Session Descriptions
Read detailed description for all sessions at Reboot Develop Blue 2024
Below you can find a short discription for all the talks happening at Reboot Develop Blue 2024. To find out more about each speaker, visit the speaker page!
Making meaningful connections (That lasts)
Pavol Buday / Business Development Manager, PixelAnt Games
Wednesday, 11:30 / AMD Stage
Do you believe, I am here because I have met a stranger on a pirate ship? We are making connections all our life. And I want to show you how important connections are, how they open doors, help you grow and how lead to opportunities through a personal story.
TAGS: Business
Killing The Games Industry 2024
Ste Curran / Game designer, Creative director
Monday, 16:00 / i3D.net Stage
It’s 2024. The industry’s body bleeds out on a floor, and someone, somewhere, knows who did this. Ste Curran plays true detective in a murder mystery taking in 100 suspects and just as many murder weapons. This is a Reboot ritual, a ceremony of catharsis remixed with 20 new villains for 2024. No spoilers, but if you were there last year you’ll know this: you’re not that innocent.
TAGS: Game design, Business, Revenge
Realizing the ambitions of The Talos Principle 2
Tomislav Božić, Goran Adrinek / Technical Content Designer, Croteam; Lead programmer, Croteam
Tuesday, 16:00 / i3D.net Stage
Post mortem talk presenting solutions to the technical, art and design challenges encountered during the development of The Talos Principle 2 as the first project in Unreal Engine for the experienced team coming from an in-house engine.
TAGS: Tech/Engineering, Art
SpecialEffect: Game On For Everyone!
Tom Donegan / COO, SpecialEffect
Tuesday, 12:30 / Raw Fury Stage
SpecialEffect’s mission is to make the world of videogames a more accessible place for people with physical disabilities. Tom will explain how this UK charity is having a global impact, by collaborating with the games industry and creating innvovative resources, like the SpecialEffect DevKit.
TAGS: Charity Partner – accessibility in videogames
The Ten Commandments for a Compelling Creative Pitch
David Valjalo / Creative Director, Studio Partnerships, Tencent Games
Monday, 12:30 / i3D.net Stage
As a creative consultant and director David Valjalo has seen hundreds of game pitches succeed and fail. At Reboot 2024 he will present Ten Commandments for a compelling pitch.
TAGS: Game design, Art
Into The Radius. Analytics rules!
Sergei Kharchenko / Evangelist, CM Games
Tuesday, 17:30 / Amber Stage
I will share the CM Games analytics approach to developing our postapocalyptic realistic VR shooter. Real cases inspired by communication with influencers, players, and the analytics department.
TAGS: Game design, Business, Marketing/PR
Level Up Your Sales: Mastering Store Pages
Sebastien Pellicano, Gregoire Charlier / Head of International Sales, NACON; Digital Sales Manager, NACON
Monday, 16:00 / Raw Fury Stage
All games deserve the best Store Pages! During this session, we will share our key learnings and best practices to increase your sales. Discover how to make the most effective Store Pages for PlayStation, Xbox, Nintendo, Steam and beyond. The complete guide to creating Store Pages that constantly attract customers, earn Wishlists, and sell more units through all your game lifecycle.
TAGS: Business
Games Have Crashed – Let’s Reboot!
Jörg Tittel / Director, Publisher, RapidEyeMovers
Tuesday, 18:45 / i3D.net Stage
The game industry is in a similar spot as the movie studios in the 60’s – and it’s not all doom and gloom. The studios’ collapse led to Jaws, The Godfather and Star Wars. Games, too, can and are about to evolve and reach new and bigger audiences. The waves are crashing down – so let’s surf!
TAGS: Game design, Business, Tech/Engineering, Art, Audio, Legal, Marketing/PR, Let’s reboot the whole damn thing.
The Challenge of Cultural Representation in Games
Kate Edwards / CEO, Co-Founder, Geogrify/SetJetters
Monday, 16:00 / AMD Stage
Game creators are inspired by real-world experiences to build their worlds, but this can lead to missteps, like cultural appropriation. Culturalization expert Kate Edwards will discuss the challenges and the key tool of “allegorical distance” to help you navigate culture in world-building.
