Interview

Speaker Spotlight: ChilliConnect CEO Paul Farley on live ops and what Fortnite's success means for the industry

Pocket Gamer Connects London 2019 will take place on January 21st to 22nd

Speaker Spotlight: ChilliConnect CEO Paul Farley on live ops and what Fortnite's success means for the industry

Pocket Gamer Connects London 2019 will take place on January 21st to 22nd. To give you a taste of what to expect, we'll regularly be publishing interviews with the speakers at the show.

For more details on PGC London and to book a ticket, head to the website here.

In today's Speaker Spotlight we're talking to ChilliConnect CEO Paul Farley who will host a session on 'Live Ops Sucks, But It Doesn’t Have To – 5 Ways To Ease Your Live Ops Pain'.

PocketGamer.biz: Could you tell us a bit about the company?

Paul Farley: ChilliConnect's mission is to enable game developers and publishers of all shapes and sizes to run successful live operations.

We achieve this through use of our SaaS ChilliConnect platform - a powerful three in one solution that integrates game backend, analytics and live ops tools within a single dashboard/SDK solution.

What does your role entail?

As CEO of a small growth company I am responsible for all key business activities. It sounds impressive, but I essentially do all the stuff no one else wants, or knows, how to do! From financial planning and control to marketing strategy I get to guide and direct many aspects of the business.

Why did you want to work in the games industry?

Ever since 3D Monster Maze on the ZX81 I was fascinated by games and the potential to make games.

Having dropped out of Architecture studies, I was fortunate to snag a design role at DMA Design at the peak of their powers. The rest is, as they say, history!

What advice would you give to anyone looking to get into it?

Don't give up! There are many, many routes into the industry, but it's very competitive and so you have to show passion and commitment to finally find an open door.

Nothing can shortcut experience, so as you're attempting to find that first role make stuff and show it off.

If you're a coder make some demos, join game jams and build things. An artist, draw. Design, design! In a competitive space you need to stand out from the crowd and the best way to do that is not just to talk a good game, but demonstrate it.

What are your thoughts on the industry in the last 12 months?

It's very exciting. The industry continues to grow and mobile continues to amaze. Fortnite has shown that real-time multiplayer on mobile can work.

Studios are becoming more sophisticated in their use of live operations to extend the lifespan of their games and truly move towards delivering a digital hobby rather than just a product.

What major trends do you predict in the next 12 months?

A major trend we expect to see is that connected elements and multiplayer will become common place even in mobile games as the effectiveness of these mechanics in player retention are fully understood.

We will also see more studios get to grips with live operations using tools like ChilliConnect to fully maximise the potential of their games over periods of years rather than months.

How has the games industry changed since you first started?

The graphics are a lot better, but most of the games we play have remained the same! I feel there is more opportunity now than ever before for those entering the industry today.

There are so many tools to help development today teams can spend most of their time innovating and actually creating gameplay.

Which part of the Connects event are you most looking forward to and why?

The talks are always of a very high standard. Relevant, honest, insightful and entertaining.

It's a great opportunity to learn from others success and failure and be inspired for the year ahead!

Find out more about Pocket Gamer Connects London 2019 on the website.