Pocket Gamer Connects Digital #2 2020 will take place from June 8th to 12th, 2020. 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 Digital #2 and to book a ticket, head to the website here.
In this speaker spotlight, we caught up with UNRD CEO Shib Hussain, who co-founded the company behind the entertainment app. Hussain will be hosting a session at Pocket Gamer Connects Digital #2 about "The Return of Interactive Fiction".
PocketGamer.biz: Tell us a bit about your company?
Shib Hussain: We're building new formats of interactive entertainment that sits at the intersection of gaming and linear content. We combine the best both of both worlds - emotional plot lines from television, with interactivity you normally associate with games, alongside unlocking content and social groups/clans.
What does your role entail?
As the CEO I work on setting a clear vision for what we want UNRD to become and communicating that with my team and investor. And most importantly, making sure we have the team and resource in place to achieve it.
Why did you want to work in the games industry?
I actually didn't. We fell into games by chance after creating our first hit story. Once that was out, we decided on building the UNRD platform and ended up attracting a lot of amazing games investors and advisors.
What advice would you give to anyone looking to get into it?
Based on my experience, build stuff and ship it! People always take notice of amazing products, experiences and point of view.
What are your thoughts on the industry in the last 12 months?
For a newcomer like myself, I've been energised by the amount of creativity in the industry, at all levels. Be that with core game loops, right down to creative testing of UA messaging. It's such a dynamic industry, and there are so much more exciting things to come.
What major trends do you predict in the next 12 months?
Social becomes more central -, especially on mobile. Right now, games are either solo experiences or built around clan like systems. I think we'll start to see more vertical social networks, where gaming is at the heart of the experience. Lots of people with overlapping interests, playing games together and socialising off the back of that via online and offline.
How has the games industry changed since you first started?
It's hard for me to answer this one as we've only been involved in gaming for the last 24 months or so.
Which part of the Connects event are you most looking forward to and why?
Learning. We're still pretty new to the industry so I'm always keen to learn about how others approach various parts of the gaming ecosystem. This year I'm really keen to learn about monetisation techniques.