TAGS: Game design, Art
How to Survive in Crisis: 15 Lessons from Ukrainian Gaming Companies
Elena Lobova / Co-Founder, CBDO, GDBAY
Tuesday, 16:00 / Xsolla Stage
In a time when the industry faces challenges, who better to learn crisis management from than Ukrainians? Elena will share stories and lessons of her industry peers navigating hardships, dealing with restrictions, showing how to overcome crisis with creativity and strength.
TAGS: Business
Developing for Apple Vision Pro using Unity
Antonia Forster / Senior XR Technical Specialist, Unity
Wednesday, 11:30 / Xsolla Stage
In this session, we will explore how to use Unity’s tools and workflows to develop spatial games and applications for visionOS. We will cover the fundamental concepts and development pathways you need to know, rendering and input considerations, the packages and templates you can use to get started, and the unique platform features you can leverage to build or port content to the Apple Vision Pro.
TAGS: Tech/Engineering, XR
We don’t need your stupid money. We need your smart money.
Błażej Żywiczyński / CEO, Fairy Mount Games
Tuesday, 17:30 / Raw Fury Stage
A seasoned developer’s take on how to invest in games to make more money, ship better games and not destroy the industry in the process.
TAGS: Business
Cult of the Twitch: How ‘Cult of the Lamb’ Used Twitch Integration to Reach a Massive Audience
Thomas Tuts, Harrison Gibbins / Founder, Streaming Toolsmith; Programmer, Massive Monster
Tuesday, 15:00 / Xsolla Stage
Cult of the Lamb was one of the biggest independent games of 2022, selling over 1 million copies in the first week and reaching over 140 thousand concurrent viewers on Twitch on the day of release. Was Cult of the Lamb having Twitch Integration a major part of its success?
TAGS: Game design, Tech/Engineering,Marketing/PR
Modern Publishing: The Rise of the Renaissance Dev
Gordon Van Dyke / CPO, Co-Founder, Raw Fury
Monday, 15:00 / AMD Stage
Explore how Raw Fury has structured our publishing organization to better support the era of the renaissance developers.
TAGS: Business, Indie Publishing
Embracing Esports for Small to Medium-Sized Studios
Lars Malcharek / International Community Team Lead, GIANTS Software
Tuesday, 12:30 / AMD Stage
Join us for an insightful exploration into the world of esports integration. Discover how to unlock the potential of esports to boost both game development and marketing strategies. We’ll delve into the power of esports as a marketing tool, sharing real success stories and strategies for successful integration. Learn to navigate technical challenges and overcome common hurdles, all while understanding the financial considerations. This talk is your guide to harnessing esports to enhance engagement, brand visibility, and revenue growth.
TAGS: Marketing, PR
PC & Console Gaming campaigns as case studies – how to win big on TikTok?
Paweł Wróbel / Senior Brand Partnership Manager, TikTok
Tuesday, 15:00 / i3D.net Stage
This session will provide you with examples of TikTok campaigns from the PC & Console gaming. By looking at some of the exciting executions such as Branded Mission, Brand Lift Study or Interactive Add-Ons usage, I’ll be explaining how to win big on our platform thanks to our unique product offering.
TAGS: Business, Marketing/PR
Welcome to the annual Brutally Honest AMA
Jonas Antonsson / Reality Distortionist, Raw Fury
Tuesday, 12:30 / Amber Stage
A Brutally Honest AMA with the founder and CEO of Raw Fury. Ask any question and get an honest answer… as long as it doesn’t break any confidentiality agreements.
TAGS: Business
Can Digital Play Promote Wellbeing for Children? The RITEC-8 framework, by UNICEF & LEGO
Shuli Gilutz/ Programme Officer Child Rights & Digital Business, UNICEF
Tuesday, 15:00 / GD Ent. Stage
Responsible innovation in Technology for children is a 4-year project by UNICEF and the LEGO group, supported by the LEGO foundation, aimed to learn from children all over the world about their wellbeing in digital play, and create a framework that informs industry and policy makers on how to design for it. We’ll discuss research with kids worldwide about their gaming experiences, the RITEC-8 framework, and the development of the Design Guide for Business we are currently working on, which is directed at the gaming industry.
