BKOM Studios is very excited to begin its gradual return to the office. About twenty employees came back last week. It’s a bit of a highly-anticipated time. Honestly, there are people who missed the office and the team. Frederic Martin, our CEO, is one of them. Despite the fact that we’ve discovered the relevance and the performance that we can obtain when working from home, the fact remains that there are elements that escape us a little when we are remote: belonging to a team, this proximity to people – two meters away, where you can really have this human connection and feel that you’re an integral part of the team. That’s really important.
For the time being, we are monitoring the COVID-19 situation very closely. We have put in place all the necessary measures to protect colleagues who come to the office. It’s also done in a calculated proportion. The positive thing about it is that you can change your environment and not always be working from home.
On a voluntary basis, for those who really miss the team members, you’re welcome back ! We see that as a very positive element, with always the flexibility to be able to choose.
Watch the video below to discover the philosophy of our CEO Frédéric Martin on the subject.
BKOM Studios nominates Heinz Schuller as Senior Art Director!
12 Aug 2020
Quebec City, August 12 – BKOM Studios is thrilled to announce the nomination of a well-known figure for the position of Senior Art Director. Yes indeed, Heinz Schuller (ex-Microsoft, ex-Day 1 Studios, ex-Viacom) is now part of the most awesome team of game-smiths around!
Part of Heinz’s role will be to coach, assist and support our talented team of creators in the development of their skills and in their growth as artists. He’ll provide guidance and direction for the artistic vision of key initiatives and, in collaboration with the technical artists and engineers, ensure the visual approaches are coherent with the technical possibilities.
Working in the games industry as a Digital Artist and Art Director for over 27 years, Heinz is a fervent believer and evangelist of art process, quality, consistency, and performance. And his professional achievements speak to his ability and commitment.
Heinz not only is a natural artist who can speak equally to concept, modeling, texturing and lighting, but he is also a great teacher and mentor.
Known for his Art Direction on popular titles such as Mechwarrior 4: Vengeance, F.E.A.R. 3, and Avatar Laser Wars II, Heinz also worked as Publishing Art Director for Mechassault 1 & 2, and Crimson Skies: High Road to Revenge, and Mechwarrior 4 Mercenaries. Furthermore, Heinz served as a Game Art Instructor at DePaul University in Chicago for 6 years and has worked on two games which reached top 20 of all time best-selling on Xbox 360 Indie Games (XBLIG) as a sole artist.
“For someone like me who’s background and first passion is visual arts, this is such a huge announcement. To count Heinz among our ranks and to know that our artists will benefit from his experience and mentorship is just so amazing and inspiring. Definitely, this is the kind of news that puts a smile on all of our faces and that’ll contribute to us becoming an even better studio. With the great projects we announced recently, the timing couldn’t be more perfect” declared Frederic Martin, CEO at BKOM Studios.
BKOM Studios is growing and there are a few open positions for talented game smiths that are looking for a human-size company with the means to achieve its ambitions, and a place to grow and collaborate with industry veterans. Learn more here: www.bkomstudios.com/careers/.
ABOUT BKOM STUDIOS
Located in the beautiful city of Quebec (Canada), since its foundation in 1996, BKOM Studios has been actively contributing to the game industry by creating award-winning Play experiences (via connected toys, mobile, PC and console games, AR/VR and other forms / platforms). We care about games. As a game studio populated with passionate gamers, we understand business objectives and marketing goals are met with exceptional and beautiful games, coupled with fun mechanics which resonate with players’ interest.
More than 24 years of experience in studio expertise developed through several successful games. But above all, it’s a company with a human dimension made up of more than 100 talented and committed people.
BKOM Studios is the award-winning developer behind Overloot, Tales from Candlekeep: Tomb of Annihilation and Little Lords of Twilight.
BKOM Green
20 Jul 2020
Since the beginning of 2020, we have prioritized the foundations of sustainable development within internal and external activities at BKOM Studios in order to become an agent of change. We have been taking concrete actions to reduce our ecological footprint and make a difference.
Our plan, spread over one year, aims to:
Reduce the ecological footprint of BKOM Studios in its internal and external activities
Adopt and promote eco-responsible consumption and thus reduce the amount of waste produced
Employee engagement
Residual materials
Responsible sourcing
Community involvement
Greenhouse gas
With the confinement of the last few months, some steps have been put on hold, others have been put in place on their own due to the circumstances, but despite everything, there’s something positive coming out of it, and globally too.
NATURE IS HAPPY
Nature benefits from this more than deserved break brought with the COVID crisis. Many believe that isolation measures are good for the environment and even if we still lack hindsight, we’re already seeing that pollution has decreased considerably in recent months.
In China, the air has improved significantly and some people have even seen the blue of the sky for the first time in their lives.
In Italy, the waters of Venice have become clearer.
Thousands of endangered sea turtles in India peacefully lay millions of eggs.
Some see things returning to normal soon, but the moment that we live in now SHOULD make us think. Humanity has exerted enormous pressure on the natural world for too long and the effects are being felt. Never forget that taking care of the planet means taking care of ourselves.
The current crisis demonstrates that man is capable of making sacrifices for a good cause. Let’s take this opportunity to make “green” resolutions, let’s seize the opportunity for change!
TRANSFORM WASTE INTO OPPORTUNITIES
The accumulation of waste is a major environmental problem and, fortunately for us, some researchers are determined to transform our garbage into resources. Their big challenge is to reduce the quantity of waste rejected indefinitely. Among the “green” genius ideas found on the net, three concepts are targeting more specifically the residues resulting from human overconsumption, thus grabbing the attention of BKOM:
Replace concrete with recycled plastic
Biking from coffee capsules
Making building materials from old clothes
These solutions cover all the products that are found in too large a quantity in the dumpsites (the latter should moreover reach their full capacity within 10 years). Numbers ? Just in Quebec, that’s 190,000 tons of clothes thrown away each year. Worldwide, 8 million tons of plastic are dumped into the sea each year.
We’ll not hide it, our habits as consumers are difficult to change and the production of waste resulting from it is enormous. It’s much better to recycle to make new things! And even if we don’t all agree with the warnings of scientists, we can agree that the production of waste is a huge problem. A guided tour of our dumpsites may be the solution to convince our biggest skeptics!
Full nappies, old shoes, Christmas lights and expired medicines are some of the unusual objects found in sorting centers. We understand that although recycling is an increasingly “natural” practice, there’s still a lot of awareness-raising work to do.
Not sure where to put what? Here are two questions to ask yourself before recycling:
Is it paper, cardboard, glass or metal?
Is it a container, packaging or a print?
When answering “NO” to any of these questions, the item should not go into the bin. What can you do then? Certain objects can be donated to an organization, brought to an eco-center or make their way into the trash.
In 2020, it’s now time to respect your recycling bin and sort it out responsibly.
ZERO WASTE, EVEN ON HOLIDAYS
In summer, don’t we love the scent of BBQ and freshly cut lawn? Or the flowers, the gardens and the birds that sing in the trees. It’s the season of weddings and family vacations. Summer is beautiful, but it’s also the return of disposable products in large quantities (disposable plates and glasses, napkins, etc.)!
When you think “green”, one of the important and easy thing to do is to start by reducing the amount of waste we generate at the source.
Here are some tips to help you during the summer season:
Avoid disposable products, limit packaging and opt for reusable products (picnic, camping, by the pool at home)
Compost, because it’s clearly easier in summer than winter and useful in the garden. You don’t know how to do it ? Craque-Bitume offers lots of tips and tricks on their site (french site only). If you don’t have a backyard, you can still compost (methods exist for people who only have a balcony) or check the possibilities with your municipality!
Buy in bulk for your picnics and avoid individual size snack packaging. There are now plenty of grocery stores in bulk, organic, fair trade, handmade … you can find a multitude of snacks!
Think of the second-hand economy for your leisure equipment for example. We only have a few weeks of summer in Quebec, there’s no need to get new equipment for the beach!
Opt for cycling, walking or skateboarding to get around more ecologically
Bbq party background with grill. Barbecue poster. Flat style, vector illustration.
Remember that your waste has a life cycle and that even if you dispose of it, it continues to exist in nature. Every little bit counts.
This summer, don’t opt for the easy way and think about the impact of your actions on nature.
Have a good, green and sunny summer everyone!
Strategy & Performance Department
6 May 2020
Strategy & Performance Department
This article was written by BKOM Studios’ Strategy & Performance Department. If you want to know more about Business Development and BKOM Studios, follow us.
5 Best Practices for Remote Work
6 May 2020
Since the start of the confinement, BKOM Studios has been 100% working remotely.
