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André Thomas - From Research Lab to Commercial Product

Presenter: André Thomas, Lecturer, Department of Visualization, LIVE Lab / Texas A&M University In this talk I will share our experience designing and developing a proof of concept for a learning game in a research lab and taking it all the way to a full product. During the talk we illustrate our experience in setting up a spin-off company from the university and will talk about pitfalls and lessons learned along the way.

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André Thomas - From Research Lab to Commercial Product

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Presentation Transcript

  1. From Research Lab to Commercial Product

  2. Overview • How it all started • The games we’re making • Demo of ARTé – Mecenas • The business of making games

  3. Background

  4. Disclosure • Not fully to market • Based on our own experience with 2 games: • ARTé – Art History • Variant - Calculus

  5. Why make a game? • Full context of Art history couldn’t be covered in survey class

  6. Why make a game? • High number of students drop out or switch out of Calculus

  7. Our Lab – LIVE Lab • 20 high end PC’s • PS3, PS4, XBOX 360, XBOX1, WiiU • Software: Unity, Unreal, CryEngine, Phaser, Game Maker, Houdini, Maya, Adobe Creative & Production suite • Artists, programmers, designers

  8. Starting a Game 1. Assembling the team 1. SME, Instructional Designer, Game Expert 2. Student Learning Objectives (SLO) 3. Assessment of SLO’s 4. Requirements – online, mobile, multi- player/single player

  9. Starting a Game 5. Ideation 6. Proof of concept – paper prototype, board game, card game Test Research 7. Prototype – electronic version of first playable Prototype Ideate 8. Demo – vertical slice of game (full graphics, playable, testable)

  10. Demo – ARTé: Mecenas

  11. Does the game work? Testing for learning outcomes Testing for entertainment/fun value - LIVE lab - Classroom - FSU (Study)

  12. Does anybody else care? • Market testing • Classroom testing  Teachers  Students

  13. They Care – Now What?

  14. Is it a full game? • Sound • Cut scenes • QA • Back end • Support

  15. How to create a full game? • Do we have the talent? • Where can we get the talent? • Can we contract it out? • How much is it going to cost? • How much time does it take to finish?

  16. We need a studio! • Who owns the IP? • Do we want full control? • Can our lab deliver a full product? • Who can be strategic partners?

  17. Setting up our own studio • Building a business plan • Identifying the right employees • Finding advisors • Getting it off the ground

  18. Design and develop high quality interactive learning experiences that are backed up by research!

  19. Funding the studio • Using our own money • Friends & Family • Kickstarter? (overhead of keeping hundreds of ‘investors’ informed • Angel funding • VC funding • Grants (SBIR)

  20. Business Model LIVE Lab Publisher •Ideation •Design •Proof of Concept •Product Development •Sales & Distribution •Prototype •Testing •Evaluation •Marketing •Sales •Support LIVE Lab Triseum

  21. Self Publishing • Can we go it alone? • Google Play, iTunes, Windows store, Steam • How about Marketing? • Do we need a sales team?

  22. Working with a publisher • What is our expertise? • Do we want to spend time and money on publishing or developing? • Choosing our partner  What do we want from the partnership?

  23. Creating a sustainable business • 1 game does not make a sound business • Long lead times for R&D • People – Products – Profit

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