TAGS: Game design, Children’s gaming
Narrative Design: In-house vs Outsourcing
Tara Đorić / Live Ops Manager, Tender Troupe
Monday, 12:30 / AMD Stage
An efficiency pipeline for working on narrative-rich games. Balancing quality and preventing burnout. An outsourcer onboarding process with minimal documentation. The woes of AI writing tools and the joys of being perpetually inspired.
TAGS: Game design, Narrative
Does the Games Industry Still Hate Women? Over a Decade Since Tropes vs Women in Video Games
Anita Sarkeesian / Consultant and public speaker
Wednesday, 10:00 / i3D.net Stage
It’s been over ten years since the announcement of the industry-shaking Tropes vs Women in Video Games web series, exploring women’s representation in gaming. After more than 14 million views, critical acclaim, awards, and endless abuse and harassment, what did it all mean? In this talk, creator and host Anita Sarkeesian will look back on the project, the process, and the impact it had on the games industry. Looking at the changes that have happened in the intervening years and looking forward to the changes that still need to be made, she aims to answer the very loaded question, “Where do we go from here?”.
TAGS: Diversity & Inclusion
Fully dynamic character controller
Petr Soviš / Tech Director, PixelAnt Games Czech
Tuesday, 16:00 / AMD Stage
In-depth and interactive talk about implementing fully dynamic 1st/3rd person character controller with different physics engines, general movement on the terrain, climbing, jumping, wall-runs, slides, dragging, special abilities and other physics interactions. This talk is not intended only for programmers but also for designers where we’ll discuss different scenarios and constraints and when to apply what movement style and how to use environment to enhance player movements.
TAGS: Game design, Tech/Engineering
Music Systems and Live Recording: The Lamplighters League
Jon Everist / Composer
Wednesday 12:30 / AMD Stage
Jon Everist, Game Audio Network Guild award winning and ASCAP nominated composer for BATTLETECH, Shadowrun, The Solitaire Conspiracy will dive deep into a brand new IP from longtime collaborator Harebrained Schemes, recorded at Abbey Road studios and implemented via Wwise, Jon will showcase the steps taken to implement and execute a live recorded project on both large and small scales. Jon will show many videos from recording sessions and showcase the Wwise project for how these recordings were used in the game.
TAGS: Audio
Creating memorable moments in video games
Fawzi Mesmar / Vice President, Global Creative, Ubisoft
Tuesday, 11:30 / AMD Stage
In this talk i’ll be going through the psychology of how players and people generally recall experiences and form memories. Then identifying what makes moments memorable and meaningful. By conducting that analysis, I’ll go through methods to be able to deliberately be able to create moments that players will resonate with for a long time.
TAGS: Game design, Art
Lunchtime Wake-Up!
Anna-Carolin Weber / Artistic Director, VR DANCE CLUB
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, 13:30 / Game Room
Join this daily 60min session during lunch-time to playfully refresh together with your fellow conference peers. Media Artist and Choreographer Anna-Carolin will introduce you to a range of creative methods to wake-up your body and mind: Let´s meet without talking! Let’s draw without watching! Let’s move without seeing! Why? Because it’s great fun to experience creative encounters. And it gives you a fresh mindset for the rest of the conference day.
TAGS: Art, Creative Methods, Team-Building, Awareness
Building Worlds: Managing the Creative Process
Brian Fargo / Studio Head, InXile Entertainment
Tuesday, 10:00 / i3D.net Stage
Explore the ideology used to get wonderfully creative people in sync for the complex task of creating RPG worlds and video games in general.
TAGS: Game design, Creative Management
Survive to ’25 (And Beyond)
Martijn van Zwieten / Videogame Business Consultant
Monday, 11:30 / AMD Stage
You’ve heard the slogan by now: “Survive to ’25”. But how do you actually do this? In this talk we’ll look briefly at how we got to this point, and discuss practical steps every studio can take to optimize their chances of survival.
