In this episode of IndieGameBusiness, we’re joined by April Stallings, Charitable Gaming Program Manager at Make-A-Wish International. April shares how the power of games is helping grant life-changing wishes for children battling critical illnesses around the world.
Founded in 1980, Make-A-Wish has granted more than 615,000 wishes in nearly 50 countries. Every 25 seconds a child is diagnosed with a critical illness, and a wish provides hope, joy, and resilience—helping kids face their toughest battles.
Gaming is often a vital lifeline for wish children, keeping them connected to friends and family while offering distraction and relief during hospital stays. With gaming-related wishes growing, Make-A-Wish is launching the Infinite Wishes program to give the games industry a unique way to support children when they need it most.
Follow Make-A-Wish International and April Stallings:
X: https://x.com/MakeAWishIntl
LinkedIn (April Stallings): https://www.linkedin.com/in/aprilstallings/
Facebook: https://facebook.com/makeawishintl
Instagram: https://instagram.com/makeawishintl
#IndieGameBusiness #MakeAWish #GamingForGood #GameIndustry #Charity
In this episode of IndieGameBusiness, we’re joined by Brad Hendricks, Founder and CEO of Blind Squirrel Games. Brad shares why globally distributed development is the foundation for scalability, sustainability, and long-term success in today’s turbulent industry.
We’ll discuss how Blind Squirrel positioned itself to thrive during industry shifts, how distributed development helps prevent burnout, and how they balance client work with original IP creation. Brad also explains the challenges of unifying studio culture across regions like New Zealand and Colombia while celebrating each location’s unique strengths.
With 15 years of experience, Brad brings actionable insights for both indies and large studios looking to adapt, scale, and sustain creative excellence.
Follow Brad Hendricks:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bradhendricks/
#IndieGameBusiness #GameDevelopment #BlindSquirrelGames #DistributedDevelopment #GameIndustry
Join attorney and game developer Veda Cruz for an interactive session where legal pitfalls take center stage—in bingo form! Each square represents a sketchy but all-too-common scenario that devs run into, like forgotten contracts, fuzzy ownership, or fan content gone rogue. As we play through the card, you’ll learn how to spot these legal traps early and handle them like a pro. Whether you're a solo dev or part of a growing team, this session will help you stay out of trouble and keep your game on track with way fewer headaches.
In this episode of IndieGameBusiness, we’re joined by Alex Seropian, CEO and Founder of Look North World. Alex shares lessons learned from launching UEFN experiences with Hasbro, Harmonix, Bandai Namco, and Twitch, and unpacks why the idea of games as platforms is more than just a passing trend.
We’ll dive into the growing influence of Gen-Z and Gen-Alpha, the race to turn popular games into open platforms, and what success will look like in this new era. From cost scaling measures to optimal testing and release cadences, Alex explains why developers now have just 6 seconds to capture player attention.
If you want to understand the gaming industry’s shift toward a platform economy—and how to adapt for a world where gamers choose games within games—this is a must-watch.
Follow Alex Seropian and Look North World:
X: https://x.com/steakbacon?lang=en
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexanderseropian
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/looknorthworld/
#IndieGameBusiness #GamingIndustry #GamesAsPlatforms #GameDevelopment #UEFN
It’s time to ask traditional video game publishing - are you ok? While the rest of the industry seems to evolve overnight, publishing remains the same, despite clear areas of concern. In this session, we’ll examine the state of publishing today, areas of risk and opportunity, and options available to developers and publishers alike.
Juan Pablo Guzmán Fernández, CEO of Infinite Thread Games, shares his ongoing experience leading an indie studio. In this talk, he walks through the development of the games Hitori Kakurenbo Online and Hidalgo, covering production, marketing, funding, and team building. He discusses remote workflows, incubation programs, and the importance of early playtesting and market-driven design. The session includes practical advice for entering the games industry and highlights the value of a strong professional network and well-defined development processes.
Dan is a co-founder of award-winning 'The Detective Society', a board games company based in London, UK. In this talk, hear about how his small side project has survived 5-years without investment, and grown to be a leader in the innovative world of digital-hybrid gaming (part-board game, part video game)! Dan will talk about his experience raising money on Kickstarter (over £300k so far), loans, grants and even an appearance on the BBCs Dragons Den (Shark Tank for USA folks).
Game development costs are soaring to unprecedented heights, driven by the proliferation of new platforms, pandemic-fueled salary surges, shifting business models, and diverse expectations from different generations of gamers. In an industry where every new release is held to increasingly higher standards, players are paradoxically playing fewer games and for less hours. The challenge to create a hit game has never been more daunting. Join us for a conversation on the forces driving up game development costs and strategies studios are leveraging to ensure profitability.
Unlock the true power of a remote studio! Learn how to build strong teams, streamline workflows, and tackle challenges head-on. Through expert strategies and real lessons from Noname Studios, discover what it takes to thrive and innovate—no matter where you are.
Securing a publishing deal takes more than a 'cool' game idea. It requires evidence of a marketable game, an engaged audience, and a capable team. This talk explores how data-driven development can support these three pillars: improving game quality through player data and player-centered design; using data to build and engage your player community early; and demonstrating team readiness through informed decision-making. Attendees will gain practical strategies for aligning development with publishing expectations.