Even though working from home is great in many ways, it also comes with its share of challenges. These new work habits require some adjustments.
Here are our 5 tips on how to take advantage of remote work:
1. Set a work schedule
First, one of the best practices for remote work is to set a schedule. It’s difficult to stay focused and productive when your work days start and end at varying hours. If you work in a team, it’s also difficult to communicate with your colleagues if you are not online at the same time as they are.
In order to manage your workload, try to set a schedule as stable as possible.
2. Make a to-do list
Just making a list of your daily tasks can keep you on track much more than trying to remember everything you need to do.
By the same occasion, you can fix your tasks directly in specific time slots in your calendar to keep control of time management. Also, make sure you don’t overload yourself with an overly long or unrealistic to-do list.
A good habit to take is to list at the end of the day the things you need to do for the next day. Put the most important item first. This ensures that you are working according to the priorities of the day and it will give you the momentum to complete the rest of your to-do list afterwards.
3. Communicate often with your colleagues
Another best practice for remote working is to communicate often with your co-workers, and this, in a clear manner.
In text messages, a lot can get lost in translation and in intention. Voice or camera communication remains the most optimal so that your message is clearly received.
Whether it’s for a team meeting, a scrum, a web conference or for a simple interview, it’s important that the communication remains professional. This is why it’s recommended to prepare your meeting in advance. It will also make your meeting as productive as possible.
Make sure that the necessary people are on the list of participants and that they are available at the time of the meeting;
Attach the points to be addressed or the documents to be shared in the invitation;
Test in advance the technical means used;
Be concise and precise in your communications to be as efficient as possible during the meeting;
Encourage the exchanges and interventions of each participant.
4. Stay social
Since you work from home, there may be loneliness after a while. Even more so in the current situation in which it is not allowed to reunite with family or with our loved ones.
In order to keep your mental state healthy, make sure you stay social by participating in remote lunches, conference calls or online gaming activities with your friends. You will fight any loneliness that may come from working from home by making an effort to be social as much as possible.
Also do your best to be social with your co-workers. It’s easy to stay in your own bubble and stay focused on the tasks at hand. The teams in which there is a very strong relationship between colleagues are often the most solid. If your employer gives the possibility of meeting in a 5-7, or to partake in other social activity, take advantage of it.
5. Remember to take breaks
It’s easy to lose track of time once you are well into your work rhythm. Remember to take breaks of 5 to 10 minutes several times a day, if only to go to the bathroom or stretch your legs. It also allows your brain to take a mental break and to recharge its batteries. Breaks are very beneficial.
Exercise is also an important part of your overall well-being. During lunch time, for example, do physical exercise. Not only will you come back more energized, but you will be able to attack the rest of your tasks better.
Take advantage of the various benefits of remote work
In conclusion, working remotely has many advantages, including :
Better productivity
Reduced travel time
More flexible schedule management
Reduced stress
Better work-family balance
Working from home is great in many ways. We hope you find our advice on remote working good practices to be useful.
Overloot: a Game UX Case Study
17 Mar 2020
Building an intellectual property is a major adventure for any game studio. BKOM has recently experienced such a journey for its new title Overloot, a mobile RPG-inspired puzzle game, released to the public on iOS & Android. Today, we’d like to share some of our User Experience team’s journey and how we leveraged user tests to help us shape and optimize our game.
The earlier you test, the earlier you get valuable insights
Multiple steps are included in our UX process. One of these steps is UX benchmarking, which aims at establishing what are the current trends among similar games and apps, and if well-known patterns have mutated in a significant sample of new games. The fun part here is: this involves playing a lot of games. The perks of our profession, no?
One example of a trend noted during this phase, was a detail on a lot of app’s interfaces: the placement of the closing button on lightboxes at the bottom of the screen, instead of the more traditional top-right placement.
Some examples of mobile games that placed the closing button at the bottom, with our own implementation at the end of the list.
Theoretically, it made sense since a close button located at the bottom of the screen is more accessible to players using only one hand, as shown on the graphic below.
After spotting the trend, we did some research as well as in-house user tests to see if it was actually user-friendly, and then we applied it in our game. As you can see, even if we hadn’t already started designing the game’s user experience, we were still using user testing to validate concepts that eventually would make their way into the game. It also shows you don’t need to invest in a complex user testing process that usually involves a lot of time and money. Adjusting the testing methodology in a high-velocity project is important.
Teamwork & Communication
At BKOM Studios, multidisciplinary teamwork is the cornerstone of our DNA. Working together, we exchange ideas and ensure we all have the same understanding of the game’s mechanics. We flag details that were not thought of beforehand, and the UX role in the team is to make sure we’re thinking of the players at all times.
This communication flow helps us sort out specific items that could eventually become friction points. It also pushes the team to test them, against ideas that should resolve these experience gates.
One example of a challenge we ran into was the decision of the square size of the inventory’s grid — an element we had already spotted as the most important one within the game’s interface. While Overloot is a visually stunning game — no false modesty here — we found out pretty quickly that the players’ attention was mostly directed towards the grid where they have to manage their inventory. We needed to be sure of the optimal size for these squares. With a grid that contains bigger squares, the players would Overloot (fill up the inventory) too easily. On another other hand, with a grid with more but smaller squares, players would have a hard time tapping on isolated boxes of the grid to select/move items. As a result, it would be harder to distinguish the more similar items.
We decided to test three possible versions of the grid. We created interactive prototypes for each of them, and ran tests with users coming from various age groups. The result is the grid size that we see today in the game!
Screenshots of the three prototypes we developed to help us find the optimal grid size
Iterate, test, repeat
Games change a lot during production: the team spots problems or opportunities and brainstorm ways to make it better. This eventually leads to changes in the game, and the UX Team, acting as a guardian of the user experience, has to keep an eye on how to make changes that actually enhance the experience, and not harm it.
As soon as we have a playable version of the game, we can begin testing it with players, checking their reactions, flagging issues to the rest of the team and proposing optimizations.
The more we test and iterate, the better the player reception is. When a gameplay or an artistic aspect of the game is awesome, we get amazing feedback. However, as UX team, we know we’ve achieved success when nobody talks about it. We then know that the game doesn’t have any friction points for the user UX-wise.
The testers were chosen based on the game’s target audiences, and each session involved a lot of note-taking.
Life after Launch
Even though the game is already available for Android and iOS, it’s not the end of the road for us. Our goal is to keep making the Overloot’s experience even better with feedback gathered from players now who found and downloaded the game on their phones in a more spontaneous way — this brings a new set of challenges we’re eager to face here in our UX Team.
BKOM STUDIOS IS IN ONE OF THE BEST CITIES IN THE WORLD
18 Feb 2020
Last month, the German site Movinga published a study of the best cities where it’s recommended to relocate as a family. The list contains 150 cities across the globe where various criterias have been selected for the evaluation. 3 Canadian cities make the top 10, and proudly in 2nd position is our wonderful city of Quebec!
It’s not surprising with all the career opportunities and services offered to newcomers. The families surveyed analyzed several other factors such as:
affordable housing
costs the cost of living
the unemployment rate
the quality of education
safety
mobility
the air quality
health care
family activities
family leave
inclusiveness of families
neighborhood safety
Quebec City has stood out with its very reasonable cost of living, affordable housing costs and the lowest unemployment rate. It goes without saying that Quebec offers a balance between budget and career opportunity! Our culture of diversity and the legalization of same-sex couples among others things make Quebec an ideal place to settle with family.
BKOM Studios is proud to have had our head office in this wonderful city for over 24 years. We’re also very proud that our city can accommodate families who want to come and settle in our neighborhood. We know very well that it’s a big challenge to move to another city, province or even country, and we are committed to supporting those who make the jump in our studio.
Again this year, several hundred exhibitors attended PAX South, ranging from successful AAA game publishers and developers to the most innovative independent game studios in the industry. Each day, more than 20,000 visitors visited the kiosks to discover the new games of the year.
BKOM Studios offered attendees a chance to discover our games, which are available on PC and mobile. Our team has done an exceptional job in animating and welcoming visitors. The players were delighted with the originality and the quality of our games, generating a lot of enthusiasm and positive reactions around the BKOM booth.
Little Lords of Twilight
Our first original IP, Little Lords of Twilight, a turn-based strategy PvP game, was one of the three demos available for all attendees to play at our booth. The title, featuring unique characters with very distinct personality traits, has once again attracted many players to our booth. All visitors were given an exclusive Little Lords of Twilight PAX promo code for them to enjoy from home!
