In this chapter, we present some practical points of consideration. Many of our recommendations rise directly from the interviews with the game industry experts. We have also consulted similar reports from other countries, and suitable proposals from these documents have been adapted to the Finnish environment. The proposals are divided into three categories: 1) Governmental actors and public institutions, 2) Game companies, and 3) Research and education.
6.1. Governmental actors and public Institutions
Remodel the start-up and growth company financing.
The complex ensemble of public support instruments needs a reform. A variety of instruments, including tax breaks for R&D activities and incentives for seed funding, have been successfully implemented in other countries. These methods need to be seriously considered in order to provide a competitive edge for the Finnish game industry.
Boost direct funding for products.
The current funding instruments poorly support the direct development of competitive game products. Specific grants to help small studios to reach the production phase are needed. In order to provide a versatile ecosystem of games, different funding criteria need to be applied. One option would be an autonomous gaming fund to support the development of artistically ambitious games and innovative independent productions.
Bring actively together game developers and potential customers.
The hit-driven customer market is not the only source of revenue for game studios. Actually, a variety of sectors can benefit from the skills of game developers. The advent of gamification offers new exciting prospects, but service providers and potential customers still meet too sporadically.
Supporting initiatives that highlight what the game industry has to offer to the governmental and provincial actors would be of high importance.
Promote ways of attracting foreign investments, companies and workforce.
While the Finnish game industry is full of ‘born global’ firms that make most of their revenue from abroad, there are still steps to take in order to make the game development scene inherently international. Importantly, luring foreign investments and companies would produce jobs and export income. A multicultural workforce would provide important diversity, new connections and fresh ideas.
Include more game experts in governmental institutions.
Governmental institutions and programs seldom acknowledge the specific economic and cultural needs and affordances of digital games.
Furthermore, the key public operators – both on a national and provincial level – seldom hold up-to-date knowledge on the games sector. More game-savvy people are needed to instigate the national research and development programs and to participate in key grant adjudication panels.
Increase the overall promotion of gaming in society.
While the Finnish game industry has in the past years improved its overall visibility, the potential of digital games is still too often overlooked.
Therefore, governmental actors should provide incentives for the development of games festivals and promotional campaigns. After European Cultural Capital (2011) and World Design Capital (2012), Finland should establish an initiative for World Games Capital (2013?).
6.2. Game companies
Embrace entrepreneurship, take risks and do not be afraid of failure.
The attitude towards entrepreneurship in Finland is too often lacking in ambition. The companies need to think globally from the beginning and aim boldly for the top. The hit-driven nature of the industry means that the companies are bound to meet unprofitable projects on the way to success.
These failures should be seen as a welcome possibility to learn from one’s mistakes.
Study the new ecosystems and boldly take advantage of them.
Companies should actively seek the benefits provided by constant market change. Digital distribution lowers the cost of game development and opens new possibilities for retaining one’s own IP. The power of retailers and publishers may be diminishing but new gatekeepers are quick to take their place. Understanding the technological, economic and cultural nature of emerging gaming platforms becomes a key asset for any game developer.
Focus on high level expertise.
It needs to be openly acknowledged that when it comes down to mechanical implementation of things, Finland cannot compete with countries of cheap labour. The key asset of the Finnish game industry is its highly educated and creative workers. More attention should be paid to nurturing, cultivating and rewarding the skilled work force.
Network with everybody.
Game development is a global business and managing the right connections is a key source of success. In this respect, the large-scale industry get-togethers like GDC, Game Connection or Nordic Game are places to be. At the same time, one should not underestimate the value of local networks.
As the overall atmosphere within the Finnish games industry is very open and cooperative, newcomers should actively seek guidance from industry veterans. IGDA Finland gatherings are a good place to start.
Consider hiring or developing talent in the following key areas:
a) Marketing expertise.
The new platforms force game companies to consider marketing aspects already in the early phases of development. Marketing professionals focusing on merging game design and marketing are now high in need, as companies need to get up and close with the players through all the possible channels.
b) Organizational development.
Compared to the level of expertise, many Finnish game studios could still be run more efficiently. Establish a culture of continuously developing and testing new models and methods for managing innovation and development processes. Along with a professional outlook and practices comes credibility.
c) Player research.
Knowing your players is increasingly the key to success. Many studios should use significantly more resources on knowing who they are developing games for and how fun those games actually are. Consider applying a full spectrum of user studies, player-involving approaches, metrics and QA methods.
6.3. Research and education
Respect strong and thorough expertise.
While market-driven training courses may seem a tempting path to take, universities should rather stick to their strengths. University teaching should be research-based and assure that students also acquire basic research skills. Companies should support students to finish their degree and encourage employees to take part in supplementary courses, workshops and conferences throughout their career.
Promote interdisciplinary education.
University-level games programs should be built with a strong interdisciplinary focus. Key game development skills should be complemented with up-to-date knowledge from design management, business models and user studies. Technology-wise, options should be kept open. Instead of specific technologies that will become obsolete sooner or later, the focus should be placed on the general-level development theories and models.
Foster sustained and consistent ways of collaboration.
International examples indicate that mutually beneficial collaboration between educational institutions and the game industry requires long-lasting relationships that are actively maintained and evaluated. Trust is often based on personal relationships and it can be built only over time. A variety of methods can be applied to enhance collaboration:
industry-academia workshops, master classes, in-house researchers in game studios, and university-organized developer-in-residence opportunities.
Establish a game research and development centre with adequate funding.
Finnish game research is widely considered to be of high quality. Still, the field is somewhat scattered and permanent positions are a rarity. In addition, the scale of games-related education is not sufficient to promote the anticipated boom. Governmental support should be directed to a specific research and development centre that would boost collaboration between game industry representatives, researchers and students and coordinate international co-operative projects.