Category Archives: Startups

AgriKids Virtual Reality App

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Fierce Fun was contracted by AgriKids to create a virtual reality app as part of their digital product range. AgriKids was founded with the vision to create a concept that would engage, educate and empower children to become farm safety ambassadors. Through this ethos, the company has developed a collection of innovative products for children to create dialogue and positive awareness in homes and classrooms on farm safety awareness and practice.

As a highly innovative farm safety promoter, AgriKids were looking to explore the potential of virtual reality apps to educate children about real farm safety issues. The design brief was that the app should allow users to freely move around a virtual farm. The app would teach users what the different safety signs mean and where they belong. The virtual farm would need the follow areas:

  • Chemical store
  • Slurry pit
  • Bull Pen
  • Electrical point
  • Farm entrance
  • River / Water area

The VR app was developed for the Oculus Right was tested at several agricultural events. It proved very popular with young children and their parents!

App Screenshots here:

Social Media Internship (part time)

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This Social Media internship role is an opportunity for hands-on experience in social media and digital marketing. Fierce Fun is a mobile app startup company, focusing on games and entertainment apps. The company publishes its games on the Google Play and Apple App Stores. This role is suited to someone who loves mobile apps and is a social media monster ?

This internship role has the ability to learn mobile marketing and app store optimisation from the development and marketing team. Some the duties will include:

Content Sourcing & Creation:

  • Working with the Project Manager to produce effective content for the company’s social media channels (Facebook, Twitter and others).
  • Writing blog posts, social media posts and other communication materials for social media;
  • Researching mobile app and game market trends

Ideal Qualifications:   

  • Strong interest in communications, social media marketing and/or creative writing
  • 3rd level qualification (or studying for one)
  • Good skills in Microsoft Excel, Word and PowerPoint
  • Strong skills in Facebook, Twitter and/or blog software
  • Very comfortable using Android or Apple phones and tablets
  • Good attention to detail and an ability to produce quality written content each week

Terms:

Duration          3 months
Hours              10 to 18 hours per week
Times              Flexible and based on a candidate’s schedule
Location          Remote work (mainly) – Trinity College Dublin  (team meeting and reviews)

Expenses will be paid to cover travel and lunch allowances

Game Development Funding in Ireland

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Like many countries, funding your computer game development project is not an easy task in Ireland. Though there is now a very vibrant indie game development scene in Ireland as well as a few larger established companies, the industry is comparatively small compared to other Irish media sectors such as film, tv and animation. This is partly due to the taxation policy in Ireland (Section 481) which provides significant tax relief for investment in film and animation productions. There is a campaign underway to extend Section 481 tax relief to games development; however currently it is not available. Unlike other European countries, Ireland does not have any national organisation or body providing specific supports for the games sector. A recent government report highlighted this deficit and recommended the establishment of a game prototyping fund. The current lack of national supports has not stopped the sector growing and each year, the list of new Irish gaming startups is increasing.

POTENTIAL GAME FUNDING PROVIDERS

Enterprise Ireland
Enterprise Ireland (EI), through its Competitive Start Fund and HPSU (High Potential Startups), has been an active investor in a number of gaming startups. EI primarily invests in technology companies and mainly invests in games technology companies as opposed to content only companies.
https://www.enterprise-ireland.com/en/funding-supports/

Local Enterprise Office
LEOs are the starting point for anyone seeking information and support on starting or growing a business in Ireland. They provide advice, information and support budding entrepreneurs. Grant support includes feasibility study and priming grants. Though aimed more at local and national businesses, they are very useful for all entrepreneurs, start-ups and small businesses looking to expand.
https://www.localenterprise.ie/Discover-Business-Supports/Financial-Supports/

NDRC – National Digital Research Center.
Founded after the demise of Media Lab Dublin and based in the Digital Hub, the NDRC is a digital startup investor focusing on early stage tech companies. Mixing public and private funding, they invest primarily using an accelerator model through its Launchpad, Catalyser and VentureLab investment programmes which provide seed capital and hands on support to early stage companies. Since it was founded in 2007, NDRC has invested in over 200 digital companies and was ranked the No. 1 university business accelerator in Europe. Like EI, they focus more on techology applicable to the gaming sector, than gaming content.
https://www.ndrc.ie/looking-for-investment

