Passion as a Driving Force

One of the key topics of the panel was the passion for video game development, which often transcends all challenges in the industry. Murat from Nanobit emphasized that the video game industry requires a lot of work and effort, especially in the early stages of a career: “If you want to do something that makes people happy, something that will bring a smile to their face, then work in gaming. But don’t expect an easy start – it takes a lot of hard work and passion.” Murat added that success often comes from teams putting in more than expected and not giving up on the challenges that come with game development.

Hunski from Croteam agreed, highlighting that the key to success is working out of love: “Our team operates like a hippie commune – we do what we love, and when you see that people enjoy your games, it gives you extra passion and motivation. We don’t use work control mechanisms; our team works because they want to, because they love their job.” According to Hunski, the creative process is crucial, but it requires hard work and constant adaptation to the market, while simultaneously allowing for the development of unique ideas.

Challenges of Financing and Maintaining a Business Model

The panelists also discussed the challenges of financing projects and making tough business decisions. Mihoković from LGM & Overseer Games shared his experiences regarding financial difficulties and balancing creativity with commercial success. He emphasized that although financing projects can be challenging, their team succeeds because they are focused on simple, clear goals: “We are like aunts at the market – we have a good product, if the price is right, people will buy it.”

On the other hand, Murat spoke about the importance of recognizing the moment to stop game development. He considers this aspect one of the hardest for any developer: “One of the hardest things is knowing when to stop a project and not continue investing time and money into something that may not succeed.” He highlighted how crucial it is for developers to be able to make tough decisions in a timely manner to avoid greater losses.

Game development in line with the market and audience

Uzelac from 2X2 Games emphasized how important it is to know your niche and audience. According to him, simply making a good game is not enough: "There are plenty of phenomenal games that have absolutely failed because they couldn't reach the right audience. It's not enough to make a game, release it into the world, and hope for the best. You have to listen to players and adapt to their feedback." Uzelac highlighted the importance of market research before starting a project, which allows developers to identify their users and their expectations.

Barbir from Pine Studio added to this, mentioning his own experience where their projects went through various stages of development and adaptation: "We started with mini-games that we sold without our name anywhere on them. Our goal was to learn and improve until we were ready for bigger projects." This approach allowed them to gradually rise in the industry, and later they managed to have their games among the most popular on platforms like the App Store and Google Play.

Long-term planning and goals

The speakers agreed that one of the biggest challenges for game dev studios is to maintain a <strongstrong long-term vision and not lose focus</strong. Murat emphasized that the key to long-term success is not only developing games but also investing in people and creating a sustainable work atmosphere: “Game development is not a sprint, but a marathon. It is necessary to build teams that can endure long-term projects, and this is achieved through a stable work culture and constant investment in employee development.”

Uzelac also added that it is crucial to set realistic goals for each project: “You need to know what you want to achieve, but also when it’s time to finish the project,” he said. Sometimes the biggest challenge is recognizing when it's necessary to abandon an idea that isn’t yielding results, which is a skill that, according to Uzelac, is difficult to acquire but essential for long-term success.

The post Croatian Developers on the World Stage: Inspirational Stories from the Gaming Industry first appeared on IndieGames.

Accessing the adaptation of the reality show into a video game

Nanobit has adapted Too Hot to Handle into three mobile games, which was an extremely challenging project considering that the reality show format traditionally does not offer obvious interactivity. Murat admits that he was not familiar with the original show before they started negotiations with Netflix, but he was surprised by the large number of viewers of the show, which gave the studio confidence that the game has enormous potential.

One of the main challenges was to translate the passive experience of watching television into an interactive experience where the player takes the lead role. “Watching a series is simple entertainment – you lie in front of the TV, your brain is turned off. However, in the game, users must be active participants and feel like they are part of that perfect world,” says Murat.

Character Personalization

One of the key elements that contributed to the success of the game was the deep level of character personalization. Nanobit allowed players to customize their characters in an incredibly detailed way, including various physical traits, tattoos, prosthetics, and other options to enable players to create a character that best reflects their personality or fantasy. This approach, which supports inclusivity, received a great response. Murat mentions the example of a player with diabetes who was thrilled by the possibility of their character wearing a glucose monitor.

In addition to personalization, the game allowed players to create their virtual dogs, which further enhanced the sense of connection to the game. “The goal was to enable users to feel like they could be part of the world they see on the screen,” explains Murat.

The role of Netflix and content oversight

As the owner of the IP, Netflix had strict guidelines that Nanobit had to follow during the game's development. Visuals, narration, and dialogues underwent detailed review by Netflix's editors, ensuring that the game remained true to the spirit of the series. “Every choice in the game, every dialogue, went through careful scrutiny to ensure that everything met Netflix's standards,” said Murat.

Interestingly, the three games together had about 1.7 million words of dialogue, surpassing the scope of literary series such as Harry Potter or A Song of Ice and Fire. This vast narrative content was non-linear, allowing players to make important decisions that affected the course of the game.

Nevjerojatan uspjeh na tržištu

The nanobit adaptation of Too Hot to Handle has achieved remarkable success in the global market. The first game in the trilogy was the most downloaded on the Netflix platform in the first two months after its release, while the third game in the series exceeded expectations with 90,000 downloads in the first five minutes after launch.

Murat highlights that Too Hot to Handle 3 had a better start even than some well-known titles like GTA Trilogy and Hades, indicating a strong fan connection to the series. “On Reddit, within the first few minutes after the game launched, hundreds of posts were made where players shared screenshots of their characters and fashion combinations,” Murat recalls.

According to Murat, Netflix plans to integrate the game with the TV show in a way that players can see their characters in the actual show on screen, creating a unique interactive experience that merges watching and playing.

“They own the IP, which means that no one else can continue the game. I can say that they want to add content for Too Hot to Handle 2 and give it to another studio. We are collecting all the data for them and can analyze it, but we cannot use it except to improve the game and in agreement with them. One of the data points we are allowed to use is that Too Hot to Handle 2 is the most played game on the platform. 45% of players have played the game more than once, which is an extremely high percentage,” concluded Murat.

The post The popularity of the Netflix series Too Hot to Handle was also achieved through Nanobit's mobile video games first appeared on IndieGames.

Murat joined the company at the end of 2021 as the Chief Operating Officer, and in January 2023, he took over the leading position after co-founders Alan Sumina and Zoran Vučinić decided to step back from operational roles.

Before joining Nanobit, Murat worked at companies like Sedam IT and Končar, where he gained significant experience in managing business operations. As the director of Nanobit, he oversees the growth of the company, which is now part of the Swedish group Stillfront. Ivan Murat is also the president of the Croatian Game Development Alliance (CGDA), an organization that brings together Croatian video game developers. He took on this role in 2022.

After five successful editions of the PROFilm Days conference, the Croatian film and video game industries are merging to create a new platform for discussing current topics – Blender: Film & Games. The conference will be held on October 4, 2024, at Algebra University, and the panels and workshops are free for all interested participants, with prior registration open until October 3 at 6:00 PM via this link. The program will take place across two stages and in workshop rooms, while the lobby of Algebra University will host the AV Career Day, providing interested participants with information on career opportunities in the audiovisual industry.

The post Direktor Nanobita Ivan Murat sudjelovat će u panelu o igrama i filmovima na konferenciji Blender: Film & Games first appeared on IndieGames.