Tales from Candlekeep: Tomb of Annihilation, a turn-based dungeon-crawling game based on the Dungeons & Dragons Adventure System board games, was the second BKOM title available to try out at the show. As you may know, the game includes most of the elements from the popular board game, combined with features unique to the digital version. Players were quickly impressed with the game system and its procedural map generation system which allows every quest to remain unique even when replaying them multiple times.
With PAX south attracting a lot of Dungeons & Dragons fans, having Tales from Candlekeep at the booth turned out to be a pleasant surprise for many. We can say without a shadow of a doubt that our demos were a huge success at the show again this year!
Overloot is a fast paced RPG puzzle game in which players must grow stronger by amassing and merging equipment in order to defeat the Evil King.
Overloot, our new mobile game, in partnership with the incredible WHAT (games) team, looted everyone’s heart at PAX South. The hundreds of visitors who came to our booth were able to download the game easily and free of charge from their phone via a QR code. We’ve only received excellent feedback from players. Some even said that Overloot was by far the best game played at PAX South 2020 this year. The consensus: Overloot is an entertaining, funny and extremely addictive game!
In addition, all the visitors who came to our booth had the opportunity to spin our loot roulette for a chance to win amazing Overloot or D&D prizes. Our stickers, pins, t-shirts, figurines and beer mugs made many happy winners at the event.
We have only received excellent feedback from players, and were even told by some that Overloot was by far the best game they have had the opportunity to play PAX South 2020. The consensus: Overloot is an entertaining, funny and extremely addictive game!
In addition, all visitors to our booth had the opportunity to spin our Wheel of Loot for a chance to win incredible Overloot or D&D prizes. Our stickers, pins, sweaters, figurines and beer mugs made many happy at the event.
Besides the event, let’s not forget the magnificent city of San Antonio. We absolutely loved the famous River Walk and trying out the best Texan restaurants in the area.
PAX South was a huge success! Thank you to everyone who came to meet us and see you next year!
Overloot shines at MEGA + MIGS
27 Nov 2019
BKOM Studios was privileged to attend the Montreal International Game Summit and Montreal Expo Gaming Arcade (MEGA) from November 16th to 19th at the Grand Quai in Montreal.
The event offered the public various activities focused on the video game. Nearly 10,000 visitors came from all over to attend.
Our team was on site to meet the participants and present them the job opportunities we have to offer. We also took the opportunity to present the scope of our services to various potential partners. Many of the publishers we met showed great interest in our developing console and PC client projects.
In addition, our latest mobile game Overloot, has also generated much enthusiasm among publishers and players, due to its original concept never seen before. The comments of the participants were unanimous! A fun, colorful game that you can never get enough of. From a 48-hour game jam at the Pixel Challenge 2017, the largest international digital creation contest in Canada, to funding with the Canada Media Fund and a global release in collaboration with WHAT (games) mobile games distributor from the giant Gameloft, this quirky game has come a long way!
On the site, we were able to talk with various media and influencers, who made Overloot shine in the press and on various media platforms. We can already see the positive impacts of the event as well as the number of players growing.
Our November blog introduces Peter Andrew, VP of Production, who recently joined BKOM Studios. Having worked in the video game industry for over 30 years, he has held senior positions with major companies.
AWESOME BACKGROUND
Leaving the sun and heat of California to settle in the beautiful city of Quebec with his family, Peter is not afraid to take on new challenges. Well known in the professional world, he has evolved in the gaming industry working on well-known projects, including “Marvel Puzzle Quest” for mobile, “FIFA” for console, and all the way back to “Double Dragon” for the Sega Genesis.
At D3Publisher of America Inc., he was in charge of business development and the production department where he was responsible for acquiring and developing games internally and externally. He also served as Technical Director at Electronics Arts Canada, a key position in the company.
AN ASSET FOR THE TEAM
Peter stands out for his ability to adapt to an ever-changing marketplace and a successful, team-oriented way of working. His skills in software engineering, project management and business development make him a unique jewel and a strong ally to propel the expertise of BKOM Studios to a whole new level.
We are delighted to welcome Peter to the BKOM family and are sure he will bring unique skills to the studio. He represents a highly valuable asset as the company is set to launch Overloot, our new mobile game, with our publishing partners WHAT (games), distributor of mobile games of the French giant Gameloft.
BKOM Studios Returns from Game Connection Europe
6 Nov 2019
Game Connection is an international event where more than 2,700 developers, publishers, distributors and service providers meet. It’s a golden opportunity to put forward our expertise and to publicize all of our services.
Last week, BKOM Studios flew to Paris to attend Game Connection Europe. We had the pleasure of tasting croissants and pastries from La Boulangerie Paul but, above all, of having great encounters with potential European partners. With the recent release of our new mobile game Overloot on the App Store, we also took the opportunity to see our friends from What (games), mobile game publisher of industry giant Gameloft, who who will helps us bring the game to the market in five languages and 155 countries. The game’s launch promises good news for BKOM Studios and our publishing partner.
Our visit to Paris for Game Connection Europe allowed us to have some interesting encounters that will lead to potential opportunities for BKOM Studios by the end of 2019 and 2020.
Destination BKOM Studios!
30 Oct 2019
There are no geographical limits to come to work at BKOM Studios. Every year, we welcome new members from all over the world to our team. This month, we’d like to introduce you to Kielse, Gabriel and Wyatt who tell us about their work experience at BKOM Studios as well as how their process of adaptation and integration took place.
BKOM Studios is here!
We take great care in helping and supporting our new employees throughout their integration process. We judge it important to offer French classes that combine discussion workshops and theoretical courses tailored to the needs of our employees. We make sure that they have everything they need as soon as they arrive in Quebec, whether it’s to find a departure flight, housing, transportation to simplify their travel, etc.
The BKOM effect
Joining the BKOM Studios team is to be welcomed by a new family of talented, passionate people with a human dimension. It’s also about working in a stimulating environment where you can have a real impact on projects, come up with new ideas and feel listened to; an environment where the social dimension is an integral part of the work, with great activities and unforgettable parties!
Discover by yourself how these people have lived their experience:
Want to make the jump too? BKOM Studios is always looking for talent
#WeWantYou
BKOM Studios Return Gamescom, We Are Ready!
28 Aug 2019
Once again, BKOM Studios went to Cologne from August 20th to 24th to attend Gamescom! This show dedicated to the video game industry, brings together several major players in the industry such as Gameloft, Microsoft, Activision and many others. In order to promote our expertise in UX/UI, AR/VR and 2D/3D concept art, we took part in this event which every year welcomes nearly 370,000 visitors.
On site, we’ve seen several hundred exhibitors, conferences, as well as various competitions of video games but also cosplay contests. To stay on top of new trends in the industry, we’ve browsed the site to discover the next games releases as well as new trends from retro-gaming to new technologies.
The multitude of European studios that were on site allowed us to make interesting meetings conducive to the creation of business relationships with future clients. The organization of the business-to-business (B2B) section of the event encouraged exchanges to lead to possible contracts and / or partnerships with big names in the video game industry.
It was at Gamescom last year that we began discussions regarding our next mobile game in partnership with WhatGames, which will be released soon. Again this year, we are confident that our meetings with potential partners last week will materialize into exciting opportunities for BKOM Studios.
Stay tuned!
BKOM Studios spoke at XDS
11 Sep 2019
External Development Summit (XDS) is the only annual professionals-only gaming event of industry that brings together a niche community of developers and publishers each year in Vancouver. This event contributes to the advancement of the gaming industry through collaboration, sharing of best practices, networking and the delivery of a high caliber, educational program. Last week, BKOM Studios participated as a speaker and shared its experience with Avalanche on the development of Just Cause 4.
Our experience
On site, we found that the structures put in place encouraged exchanges between the various studios that sought to promote their services or to meet potential partners. During the event, we had the chance to attend conferences on various topics that highlight the best practices of the game industry. During our conference, we presented our studio’s contribution in UX/ UI during the realization of Just Cause 4’s post-launch development. An enriching experience where we have taken up the challenges of a remote collaboration through complex workflows. The excellent work done by the entire team during the conference earned us the “Most Innovative Talk” award at the XDS closing gala ceremony.
Thanks
We would like to thank all the people involved in the preparation of our presentation: the BKOM team and our friends from Avalanche Studio. Thanks also to Treyarch Studio who helped us steer our preparation to make our presentation a success. We wouldn’t want to overlook the XDS Advisory Committee who, once again, prepared an event at beyond our expectations.
See you next year!
