We enrolled into Haaga-Helia with the single-minded purpose of founding a game company. As IT-students specializing in designing products and services along with extracurricular studies on game design and business we had a solid start. We founded Stupid Stupid Games two years into our studies and the core group is still together with more seasoned veterans added into the mix.
The challenge was to find a way to do something that others weren’t already doing. While doing research on game business we discovered that while intellectual property (IP) was often considered to be the most valuable aspect of games, nobody designed intellectual property. For us that was a revelation. We had stumbled across an aspect in game business which was very valuable, very profitable and extremely desirable. It was also an area that nobody had written a single book about. No articles on designing IP for games existed. We were looking at a huge gaping hole in the middle of the game business. Here we had an opportunity to do something special.
Intellectual property and games
Having a scalable IP often ensures the commercial viability of a game company. Intellectual property rights ensure the rights for the creation of the mind such as copyrights, trademarks and patents. For a game company’s commercial purposes IP rights include characters, stories, names, places and the brand.
IP in games most often refer to the brand, the storyworld, collection of games, etc. The entertainment franchise is often casually referred to as an IP. Angry Birds is considered to be an IP owned by Rovio. Pokémon is another IP that is owned by Nintendo. Owning the rights for an attractive IP gives the company a tremendous leverage in licensing and marketing. Having an IP that can cross over to other media is even more attractive since it gives you the chance to reach more customers.
While game IPs like Tomb Raider or Max Payne have crossed over to Hollywood films, franchises built outside of games translate into games better than the other way around. Games are traditionally designed as games first. The scalability of the IP into different mediums often seems to happen more by luck than design.
The benefits of IP first approach
IP first approach is achieved by narrative design. It is a way to design story and characters with the major game mechanics already in place in the game world. Every decision in the worldbuilding has to be weighed against different types of games. It slows down the development considerably and it requires a tremendous amount of research and testing before you can launch your first project.
At the core of IP first approach is streamlining and cumulative effect. With Agents of Armageddon instead of looking for one hit on one platform the acquisition of customers can happen through many channels over a period of time. Since the customers are not looking specifically for a certain type of game, but a specific fantasy world experience, the games are not platform dependent. Marketing can still be streamlined. Fans are fans of Agents of Armageddon instead of one particular game or book.
Another benefit of IP first approach is the cumulative effect of building necessary depth for the world of Agents of Armageddon and reusing assets. Also beneficial is the possibility of having co-creation built in to the business model. The world no longer rests on the shoulders of one creator, but it has become a network of developers and every single game or a story benefits the creation of future games and stories in other genres. Our core audience of hobby gamers and sci-fi & fantasy fans love games with depth.
The importance of a good game is still an absolute necessity. Not only do we have to create good games and stories, we also need to make sure the game world behind them is consistent with multiple other formats to ensure the scalability and thus longevity. This takes a lot of time. We needed to create a unique business model for a game company. Some unorthodox creativity was called for without forgetting the age old rules of productivity.
The task has been enormous and not without many perils, but we have endured.
Company name | Stupid Stupid Games Ltd |
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Investment range | 25.500 – 68.000 € |
Equity offered | 2.88 – 7.34 % |
Price per share | 8,50 € min investment 30 shares |
Number of existing shares | 101,000 |
Pre-money valuation | 858.500,00 € |
Start date | 14.1.2016 |
End date | 31.3.2016 23:59 |
Location | Helsinki, Finland |
Field of business | Other |
Reference number | 596 |