I’m currently in the process of getting a lot of feedback on the studio I’ll be founding next year, and it’s been a fantastic process. A few people have asked about it, so I thought I’d write up a quick thread!
The first thing I did was decide a date that I was going to get feedback. I decided I was going to go to Brisbane, where many bizdev specialists friends live, and I wanted get some feedback in person - almost always the most effective way if possible.
Knowing I had a date, I suddenly had a deadline to put something material together that I could show and talk about. A studio pitch. A budget. A game pitch.
When you’re going to advisors and mentors, you have to recognise they have limited time and energy. You want to enable them to help you and give you the best feedback possible, and there’s often a lot of prep work and thought that goes into this.
I knew I had a way to go before I could take my pitch to my friends in Brisbane. I knew it would need to be of a certain level of detail and have specific information in order for me to get the most valuable feedback I could (particularly the budget).
I put together some basic documents (that were very rough), and immediately asked some close friends who are knowledgeable about the field for feedback. One of them suggested I reformat my budget, and explained some line items I missed.
Another helped me understand some of the tax implications, and when and how to budget for payments from platforms or publishers. Another gave amazing feedback on the game pitch, which became crucial later when I was explaining it to others.
It's important to note that you don't need something that's perfect in order to get feedback. You just need to have *something*. A bit of shape and direction is all you need - and getting feedback earlier is far more useful than later!
I revised everything and asked more friends for feedback, refining and adding as I went. I’d missed some things, misinterpreted others, and underestimated yet more.
By the time I was done I had a basic pitch doc and a budget spreadsheet I felt were fairly inclusive, and suddenly I was getting on a plane.
I’d booked four days, and intended to catch up with one person each day, take time to think about and implement their feedback, and get some socialising in as well while I was over. It was a good plan, and ended up working out fairly well.
Each meeting was incredibly valuable. It was so good to catch up with everyone, explain my pitch, answer questions and get feedback. I intentionally chose people with very different experience and perspectives, which was great.
Some of it was things I already knew, but some was totally left of field, vital things I’d never considered.
One person spent a lot of time talking about the lay of the land, and who might be useful to talk to - what kind of pitch might appeal to whom.
Another tore apart my budget, almost doubling it in size and adding a bunch of things I hadn’t considered, giving me crucial feedback on timelines, costs and various other financial considerations.
It was invaluable.
As creators we can’t afford to make avoidable mistakes, especially as games entrepreneurs. We have a huge community around us of people who have done everything before, and can help us to refine, reconsider and reframe our thoughts and plans.
Take advantage of this. Don’t take any one piece of feedback as gospel - frankly, nobody will have your exact experience, and you need to filter everything through your lens - but never discount anything. Take notes.
What comes up repeatedly? What do you agree with? What do you disagree with? Why?
I’m so excited to start the process of pitching and talking to partners and publishers next year. But before I can do that, I need to make sure that I’m giving the studio the very best chance I can—and that means asking a lot of questions and doing a lot of listening!
Hope that was interesting. <3