E3 and what BKOM Studios learned from it
21 Jun 2019
This year marked the end of the 25th edition of The Electronic Entertainment Expo, commonly known as E3. Every year, this exhibition is devoted exclusively to the video game industry and gathers the biggest names such as: Nintendo, Ubisoft, Gameloft and Microsoft. Let’s not forget the several-tens of thousands of visitors attending this world renowned event. As one of the world’s biggest events in the video game industry, BKOM Studios has been there to meet many potential partners but also to stay up to speed with the new technological trends in the upcoming year.
Following our visit, we have noticed that E3 has changed. For the first time in years, Sony’s participation was nonexistent at the expo as well as several other major enterprises of the industry. On the other hand, BKOM Studios knew to capitalize with the announcement of new streaming platforms such as Apple Arcade and Stadia. This new turn in the video game industry, encourages companies to look for experienced partners to help them develop their own game on these new platforms. That means great opportunities for BKOM Studios for the development of our own IP and games which are designed and developed by our teams here in our studio but also in terms of partnership opportunities with the #01 brands of the industry. Our expertise and experience in project design and idealization makes us a great choice among the competition. We are confident that our meetings last week with potential partners, both traditional platforms (console, mobile, pc) and the new streaming platforms, will materialize into exciting opportunities for us.
Our team just returned from AWE!
7 Jun 2019
Our team has just returned from AWE (Augmented World Expo), the world’s most essential AR+VR conference. AWE brought together a diverse mix of industry actors in a one-of-a-kind opportunity to learn, inspire, partner, and experience first-hand the most exciting industry of our times.
The expo was extremely interesting and beneficial for our studio due to the fact that it has confirmed that we remain up to speed with the last breakthrough in augmented and virtual reality. AWE is for sure the perfect show to demonstrate our expertise as developers in AR / VR content and to meet up with various representatives from companies such as Audi, Facebook, or HBO.
Most of the people who visited our booth were impressed by our ability to develop effective AR / VR content. A large number of attendees came to our booth and tried our Connected Castle demo which showcased our ability in bridging physical toys with the world of augmented reality. Our different technologies has certainly impressed many.
Based on our first IP and mobile title Little Lords of Twilight, the attendee had to pair the physical tower with the iPad in order to create an identical tower in augmented reality. The attendee’s objective was to destroy the augmented tower displayed on the iPad while trying to fend off the opponent attacking the physical tower. Once the attendee’s physical tower’s health point reached zero, a springed mechanism would make the towers pop.
We can also add that the majority of exhibitors were presenting either computer hardware and software. Our studio was one of the few participants who seemed comfortable in developing effective AR / VR content and with an excellent understanding of the user experience regardless of the technology.
We can say that our different meetings were very promising and we already have projects in an ongoing discussion with companies we have met during the AWE. We will certainly return next year!
ALL ABOARD!!!
29 May 2019
Imagine the start of the Harry Potter movie being a scene in which you have Harry (spoilers ahead!) battling Voldemort in an epic battle outside Hogwarts. It would probably leave you with a lot of questions and an evident lack of contextual knowledge to fully appreciate what’s going on. The odds are high on what you could possibly do next: stop watching and even maybe write a bad review on this unfortunate experience.
It’s the same thing with a video game in which a player would be dropped into a full experience without any knowledge or context. It’s likely that the player wouldn’t stand there very long trying to figure out what to do. Furthermore, the tremendous selection of available games would probably make the playing session even shorter if it’s too difficult to understand the game. That’s why it’s primordial to have an onboarding experience for your game. But what makes a great first-time user experience (FTUE)? Let us walk you through it.
FIRST 10 MINUTES
This timing is the cornerstone of the user’s experience. In the first 10 minutes of gameplay, we want to: grab the player’s attention and elevate the expectations, teach him or her the “How to Play” and most importantly create enough hype, excitement, and understanding of the game so that they want to come back. As said previously, there are so many games available in the market, either mobile games or pc/console games. The first 10 minutes must be planned wisely so that the player doesn’t jump immediately to another game.
But let’s be clear: Nobody will install your game with the intention of going through your totally fun onboarding, but…great FTUE will potentially result in players continuing to play it after their first use and… that’s the goal.
THE JOURNEY TO GREAT FTUE
Onboarding must be planned on three levels. Those must be defined early in the gaming development process. Defining it early facilitates the integration into the big picture of your game and it also ensures you’re not forgetting it. That would lead to a rushed and ineffective first-time experience or even worse no FTUE at all.
THE HOOK
Little Lords of Twilight (BKOM Studios) – Narrative & Visual Hooks
The purpose of the hook is to get the player excited enough about the game to get through the second phase: the tutorial. Different hook types can be planned and introduced into an onboarding:
Mechanical: the mechanics of the game create moments that players crave, but be sure that the player lives while using these mechanics for the first time.
Narrative: the story and the lore of the game create wonderment and burst the interest to learn more about it.
Visual: the visual environment and the characters created for the game are pristine, incredibly attractive and stand out compared to what is available on the market.
THE TUTORIAL
Charm King (PlayQ Inc.) – Tutorial
Hardcore players will tell you that they don’t want/need a tutorial…but unfortunately, they will likely let go of your game if they don’t quickly understand how it’s played. So, the first step is to know your players. What kind of player do you want for your game knowing that not only these players will eventually play it? And remember, you’re not your players.
What’s important is that through the tutorial, the player must not learn every aspect of the game but instead learn everything that will be needed in their first hour of play. The tutorial must be fun and integrated with the context of the game. Players understand better when they play the game instead of going through multiple slides of tutorial content.
THE REWARD
Clash Royale (Supercell) – Reward after training match
Rewarding the player makes them feel good and excited about what’s to come. A small win is a positive outcome which is a springboard for future efforts. So, planning immediate and long-term rewards is primordial to a perfect onboarding experience.
What needs to be remembered is that FTUE must be planned upstream instead of an after-thought. The later often results in a poor tutorial damaging the overall experience. Crafting a good onboarding experience is the first step in making sure your users fall in love with your game.
Our team of experts, here at BKOM Studios, always follow these rules while planning first-time user experience for our games and our clients’ games. Be sure that working with us is working with the best tool set of expertise put into action for the benefit of the first-time experience of your players.
Nowadays, the pace at work is often hectic. Meetings are back to back, emergencies are waiting for us at every corner and despite our planning efforts, we always run short on hours to accomplish everything. Unfortunately, there are many who choose to sacrifice mealtime because they have too much to do. It’s a practice that is both toxic for our health but also for our effectiveness.
From a health point of view, skipping a meal exposes us to faster weight gain. Our body protects itself by storing future calories for fear of starvation. Our level of energy and concentration is also be diminished and therefore have an impact on the second point, our efficiency. Taking a meal break is not only a time to eat but it also serves to take a step back from our work. It also serves to take a moment between colleagues to relax and discuss other topics than work. We must not forget that a meal is also a social activity that impacts our happiness at work. A happy employee is a productive employee!
Of course, it’s a time that could be spent checking emails, taking up lost time or moving forward on our projects, but few of us would be willing to say that they prefer to stay at their desk, alone, and have as the only interlocutor their stomach gurgles since 11:00 in the morning! Respect yourself and take a break!
At BKOM Studios, we have created a beautiful kitchen to encourage our employees to prepare good food and eat together while having fun and chatting about everything and anything. In addition, when the sun is out and the good weather is back (after a long and harsh winter!), we will even take a break on our beautiful sun terrace.
Some of us even take advantage of it to play sports or play group games around the building. Others will garden in our private area designed to make beautiful crops grow throughout the summer.
All means are good to take a break to refuel before facing the rest of the day.
After all, if we want to be champions, we must have filled our bellies!
We’re Back From GDC!
27 Mar 2019
Once again this year, BKOM’s business development team could not miss out on the world’s biggest event in the professional gaming industry, the GDC!
Our 4 days-trip to San Francisco was very busy but what a pleasure it was to be there. After a few dozen interesting encounters, we come back to the studio with concrete projects that will begin immediately. In addition, we discussed with a number of potential partners regarding some very interesting opportunities. These discussions could lead to projects that will make many people happy at BKOM. The months to come will certainly be full of very pleasant surprises.
This is surely one of the best times to join the BKOM Studios team which has several very interesting and diverse positions to fill!
In conclusion, it was an excellent GDC for the BKOM Studios team.
Thanks to everyone who visited our booth or who met us one-on-one. See you next year.
Choosing your Audience
13 Mar 2019
The Target Audience
When creating a video game, even before conceptualizing its mechanics, it’s imperative to determine which audience is being addressed. But what is the target audience? In short, the target audience is the demographic group that is most sensitive to being interested in your game based on their interests and habits.
