If you make kids apps, you may want to consider developing your intellectual properties through more media than just video games, according to Sebastian Wehner, who spoke on the subject at Casual Connect Tel Aviv 2015. “Developers of children’s apps should consider multi-media channels for their IPS,” Sebastian said. “IPs can extend beyond just apps into other platforms such as TV, toys and, of course, books.” See his full session below.
Sebastian Wehner is Co-founder and Managing Director of Wolkenlenker, a Berlin-based studio focused on developing and producing family entertainment across all media. His major responsibilities include shaping the strategy and product portfolio with his partners, acquiring project financing and developing the business. Sebastian and his colleagues at Wolkenlenker never meant their first foray into the app market, interactive storybook Karl’s Castle, to be a hit, but their guiding principles made room for unexpected success.
Learning Something New Every Day
Sebastian has worked in a variety of positions, from his first job as promoter and support staff at a games publisher to producer of animated films. He began his career in media working as a TV editor and first assistant director for commercials. Several years after starting a commercial production house, he co-founded Wolkenlenker. Since Wolkenlenker is an inter-disciplinary studio, all his previous experience feeds into the work he now does.
Working with people from a vast array of occupations and talents is an aspect of his work that Sebastian especially enjoys. He finds that their differing perspectives on work and life constantly widen his horizons. He says, “I love that I learn something new every day; it really keeps you alive to constantly switch gears.”
See Where Your Dreams Lead
Sebastian was first inspired toward a career in media when he watched the making of Star Wars on his neighbor’s Betamax player. He was fascinated to discover such a large team devoting all their time and effort to making this fictitious story come to life, and he immediately realized he wanted to be involved in something like that. At age 15 he made his first move in that direction, working at a games publisher after school and on weekends promoting games in shopping malls all over Germany.
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To anyone interested in following a career similar to his, he advises, “Follow your dreams, see where they lead you and be tenacious. You can’t pre-plan a career in media, but you can be prepared for when luck or chance hits you. If you’re too focused on what you once defined as the ideal career path, you might miss your biggest opportunities. If you have found what you love: focus, focus, focus.”
Challenges and Accomplishments
For Sebastian, the most challenging part of game development comes at the midpoint of a project. While the game is defined enough to offer a sense of what it could become, it is still so rough around the edges that he must suppress the urge to declare it a failure or to change everything around until there is no buffer for that crucial aspect, polishing.
The accomplishment in his career that he remembers with the most pride came when their first app was featured from the start and held the number one spot for weeks in multiple countries. He relates, “Initially we just wanted to test the app market, but our urge to create something beautiful led to a prolonged production cycle, self-exploitation and a successful product in the end.” But for him personally, the most satisfying moments come when he meets children or parents who love Wolkenlenker’s products and he hears them saying how much they enrich their lives.
The most difficult and painful experience he has had resulted from misjudging a project partner but still being tied to him. The only way through for him was to focus on his work, performing to the best of his ability and finishing the project as quickly and efficiently as possible. He admits, “A large part of becoming an entrepreneur is the urge to be free in your decision-making. Being completely bound was a bitter pill to swallow.”
Apps for Learning
Sebastian expects apps for children to be the impetus for a new wave of entertainment brands. More and more children have apps as their first media experience. Wolkenlenker is anticipating this trend by focusing on developing character IPs. He also sees devices becoming an integral part of the classroom and real games becoming tools for learning. Wolkenlenker is now developing a portfolio of apps that will enhance important learning skills as the children play games/apps. The company is working with brain scientists, and their studies show computer games can teach nearly anything in a fun way and have a measurable positive impact on the brain.
Even so, when developing games for children, the primary focus must be on fun. Sebastian emphasizes that a game without fun is simply not a good game. The company integrates education into the game loop, but they will never sacrifice fun in order to educate.
Wolkenlenker tests their games throughout much of the development process within the internal team and with their partners. As soon as the game has enough content and polish, they approach families with children in the target group and sit in with them (without any interference) as they play. Afterwards they discuss with the parents what they liked and disliked about the app and if they would consider buying it and why. Based on these tests, they iterate different aspects of the game and repeat multiple rounds of testing until finally the app is finished. In one instance, they worked with prototypes and involved children from the beginning.
Kids Developing Games
Getting kids involved in game development is already happening, with many great initiatives. Sebastian points out the Wonder Workshops Dash and Dot robots, the Hopscotch app and Code.org’s Hour of Code as great avenues into coding. He suggests the Arduino and Raspberry Pi kits as excellent for kids to start creating their own projects and believes, “Children have to see and feel that coding can change their world for the better, and that it is a beautiful way to bring your ideas to life and even to express yourself.”
Sebastian is a father who values the time he can spend with his wife and two sons. They go high-rope climbing together, boat the river in summer and go ice-skating and sleighing in winter. He and his wife eagerly anticipate the time when the boys will be old enough to go diving with them. But he also enjoys his time playing games on his console or iPad.
