Podcast
GameMakers
Hosted by Joseph Kim · EN
The GameMakers podcast publishes current, entertaining, and in-depth discussions on F2P game development. Topics that we cover include the business of games, F2P monetization, liveops, game design, game development processes, team structure, and more.
14episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
The Ad Monetization Playbook: Fixing Leaky Revenue, Boosting CPMs, and Scaling Your Team with Kelly Kang
Oct 901:08:48Tap to summarizeWhy is your ad revenue flat even when your game's traffic is growing? Margins are getting squeezed by hidden fees, and old strategies of yelling at partners no longer move the needle. In this episode, we sit down with veteran ad monetization consultant Kelly Kang to get her modern playbook for building a resilient and profitable ad strategy from the ground up.Kelly Kang has optimized ad strategies for some of the biggest names in mobile gaming, including Big Fish Games, Aristocrat, and Glu Mobile. She provides a masterclass on auditing your current setup, choosing the right tech stack, and understanding the metrics that truly matter for long-term growth.In this episode, you will learn:The #1 reason your revenue margins are shrinking (and it's not what you think).A 4-point framework to audit your ad stack, from mediation to placements.Why you should track Ad Engagement and Impression Depth over ARPDAU and CPM.The most common (and costly) mistakes studios make when launching and operating ads.Actionable "quick wins" that can immediately boost performance.How to structure and scale your ad monetization team based on revenue, not workload.Episode Chapters (Timestamps):(00:00:26) The Biggest Pain Point: Squeezed Margins & Hidden Fees(00:04:21) The Day-One Audit: A 4-Point Framework(00:07:37) Strategy: Header Bidding vs. Waterfall(00:14:25) The Metrics That Actually Matter (Beyond ARPDAU)(00:17:54) Ad Placement and Format Strategy(00:27:35) Launching a New Game: A Step-by-Step Plan(00:38:29) How to Structure and Scale Your Admon Team(00:49:03) Common Mistakes That Kill Revenue and LTV(00:55:49) Quick Wins to Boost Ad Revenue(01:04:08) The Future of Ad Monetization & AIFollow Us:For more expert insights, subscribe to the Gamemakers newsletter: https://www.gamemakers.com/Connect with our Guest:To learn more about Kelly Kang and her work, visit Game Plan Advisor: https://www.gameplanadvisor.com
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MAG: Inside EA’s $55B LBO, Lessons from Grow A Garden, and the Intent→Action Gap ("Alien's Eye View")
Oct 600:57:11Tap to summarizeThis week, we're breaking down the end of an era: the historic $55 billion acquisition of Electronic Arts. Go inside the deal to hear the likely banker's pitch that sold EA's board and what this massive leveraged buyout means for the future of the games industry.Then, we shift from titans to upstarts to uncover the secrets behind Grow a Garden, the Roblox game from a 16-year-old developer that quietly became the biggest in the world with over 22 million concurrent players. Learn how reviving and adapting a classic formula can lead to massive success on new platforms.Finally, we share a powerful mental model called the "Alien's Eye View"—a simple framework to expose the gap between your team's intentions and its actions, helping you align your goals and maximize development velocity. Tune in for critical insights into the business and craft of making games.
Transcribe →Rise of the White Tiger | Life, Entrepreneurship, and Rise of India & Opportunity ft. Mukul Deora
Jul 24, 2023Tap to summarizeMukul Deora is a modern-day Renaissance man. He has found success in business, music, movies (as the producer for The White Tiger), and today he's tackling tech entrepreneurship in social media. The White Tiger movie encapsulates many of my personal beliefs and aspirations of what people are capable of if they change their mindset and are given the opportunity. In this discussion with Mukul, we discuss: #1. Living a life well-lived, #2. Mukul's journey and how he's found success in diverse areas, and #3. the future of opportunity for India. Definitely check out this conversation and let us know what you think! OUTLINE: 0:00 Intro 0:55 What does it mean to live a life well lived? 1:20 The concept of the rooster coop 2:30 JK’s interpretation of a life well lived: an interesting story and achieving potential/meaning 4:37 The story that we tell ourselves 5:49 Interpreting the rooster coop 8:10 Learn about yourself by doing 10:10 How does Mukul value his life? 11:52 Mukul’s religious views 13:40 Not living with regret 15:10 How has Mukul been successful in many different industries 22:55 Summarizing Mukul’s entrepreneurial lessons 26:35 Being an “unreasonable man” and persisting in making The White Tiger movie 32:00 Being a dreamer that persists and succeeds vs. just dreaming 38:15 The Rise of The White Tiger: The future of opportunity in India 40:45 Opportunity lies with the yellow skin man and the brown skin man 46:25 Rich men are born with opportunities they can waste 52:10 JK’s thesis behind India based on Nvidia’s success 👇 EPISODE LINKS: - Mukul Deora on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mukul-deora-8234bbb6/ SUBSCRIBE TO GAMEMAKERS: - Spotify Podcast: https://spoti.fi/3Cpyq7i - Newsletter: https://gamemakers.substack.com/ 😃 —CONNECT WITH ME! — • MY INSTAGRAM → @jokim1 • TWITTER → @jokim1 • LINKEDIN → https://www.linkedin.com/in/jokim/ — POPULAR CONTENT — 🤑 Economy of the Metaverse with Tim Sweeney https://youtu.be/h6ClJxjuRvw ℹ️ How to Build the Amazon of Game Companies https://youtu.be/bkd2TOpKt4I 🔮 Gaming Trends | A Look Ahead at 2021 https://youtu.be/NejFzHtpiZI 🖥️ The Future of PC Gaming https://youtu.be/_QT7O3Wxi2s 🔴 Games Industry M&A https://youtu.be/65nyPk6WNrs 🔴 Netcode for Multiplayer Games https://youtu.be/tHq3PzmjhLw 🔴 IDFA Deprecation Product Impact https://youtu.be/Ojec4wGKpso 🔴 Trip Hawkins on the New High Score https://youtu.be/5egTSQ6AiRA 🔴 LiveOps F2P Best Practices https://youtu.be/tmzqqnYbjNY
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Team vs. Family DEBATE: We Are "Not a Family" 🖕
Jul 20, 2021Tap to summarizeTobi Lutke and Brian Armstrong re-popularized the notion of companies as described as "families" or "high performance sports teams." This impacts 1. employee performance expectations, 2. how to deal with discussions of social issues at the workplace, and 3. dissociating personal vs. professional lives. Let's have a nuanced discussion with a strong cross-section of key people from the games industry. Speakers: - Eden Chen, CEO Pragma.gg: - Drew Levin, Lead PM Zynga - Chong Ahn, Head of PM EA - Ken Landen, Sr. PM Blizzard Relevant Links - Initial Netflix Culture document (this seems to be the original popularization of the team-focus theme) - Tobi Lutke: We are not a family - Brian Armstrong: Mission focused company
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