For example, a first-person shooter game will most of the time target a demographic of young men between the ages of 15 and 35, while a mobile casual puzzle game may target women between 20 and 45 years of age.
Risk Against Reward
Therefore, it’s common to rely on known clichés and stereotypes. This can be a risk considering that it’s more and more common today to see a multitude of people coming from different social spheres interested in all sorts of things.
On the other hand, it’s a risk that all developers and publishers are ready to take since the gain of targeting a specific demographics is incomparable to that of losing sales due to a marketing campaign that wasn’t aimed at the right audience.
Nevertheless, targeting an audience does not guarantee success every time. A lot of money can be spent in a marketing campaign that is completely off the mark, or a game developed for the wrong audience. These can have disastrous consequences.
Unfortunately, there is no certain way to know if your target audience is the right one when you launch your game. That’s why it’s all the more important to put the time and resources to better establish your target audience.
The Persona
Another common practice in the stage of finding one’s target audience is to build a Persona. That is, to create a fictional person with social and psychological characteristics and who has interests in common with the target audience.
This practice simulates scenarios where this person would be exposed to different marketing strategies and to the game itself.
Although each conclusion is based on assumptions, the results are still very informative and often make it possible to rectify the marketing and mechanics of the game.
Why Is It Important?
On some occasions, developers will think they’ve found the best game concept there is and, by the same token, that many will want to play their game as much as they do. However, even the best concepts cannot succeed if they’re not conceptualized, developed and sold to appeal to a specific audience.
In order to arouse the interest video game players, it’s imperative to reach the intended audience by the tone and the content of the message. In this way, a bond of trust will be established between the creator and the consumer.
For example, if you’re trying to engage a mostly female audience in their 20s who love the outdoors, your advertising method may be an energetic and positive message on social media.
Developing for Your Audience
Finding your target audience is a crucial step for any company selling a service or a product, but how does this practice conceptually affect the development of a video game?
Several features can be directly affected by the intended audience, such as:
The platform (Mobile, Console, PC, etc.)
The genre (RPG, Shooter, Race, Puzzle, Adventure, Sport, etc.)
The visual (Cartoon, Realistic, Minimalist, etc.)
The content (Characters, Story, Levels)
The difficulty of the game and the consequences of losing
The duration of a session
The entire duration of the game
Etc.
There’s no miracle recipe that matches every type of person since each feature is interrelated with the next.
Depending on the reality of each studio, it’s also not uncommon for a target audience to be imposed at the same time as the genre of the game, and sometimes even followed by the platform. The concept will therefore be extremely influenced by these guidelines.
An Example is Worth a Thousand Words
Let’s take a situation where the criteria are:
Genre: Platform game
Target audience: Young children
Following these guidelines, the game will probably have bright colors and a range of fun characters. Its mechanics will be simple, its levels relatively easy and the consequences of losing almost inexistent.
Naturally, with its more creative levels than any other, its flamboyant characters and its wacky frame, the game New Super Mario Bros. is an excellent candidate for this situation.
Source : den of geek https://www.denofgeek.com/us/games/mario/231792/super-mario-platformers-ranked
Let’s take the same example but with a different target audience.
The Ggenre: Platform Game
The target audience: Men, 20-35 years old, Mid-Hardcore Gamer
In this situation, we would probably have a more serious game with a darker visual, more complex mechanics and systems as well as much more challenging levels.
With its serious story and dark frame, its skill and growth systems, and its levels that require extraordinary dexterity, Ori and the Blind Forest is the perfect game for this situation.
So you can note that by targeting only distinct audiences, two games of the same genre will be completely different to please their respective audience.
An Endless Task
The above examples only show part of the impact that the target audience has on the design of a game. However, today with the use analysis tools such as Swrve, Localytics, Flurry, Game Analytics and Delta DNA, it’s much easier to track players in terms of their usage and habits within a game.
Tracking this data allows the developer to adjust and balance their game even after it’s released to avoid possible frustrations that players might experience.
This practice is especially important for multiplayer games since the majority of the time, players will compete against one another. Conflicts must absolutely be balanced otherwise players will quickly find the problem and risk leaving and not returning to the game if no action is taken.
That’s why a game like Fortnite is so popular. The developers follow their community closely and adjust the game almost weekly to keep Fortnite evolving.
A Quality Pawn
In summary, establishing the target audience for the game is a task that requires a lot of study and this blog only scratches the surface of the complexity of using its target audience to set your game’s development on the right track.
However, it’s now much easier than before to get to very conclusive results thanks to the help of many tools, but to find one’s target audience is only the first step in the development of a video game.
With the climbing quality of the games being put on the market, it’s even more important to take the time and resources to listen to your audience in order to give them the best experience possible.
A constantly evolving game is a pledge of quality that will be noticed and appreciated by your community of gamers and this could make your game a worldwide success.
Our Presence at NY Toy Fair Was a Big Hit!
1 Mar 2019
Every year, we go to Toy Fair in New York to showcase to the toy manufacturers our capacity to bridge the physical and the digital. We can say that again this year, BKOM Studios’ presence at NY Toy Fair was a big hit. A lot of people came to our booth looking to see how we pushed the boundaries of the Future of play again.
Our goal when we develop new prototypes: How can we enhance the fun and the pleasure of playing with a toy? How can we introduce technology like AR/VR, connected object and even emergent technology like: voice recognition and AI and create more than just a stunt or an eye-catching experience?
This year, we outdid ourselves with 2 different experiences that drew a lot of attention to our booth.
CONNECTED TOY
The first experience that we showcased was with an off-the-shelf rifle connected with a device serving as an interface via Bluetooth. When pressing on the trigger towards one of the targets found on the walls of the booth, an infrared signal was sent into one of the barrels containing an IR LED detector (similar to when using your remote control to turn on your television).
As a result, a spring mechanism physically popped the towers into several pieces in the air, while hearing an explosion in the background and seeing a 2D animation on a built-in screen inside the booth.
Furthermore, augmented reality was also a part of the experience due to the fact that once the participants pulled the trigger, green bullets on the device were seen projected out of the rifle by a built-in application created by our studio using Unity 3D. By doing so, it really gave a touch of realism to the experience.
AMAZON ECHO
By connecting a LED screen with Amazon’s Echo (via Alexa, a virtual digital assistant), we also showcased our very own voice activated experience called Image Mania. This game experience consisted of identifying images displayed on the LED screen of various popular logos such as: food brands, sports teams, car brands, etc. Participants had to give their answers as quickly as possible. The quicker the answer – the more points were given.
Overall, building our own laboratory and bringing it to Toy Fair to display the skillets that we’re able to do with high-end technology couldn’t have gone better. Comments we got at our booth were extremely positive, we delivered again an experience that really proved to the industry that BKOM Studios is a leader in the Future of play.
How to Establish a Winning Social Media Strategy in 2019?
26 Feb 2019
To clarify the action plan that will support the marketing efforts of your company, you need to establish a social media strategy. It’s essential to plan the management of your brand’s community, create an editorial calendar for the creation of content, establish your advertising images or videos display, etc.
How do you build a winning social media strategy adapted for you?
Here are the first questions you need to ask yourself:
What are your goals?
Who is your target audience?
Which platforms should you use?
What is your strategy of content?
What is your budget?
What are your results?
How can you improve your performance?
Let’s look at these points more closely.
YOUR OBJECTIVES
Since social networks have the potential to reach a very large number of users, you must first establish what your goals are. In the end, what do you want to achieve with your efforts on social media?
Awareness: It’s possible that your company is not very well-known and you wish to make yourself known more. To do so, you may be thinking of creating content that targets people in a specific business field, age group, gender, or a certain location in which you need to expose your brand to and publicize.
Loyalty: Maybe you have an established brand, but would you like your audience to remain committed to you?
Business Development: Or maybe you want to encourage partners or potential customers to want to do business with you?
Marketing Human Resources: You may also need to support your recruitment efforts and think of using social networks to find more quality candidates?
No matter what your main goals are, your social networking strategy will bring you closer to achieving it. That’s why it’s important to have clear goals to optimize your strategy and adapt your content.
YOUR TARGET AUDIENCE
Once your goals are set, you must now define who your publications will be addressed to. Is it to consumers of your brand (B2C) or other entrepreneurs in your field (B2B), maybe it’s to students, or a group of people with a specific interest?
To identify your target audience, it is important to do what is called a persona.
A persona is a fictional character you create that represents a typical profile of a user who uses your brand.
