The Cultural and Education Section of the British Embassy in Moscow is inviting games industry professionals to take part in the online workshop “Preparing a pitch for your game / games company”
The workshop is delivered in partnership with the Association for UK Interactive Entertainment (Ukie), Universal University and Scream School and is part of the international PlayUK Russia programme.
Workshop dates and duration:
- Session 1: Tuesday 9th November, 3pm-6pm BST
- Session 2: Tuesday 16th November, 3pm-6pm BST
Application deadline is Wednesday 3 November 2021 23:59.
During the workshops the participants will learn how to prepare the perfect pitch for a game and for a games company, develop their communication skills and hear how to develop emotional engagement, and present their ideas in a professional and compelling way.
The participants will take part in interactive sessions to build confidence and learn from their peers as well as from the host, Nick Button-Brown, a leading UK games industry investor and former executive at Electronic Arts and Crytek.
The workshop will be delivered online via Zoom in English with no translation.
Selection criteria for participants
We appreciate your interest in the PlayUK Russia workshops. We are expecting demand to be high for these unique workshops and have set a maximum number of attendees to ensure we maintain the quality of the sessions. Therefore, all applications will be judged against a selection criteria. We are not expecting everyone to exactly meet the criteria and recommend you apply even if you do not meet all the requirements fully. The selection criteria includes –
- An attendee is expected to work in a games company or be studying on a games-related academic course at a degree equivalent level.
- The content is aimed at individuals who have 3 years or less experience working in a games environment or more experienced individuals who are changing their role within the games industry or starting a new studio.
- Individuals must be located within the Russian Federation but also have an excellent grasp of English, including an understanding of games terminology.
- Attendance will be via Zoom so an internet-connected device is required.
- Each workshop lasts for 6 hours in total which will be split over two days. You will be expected to attend both 3-hour sessions in each workshop and there may be homework to undertake between the two sessions.
If you would like to take part, please, complete the application form by 3 November 2021 Wednesday 23:59. Successful candidates will be informed by email no later than 5 November 2021. The number of places is limited to 20 people.
The workshop will be delivered by Nick Button-Brown
Nick has worked in several senior positions across the tech and games industry for more than 20 years. He is currently Chair at Outright Games, a publisher of licensed games for children, recently sold to a Private Equity company and building towards an IPO. He is also a Board Member at Coherence, which recently raised a seed round supported by First Minute Capital; a Board Member and Mentor at Loveshark, a Mobile AR start-up growing from a seed round, and a Strategic Advisor at Payload Studios, developers of Terratech, who took a significant minority investment from Tencent. Nick also founded The Games Angels, a collective of industry veterans investing in and supporting early-stage gaming companies, and has Angel invested in Outright Games, Lightheart Entertainment, Included Games, Flick Games and The Adventure is Real.
Nick also helped grow and scale Improbable, a tech start-up that raised more than $600m, with backers including Andreessen & Horowitz, SoftBank and Netease. Previously Nick worked for 5 years at Crytek in Germany, managing 800+ people in 7 locations across the world, including the development of games such as 'Crysis 3', 'Ryse', and 'Warface'. He also spent 9 years at Electronic Arts, working on games such as 'Battlefield', 'Black & White 2', 'Crysis', 'Timesplitters 3', and 'Freedom Fighters'.
Nick is on the Games Committee at BAFTA, on the Innovation committee for the Recording Society (operators of the Grammys) and the founder trustee of OKRE in their work linking research and entertainment. Nick has undertaken speaking roles around the world and has an MBA from London Business School.
Workshop detailed summary
Pre-work
The participants will form groups of between 1 and 4 people. Working in collaboration is a key part of this workshop.
Session 1
- Introduction session from the host (15 minutes)
- Attendees’ self-introduction (30 mins)
- Pitching a Game (45 mins) - important information needed, and how to get emotional engagement
- Short break (15 mins)
- Pitching a Games company (75 mins)
- Homework - work on your Game/company pitch deck. Aim to get a first draft and a 5-minute pitch. Focus is on telling a story
Session 2
- Networking & creating a footprint (30 mins)
- Individual pitching to the group (60 mins). This includes a 5-minute pitch and 5-minute feedback session
- Break (15 mins)
- More individual pitching (30 mins)
- Talk about the different kinds of funding that can be accessed (45 mins)
- Homework 2 - If any of the attendees want to continue with their pitches, the trainer will arrange a 30-minute session of feedback with them
