Servus, I am Jonas, based in Munich, Bavaria, Germany and I’ve joined Technical University Munich studying Computer Sciene: Games Engineering and Technology & Management.
My last position for the past 3 1/2 years has been Release Manager at PLAION/DeepSilver
I call myself a “bridge between the ‘odd’ game developers and the ‘weird’ business guys.”
You my ask: That’s rude? The perception of each side often more or less can be broken down to this simple exaggeration. Building games as a “passion” and “earnings are nice side-effect” is quite the opposite of an actual business model that starts with the idea “How to get the most profit out of a game?”
A good game needs good devs, artists but for a great game you need a great business model and marketing too. (I’m leaving a bit out on both sites)
That guy who knows a guy who knows Geralt? Yep, that’s me.
I am the website coordinator of SemesterGameJam and proud volunteer at DEVCOM.
Feel free to explore my web space and projects and don’t hesitate to contact me.
Now that you’ve passed the classic introduction and you are still reading means you are actually interested and we can continue with the rest of my interest.
I do music, I play Piano and e-bass (regular and fretless). FL Studio has been my go to DAW but Logic always had some space in my heart. Ableton crossed my path while experimenting with the Launchpad.
The kind of music? Classic/Orchestral Music fused with Rock transitioning into ambience and EDM.
Often it ends up in my Game Jam projects as the music and sfx parts of games has a limited amount of available people.
When not doing music I either join a local game event, games trade fair and yeah actually play games.
When time allows I do some sewing projects. The idea: stealth cosplay and clothing you won’t get in stores as it is to niche or – which is more an “and” if it’s available: to expensive.
Creating my own patterns based on either designs form games or my personal.
I primarily use virgin wool and silk for the final products and when fusing my style with tech wear aspects I sometimes can’t avoid artificial fibres, but the focus has always been: highest quality, longevity based on the design.
Now that you know what my hobbies and job are you can find out about my passion: VR and futurology.
My time horizon has been always longterm. Opposing the game industry standard CEO I can’t stand focussing on quarterly and annual reports but the vision on what happens in the next 5, 10, 15, 20 and 30 years. It’s great to know the Day-2-Day business is working but this should be based on solid longterm decisions and not tailoring numbers to make investors happy.
If your game industry investor is just interest in their return and not the project you are already doomed in longterm. If they never played a game or joined a game jam they have disqualified themselves to even speak out.
Didn’t I want to talk about VR? Yes. But understanding how I think about the industry and business gives you a glimpse into how I approach my Vision for VR/XR/AR/MR or called it however you like.
My prediction (and please quote me on this and prove me wrong)
VR Games marked will be the future a huge part of the industry.
When? Not before 2035.
AR Games will be the intermediate stage. It will be the road to VR and forming the base for VR.
When? Already happening and will continue to grow and successively be replaced at time by VR.
NeuroGames? Those are very interesting and also have a long way to go for the mainstream.
When? I don’t see any of them a broader audience also before 2035. It really depends on tech and VR. Likely more 2040.
Ah yes, hardware: Totally forgot about it. If Slime Tracker, Sony Mocopi or Open Gloves. I believe new input methods need to be build and tested right now, yet none of the input methods have been fully defined or set in stone and can be freely explored. This is also a huge reason why VR has not been what Meta, Valve or any other “Metaverse” company has understood yet.
Locomotion, input standard and lack of games are the biggest issues.
Expensive hardware is just very small piece of the puzzle and is in my opinion no the biggest issue (see subsidised Meta Quest hardware).
Now that you basically know all about my current situation: The future.
I want to build my own studio. Own game brands and if feasible my own hardware. I really enjoy the vertical integration of Valve and Apple how software fits their hardware and vice versa – less their closed software. Am I strictly against some closed software? No, you should be able to pay your bills but the profit you make is the further push your company for the purpose: creating extraordinary experience. How much money do I need? A lot. When people tell my: What would you do with a Million dollar? I reply: Not funding my studio, well maybe but to be at the stage that I dream of, likely I’d burn through billions, realistically accounting for creative people, engineers, compliance testing down to prototyping and full fledged physical production facilities.
There you have it. Dream big. What of it will happen? We yet just don’t know.
I wish you a fantastic day. Thank you for so much patience reading all of this. Most people don’t bother.
Jonas