On 25-26 July there will be a two-day educational Digital Games Boot Camp held at ACMI’s Swinburne Studio. The workshop will be hosted by Canadian-based industry veteran Jason Della Rocca, co-founder of Execution Labs and former executive director of Montréal’s International Game Developers Association (IGDA).

Over lockdown Della Rocca has worked with the Interactive Games and Entertainment Association (IGEA) to deliver online webinars, though this year will be the first time since 2019 that he will be on the ground in Melbourne.  While here on the 24 July, Della Rocca will also be delivering a talk session in collaboration with IGEA on Studio Design: Building a Foundation for Success and Avoiding Business Disaster.

The Creative Victoria Digital Games Boot Camp will involve training workshops to assist Victorian games studios in refining their business skills. Game-makers will take part in modules on funding models, pitching to publishers, competitive analysis, building launch momentum, and preparing for international engagement.

“Most game-makers don't have formal business training or experience,” says Della Rocca. “Many are coming from creative or technical fields such as computer science, writing, design, animation. So, any chance to offer them business and marketing related training is a great chance to level up their business skills and understanding. If a game-maker or team is attempting to make a living via their game work, then this kind of knowledge is indispensable!”

There will also be an opportunity for a selection of studios to receive a 1:1 business mentorship with Jason Della Rocca. The selection process will be based on merit, with recipients granted exclusive guidance from the industry guru himself.

“It is easy to make many of the same business mistakes and fall flat in terms of game sales, despite creatively making a solid game.” Della Rocca explains. “I've seen first-hand how some coaching and mentorship can truly make a difference for the viability of a new studio.”

In 2021, four Victorian studios were selected to receive 1:1 business mentorships with Della Rocca, including Studio Folly, Ghost Pattern, Lucernal, and Deadleaf Games.

Studio Folly has recently released a demo for their upcoming mischievous word game, Gubbins. While the studio held prior experience managing internal development, they welcomed advice in fostering business-to-business relationships, pitching and high-level product strategy. For Studio Folly, Della Rocca “was a welcome voice in the room, helped sanity check many ideas and generally upskilled us in bizdev.”

As Gubbins’ official release approaches, the studio reflects on the value of his insights. “He had a tangible impact on us taking monetisation seriously, and the quality of our pitches. Though we've only seen success pitching to gov[ernment] entities, we have built relationships that will no doubt provide value to our studio long-term.”

Image: Gubbins / Studio Folly. Visit folly.studio for more

Another recipient of the mentorship was Ghost Pattern, whose critically successful game Wayward Strand was released in September 2022. “No one on the team had a degree in business, and we were all primarily focused on developing Wayward Strand as an expressive, personal work of art,” Ghost Pattern recalls.

Della Rocca’s mentorship came during their final production stretch. “This felt like a good stage to hear from someone with a lot of experience in the business of games, to get advice on self-publishing Wayward Strand, and also on our next steps … to move towards being able to create games sustainably as a team in the long term.”

As the gameapproached release, Della Rocca advised on improving interactions with streaming platforms like Twitch, and how to build momentum over multiple releases when operating as an independent studio.

“The discussions with Jason were a great way to get an unfiltered view into that [business] perspective, in a setting where we felt comfortable to ask honest questions,” Ghost Pattern reflects, “as well as building an understanding of how best to communicate our team's values and vision with people who view video games with a business mindset.”

Image: Wayward Strand / Ghost Pattern. Visit ghostpattern.net for more

Studios hoping to benefit from Della Rocca’s insights and experience then are encouraged to register for the Digital Games Boot Camp and apply for a 1:1 mentorship. Della Rocca also looks forward to visiting Australia again: “Australian game-makers are super talented, with a long history of making games. I’m always inspired by the range of games coming out of Australia!”