Creative Europe MEDIA  - Games Fund
The European Union provide game funding through the Creative Europe Media programme. Most years, they will have “calls” whereby EU game developers can apply for matching funding for a new project. To qualify, the developer must be EU based, be established with a track record and their game must be narrative led – think adventure games. The application process is very detailed and requires a decent amount of work to complete one. However, a number of Irish game companies have been successful in getting MEDIA game funding so it is definitely worth investigating it – particularity if your game has a strong story element to it.
https://www.creativeeuropeireland.eu/media/funding/production/development-of-video-games

 New Frontiers
New Frontiers is a National Entrepreneur Development Programme aimed at supporting the establishment and growth of technology companies with potential to trade internationally and create employment in Ireland. Though primarily a training programme, there is some funding available on the programme – depending which phase you are on. One example of  New Frontiers is TU (Technological University) Dublin's Hothouse programme. It is delivered as a 3-phased programme in partnership with IADT. Other IT colleges deliver similar programmes throughout the country. Quite a few games companies started on New Frontiers so worth checking it out.
https://www.newfrontiers.ie/locations/dublin

Venture Capitalists
Ireland has a modest but active venture capital community with a number of new and maturing funds. Most VCs here have a preference for B2B businesses but at times, they have invested in games companies – both tech and content. If you have early customers or recurring revenue streams, most good VCs will want to meet you at some stage. Remember venture capital is not for everyone. Most VC investors gets their money back by trade sales e.g. selling your business. They don’t invest in family businesses or companies not looking to scale rapidly and be acquired. The Irish Venture Capital Association is a good starting point to see if venture capital is right for your gaming startup.
https://www.ivca.ie/

Angel Investors
Angel investors or business angels are high-net worth individuals who provide seed capital for a business start-up. Their investment normally takes the form of a convertible debt or ownership equity. In addition, they also can contribute their general business know-how and can offer valuable expertise and guidance.  Angels tend to be hands-on and can be of great assistance to inexperienced company founders. Their average investment is between €50K and €250k. Many also form syndicates ( to invest larger amounts). In general, they are a quicker funding route than other professional investors. HBAN is a good source of information for angel investment in Ireland.
https://www.hban.org/

Startup Incubators/University Incubators/ Accelerator Programmes
Most of the main universities and colleges in Ireland now offer incubation facilities.  An incubator typically offers shared office spaces, networking and mentoring opportunities and in rare cases some early funding. Some incubators charge (very low) fees while others charge none and will look for a small equity investment.  Co-working is very common in incubators and some offer private office spaces.
https://www.enterprise-ireland.com/en/Researchers/Spin-Outs/Incubation-Centers-Maps-and-Contacts.html

Accelerator programmes are aimed at established start-ups that have the potential to grow quickly. These programmes offer a mixture of office space, mentorship and some limited expenses or early stage investment. Dublin BIC provides a number of these programmes:
https://www.dublinbic.ie/our-programmes/investor-ready-preparation/smart-start

Banks
Loan or debt finance is not usually an option for games start-ups unless they are reasonably well established and have recurring annual revenue. The main part of a bank loan analysis is focused on cash flow and repayment capacity. Early stage game companies are unlikely to have a sufficient trading record to secure a bank loan.

Crowd funding
Indiegogo and Kickstarter are two of the best-known international crowdfunding sites for games and other digital media. By their nature, crowdfunders tend to have a international focus rather than a local one. There are one or two equity crowdfunders based in Ireland so they might be worth checking out if you are based here.

Game Publishers
Even though self-publishing is now a completely viable option for new game developers, a good publisher can significantly increase the sales potential of your game. With millions of game apps in the mobile and PC stores, it is hard to stand out and a publisher’s marketing muscle can make all the difference. Like crowd funding, game publishers have an international focus and don’t tend to be regional specific. Ireland has very few, if any, indigenous games publishers. There are app and media publishers here but none really specialise in traditional game publishing.

