“Multiplayer game should be social”, remarked Daniel Kromand during the recent Casual Connect Europe conference. Along with colleague Pablo Tesch, they spoke about synchronous multiplayer which is a fast growing field on mobile. While it presents great opportunity for user engagement, it involves extra requirements for design and technology. They discussed GameDuell’s approach to creating casual multiplayer games for mobile. They also shared how they managed challenges in the production of prototypes and the recently released Grand Gin Rummy. The talk concluded with five suggestions for an engaging multiplayer experience on mobile. Tune in below to hear more.
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Who could have guessed that a mother nagging her son about wasting vast amounts of time playing games could lead to a very successful career in the games industry? This was not Daniel Kromand’s first choice; to this child, the idea of becoming a dinosaur-riding ninja was most attractive, until they discovered “it’s a tough career path.” The next plan, at a somewhat later stage, was to make art movies until, “I realized I have no talent for making art movies.” This was when Daniel happened to hear a talk about something they never previously considered, working with games; and their career grew from there, starting with unpaid internships, a brief detour into language QA, and then a position as producer.
Producer at GameDuell
Thirteen years ago, GameDuell produced an original gaming platform. GameDuell appealed because, after three years working in China, Daniel wanted to return to Europe and to do development on live products. GameDuell was the perfect match.
Daniel’s work at GameDuell currently includes the main responsibility for developing new features for the users and updating tech solutions. Prior to moving to GameDuell, their experience included work on a variety of game genres, including alternate reality games, educational games and core console titles. After working for both a cutting edge ARG startup and a large outsourcing company, Daniel says this background “helps to get different perspectives on projects and what you can achieve with between 4 and 1300 coworkers.”
Working Closely With the Team
And what does Daniel enjoy most about his job? “Like most game companies, you get to obsess about details in the game, encounter the devil in said details, and, most of the times, think of a great solution.”
After two years at GameDuell, Daniel admits that dealing with all the history can be a challenge, and claims, “The only way to do so is to work closely with the team that knows the product inside out and how to get things done.” But the rewards come through “all the moments when you look at a production and think to yourself “we’re totally screwed” and then manage to pull it off.”
An aspect of the industry that should be considered more these days is labor unions. Daniel is from Scandinavia and has seen this area model the positive impact labor unions can have on society. But whenever the subject is raised in the games industry, “everyone freaks out.”
The games space would benefit, according to Daniel from a more inclusive fan scene and people being nice to each other.
The Games People Want to Play
Daniel’s focus and mission in his work is making games people want to play, preferably about chameleons. In fact, “We should all make games about chameleons.” What is this essential attraction for chameleons, Daniel?
But while the next important trend in the games industry may not be chameleons, it is still a mystery to Daniel. “If I knew, I would start my own company and then cash out when the big players panic and try to acquire themselves into the market.”
Free time is still game time for Daniel, and is spent plowing through many games, but with an admittedly terrible completion rate, just because there are so many good games waiting to be played. And the music and nightlife of Berlin are also very enticing.
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