Convincing a client to fund a game

Michelle

Serious About Games has spent the past few weeks speaking to some of SA's top studios and their clients about the games they've developed together -- this includes a VR training experience, a recruiting game and some interactive space fun. Full case studies will be up on our website next week, but in the meantime, you can download the "infographic" executive summaries here.

I'm keen to hear your thoughts on commercial applications for games and any challenges you've encountered in pitching or delivering games to clients.

Michelle

Happy 2019! Just a reminder that the full case studies of Moneyversity, Fear of Heights, Team C4 and the Kuwait Space Museum are now up on our website here: http://seriousaboutgames.co.za/case-studies/.

The case studies include interesting detail on winning, working with and delivering to clients from top local studios. We've also interviewed the clients for their perspectives on why they commissioned a game (as opposed to using a "traditional" medium) and what value they realised from using a game to engage their target audience. Really useful info if you're looking to build sustainable income in game development.

Michelle

For each Serious About Games case study, we interviewed the studio and the client. One client that was absolutely thrilled with their return on investment was ArcelorMittal, who worked with Sea Monster to create a VR simulator for training. The high cost of training individuals who later turn out to be terrified of heights validated ArcelorMittal's development spend within days of implementation.

Extract from the Fear of Heights case study:

When onboarding employees, ArcelorMittal has to train them to ensure they are safe while working. One part of this training is making sure the employees are able to work at high elevation, such as on the top of buildings. This training was a lengthy and expensive process, costing ArcelorMittal upwards of R300,000. If an employee is afraid of heights, that money is wasted. The employee would then need to be transferred to and trained for another job at the company.

Finding out if potential employees are capable of working at these heights effectively is not only expensive, but also potentially very dangerous. Teaching employees about working at heights is not sufficient. The only practical way of finding out if the employees have the skill is to put them at a height, let them work, and see if they fail. Failing in reality at a high elevation could spell serious consequences and a safer alternative was needed.

ArcelorMittal also wanted to find a delivery method that could cater to a younger generation (statistics show that by the year 2025, 75% of the workplace will be millennials). An approach that uses advanced technologies could prove more effective in addressing ArcelorMittal’s concerns.

READ THE REST OF THE CASE STUDY HERE: http://seriousaboutgames.co.za/case-studies/fear-of-heights/

mattbenic

@Michelle FYI posted to the MakeVR FB group:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/162038107751495/permalink/310806726207965/

Michelle

We're hosting an event giving an overview of these case studies, plus an update on Bird Tracks, an in-classroom Grade-R-readiness assessment game that has just received impact funding, on Wednesday 13 February. Book your spot HERE.