Vera is a Product Manager at Gismart, and will be giving a talk at Pocket Gamer Connects Helsinki about playtests for indies. The event runs from September 11-12, and you can click here to get more information and buy tickets.
Vera is going to speak about a vital thing in the gaming industry: how to conduct playtests with no heartbreaks. She'll be sharing some insights into playtest results for Gismart products. Vera will have a test-by-step talk: starting with the place of playtesting at all stages of product development, continuing with the hacks and approaches on how to prepare your product, your interviewee and, most importantly, yourself for playtests, especially if you are pressed for time, budget or resources.
Q: What does your role at the company entail?
A: Gismart is about encompassing music, entertainment and helping people to express themself musically. I am in charge of managing music edutainment products, which includes product planning and execution through all phases. At Gismart the role of Product Manager is all about vision, trends and helping different Teams to work together and deliver the best results possible.
Q: What do you think have been the most exciting developments in gaming since the last Pocket Gamer Connects Helsinki?
A: I really like retro-vibe trend, including 8-bit style games, pixel coloring books and revamps of old school arcades. It is funny how this trend goes hand in hand with another one, which shows a leap in technology, including rise of AR, location-based games, etc. So during the last year you go full nostalgic, or full futuristic, or try balance combining both of them.
Q: What are your thoughts on the way the industry has grown in the last 12 months?
A: I think the shift in monetisation approach has made development of mobile games much more affordable for small companies and allowed large companies to feel more free and wild with launching experimental products and features. As a result we see the most versatile market the industry has ever had.
Q: What do you think the next 12 months in mobile gaming are going to look like?
A: I think the current trends will continue to blossom. Besides, there is a rising trend of so-called “serious” games, which support the edutainment trend that now has finally come to mobile devices. It focuses on combining fun and entertaining processes with educating takeaways. And with mobile phone always being at one’s hand it is a perfect place to learn something new even if you have no free time for that. Watch this space for more edutainment games from Gismart!
Q: Which part of Pocket Gamer Connects Helsinki are you most looking forward to and why?
A: I am mostly interested in Indie Zone lectures as well as the Very Big Indie Pitch, which, with Gismart interested in publishing casual and hypercasual games, is promising to be the concentration of great ideas and projects.
About Pocket Gamer Connects Helsinki
In a few short weeks the whole mobile gaming industry is set to descend on Helsinki for Pocket Gamer Connects. The event, which runs from September 11th to September 12th, is packed full of talks, tracks, networking opportunities, and more. You can read about the full conference schedule here.
There are still tickets available for the show, and if you click this link right here you'll get all the information you need on how to buy them, and what's going to be happening in Helsinki over the two days.