 

SUMMARY
Even though Ireland does not have a national games development fund (yet…watch this space), there are a good variety of potential game funding options. Though there are no local publishers, there are a number of Irish developers who have successful launched games with international publishers. Whatever funding or publishing route you take, almost all with require a comprehensive business plan and player acquisition strategy. Armed with both, you will increase your chances of getting your next games project funded and published.

Tips for Starting a Games Development Company in Ireland

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I originally had created a blog post on tips for tech start-ups. I have updated it for games companies and games start-ups. Also most of these don’t specifically apply to Irish games companies – hopefully you find them useful. They are based on my experience with a number of games and mobile start-ups.

Your majority spend should be on marketing
As you have probably heard, cash is king for all businesses, more so for start-ups. You won’t have much cash starting out so it is vital to spend wisely in those early stages. So, the simple rule is – any spare cash - only spend on marketing and sales. Game markets (indie, mobile or AAA) are all ultra-competitive and social media will only get you so far!

 Don’t rent an office
Office space in Dublin (and most European/US cities) is expensive and a real waste of cash when starting out. Offices are needed for full teams, meeting clients and storing hardware. You probably don’t have much (or any) of all three so you don’t need an office. If you are meeting potential clients, rent a ‘hot desk’ office or meet at their place. Use Skype and Dropbox to create a virtual office. When you have regular paying contracts or revenue streams, then rent

Try to have an alternative income source during development
Work part time, contract – do whatever you need to do to avoid paying (much) salaries when you are in startup mode. With your team, agree a profit share or equity share (for committed team members).

 Game Team makeup: Development, Design and Biz!
A lot of game start-ups tend to comprise mainly of developers and artists. Not a bad thing but it means the focus of team will be on game development, not the business. You need someone onboard with marketing, publishing or general digital business experience.

Forget funding… for now
Securing funding takes time…. a lot of time. If you are in the indie or mobile market for example, you should not need much funding to get your business started. Publishers and investors will only really consider you if you have a (sales) track record in a certain game genre.

 Network wisely
There are a huge number of games, tech and start-up networking events held in Ireland each year. Like all events, some are more useful than others.

 Sales, not Traction
With free to play, it is tempting to say you have 100,000 game players so, hey, we are a games business. Nope! Users or players don’t equal customers.

Social media should be part of your marketing plan, not a replacement for it.
This is related to the first point about marketing and having a Biz head onboard. Many new start-ups talk about social media as if it is their only marketing activity. The basics of a marketing plan are still as valid as ever (remember the 4 Ps). Your social media strategy should be part of your overall marketing strategy; not the other way around.

Try to avoid advertising only game revenues
A few (very few!) game companies survive on advertising revenue only. You need massive (tens of millions) numbers of players to generate decent revenues if you are relying on in-game ads only. Put simply, it is extremely difficult to make a profit on online ads only.

Keep your professional fees low
Running a business costs money. For example, every business will need an accountant and solicitor during your startup phase. Inexperienced company founders tend to have phrases like “our solicitor looks after our IP”. Professional services firms charge on an hourly/daily basis – in the beginning, only use them for your statutory returns. If your turnover is low, you will only need to file abridged accounts each year, a considerable cost saving. Good firms will give you some basic free advice, knowing that as your business grows, you will come back to them for further paid consultations.

The Cloud is your technical friend
The hype is true, the cloud really does work – especially for game start-ups. Services like Google App Engine and Amazon Web Services allow you to pay only for the computing power you use. In addition, most have free starting tiers of usage. You do need someone cloud savy to use them but they do save you on hosting and database costs (ouch!) when you scale.

Government Supports & Entrepreneurship programmes
Besides Enterprise Ireland (EI), there are a ton of other government support agencies. Most are listed on this very useful site ThinkBusiness

Get on a Entrepreneurship programme if possible
There are a number of good government supported start-up programs such as DIT Hothouse. Besides good advice and training, the best thing about these programmes is the networking with other start-ups.

12-month revenue target
If you are not making real sales within 12 months of starting your games business, maybe call it a day. A tough one this one but you will always find excuses for not making sales. Learn from your mistakes and start again!

Make it look good
People are visual creatures, we judge everything first by our eyes – including games. You can release your game if some features are not fully finished or included; however never ever release something that does not look good. That does not mean that you needed AAA 3D graphics. If you are going for simple stylised graphics, they still have to look good!