TAGS: Business
Love, Death & Marketing
Huei Chan / Co-Founder, Pumpkin VR
Monday, 17:30 / AMD Stage
Marketing is more than just crafting strategies and optimizing campaigns; it’s a fusion of art and business tailored to diverse B2B and B2C audiences. However, within this dynamic landscape, questions arise about its role in product development and responsibility for sales outcomes. In the emerging market(s), where vision is increasingly pivotal, repositioning marketing’s priority has never been more important.
TAGS: Business, Marketing/PR
Allegorical Distance: The Real Challenge of Cultural Representation in Games
Kate Edwards / CEO, Co-Founder, Geogrify, SetJetters
Monday, 16:00 / AMD Stage
This talk addresses the critical world-building process of generating in-game cultures – whether fictional or ones based on real-world. Most importantly, the expert speaker introduces and addresses the concept of “allegorical distance” as a key tool to help game creators in this process.
TAGS: Game design, Art
Strategic decisions of an independent studio
Ilari Kuittinen / Co-Founder, Studio Head, Housemarque
Monday, 16:00 / Xsolla Stage
During the life-cycle of a game studio, there comes a time when the company faces a crossroad. The market has changed, the current direction seems to lead to a dead end, and money is running out. It’s time for strategic decisions!
TAGS: Business
Sailing Stormy Waters
Adrian Goersch / Co-Founder & CEO, Black Forest Games
Wednesday, 12:30 / i3D.net Stage
The team of Black Forest Games is in the industry for 30 years. From the early days as Spellbound Entertainment, to the founding of Black Forest Games, to the acquisition by THQ Nordic/Embracer, to today, the multinational team has seen many highs and lows. And once again, times are challenging. Restructuring at Embracer, projects with external IP owners, ever-changing winds. How have we prepared the team for this, and how do we keep the ship on course and the crew motivated? Get some insights.
TAGS: HR
From UI-driven development to one of the most successful Netflix game launches
Marta Kunić / Senior Game Developer, Nanobit
Tuesday, 12:30 / Xsolla Stage
We’ll discuss improvements in Nanobit’s game development process. Topics include testing automation, the use of GDDs for better planning, and improvements in our codebase. Learn about our journey to make games better through continuous innovation.
TAGS: Tech/Engineering
From Prototype to a Game
Jakob Bambič / Senior Software Engineer, Outfit7
Tuesday, 11:30 / Xsolla Stage
This talk will guide you through the game development process, from prototype to the final product. Jakob from Outfit7, creators of Talking Tom and Friends Franchise, will explore every stage, from initial idea generation to the finished game, highlighting key milestones along the way. By the end, you’ll have a clear roadmap of essential milestones to navigate your game production journey effectively.
TAGS: Game design, Tech/Engineering
Navigating Comedy in Marketing
Josie Fletcher / Head of Marketing, Massive Monster
Wednesday, 12:30 / GD Ent. Stage
Want to be a viral sensation? Break the internet? Want your game to have multiple articles written about it? Well, I may not be able to help you do that. But I sure can tell you how I did it.
TAGS: Marketing/PR
Point and Click Decline: Antiquated Interface, or Outdated User Experience?
Charles Cecil / Founder, CEO, Revolution Software
Monday, 11:30 / i3D.net Stage
Charles will talk about his approach to enhancing Revolution’s 1996 classic adventure, Broken Sword – Shadow of the Templars, including addressing inherent weaknesses in the classical point and click interface which, he will argue, needs to be modernised.
TAGS: Game design, Business
Word of Tanks – A Frontline Map Production
Gerald Perndonner / Level Artist, Bongfish
Monday, 15:00 / Xsolla Stage
A detailed look behind the scenes of a map production for the acknowledged multiplayer online game “World of Tanks”. This talk focuses exclusively on the map production life cycle of the new “Frontline” map called “Fata Morgana” from an Art Owner perspective: highlighting key steps from start to end, pointing out challenges such as working with a big team on a huge map and concluding the talk with a retrospective view after a successful release of the map in 2023.
TAGS: Art, Map Production
The Game Producer’s Phrasebook: 10 handy sentences and how to use them.
