Author Vainglory - about the main lessons of the industry
The executive director of Super Evil Megacorp Christian Segerstrale at the 2015 DICE Summit developer conference shared the lessons he learned from his extensive experience in the gaming industry.
Before heading the studio that launched Vainglory, Segerstrale held senior positions in studios such as Glu Mobile, Playfish and Supercell.
Executive Director of Super Evil Megacorp Christian Segerstrale
Working with the Glu Mobile team, Segerstrale developed games for feature phones.
It wasn’t easy because the devices didn’t have uniform development standards. In addition, the mechanisms for selling games at that time were in their infancy. When launching the project, it was necessary to make sure that it would work on a thousand different devices. Segerstrale recalls that his collaboration with Glu gave him invaluable experience: “If you survived this [developing games for feature phones], you will survive anything.”
Segerstrale worked with Supercell at the earliest stages of the studio’s creation. He is not inclined to attribute the success of the Finnish gaming corporation to himself. However, Segerstrale claims that it was he who suggested to the Supercell management that the most profitable format for the studio is a small one. “Now that publishing houses [in the gaming industry] are receding into the background, a team of 100 people is probably the best option for a gaming company,” he says.
Segerstrale advised his colleagues to cultivate patience and flexibility. He concluded his speech with a statement that the established methods of work in the gaming industry are not the most important thing, since the situation is constantly changing.
“If I listened to people who broadcast from the stage like I am now, I would not have created a single company,” Segerstrale concluded.”
It employs former employees of Blizzard, Riot, Rockstar and Guerrilla Games. The team’s first product was a MOBA for tablets — Vain Glory.
