Interview

San Francisco Week: Pocket Gems on how a history of success is helping to secure the city's future

CEO Ben Liu on the Bay's big draw

San Francisco Week: Pocket Gems on how a history of success is helping to secure the city's future
This is the third part of our week long look at the mobile development scene in San Francisco.

By any measure, Pocket Gems has become one of the Bay Area's most successful independent game developers, born out the firm's popular Tap series of titles.

But the studio is no newcomer. Pocket Gems has deep connections in California, going all the way back to its beginnings at Stanford Graduate School for Business, where it began life while co-founder Daniel Terry was still studying.

Having since set up shop in San Francisco, the studio naturally has a view to why developers with far weaker connections to the area have nonetheless found themselves residing in the city.

According to CEO Ben Liu, it has much to with the creative talent pool the firms already in the area have helped to foster.

"There have been a lot of console and PC developers who got their start in the Bay Area. That created a huge bench to draw from even before mobile gaming emerged," Liu tells us.

"Since then, mobile gaming has emerged as a result of that history and the proximity to great partners including ad networks, platforms and venture capital."

History lesson

Indeed, it's San Francisco's recent history as a base for some of the wider technology industry's most successful outfits that ensures the city continues to go from strength to strength.

It's a fact that huge numbers of people packed with experience have spent their entire career in both San Francisco and Silicon Valley, with those just starting out drawn to the area with the aim of emulating their achievements.

It's a situation Liu argues that this makes it much easier for indie studios to conduct their business.

"Since Silicon Valley has been in the hub of innovation and technology for a long time, there is a ton of talent and innovative ideas here that make it a great place to be," he says.

"It makes it that much easier to do business and meet with people."

As such, like almost all of the firms we've spoken too, Liu describes San Francisco as a "natural fit" for Pocket Gems.

"The proximity to many great partners including ad networks, platforms and venture firms, made the bay area a great place to be," he continues. "Ultimately, a major reason we grew the company here was due to the amazing tech and engineering talent that exists here."

GDC brings the world to your doorstep

Success breeds success, then, and Liu also stresses the importance of the fact San Francisco's standing mean some of the games industry's biggest events regularly take place on the city's doorstep.

Each Spring, GDC attracts thousands of game developers from around the world, creating new connections that open up opportunities for investment and new partnerships.


Ben Liu

For the outfits already based in San Francisco, this is a huge benefit, and Liu says studios like Pocket Gems reap the benefits.

"What we've seen in the market is that many of the conferences and opportunities to meet and connect with people in the industry are held in San Francisco," offers Liu.

"From GDC to the upcoming Inside Social Apps Conference, we've benefited from the locations of these conferences because it makes it very easy to exchange ideas, and innovate to create the next great mobile game."

Publisher power

Pocket Gems has also recently added a publishing arm to its business, with the firm looking to help local indies with marketing and product launches.

It's a service that could potentially become a global one, but with so many studios on tap in the immediate area, it's Liu's view that San Francisco is a great place to start.

"We work with independent developers to help them create, launch and advertise their games and the proximity to so many other developers really allows us to build great relationships with people who are making great games that we love," says Liu.

"There are a lot of great developers in the Bay Area who we can partner with on publishing."

The other issue raised by other outfits in the area is whether being in close proximity to platform holders such as Apple and Google is an important factor, and a reason why so many developers are drawn to San Francisco.

According to Liu, neither company is wholly tied to the Bay Area. Both Apple and Google have a notable presence overseas, too.

"Building great relationships with these companies is first and foremost about building original, innovative, and fun games that people want to play," contests Liu.

"Great games stand out no matter the location of the developer. Location does make it easier to meet in person.

"That said, the platform holders have offices in Europe and Asia as well as in Silicon Valley, send teams to major gaming conferences, and make a point of seeking out relationships with indie developers from all parts of the world."

Reaching out to the community

When it comes to the downsides of San Francisco life, while the lack of financial or political support for the games industry from either the state of California or the Federal Government threatens to be an issue, it's not one raised by any of the developers we've spoken to.

Indeed, it appears that, when it comes to investment, the private sector is very much in charge in San Francisco.


Pocket Gems' Tap Paradise Cove for iOS and Android

The only real issue, then, is fighting for the talent on offer. While there are plenty of people with experience and creativity in spades, the sheer number of developers and publishers chasing them down can be intimidating.

Liu argues that the root cause of this is the sheer amount of choice that the best job applicants have open to them.

"It's very competitive to get the best and most talented people in the industry when they have lots of options, but this is a critical part of our business and we are always looking for great talent to continue to build the best team in mobile," he says.

One of the best strategies, he suggests, is to approach anyone in the area who has been unfortunate enough to be made redundant.

In the best case scenario, the company can pick up new talent that wasn't previously available and individuals don't have to be out of work for long. Liu explains.

"In 2012 when we heard the unfortunate news that one of the other companies in the space, LOLapps, was closing its doors, we hosted a career fair for employees," Liu concludes.

"We invited representatives from many other gaming companies to come and meet potential new employees. These events have been really successful and we're always looking for opportunities to build out the gaming community in this area."
Have you worked in video game development in San Francisco? What was your experience of the area and what do you think the future holds? Let us know what you think in the comments below. 

Joe just loves to go fast. That's both a reflection of his status as a self-proclaimed 'racing game expert', and the fact he spends his days frantically freelancing for a bevy of games sites. For PocketGamer.biz, however, Joe brings his insight from previous job as a community manager at iOS developer Kwalee. He also has a crippling addiction to Skittles, but the sugar gets him through the day.