Last week the co-directors of the F2P Campus, Raúl Herrero and Jon Beltrán de Heredia, attended the Ekin Breakfast on entrepreneurship in the world of videogames organized by Álava Emprende. Throughout the morning, attendees were able to learn firsthand about the opportunities and possibilities the industry offers.
A breakfast in which both directors shared some tips that have helped them over the years:
- One of the first things that people wanting to take their first steps in the industry should bear in mind is to learn from the mistakes that others have made before and try not to repeat them.
- Have a clear idea. It’s not going to ensure success, but if you don’t know where you’re going it will be difficult to get there.
- Resilience. Nobody said making videogames is easy, but that doesn’t mean it’s not worth it.
- Investment does not ensure success. Getting money to fund your videogame is not a success in itself; the goal is to get the game launched and for people to like it. Having money lengthens the runway, but you still have to take off.
- Make sure you have more than one life. Plan your resources so your game has more than one chance. These days there are many examples of games that don’t work upon launching but, with one or two updates, end up working.
- Innovate. The videogame market is saturated and getting players’ attention is not easy. It’s not enough now just to make a good game which is fun; you have to do something different.
- It’s also very important to manage expectations. Everyone wants their game to become the new Candy Crush, but that’s like saying you want to win the lottery. On the other hand, the fact that your game isn’t the new Fortnite doesn’t mean it’s a failure.
The event was also attended by old campus acquaintances such as Jose Luís Jurado from Hypeful, one of the teams that participated in the previous edition and who have recently moved to Vitoria-Gasteiz. “Our company is here because the institutions of Álava are really backing the videogame industry. Both from BIC Araba and with initiatives such as the F2P Campus” he said.