This session will include a wealth of trademark, copyright, and contract law basics that every indie developer or studio needs to know PLUS relevant legal updates affecting the gaming industry, Artificial Intelligence legal aspects, and more! The “Play to Win” presentation last year in 2024 was loaded with information but this year’s DLC edition will include all the necessary updates that indie studios need to succeed! Come ready to upgrade your legal knowledge!
It’s never too late to follow your passion but real life doesn't hit pause. This is the story of building our first indie game while juggling a full-time job, family life, and all the responsibilities that come with adulthood. From finding a partner who shared the dream, to navigating burnout, budget limits, and baby naps, we learned that progress is possible even if it’s slow. If you're trying to balance creativity with real-world commitments, this talk is for you.
In this episode of IndieGameBusiness we’re joined by Julian Rice, Founder and CEO of Rice Games Inc, to talk about the long, challenging, and inspiring journey of bringing Shujinkou to life. From showing the game at Tokyo Game Show in 2019 to navigating a failed Kickstarter, Julian shares how his team overcame obstacles and kept pushing forward.
We dive into the decision to shift from a 2D platformer to a 3D first-person dungeon crawler with integrated language learning mechanics, and what sets this apart from traditional educational or “edutainment” titles. Julian explains how the team managed development across seven time zones with over 20 part-time teammates, secured Sony and Nintendo development kits without publisher backing, and grabbed enough attention from critics to land Metacritic and OpenCritic scores — a rare feat for self-published indies.
We also talk about the biggest operational challenges, the future of the Shujinkou trilogy, and Julian’s advice for aspiring developers on both the creative and logistical sides of indie development. If you’ve ever dreamed of building and shipping your own game from the ground up, this episode is full of insights and lessons you won’t want to miss.
https://x.com/ricegames
http://linkedin.com/in/julian-m-rice
https://www.facebook.com/projectshujinkou
https://instagram.com/rice.games
https://bsky.app/profile/shujinkou.com
#IndieGameBusiness #GameDevelopment #Shujinkou #IndieDev #Kickstarter #GameIndustry #SelfPublishing #RiceGames #GameLocalization #DungeonCrawler #TokyoGameShow
In the world of Free and Open Source Software, you don't owe any subscription fees, your work isn't fed into an AI, and your money can go where it matters - to your team and your games. But is anything ever TRULY free? Well, it turns out, sometimes yes. In this presentation, we'll go over some incredible products in the FOSS ecosystem that you can and should adopt into your tech stack, what the expectations are for being a part of an open source community, and what risks and benefits are involved with abandoning big tech subscriptions in favor of open source.
Retention and productivity aren’t luck - they’re built. In this session, I'll break down how MLC Studio keeps a 98%+ retention rate and an award-winning team that's highly productive and engaged. Learn how to nurture culture, motivate your team, set boundaries, and give feedback that drives real results. Backed by data and experience, this talk will give you practical strategies to keep your team engaged, performing, and thriving.
Pendragon Wachtel is an experience indie developer, publisher, and team founder. He has built titles from the ground up both with and without funding. In this session, we will overview how to get from zero to funding, but most importantly, how to survive the time between the two. We'll cover how to avoid high turnover, how to maintain structure, and how to deliver a build to investors that can really impress them.
Join Deloryan Hommers, CEO and founder of Studio Deloryan, as she shares how a personal hobby grew into an award-winning game studio. What started as a solo project, Horse Reality, is now a thriving browser game with over 430.000 players worldwide and a dedicated international team behind it.
In this talk, Deloryan opens up about the challenges and breakthroughs she faced while shifting from hobbyist to studio leader. She highlights why understanding the business side of game development is just as important as the creative process, and what lessons she learned along the way.
Whether you are an indie developer, student, or creative professional, you’ll walk away with practical insights (and maybe some inspiration) on how to turn a passion project into a sustainable business.
It's 2025 and people are still trying to crowdfund their game? Yes, they are! The landscape has changed, along with an ever-changing social media space, so how important is growing a community to fund your project? What does the big crowdfunding boom of 2015 teach us a decade later, if anything? We will explore how building a community has changed the last 10 years and what you need to have a successful crowdfunding campaign.
Game development is tough, but shipping games can be tougher. These days, having a polished release with lots of options is bare minimum. If a game has obvious technical hiccups, they can easily hurt player perception, & possibly tank a game launch. Yet, time & time again many developers launch their games that despite being technically *done*, feel rushed & incomplete, sinkings like a brick in the ocean. But do not despair! This talk will give you the details you need to make your game feel as finished as possible.
In this episode, we’re joined by Fieldman Robinson, Co-Founder and Co-Managing Partner at Vertical Voyage, to explore the intersection of games and transmedia storytelling. We break down what transmedia really is, why games are uniquely positioned to lead these experiences, and the common challenges studios face when expanding their IP across formats.
Fieldman also shares practical strategies for adapting games into other media and vice versa, tips for navigating rights and licensing, and how to unlock long-term monetization across platforms. Whether you're a developer, producer, or IP owner, this conversation offers a wealth of insight into building and sustaining transmedia franchises.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/fieldmanr/
#Transmedia #GameDev #Licensing #IPDevelopment #Storytelling #IndieGameBusiness #VerticalVoyage #GameIndustry #CreativeStrategy #CrossMedia