Giulia Zamboni / Production Director, Stormind Games
Wednesday, 12:30 / Xsolla Stage
Being a Game Producer is also a matter of mindset, and experience will teach you a lot on the best ways to approach specific circumstances, collect data, handle and communicate them to different kind of interlocutors, trying to maintain as much clarity as possible and to make things looking… as they should look in that particular situation.
TAGS: Business, Production
Twitch for Game Developers
Johanna Pirker / Lab Director, Game Lab Graz
Tuesday, 15:00 / Raw Fury Stage
In this talk, we discuss the role of Twitch for game develoeprs. She provides insights into how developers can use the platform to engage with audiences, showcase gameplay, and integrate feedback to enhance game design. She presents strategies about collaborating with streamers and leveraging interactive features to maximize player involvement and community growth.
TAGS: Game design, Business, Tech/Engineering, Marketing/PR
Prototype Funding
John Graham / Founder, Elbow Grease Games
Tuesday, 11:30 / GD Ent. Stage
Prototype Funding largely doesn’t exist in the gaming industry. John Graham, (formerly COO and cofounder of Humble Bundle) wants to change this and is coming out of stealth mode at Reboot to announcing Elbow Grease Games (EGG) and EGG’s new Prototype Funding business model.
TAGS: Game design, Business
Mastering Your Game Dev Career in Crisis: The list of bullets and how to dodge them
Adriana Tanasković / Game Marketing Producer, Grindstone.sk
Tuesday, 17:30 / Xsolla Stage
How can you develop, enhance, and grow your career amidst the challenges of a global crisis in the game dev industry? Do professionals and companies need to remain stagnant until the storm passes, or is action necessary? Crises are chances.
TAGS: Business, Marketing/PR, Career development
Why your single player game needs a back end
Ed Smith / Sales Director, AccelByte
Wednesday, 15:00 / i3D.net Stage
A single player game, to many, also means “a game which is not online”. However the lines are getting quite blurry these days. There are quite a few good reasons to have your single player game have an online component, even if it exists under the hood and out of sight of your players. In this session we will dig into those reasons.
TAGS: Business, Tech/Engineering
Third Time’s a Charm – How a success mindset will change your life
Christofer Sundberg / Founder and COO, Liquid Swords
Monday, 10:00 / i3D.net Stage
Success is possible for anyone and everyone. It’s not a byproduct of luck or circumstance. I’ll share my story of three decades of games and how every challenge will make you stronger and better. It’s all about your mindset.
TAGS: Game design, Business, Inspiration
Four Pillars of Scaling a F2P Game
Teemu Haila / Co-Founder, Metaplay
Monday, 11:30 / Amber Stage
We are all here to make great games for the biggest audiences. Introducing the four pillars of scaling: a framework for thinking about the challenges in scaling a game and how to tackle them in your project before things get out of hand.
TAGS: Tech/Engineering, Game production, Studio strategy
DIY Gameplay Analytics for Indie Developers
Nikola Šobajić / Programmer, SuperGiant Games
Tuesday, 16:00 / Raw Fury Stage
The first step in the process of gameplay balancing is to gather relevant data on classes, weapons, enemies… Lets talk about one easy to implement way to get this gathering process set up in a small team.
TAGS: Game design, Tech/Engineering
What publishers should do for you – but maybe aren’t. A grab bag of data-driven insights to help sell more games.
Tom Kaczmarczyk / Co-Founder, IndieBI
Wednesday, 16:00 / Xsolla Stage
IndieBI’s models show that even the most prestigious publishers routinely miss out on 30%+ of their games’ potential revenue due to simple inefficiencies in pricing and discounting. Join this session for a quick crash-course on what to ask from your a publisher and how to publish games effectively.
TAGS: Business, Marketing/PR
The Future of Multiplayer Game Hosting
Rod Stafford / Senior Client Partner, Unity
Wednesday, 15:00 / AMD Stage
For many people, the social dimension of gaming is a must, and studios are responding to this demand. In 2023, mobile-only games with multiplayer features had 40.2% more monthly active users (MAU) than single-player games, and multiplayer gaming revenue grew by $2.3B – that’s a 10% lift overall. Our talk will explore the evolution of technology and hosting approaches, and identify pragmatic solutions for all scales of game.
