VALVE SHARES THE SECRETS TO BECOMING A STEAM BEST SELLER AT THE BILBAO INTERNATIONAL GAMES CONFERENCE

Alden Kroll, a designer at Valve, shared some tips and best practices to successfully publish a video game on Steam, PC's largest marketplace, during the first day at the Bilbao International Games Conference, an event that gathered more than 700 people. Other speakers from Amazon, Chucklefish, Crema Games, or Fictiorama shared their thoughts and experiences about the games industry as well.

Kroll worked in titles such as Portal in the past, and is now in charge of designing the Steam Store and Valve's publishing or community management tools. "Releasing a game on Early Access is a key element to consider when trying to get traction on Steam", declared. Kroll also emphasized that Steam doesn't decide which games to highlight in each marketplace: "We trust in the users buying history to recommend the most suitable games".

Some of today's most popular games are played online, so having an excellent online infrastructure is critical for its success. Alexis Dahan, head of Game Tech at AWS for South Europe, revealed how they use their tools to prevent cheating: "We have a partnership with Riot Games that allows them to identify cheaters. ¿The best thing about it? It makes them play against each other".

 

Rosie Ball is a brand manager at Chucklefish, an indie publisher and studio. In her address, she stated the importance of paying attention to market your game correctly: "Doing a market research of games similar to yours is critical to be successful. From game mechanics to logos. Everything matters".

Luis Oliván, founder of Fictiorama, looked at the studio's history. Fictiorama has released two jewels during this time: Dead Synchronicity and Do Not Feed the Monkeys. "The number one lesson we have learned is that your games are important, but the survival of your studio is even more important. You have always plan one or two steps ahead of you and have a plan B if things go south", he said during his speech. Oliván also pointed out how important it is "to be humble" and ask for help when developing your game.

Shahid Kamal, the person in charge of doing the opening keynote, gave a passionate speech in which he signaled the relevance of innovation in video games: "Innovation, creativity, and progress come from the youth. No one should underestimate the next generation of game developers".

The Bilbao International Games Conference will return tomorrow, hosting more talks, keynotes, and round tables. This year's event has gathered studios, publishers, and investors worldwide.