In order to portray your persona, you need to identify a typical profile of your user. It is recommended to determine:
His age
His gender
His work
His place of residence
His interests
etc.
Once you have defined your persona, you will be able to establish a coherent editorial strategy and determine the tone of your publications to better reach your audience.
YOUR PLATFORMS
You must now identify your platforms of choice. Which platforms is your persona using? Is he active on Facebook? Is he a fan of YouTube videos? Or maybe he likes fashion and looks at pictures on Instagram? Or, is he a member of the press or a blogger who shares his opinions on Twitter? Perhaps he’s making a significant income and tries to develop his business on LinkedIn?
It’s important to choose the platform(s) on which you want to focus your social media efforts.
YOUR CONTENT STRATEGY
Now is the time to define your content strategy to feed your platforms of choice.
When creating your posts, ask yourself what really interests your personas. Your community will be engaged if your content speaks to them directly. It’s recommended not to be too commercial in your messages. Try to produce better quality content. If possible, turn to content that is generated by users in your community. They will feel appreciated and more engaged. For example, share their opinions or videos when they say good things about you. It’s win-win! Ask them questions. It’s also important to identify your influencers. Are there influential people in your field of activity that your community follows?
Also be sure to adapt your messages for the chosen platforms. On Facebook, you might want to focus on posting questions, images, or videos, while on Instagram you prefer to focus more on stories.
To do this, make sure you optimize your posting times. Schedule your publications on a good frequency and at the right times. Of course, your audience is more likely to read your content if you post it when they are connected, rather than when they are sleeping in the middle of the night.
YOUR BUDGET
If you are planning any advertising or media campaign, it is important to define your budget.
How much do you want to invest in acquiring new users on your platforms? When you publish something important and want to promote a publication, you can spend a certain amount to put your message forward. If you are in the mobile apps or games industry, would you like to invest in a number of installations from new users? Encourage them to be more active? You are organizing a particular event and you want to create an advertisement to increase the number of people present?
Your budget can make a big difference in your results, where the competition is fierce and the algorithms are also decisive factors, so be sure to establish an envelope that fits your needs.
YOUR RESULTS
To make sure you’re on the right track, it’s important to measure your key performance indicators (KPIs) regularly.
Here are the main performance indicators to measure:
Your number of subscribers
The number of impressions of your publications
The engagement (likes, comments, shares)
The number of private messages
Etc.
Can you see the impact that your latest posts have had on your goals? Do you have more subscribers? Do people know you better or have you had new potential customers following a post? If your results are positive, you are on the right track and you have to keep moving forward!
On the other hand, if the results of some publications leave something to be desired, you will need to modify this part of your strategy to maximize your efforts.
By planning regular times to analyze your performance and monitor its evolution, you will come out victorious!
The “Fun”
22 Jan 2019
Everyone loves to play! Whether it’s video games, board games, cards or sports, we’ve all had fun (or not) at one time in our life by participating in different types of games. With age, the type of games in which we participate changes but, despite everything, human beings (and some animal breeds) like to play, why?
A DOSE of fun
When we feel pleasure, it’s because our brain secretes one (or more) of these 4 substances.
Different stimuli secrete different substances. In the case of games, it is Dopamine that interests us. Dopamine is secreted in many ways, including food and exercise, but it’s also secreted when:
one recognizes and understands sequences or systems
one succeeds a challenge or wins a competition
one experiences new content
Recognizing sequences: How many faces can you find in this image?
A player must first learn how to play the chosen game and understand how its systems work to overcome the challenges successfully or to beat other competitors. The challenges must of course be proportional to the skill of the player otherwise he might give up.
In some games, as players progress, they see new content added to the game which also generate dopamine.
A game that does not offer enough challenge or different new content eventually becomes irrelevant and the player will switch to another game. For example: Once we understand how to never lose at the Tic-Tac-To, usually we stop playing it.
Skinner Box
In the early 1930s, psychologist BF Skinner experimented with a rat in a box. It was receiving a food reward each time a button was pressed. Skinner has discovered that if the reward is regular, the rat will weigh the button less often than if the reward is random.
The science posits that when dopamine is secreted, it also transmits a “reward prediction” for this action. The next time the same action is applied, if the reward does not exceed the “reward prediction,” the brain will secrete less dopamine. The more predictable the reward, the less secreted dopamine there is.
Players will continue to play a game as long as they believe that they have the opportunity to try new game mechanics, new challenges they may succeed and / or new content. This is what BKOM Studios calls the “Awesomeness Potential”.
Human needs
A good game is a game that shows players mechanics to meet challenges that match their abilities, while promising bigger challenges to beat, and more content (world, objects, skills) to discover.
So we can say that “Fun” is: Learn game mechanics – Successful challenges – Discover new content. But why ?
In 1943 the psychologist Abraham Maslow emitted the “Theory of Human Motivation” which lists in order of importance the needs that motivate human beings. The pyramid begins with the primary needs (eating, drinking, sleeping) and ends at the top with the needs of achievements (developing knowledge, creating, and solving complex problems).
With the exception of primary needs, games often fulfill one or more needs of the human being. That’s why they are so attractive, especially video games that are able to meet many needs at once.
Life in a tribe
We live in society. Societies (tribes) are organizations where the strongest rule and have power. From a very young age, we are taught that our survival depends on our ability to perform whether at school or at work in order to increase our power and social status.
Calculating chance of success, collaboration, communication and space exploration are concepts taught by games that will also help us increase our power and our chances of survival in society.
Cavemen
If physical games and sports are about physical power, intellectual games are about knowledge (and knowledge equals power), games can be said to be activities by which gaining power. As power equals survival, our brain rewards us with dopamine.
If the caveman found it useful, there is a good chance that we find it fun.
Thousands of years ago the tribes with the most accurate men and women with a javelin and the best knowledge of edible fruits had better chances of survival. Our brain has evolved to create a reward system (physical well-being) when the human being performs an action helping him to survive.
Of course, nowadays our survival is less related to our physical abilities as it was to our ancestors and the knowledge we learn in games rarely helps us in real life. Fortunately, our brain does not know it yet, so it continues to reward us with dopamine as if we were still cavemen.
The subject of “Fun” is complex and this article does not cover all the aspects that affect the pleasure of playing, but we hope that it has piqued your curiosity. While waiting for our next blog on this topic, keep playing!
Happiness at Work, More Than a Theory!
21 Dec 2018
“A happy employee is a productive and efficient employee”. You have probably heard one of the variations of this statement, but it is clear that many employers are still deaf to this basic principle in business.
There are many factors that make an employee happy in the workplace and, to the surprise of many, pay is not at the top of the list. Indeed, in first place is recognition and, not far behind, relationships between colleagues and managers.
At BKOM Studios, we have nurtured a team culture that goes beyond the barriers of work.
The boss
The boss is all over the place! He walks around the studio to see how everything is doing, draws, does a little 3D animation, does his presentations and meets customers. It’s Fred, everyone knows him and he knows everyone. The same goes for the other members of management who are very involved with the members of their teams and in their mandates. Doors are never closed and employees are always welcome to chat with the members of management.
Retention of employees
Our project cell approach ensures that we have built strong relationship with the different members of the departments within BKOM Studios. Team stability contributes enormously to this dynamic. When I arrived as Director of Human Resources in April, one thing that impressed me at BKOM Studios was the seniority of the employees. As we know, the world of video games and digital agencies is very volatile. With the shortage of manpower, turnover is often high. At BKOM Studios, no less than 40% of employees have been with the company for more than 5 years and just under 25% have been with the company for more than 10 years! It’s quite a feat!
You will surely ask me what explains this retention? Well, team spirit, the management style of our leaders, the nature and variety of projects and, above all, the appreciation that management shows towards its employees are just some of the reasons that explain this loyalty. We want our employees to be involved in the strategy, the artistic direction and the various project proposals that we are working very hard to put in place. They are also called to meet customers from the United States to Europe.
The social
We do not deny it, the mandates are sometimes stressful and the deadlines often tight. However, the team stands together, roll up their sleeves and help each other on a daily basis. As a sign of gratitude, donuts, snacks and coffee, crazy activities week to week are offered to the employees. As you can see, it’s great to work at BKOM Studios. Even more so, we cannot forget to mention the many social activities like: summer parties, the President’s BBQ, Halloween and thematic Christmas parties, to name a few, allow us to let go of our crazy team!
Many advantages!
At BKOM Studios we understand that caring for employees and providing them with an environment to make them happy is paramount. In addition to the usual range of benefits (group insurance, group RRSP with employer contribution, flexibility in scheduling to reconcile work and personal life), we are proud to offer an open, very bright, spacious work area. That employees customize to their tastes! Without a doubt, we offer an environment that leaves room for creativity and self-fulfillment. Tired of looking for a parking spot when going to work? Not too complicated with us, we have free parking! Yes, it is still possible in 2018!
