We continue to summarize the results of 2020 together with top managers and experts of the gaming industry (and related ones). Next up is an interview with Peter Kostylev, art director of Kefir and producer of the Last Day on Earth project.
Peter Kostylev
How was 2020 for the company?
2020 has become a test for everyone, what can I say? For example, we have never worked remotely, so we had to try. The fears were not justified: neither productivity nor engagement collapsed. In a matter of months, we have grown literally all over Russia and the CIS, increasing the composition of our team by a third, while not losing a single important member of the team. Now the entire studio is still in quarantine for security reasons, but after the end of the pandemic, we will open an office in Moscow and a new office in Volgograd.
In autumn, the long—awaited Frostborn was launched - a large multiplayer project in a Nordic setting. The game has already proven itself well, it has good indicators. There are several more interesting projects on the way.
Frostborn
We are also trying new genres for ourselves — we are making a huge number of prototypes, some of them have already gone into large development.
If we go back to what happened inside the company from the point of view of HR activities, then since spring, as we have already told earlier, we have launched our online broadcasting: tons of festive, bar and culinary broadcasts have been broadcast over the year.
The company's birthday was celebrated in its own bar, which, by the way, was also built this year.
It turned out that everything (except construction sites, yes) can be translated online: not only English and individual sports classes with a coach, but also corporate events, auctions and entire strategic meetings for the whole company. Moreover, any of these activities did not lose the material component: several times a month all the guys received parcels from Kefir Delivery (with treats ordinary and unusual, with sports equipment, with bar equipment, culinary and so on). Well, there are even more tournaments!
In addition, we have launched an experimental project based on the Work and Travel program. The guys joined groups, took their families with them and went to any city that is available in the current conditions. Someone went to Sochi, someone to St. Petersburg, someone to Turkey. The main purpose of the event is to take a little break from isolation and household chores, see colleagues, rent any villa or chalet and clear your head while working in an exotic place. The reviews are still extremely positive, the guys return rested and homesick, so there are no problems with depressive isolation or burnout.
What new trends in your niche do you consider worth paying attention to?
I don't know if this can be considered a trend, but I admit that due to quarantine we will see even more "social" games, and such random shots as Among Us will cease to be random. I think we will see a lot of attempts to repeat the success of Genshin Impact, although not every studio can produce a product of this level and scale. However, such games give hope that the market lives not only on proven genres.
What new market trends would you note in general?
The fundamental trend in game development has been and remains a reverent concern for people. The pandemic forced us to look at it in a new way and completely change the format, focusing on the postulate of "steyhome".
What will be the stake in the development of the company in 2021?
I think we'll be true to ourselves and invent something new, make a bunch of prototypes and experiment. The main goal of the company, as before, remains the creation of new interesting games and genres (of course, profitable ones). We are only changing the format of the work to make it more suitable for the current situation.
Of course, we will continue to build up our teams: udalenka has opened up new horizons for us in terms of recruiting. We also plan to reorganize and gamify the bonus system even more so that everyone has access to all the well-deserved privileges, regardless of where they are located. We are used to a special approach to people and now we are working to make everyone feel like a part of the family, even from a distance.
Let's continue and strengthen our work in the M&A direction: we are always in a continuous search for people, individual teams, and projects to help them join a big game meeting. If you love games and have always dreamed of getting into development, or maybe you are already doing it, our company will be happy to support your case.
Which third-party game releases are you interested in this year? Which ones did you pay attention to as a gamer?
It just so happens that most of the good games I've met this year are somehow related to Asia. Of course, it was impossible to pass by Animal Crossing and Genshin Impact. These are outstanding games. Yakuza and Persona are gifts from Japanese studios, games with incredibly bold and absurd game design that have a lot to learn. Separately, it is worth noting Half-Life: Alyx — that's really what I did not expect, so this is a high-quality VR project. Well, I really liked Ghost of Tsushima.
In general, there is more time for games and books in quarantine, so I can continue this list forever, but I will not. Instead, I will wait for my return to the office, the kefir bar, to the street, to other countries, the early launch of the vaccine and the release of new cool games.