episode is guaranteed to be full of tangible insights for publishers and developers of all sizes. ps: check out the Tribe Mobile (https://imgur.com/a/DDrKjT2) --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/deconstructoroffun/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/deconstructoroffun/support

We discuss the crash of crypto and how it affects blockchain gaming. Dive deep into Space Ape's development process and compare it to the one Wooga used to unsuccessfully follow before the Playtika acquisition. Kress explains why FIFA is the one to lose out after the breakup with EA. Links: Questions and Feedback The Slack Group Hosts: Mishka Katkoff, Eric Kress, Adam Telfer and Ethan Levy, Eric Seufert Sponsors: Google, ironSource, Appsflyer, Xsolla --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/deconstructoroffun/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/deconstructoroffun/support

The recent launch of Moonbirds is shaping up to be the best NFT drop of 2022 yielding up to $280M. In this episode, we dive into why it worked so well, as well as the lessons learned and actionable takeaways for gaming. The premium of Utility NFTs is growing rapidly, and we're witnessing the growth in real-time with innovative projects like Moonbirds that build upon previous successful projects. Aligning communities, creators, tokens, and value is how you onboard people to crypto and build tokenized communities. Hosts: N3TWORK Executive Producer Ethan Levy - Play Ventures Principal Anton Backman - Savage Games Studios CEO Michail Katkoff --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/deconstructoroffun/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/deconstructoroffun/support

We discuss the mixed reviews of APEX Mobile. Congratulate Bernard Kim on his latest baller move. Doom Warcraft mobile. In this episode Kress also ponders why NewZoo keeps triggering him. Seufert updates us on the latest anti-trust charges Apple is facing. Links: Questions and Feedback The Slack Group Hosts: Mishka Katkoff, Eric Kress, Adam Telfer and Ethan Levy, Eric Seufert Sponsors: Google, ironSource, Appsflyer, Xsolla --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/deconstructoroffun/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/deconstructoroffun/support

Shahaf started a company called ominously Web3 back in 2006. Since then he has been at the forefront of the adaptation of blockchain technology first within finance and now within games as the President of UnCaged Studios. In this episode, we discuss the reasons why blockchain and crypto broke into the mainstream last year. Why do investors remain bullish about blockchain gaming despite massive security hacks and lack of audience growth? As well as what is the most important part when assessing and predicting the success of a blockchain games company. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/deconstructoroffun/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/deconstructoroffun/support

Kress gets triggered by Newzoo's new report about the state of esports and live streaming. The team discusses ex-Riot and ex-Blizzard founding teams. Recap of why advertising in console games is not a good idea. Our take on Diablo Immportal coming to mobile and PC and analysis of why private equities are eying Ubisoft. Links: Questions and Feedback The Slack Group Hosts: Mishka Katkoff, Eric Kress, Adam Telfer and Ethan Levy, Eric Seufert Sponsors: Google, ironSource, Appsflyer, Xsolla --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/deconstructoroffun/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/deconstructoroffun/support

Chris Heatherly's long and accomplished career in the games industry spans toys, MMOs, mobile, free-to-play, and VR and includes work on some of the biggest brands in the world. He spent over 14 years at Disney where he worked on everything from leading smash-hit kid's MMO Club Penguin, to leading their mobile initiative, to leading their toys business. After Disney, he joined NBCU to launch their games business where he developed games using world-famous brands including Jurassic Park, followed by a tour of duty at mobile, free-to-play developer N3TWORK leading Funko Pop! Blitz. Now, Chris has red-pilled on crypto and joined NFT collectibles startup Recur as their Head of Gaming & Engagement. Having already launched bespoke collecting experiences NFTU and Star Trek: Continuum, Recur is set to launch plenty more branded experiences as well as expand into play-to-earn gaming over the course of 2022. In this interview, learn why Chris red-pilled, what drew him to Recur, and how his experiences across toys, games, and kid's MMOs influence his work building NFT experiences. This interview is hosted by Ethan Levy, who currently serves as Executive Producer of Legendary: Heroes Unchained at N3TWORK. --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/deconstructoroffun/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/deconstructoroffun/support

Heated take on the mobile market downturn. Discussion about Microsoft's move into the in-game ads business. What does a co-CEO mean for Huuuge games and why does the newest World of Warcraft expansion matters. Links: Questions and Feedback The Newsletter The Slack Group Hosts: Mishka Katkoff, Eric Kress, Adam Telfer and Ethan Levy, Eric Seufert Sponsors: Google, ironSource, Appsflyer, Xsolla --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/deconstructoroffun/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/deconstructoroffun/support

News: Meta's Horizon worlds monetization Sensor Tower: Q1 2022 mobile games spending dropped 7.1% to $21 billion Metaverse Articles (NFT Avatars, DOgs, and Epic + LEGO Metaverse) Check out: Avatar Platform for Cross-App Metaverse with Timmu Tõke, CEO of Ready Player Me, and Javier Barne's exquisite talk on game economies Links: Questions and Feedback The Newsletter The Slack Group Hosts: Mishka Katkoff, Eric Kress, Adam Telfer and Ethan Levy, Eric Seufert Sponsors: Google, ironSource, Appsflyer, Xsolla --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/deconstructoroffun/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/deconstructoroffun/support