IGDA Finland Seminars + December Gathering with InMobi: The Aftermath

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This year was wrapped up in our December gathering last week. Not only did we have traditional Christmas caps for everyone, provided by our sponsor InMobi, but a seminar to kick off the evening and a demo corner featuring local devs as well. What a night! The first presentation was by Jami Laes, CEO and co-founder of Futureplay Games. Instead of the traditional free-to-play monetization model with IAP, his company has opted for a different approach: view-to-play. Laes showed us why video ads are a more profitable option – with few companies using this opportunity right now.

Continuing the theme, Mitchell Smallman from Next Games gave us some insight as to why ads have monetized remarkably well with Compass Point West. He listed some key points they had learned from other successful games on the market as well as the things they had done differently.

Seminar slides available for download here:

After the seminar it was time to gear up for the party. The revival of demo corner was a huge success, with eleven teams and developers showing off their games to peers.

Thank you for another great gathering – happy holidays and see you in January!

Photos by Daniel Schildt.

IGDA Finland Seminars + December Gathering with InMobi

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It’s pre-Christmas party season, folks! And we know it wouldn’t be the same without IGDA Finland December gathering, so worry not: ‘tis the time to get festive, end the fall season in style and prepare for a well-earned rest over the holidays.

This year’s pre-Christmas celebration is sponsored by InMobi, a global mobile advertising platform that reaches over 1 billion mobile devices every month. InMobi recently launched Miip, their user first discovery platform. Because users come first to them and they obsess about delivering the right user experience, we’re confident you’ll not be disappointed by the special treats and speeches they have prepared for the event. And not only are you in for epic fun times, there is also a seminar before the party.

The seminar this time is all about strategies for monetizing with ads and how to implement ads in a non-intrusive way. Our speakers come from Futureplay and Next Games, both studios that have succeeded in pulling off this “impossible” feat.

After all the special events this season and hopping all over Helsinki we’re also finally ready to announce our new gathering venue: IGDA Finland will be settling in at Maxine. Judging by the general feedback after our last invasion to this venue, we think quite many of you will approve of this.

Besides the seminar and party goodies, we have yet another special little something planned for the event: devs will have a chance to showcase their games during the evening. Read more here and sign up if you want your chance in the spotlight!

So prepare your party gear and join us on Dec 8 – it’ll be a blast!

IGDA Finland Seminars presents: Ad Monetization Strategies, Sponsored by InMobi
Time: 8.12.2015 at 17:30 – 18:30
Place: Maxine, Urho Kekkosen katu 1 A, 6th floor, 00100 Helsinki

- Jami Laes (Futureplay): View To Play Games - The Next $100B Market - Mitchell Smallman (Next Games): Rewarded Video Ads in Midcore Mobile: Blazing Trails Where We Were Told Not To Tread

IGDA Finland December Gathering with InMobi
Time: 8.12.2015 at 19:00
Place: Maxine, Urho Kekkosen katu 1 A, 6th floor, 00100 Helsinki

Please note that you need to be at least 18 years old to attend. The cloakroom service is offered free of charge.

Seminar agenda

Jami Laes was previously in charge of Angry Birds and everything else in games as the Executive Vice-President of Games at Rovio Entertainment. He has been leading global game studios at EA, Playfish and Digital Chocolate over the past 10 years. Laes first started in mobile games in 2000 as a game designer at Riot-E and his first games he developed on his Amiga 500 in 1988. He is currently the CEO and co-founder of Futureplay Games.

View To Play Games - The Next $100B Market The mobile ads market is estimated to top $100B in 2016. And no developers are focused on it. While everyone is still staring at the TOP-grossing chart, Futureplay Games is building a new generation of View-to-Play games. Jami will talk about Free-to-Play & View-to-Play and how in their debut game Farm Away! they have successfully leveraged ads in a rewarding, fun and non-intrusive way that make our games more fun, faster and cheaper for the players to play and the players love it.

Mitchell Smallman is a Senior Product Manager at Next Games. A six year Free to Play veteran (yes, including MySpace) has worked as Story Writer, Game Designer, Consultant, Pro Wrestling Referee and Product Manager throughout his career. He is a passionate advocate of free to play and casual gaming.

Rewarded Video Ads in Midcore Mobile: Blazing Trails Where We Were Told Not To Tread Rewarded ads have not been widely used as a central feature in mid-core titles due to fears of effecting IAP conversion and audience engagement. Mitchell will share lessons learned from Next Games' mid-core title Compass Point: West, along with practical examples from other developers. He will include how to tie rewarded ads into your core gameplay mechanic in a meaningful way, how rewarded ads can be regarded as a feature instead of an interruption, A/B testing to get the right value for advertisers vs IAP spending, balancing a game economy with heavy ad value, and analyzing player behavior to understand ad watching players.