TAGS: Business, Tech/Engineering
What’s next for Apple’s and Google’s mobile platform duopoly?
Jari-Pekka Kaleva / Managing Director, EGDF
Tuesday, 16:00 / GD Ent. Stage
The European Union is forcing Apple and Google to open their mobile distribution channels in the EU to third-party application stores and payment service providers. How are Apple and Google planning to implement new EU rules, and what new challenges and opportunities do they bring for game developer studios and publishers?
TAGS: Business
Countering Toxicity in Games at Scale
Micaela Hays / Senior Client Partner, Unity
Monday, 15:00 / i3D.net Stage
Discover why nurturing robust player communities is vital in today’s dynamic gaming sphere. Join our conversation to grasp the importance of prioritizing community well-being for multiplayer game developers, and leave with tools that enable success.
TAGS: Tech/Engineering, Community Safety
Decoding the 2024 Game Publishing Shift: Navigating the Transformation of AA and Beyond
Vladimir Geršl / Founder, Cyber Sail Consulting
Tuesday, 11:30 / Amber Stage
Explore the evolving landscape of game publishing from indie to AA+ in 2024. Leveraging insights from nearly 100 publishers, this presentation delves into the overarching market shifts and identifies key challenges and trends across all segments. Join us to understand the current dynamics and anticipate future directions in game publishing.
TAGS: Business
XR and the Future of Gaming: Finding Emergent Success
Ashley Blake / COO, Andromeda Entertainment
Tuesday, 16:00 / Amber Stage
As the XR landscape continues to evolve, so does our understanding of success. This panel brings together unique perspectives from across the industry, each shedding light on different facets of achievement in a world of rapid innovation. Expect insights from a major platform representative on navigating the market, a publisher’s take on adaptive strategies for diverse environments, and developer insights on the creative and funding challenges. Together, they’ll explore and redefine success in the fluid and exciting world of XR and gaming.
TAGS: Business, Tech/Engineering
Company Growth & Investment Strategy
Pontus Mähler / Chief Strategy Officer, Global Top Round
Monday, 12:30 / Raw Fury Stage
This talk will provide a comprehensive overview of company growth and investment strategy. It will cover the basics of getting started, including market research and defining your business plan. The speaker will also discuss how to create a compelling pitch deck to attract investors and the importance of being transparent with potential investors. Additionally, the talk will cover the importance of finding a co-founder or partner who has expertise in business development, as well as the different types of investments available, such as equity and debt. The speaker will also touch on the significance of a cap table, which is a record of a company’s equity ownership and investment history, and how to use it to track equity distribution and ownership. By the end of the talk, attendees will have a better understanding of company growth and investment strategy, including how to attract and secure funding, and the steps necessary to grow and scale a successful business.
TAGS: Business, Legal, Marketing/PR,
The Tuning of The Game
Bjørn Jacobsen / Founder, Cujo Sound
Monday, 15:00 / Raw Fury Stage
Understand the communicative process behind game design and audio design and their combined areas – Have your aesthetics thought out and plan ahead creatively to avoid bothering your players during their valuable play time.
TAGS: Audio
Utility AI
Nedim Halilović / Lead Gameplay Programer, Mad Head Games
Monday, 15:00 / GD Ent. Stage
An introduction to Utility AI, a score-based AI system different than conventional behaviour trees. Learn what it is, how to create one, what its pros and cons are and what the major differences between it and behaviour trees are.
TAGS: Game design, Tech/Engineering
Pax Dei – The Game of a Lifetime
Saku Lehtinen / Creative Director, Co-founder, Mainframe Industries
Wednesday, 16:00 / Raw Fury Stage
Saku Lehtinen speaks about Pax Dei, a game by Mainframe Industries set to reimagine an MMORPG for this decade. It is a beautiful social sandbox designed with human interaction at its core, entering early access later this year. The talk focuses on art direction, game design, team building, and the journey so far. It is an ambitious game that the developers have trained all their professional careers to make and to be enjoyed for decades by the players — the game of a lifetime.
TAGS: Game Design, Art