We still spend a quarter of our week at work, so has to be fun, stimulating and motivating!
Do you want to become our next Bkomian? Consult our section Careers and make the jump in our big family. There is a place for you, so what are you waiting for?
Human Resources Department
20 Dec 2018
The Human Resource Department
This article was written by BKOM Studios’ Human Resources Department. If you want to know more about Business Development and BKOM Studios, follow us.
Client Intimacy …
21 Nov 2018
“Client Intimacy.” I still remember the first time I heard these 2 words by Mr. Jacques Topping, an emeritus businessman from the Quebec City area with whom I had the chance to work. At the time, he explained to me how it was decisive to develop this sort of relationship with our partners in order to be able to understand their explicit and implicit needs. He said that beyond a mandate to achieve, there are humans behind each project and the relationship between these humans had to go beyond a Customer/Supplier relationship… He called it “Client Intimacy.”
In our field, we spend a lot of time in relation with our customers and partners. We define the product together, we live all the stages of development together and, in the end, we experience the same pride to have achieved great things together.
At BKOM Studios, the customer experience is at the center of our concerns. This closeness that we establish with each of our customers gives us the opportunity to develop this “client intimacy.” This results in the development of better products that meet the objectives of our partners, something our teams are proud of.
That said, it’s still important to mention that we are blessed to work with exceptional people who trust BKOM Studios and in whom we have placed our trust as well. This chance to collaborate with such great partners was not made possible alone. Thanks to our team who, over the years, has created this chemistry with our partners, we now have the privilege to participate in the creation and testing of interactive products of our collaborators several months in advance. Our partners integrate us directly into their teams as if we were members of the family.
For some partners, we are directly a piece of the puzzle of their commercial success. We bring our expertise in terms of interactive experience, we know how to create worlds that go beyond our imagination and allow emotions to illuminate the eyes of children living their first interactive experiences while learning.
Of course, all this quality found in our products is directly related to the passion and talent of our team. On the other hand, our ability to present products that are directly related to the vision of our partners is also directly related to this “client intimacy” that we experience with them every day.
The Fold!
16 Oct 2018
Ladies and gentlemen, this is the fold! It comes from another era, the one where newspapers were the main information channel. An era where your paper had to stand out from all the others just to be picked up by a potential reader at their favorite newsstand.
Source: New York Times
What could you find above this fold?
When scanning for his pick of the day, the newspaper reader was expecting to find the following information above the fold: the newspaper identification, big and catchy headlines, a large image, and headlines of the top articles. Pushing the most interesting content above this physical fold was a way to catch the attention of the readers in the hope to sold more copies than your competitor.
Source: United States Library of Congress’ Prints and Photographs Division (ID: fsa.8d11969)
The fold’s evolution
Eventually, this concept evolved into the digital world with the arrival of websites. The fold is represented by the bottom of the computer screen. The content “above the fold” is what users can see before they must scroll down the page. What is under the fold was considered to be nonexistent, as it was expected that most users would not bother scrolling down. That’s why a lot of content got crammed in this first screen, resulting in websites that looked just like this one:
BBC News 2003 version
For a long time, the term “above the fold” sticked to the Internet world. Clients wanted their content – a lot of their content – to be visible above the fold. Websites were designed this way due to this pressure. Designers worked hard to try to change the minds of people, but the fold was omnipresent in discussions, and unfortunately these battles were not often won by the design teams.
A digital revolution
However, thanks to the birth of a new technology, the smartphones, and the way users interacted with this new device, designers finally got the break they were waiting for. The ease and the necessity to scroll down on these small screen devices, added with the fact that more and more people possessed smartphones, changed minds and helped scrolling to be adopted on other devices.
The propension to scroll down was transposed to desktop usage. Users now understand that what’s “above the fold” is not the entire website content, and by scrolling down they will find a lot more to explore – in particular when the layout makes it clear that more content waits below!
The omnipresence of social media in people’s lives also helped to change the perspective about the fold. What are you doing on social media? Scrolling, scrolling, scrolling. A majority of users is now fully accustomed to scrolling, In fact, they are scrolling so much that often they even start to do so before the page is fully loaded.
Since this concept has been a source of discussion among the UX designers and their clients, some companies took the testing path to try to prove or disprove the relevancy of this fold. Testing it would bring quantitative data into the discussion.
Huge inc. (Digital Agency in New York City) performed a user test session with 4 different types of web page design and 91% scroll almost immediately on page load no matter what (cues or not).
Clicktale analyzed 80,000 page views to discover that on 76% of those pages people have scrolled and that 22% scrolled until the end of the page.
The renowned Nielsen Norman Group (User Experience Research Firm) has previously noted in 2010 that 80% of user’s attention was done above the fold. From new user testing research (April 2018) they observed that 57% of the users’ page-viewing time was above the fold while 74% of the viewing time was spent in the first two screenfuls, up to 2160 pixels.
These are but a few statistics , and there are many more that can be found around the web. You can also take a look at the Museum of Websites and you’ll see the design evolution of various big brands like the New York Times, Amazon and Yahoo. Check for the latest version of these brands. You’ll notice there are bigger images. The design “breathes”. They no longer want to cramp everything up.
If you built it (well) they will scroll!
Even if we can say that scrolling will occur, something hasn’t changed: you still need to catch the user’s attention. This means that your content must be relevant and fulfill the user’s need. If your site doesn’t have that, the user will simply go away and won’t even bother scrolling further into your website. So, there’s no need to cramp the content above the fold like we were doing 10-15-20 years ago. Users will scroll through but we must give them a reason to do so. And if you read this current line, we’ve proven our point.
In order to inform more people about the state of the fold in 2018, go ahead – share this article…and let’s scroll!
Another great Gamescom for BKOM Studios!
31 Aug 2018
Gamescom was experiencing high growth again in 2018! With more than 56 countries participating as exhibitors, an extensive event and conference schedule, this year’s edition was a huge success.
For BKOM Studios, Gamescom 2018 is yet another great edition in Cologne this year.
“Gamescom is a great chance to meet face-to-face with our industry friends and collaborators, but it’s also a great platform to forge new partnerships,” said Frederic Martin, CEO of BKOM Studios. “This year in particular, we come back home with even more exciting news.”
“We can say that the Gamescom business area is set up perfectly to meet with partners and build new relationships,” said Luc Blouin, Director of Business Development at BKOM Studios. “This year, BKOM Studios has discussed with several developers and publishers from Europe. We’re coming back home with many opportunities that may very well become real projects pretty quickly.”
What is Gamescom?
Gamescom is a gaming show you don’t want to miss. You get to discover and test the latest games before everybody else and be part of the biggest event the games industry has to offer.
“The more than 15,000 visitors and the increasing number of countries in attendance impressively underlines the great international charisma of Gamescom, as well as the increased interest in this unique 360 degree experience event,” said Gerald Böse, President and Chief Executive Officer of Koelnmesse GmbH. ”With a 13% increase in the number of exhibitors, it presented an unprecedented offering. Thanks to the presentations of world premieres and hundreds of games highlights, Gamescom proved once again it was a perfect platform for new products.”
According to Felix Falk, managing director of game, the association of the German games industry and sponsor of Gamescom, “The success story of Gamescom also continues in its tenth year: the world premieres for the opening and increase in the numbers of exhibitors and visitors we’ve seen this year underline the great relevance and attractiveness of Gamescom for gamers and the games industry. In the meantime, the extent to which games are perceived as an economic factor, innovation drivers and cultural assets is nowhere so clear as at Gamescom: no other event in the world covers so many facets of games.”
Digital entertainment is brought to life at Gamescom more than at any other place in the world. See you next year, Gamescom!
The Technology and Innovation Team
6 Aug 2018
The Technology and Innovation Team
This article was written by BKOM Studios’ Technology and Innovation team. If you want to know more about Technology, Innovation and BKOM Studios, follow us.
A New Era in Augmented Reality
6 Aug 2018
We’re living in an era where the terms augmented reality (AR), mixed reality (MR) and virtual reality (VR) are now part of our day-to-day lives. The augmented world has quickly evolved from the early AR system created by Louis Rosenberg for the USAF in 1992 to now, where you can buy a mobile head mounted display for $20 at the local drug store.
Let’s take a couple of steps back before jumping into this “new” world. What’s the difference between VR, AR and MR?
