Pocket Gamer Connects London is fast approaching, and PG.biz is excited to share insight into the panels and presentations on offer from the speakers themselves.

Patty Toledo, Developer Relations Lead at Yahaha, will be speaking at PG Connects London with her solo talk, Guerilla Marketing in the Metaverse Era: Networking and Growing your Community with Zero Budget. Toledo will also chair the panel, Power to the People - Will UGCs change the market?

The full list of Pocket Gamer Connects London speakers and presentations is available through this link.

PocketGamer.biz Can you give us a brief summary or teaser for your Pocket Gamer Connects London talk?

Patty Toledo: The official summary of my solo talk is the following:

The metaverse is a hot topic across many global industries, and the potential it has is already recognised by the gaming community. Something that people may not have considered yet, is how the metaverse changes ingrained marketing practices.

In 2022, we are already seeing a shift as the gaming industry starts to actively put creators at the heart of growth initiatives. This allows the small and individual creators to thrive, where previously they had fewer opportunities. Creators can harness the power of the community to grow their brand while providing value to both players and developers, gaining positive feedback and interactions. All with little to no budget at all.

But beyond the official summary, I will be discussing how user-generated content (UGC) and the metaverse will help lower the entry barrier for the gaming industry, as well as improve growth for indie developers and individuals struggling to enter the business.

For the panel, the goal is to discuss how the community will drive the growth of the game industry in the future and how it is already influencing important development decisions and innovations. It is a shift that has been happening for a few years already, but no longer can be ignored by the game industry.

What is the most important context for the audience to know beforehand?

I believe the most important context for the audience when it comes to UGC and the metaverse is that its success depends on a bottom-up approach: it comes from the community, it is driven by them, and it should always be steered by them. Companies like Yahaha are here to provide the tools and means for creative production but the power is fully in the communities' hands.

How do you see UGC developing in the mobile space – a case of adopting the Roblox model or something more radical?

I think the future of UGC is multiplatform from the get-go. The creators must be able to reach everybody, everywhere, at any time. And the more advanced the technology becomes, the more social and open the platforms will need to be. Roblox opened the doors, but the innovation is just starting. There is a lot to explore yet.

How can we best safeguard children and/or moderate against inappropriate UGC?

That is a super complicated question and it is the same problem we see in any multiplayer game/environment. UGC for children should be directed, created, supported, and moderated with their needs in mind. Mixing adults and kids in the same environment can always be problematic, as we see in social media. Parents and teachers should also be involved when UGC is used for education. It can be a very powerful tool, but it needs to be used under supervision.

You can read all Road to Connects interviews and articles at this link. There is more from Patty Toledo about Yahaha's metaverse and its recent investment round at our partner site BeyondGames.biz.