That’s it. Now go forth and develop………….

Loot Boxes & Game Developer Remuneration

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In the free to play gaming market, loot boxes pose a real quandary for game developers. Using the Japanese gacha system they are a popular game mechanic for increasing player engagement. However, the recent controversy with a number of high profile paid games (using loot boxes) is a cause for concern. It appears that core game players don’t like loot boxes. They have already paid for the game and they don’t see the need to have to pay for new content.

With free to play games it is different. Casual game players are used to daily reward mechanisms. A number of countries are now looking at the legality of loot boxes as a form of gambling. Are they a form of gambling? As the in-game currency cannot be used outside of the game, in most cases they have been shown not to be a form of gambling. However, loot boxes in games have now grabbed the attention of legislators in a number of countries.

Game developers need to be very careful in their implementation of a gacha type loot box system. They need to ensure it is property designed to reward players for ongoing play and not give an unfair competitive advantage.

For us we see it as a systematic structural problem in the games market as a result of the prevalence of free to play games. Professional game developers need to be remunerated for creating quality games that provide hours of entertainment - even if they are free to play. Google and Apple are delighted with dominance of free to play games as it effectively gives their customers free content. Yes, there is the freemium business model but it only works for a tiny number of large publishers. Both Google and Apple have a big part to play in correcting the market to so that there is a balance between free content and content creators getting paid. Unless this occurs, the games market will stagnate with no innovation and everyone making the same type…. With lots of loot boxes!

 

Fierce Fun at CoderDojo Coolest Project Dublin 2016

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CoderDojo Coolest Projects 2016 was so special! Our games Terminus and QuizTimeTrivia were a big success with the little Ninjas CoderDojos!

They were playing and giving us their feedback all the time!

We are working on Terminus game so keep up with us for more news and the free preview version!

But the most popular with the adults was Quiz Time Trivia, it is a generational thing. Check it out freeplayhttps://fiercefun.com/quiz-time-trivia/

Here are a few more snaps of the CoderDojo Coolest Projects in Dublin: see the full album here

CoderDojo Fierce Fun

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bespoke Custom Games for business – Works every time.

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As the gaming community has known for a long time, a game is not just about winning or losing, its far more important than that. Games are increasing in complexity all the time and are now firmly rooted in our everyday lives. Recent daily news reports about the invasion of PokemonGO players to such diverse locations as The White House to Ayers Rock, causing mayhem in their wake, are proof of this. To ignore the power of games to influence people and create market share would be a mistake for business especially those involved in building their brand. The future of marketing is complex and apps and games are a very useful vehicle and tool to drive business forward. This is not surprising to us at Fierce Fun, but what does surprise us, is the amount of companies both large and small, that are completely unaware of the marketing potential a bespoke game can have to their bottom line. Not only do games have the power to influence our lives but they are a powerful force for marketing and in the area of education and learning.

capture5

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Social Media Internship

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Mobile Games Social Media - Internship (WE) 

This Social Media WE role is an opportunity for hands-on experience in social media and digital marketing. Fierce Fun publishes its games on the Google Play and Apple App Stores. This role is suited to someone who is a passionate gamer!.... PC, console and mobile

This WE role has the ability to learn from the development and marketing team. Some the duties will include:

•    Content Sourcing & Creation:
•    Working with the Project Manager to produce effective content for the company’s social media channels (Facebook, Twitter and others).
•    Writing blog posts, social media posts and other communication materials for social media;
•    Researching mobile app and game market trends
•    Review and optimization of social media content;
•    Reviewing social media content for use in other digital marketing initiatives

Ideal Qualifications:    
•    Strong interest in communications, social media marketing and/or creative writing
•    3rd level qualification or studying for one
•    Good skills in Microsoft Excel, Word and PowerPoint
•    Strong skills in Facebook, Twitter and/or blog software
•    Very comfortable using Android or Apple phones and tablets
•    Strict attention to detail and an ability to produce quality written content each week
•    Reads/knows games review sites and game bloggers

Terms:
Duration     3 months
Hours          Flexible and based on a candidate's schedule
Location      Remote work (mainly)
Docklands Innovation Park, East Wall, Dublin 3 (team meeting and reviews). Candidates need only attend weekly meetings onsite .Travel/lunch expenses will be provided.