Paul Milgram came up with the concept of Virtuality continuum. Basically it defines the possible variations and compositions of real and virtual objects.
Paul Milgram – 1994
This concept could be interpreted as this:
“The best technologies make the invisible, visible”. Beau Lotto
Virtual Reality
The term virtual reality refers to a technology that simulates the physical presence of a user in an artificially generated software environment. This virtual reality creates an environment with which the user can interact mainly auditory or visually.
If we explore the gaming industry, we can affirm that a huge amount of immersive video games has appeared in arcades in the past year resulting in a boom of virtual reality development. Some types of video games lend themselves perfectly to virtual reality.
For instance, horror games become particularly scary in a VR immersion. Shooting games in the first person, especially in collaborative mode, provides an enormous feeling of realism. Adventure games are also particularly adapted to virtual reality. Also, from the beginning, virtual reality sports games have made great strides in the development of advanced interactive simulators.
Tilt Brush, by Google
Among the most played experience in virtual reality on this first quarter of 2018 is Tilt Brush by Google. Tilt Brush lets you paint in 3D space with virtual reality. Your room is your canvas. Your palette is your imagination. The possibilities are endless.
The games I Expect You To Die or Rick and Morty: Virtual Rick-Ality also made a big splash in 2018. I Expect You To Die is a virtual reality puzzle game that places you in the well-polished shoes of an elite secret agent. You must attempt to survive deadly situations in immersive and dangerous locales. Complete each operation using problem-solving skills and wits, and the power of telekinesis and whatever resources you can find to escape each situation,or die trying!
Rick and Morty: Virtual Rick-ality smashes together the absolute VR chaos of the award-winning Job Simulator VR game with the ridiculous, take-no-prisoners comedy of the Rick and Morty TV show. Here, Rick and Morty have teleported into your living room for a cutting-edge VR adventure. Play as a Morty clone as you explore Rick’s garage, the Smith household, and alien worlds.
Arizona Sunshine, one of the best games in virtual reality at the moment, is available on Oculus Rift, HTC Vive and PSVR. This first-person shooter game developed by Vertigo Games offers players to face hordes of zombies in Campaign or Survival mode. Up to four players can cooperate to overcome hordes of undead.
Superhot VR is also among the best games in virtual reality. In this atypical FPS already available on Oculus Rift, HTC Vive and PSVR, the time only takes place when the player moves. The result is a mix of thought and action that is very pleasant.
In summary, virtual reality is a computer-generated interactive experience that takes place in a simulated environment, which primarily incorporates types of sensory feedback, such as hearing and visual. As we’ve seen with the examples above, this immersive environment can be similar to the real world or it can be purely fantastic.
Augmented Reality
Augmented reality is the superposition of reality and elements (sounds, 2D images, 3D, videos, etc.) calculated by a computer system in real time. It often refers to the different methods that can realistically embed virtual objects in a sequence of images. It applies as well to visual perception (superposition of virtual images over real images) as to proprioceptive perceptions such as tactile or auditory perceptions.
Augmented reality games are becoming deeply implemented in all spheres of our lives. In particular, it was Niantic’s Pokemon GO that really brought augmented reality games to the mainstream.
As you probably know, the Pokemon GO game uses your geolocation to create a virtual battlefield in a real physical environment, such as your neighborhood. The main goal of the game is to catch and train new Pokemons and then battle other players.
Let’s have a look on another title called Parallel Kingdom. This augmented reality game also uses your GPS location to place you in a virtual world on top of the real world.
Parallel Kingdom is a massively multiplayer game which uses territorial RPG elements allowing the player to claim territories based on their current location. In the game, you encounter fierce monsters to conquer and wild territory to claim. You’ll become a mighty master of the wilderness, slaying monstrous beasts. From your real-life location you can claim territory in your own backyard or travel anywhere in the entire world.
As you use your mobile device to discover monsters, you’ll also build resources and structures in your conquered territory using Google Maps GPS technology. Whether you seek to claim your own backyard or Machu Picchu, you’ll be able to build, protect and expand your land. With each flag you build, you’ll bring civilization to a wild frontier, hunting and gathering resources or building a city in the Amazon. It doesn’t end there, create a network of friends to construct a city or kingdom and wage war upon your enemies.
Lenovo’s Jedi Challenge is the closest we’ll ever get to having a true Jedi lightsaber battle. In partnership with Disney, this mixed reality game uses a special helmet to propel you in the Star Wars universe. Experience what it feels like to wield a lightsaber for the first time! Face-off against enemies right in your own living room and feel your opponents’ attacks with force feedback. The Lenovo Mirage AR headset is ergonomically designed for maximum game immersion. The game also provides a beacon ensuring accurate tracking of your location, while expanding and filling in the environment around you with an immersive augmented reality universe. Play with your friends in intense 1-on-1 local multiplayer battles to see who will become the ultimate lightsaber duelist.
In summary, augmented reality is the superposition of reality and various computer-generated elements which are calculated in real time. It often refers to the different methods that can realistically embed virtual objects in a sequence of images.
Augmented reality has multiple applications aside from gaming, and affects more and more areas, such education by play, virtual treasure hunts, cinema and more.
Mixed Reality
Mixed reality is a term for 3D content visualization devices through a dedicated headset. By definition, this term is a mix between augmented reality and virtual reality. Although closer to augmented reality, it remains different by the technology it embeds.
The main difference between augmented reality and mixed reality is the ability of the headset to take into account real space, thanks to the sensors built into the helmet. The position of the user is also calculated in real time. This results in an improved version of augmented reality. Moreover, the set allows you to interact physically with the elements in 3D through a series of gestures to perform. It can also simply be a layer of virtual elements accurately layered over real terrain.
The limitations of mixed reality has reached new heights thanks to a demo of the HoloLens technology by Microsoft. It shows a player building something in Minecraft with very realistic interactions with the real world around him. Thanks to Microsoft’s augmented reality glasses, this user was able to give the illusion that virtual worlds were actually mixed with the real world since the HoloLens were simply projecting the images onto a table. In the demo, the user could interact with the map, items, and characters displayed in front of him.
Hero Vision: Iron Man AR Experience, by Hasbro and BKOM Studios
Hero Vision is a new tech which puts kids in a world where they are the hero. With the Hero Vision gear, kids get to experience a gameplay inspired by Avengers: Infinity War. Are you ready to suit up like Iron Man? Using special symbols on the Iron Man glove and their Hero Vision Iron Man AR goggles, players can fight enemies from their own living room.
In summary, mixed reality is the fusion of the real world and a virtual world. This mix produces a new environment and visualizations where the real-world and digital physical objects of the virtual world coexist and can interact in real time. Thanks to an immersive technology, a new world mixing the real and the virtual is created.
At BKOM Studios
BKOM Studios has been playing around with Augmented Reality since the early stages of Vuforia, a visual detection software used in augmented reality. Since then, we have experimented with other technologies (SDKs) mostly based on fiducial markers while adding our own innovations along the way by trying different combinations.
Here are some example of our expertise:
AR / VR Interactive Table Prototype (Toy Fair 2017)
This imposing table combines mixed reality technologies as well as tokens and RFID playing cards to create a unique gaming experience! Move your tokens on table and see your virtual characters move and fight each other. Use magic cards to cast spells at your opponent or heal your character. This prototype certainly attracts public attention whenever it is displayed!
Using a digital tablet, you can see a 3D virtual castle appear around a plastic tower on a surface. You can then use the tablet to shoot characters around the castle to destroy their walls, while archers try to defend the castle. By switching figure in a plastic barrel, the player can change characters in the game, according to his strategy.
Conclusion
The real game changer came with ARKIT, from Apple, & ARCore, from Google. With these technologies, visible markers became obsolete and were replaced by new hardware allowing visual inertial odometry and scene understanding. As ARKIT is available with all new iPhones and iPads, and ARCore comes with most recent Android devices, penetration rate is less an issue since most people will get the newest phones rather than buying a full VR headset. Augmented reality content is now more accessible than ever and feels more integrated in the real world.
So where do we go from here? How do we continue to minimize the gap between Virtual and Real? In our opinion, a combination of ARKit/ARCore and machine learning is a great recipe to make the invisible, visible.
With machine learning, we can create experiences that not only understand the scene’s geometry, but also understand what the real world consists of. Experiences that can not only do speech to text, but can also interpret emotions and sentiments. Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology like IBM Watson are great tools to leverage.
With all these great technologies, developers can create and innovate constantly by trying different combinations. We’re living in a very exciting era and we’re particularly lucky to be part of the BKOM team to work on cutting-edge technology such as these!
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