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Riot Forge on how to find your own unique identity as a studio

Head of studio Leanne Loombe talks finding your own path in the development world

Riot Forge on how to find your own unique identity as a studio

As part of Pocket Gamer Connects London 2020, Riot Forge head Leanne Loombe gave a talk on finding and amplifying your own identity as a developer.

Loombe started by identifiying three main areas to help differentiate you from other studios - a studio identity, the quality of your games, and the company's unique DNA.

For studio identity, developers need to have a clear vision and focus with their business practices, a clear speciality in the games they develop, and long terms goals that you're working towards as you grow.

That special something

In terms of game quality, Loombe noted that while a game didn't need to have a high Metacritic score, for example, developers need to show that they internally have a high bar for quality, and have a consistent portfolio, or at least show some kind of potential within prototypes.

Finally, for a studio's DNA, Loombe pointed to studios with a very specific "something" they do well - be it having a specific, outstanding art style, a particular focus on elements of narrative such as character relationships, or simply just a strong, interesting piece of core design that stands out from other developers.

"Having something within this DNA helps put a stamp on your studio," said Loombe, adding that publishers and partners will be looking for this kind of differentiator when they're looking for something specific, and that teams shouldn't "be afraid to lean into that."


Editor

Ric is the Editor of PocketGamer.biz, having started out as a Staff Writer on the site back in 2015. He received an honourable mention in both the MCV and Develop 30 Under 30 lists in 2016 and refuses to let anyone forget about it.