 

 

Generation Z and Social Media

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In a recent U.S. college survey by Fluent marketing and insights, conducted in March 2016, students between the ages of 17-24, (a.k.a. Gen Z)  were asked about the social media platforms they use most. The results are not surprising with Facebook getting a resounding, 67%, Snapchat at 51% and Instagram at 50%. Predictably the Snapchat phenomenon is continuing unabated with the steady rise of this platform worrying the Facebook executives.  33% of respondent stated they have increased usage of Snapchat and no major increase in the use of  Facebook.

However, it was found that Facebook retains its dominant position in the social media sphere, being the favoured platform for friends, family, and brands. But the findings indicate it needs to keep evolving if it is to keep its position as the default social media platform of choice. Snapchat and Instagram appear to be used by Gen Z for tighter close-knit friendships or groups.

The survey’s most interesting findings revealed what the platforms are being primarily used for.  

Facebook is the Daddy. Primarily being used for general digital profiles and regarded as necessary. Regarding advertising on Facebook, respondents indicated they preferred display ads as opposed to news feed ads. Despite Facebook heavily promoting  video lately, respondents still favour using specific video platforms like You Tube.

Snapchat & Instagram: The good buddy platforms. These platforms are used several times a day by the respondents and are used to communicate with close friends and their campus community. They are open to ads on these platforms if they are brief and not pretending to be content which is perceived as disingenuous.  

YouTube & Pinterest are brand central. Respondents follow brands and celebrities on all channels, but they seem to favour interaction with  brands on Youtube and Pinterest. They also like following celebrities on these platforms. Twitter is also popular for following celebs. Respondents expect  ads on these platforms, as they seem more brand oriented.  Adverts that service a need or address issues they care about are usually clicked on. The quality of visual content in Snapchat and You Tube, promote repeat visits, in contrast,  branded stories or celebrity endorsements do not engage respondent enough to buy a product.

Time is of the essence, but video is king.   Most respondents (74%) spend more than two hours a day on social media with just under half  (44%)  spending more than four hours a day. Video is popular on all platforms with You Tube, as expected being the top provider. Two-thirds of respondent watch up to two hours of video a day for entertainment, this may happen over several visits during this time. Unusually live streaming video conversation were not as popular as these figures would suggest, with in-person contact being the preferred method of communication.

 

Snapchat vs Facebook

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fvs

We all know Facebook loves your photos and family videos, for what reason, we shudder to think? They are now, yet again I may add, trying to move into the Snapchat space and create a cloned Facebook version of the popular app, we are reliably informed. This is an effort to push their 1.6 billion users to generate more images and videos. Why? Possibly for their data mining operation? The planned app will be compatible with Instagram whom facebook already own and there will also be a video app to feed to your facebook account directly.  

But I hear you say, this has all happened before, and you would be correct in saying that. 

In 2012 Facebook launched the facebook camera almost in sync with its Instagram takeover. It bombed, probably because they realised they were re-inventing the wheel i.e Instagram were already doing it and they were doing it better.

Later in 2012,  they tried Facebook Poke an unashamed copycat of Snapchat, it lacked integrity and people saw through it. It bombed in 2014.

Also in 2014, came Bolt, designed by the Instagram boffins in their secret hideaway lab (probably located under some obscure mountain range). A  secret weapon perhaps? No! It bombed as well,  a year later.

Then came Slingshot another Snapchat clone, a stand alone app requiring no Facebook affiliation at all. It bombed in 2015.

Last but not least, they gave us Riff devised in the bowels of the innovative but not defunct Creative Labs at FB, a remix and editing app, which also bombed like the team that built it.

So we are sad to say the track record does not inspire confidence for Facebook’s attempt to take the Snapchat space. Some would ask, why can’t they leave other successful apps alone? What’s with this megalomaniacal attitude of destroying all potential competition?

Earth to Facebook, competition is good, it drives innovation and just throwing wads of cash at something does not buy success. Hunger drives success that’s where Snapchat came from, that’s where Facebook came from for pity’s sake.