Apps, Games and Insights

Learning to build successful apps faster and easier, whilst meeting user expectations may seem like a challenge. However, we look at how Google’s UI toolkit Flutter can help simplify things alongside creating beautiful apps. We’re joined by Larry Mckenzie and Corey Sprague from eBay Motors, who discuss building new high-quality Android and iOS experiences for buying and selling vehicles on eBay, using Flutter to build attractive, natively compiled applications for mobile, web, and desktop from a single codebase.

What makes retention so critical to the success of a business over other measures, and how do you optimize this strategy? Marcus Gners, Chief Strategy Officer and Co-founder at health and fitness app Lifesum and Nir Eyal, best-selling author of “Hooked” and “Indistractable,” explore the behavior apps should foster to drive retention, how to measure this effectively, and how to approach habitual usage.

Mobile gaming offers developers of PC and console games a significant opportunity. By going mobile, game developers can expand their player base and drive retention by providing a platform for players to stay engaged while they’re on the move. Jen Donahoe, Marketing and Growth lead for TeamFight Tactics at Riot Games joins us to discuss the challenges and opportunities they had in taking their games to mobile.

Have you ever wondered what goes behind the scenes to help you order your favorite foods from delivery apps? Delivering a quality app is essential to the success of your business, in both acquiring and retaining users. To explore how developers can ensure their users are getting the quality experiences they deserve, we’re joined by Maria Neumayer, Staff Software Engineer, at food delivery service Deliveroo, and Shobhit Chugh, Product Manager for Firebase, who discuss how businesses can rectify quality problems in testing and production.

How can we encourage diversity and inclusivity through the products we build? Drew Banks and Daniel Farkas from language learning app Drops, discuss how they actively foster diversity and inclusion in their business and how they have taken this opportunity by incorporating several indigenous languages into their app portfolio to reflect humanity’s diversity.

Winning at strategy games can be challenging and not just for players, but also the businesses who are building them. David Eckleberry, General Manager of the 4x strategy game Star Trek Fleet Command at Scopely, and Howard Chen, Developer Growth Consultant at Google Play discuss the game genre, how the team at Scopely approached Star Trek Fleet Command, and how other game developers can find success in the genre – or, in Star Trek lingo: how 4x strategy games can live long and prosper.

Transcript → https://goo.gle/3eNtRrq 

Read the full genre report → https://goo.gle/3kl4G0q 

Making the world a greener place and joining us for this episode are Jennifer Estaris of SYBO games, and Deborah Mensah-Bonsu, founder of Games for Good, and formerly of mobile games studio SpaceApe. They talk about the recent Green Game Jam – bringing more environmental education to games – and the innovative ways to educate players about climate change and empower them to take action. This one’s an important one for everyone and the future so don't miss it.

Find out more:
Playing for the Planet → https://goo.gle/3kPPk5n 
Green Game Jam → https://goo.gle/3kTHyr6  
Sign Up for Green Game Jam 2021 → https://goo.gle/2HQnuau  

Transcript to episode → https://goo.gle/3jL84S8 

Season 2 of the Apps, Games, & Insights podcast kicks off with Babbel’s Elliot Rayner and John Quintana. They share their knowledge on app-based language learning, and talk about how the new normal is disrupting the delivery of all types of education. They also talk to our hosts Tamzin Taylor and Dirk Primbs about how learning a new language is about more than memorization and gamification, and how Babbel is transforming and adapting to a new future for education. As always expect insights, learnings, and laughs.

Link to transcript → https://goo.gle/3kCdPCX

Subscriptions are an increasingly popular way to monetize apps & games, and for users to access content and services. Holly Ackerman & David Berlin from DAZN, share insights about setting up a subscription-based sports streaming service. 

DAZN is building the world’s largest and fastest growing live sports streaming service. With the sport schedule disrupted, the global roll-out to more than 200 countries and territories is slated for later this summer. 

(Due to COVID-19, timing of some episodes has changed)

The growth of Android and its application beyond smartphones means that apps and games can now run on devices that offer traditional laptop and desktop screen sizes. Maximiliano Rodriguez, Platforms Operations Director at Gameloft, discusses the challenges in taking games to larger screens and new platforms.

CORRECTION: In episode 8, we will actually be joined by Holly Ackerman, Head of BD, Global Platforms, & David Berlin, VP of Product, at DAZN.

(Due to COVID-19, timing of some episodes has changed)

Figuring out how to make your app or game accessible to all can be a challenge, from an organizational & technical perspective. Rosalind Whittam & Ceri Lindsay from the BBC, share insights into how the public broadcaster has ensured that accessibility and inclusivity permeates every aspect of their apps to reach listeners and viewers outside traditional broadcast channels.

Transcript → https://goo.gle/3eHYG0v

(Due to COVID-19, timing of some episodes has changed)

Ultimately, the most important part of a game is its players. Keeping players engaged is about more than simply delivering a regular stream of new features and fresh challenges. Actively involving players in the evolution of the game can be an equally powerful way to keep them engaged. This episode's guest is Ben Clarke, is Senior Marketing Director at Jagex. Ben shares insights into some of the unique approaches to feature testing and player engagement Jagex have taken in their game RuneScape.

Note: Due to COVID-19, the timing of some of these episodes has changed.  

Following the revelations from Cambridge Analytica, the global regulations on consumer privacy are becoming more strict and the penalties more significant. Ensuring your app or game is privacy friendly has always been good for your users but now it is just as important for your business. This episode's guest is Bruce Gustafson, President and CEO at Developers Alliance, who discusses the practical steps you can take to ensure your app or game offers users the privacy for their data they deserve.

Note: Due to COVID-19, the timing of some of these episodes has changed. 

Whether it is kickstarting a great idea or accelerating growth from an established base, somewhere along the journey most companies will look for additional funding. For technology companies, venture capital can be the ideal solution bringing both funding and business acumen too. This episode's guest is Matteo Vallone, Principal at Cherry Ventures with advice on how to make your development business attractive to venture capitalists and what to expect after you have secured investment. 

Note: Due to COVID-19, the timing of some of these episodes has changed.  

Conventionally, selling your business may be seen as an exercise in taking the money and running. However, many mergers and acquisitions in the mobile games space are about helping developers to maximize the potential of their game and focus on things they love doing. We talk to Chris Petrovic, SVP and Head of Corporate Strategy, Mergers and Acquisitions and Business Development for Zynga about how developers should approach selling their business to ensure that they enter into a happy marriage.

Chris Petrovic is a games, technology, and interactive entertainment veteran, with over 20 years of global experience in the sector. He currently serves as SVP and Head of Corporate Strategy, M&A and Business Development for Zynga, a leading developer of the world's most popular games that are played by millions of customers worldwide. Chris is responsible for driving the company’s growth through M&A ($US 1B deployed to date), strategic partnerships with licensors including Disney, Warner Brothers, Universal, and HBO. In 2011, Chris was recognized as one of “25 Digital Entertainment Executives to Watch” by Digital Media Insider.

In this introductory episode, find out more about our podcast and what’s coming up, and get to know the hosts; Tamzin Taylor and Dirk Primbs, a little better.

In this podcast, find out about responsible growth and building businesses for the long term. The developers of Covet Fashion and Design Home, Judy Chen and Sarah Fuchs from Crowdstar at Glu Mobile, join us for episode 1. Discuss how to build a long-term games business by taking a holistic approach to the game, its players, and the creators.