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 Lucky Kat Studios CEO Herdjie Zhou, who will host a session entitled 'Mobile Indie Is Dead – Long Live Mobile Indie!'
PocketGamer.biz: Could you tell us a bit about the company?
Herdjie Zhou: Lucky Kat makes mobile games with pop-culture influences. We have worked in the past with celebrity internet cats and famous rappers like Souljaboy.
What does your role entail?
Making sure we have a great company culture and that our games are played by people all around the world.
Why did you want to work in the games industry?
I had a life-changing event at the end of 2014 where I survived a cardiac arrest. I've always wanted to start a game studio together with my brother, who is a developer. And we did.
What advice would you give to anyone looking to get into it?
Focus on execution and make smaller games to start with. You'll learn very quickly every aspect of what is needed to become a success in the mobile games industry.
What are your thoughts on the industry in the last 12 months?
2018 has been a mixed year for mobile indie developers. We have seen the rise of some small development teams who got a publishing deal with hyper-casual publishers like Voodoo, Ketchapp etcetera reaching the top of the charts.
However, it is also more difficult to get visibility on the app stores as an indie developer who self-publishes.
What major trends do you predict in the next 12 months?
As the impact of featuring on the app stores has been less than just a couple of years ago, we will see indie developers who self-publish and either:
- Move to other platforms
- Work with publishers
- Innovate and continue to self-publish
How has the games industry changed since you first started?
Monetisation, marketing and game development are more interrelated than ever before in free-to-play game development
Which part of the Connects event are you most looking forward to and why?
I'm looking forward to meeting all our partners who we work with.
Find out more about Pocket Gamer Connects London 2019 on the website.
