Interview with Graeme Struthers - co-founder and COO of Devolver Digital
Feature
Hooked Gamers
Devolver has published a wide range of titles from the gorgeous Gris to Hotline Miami and Cult of the Lamb - even some such as Genital Jousting are way out there. What determines whether Devolver picks up the game?
Graeme
Usually it is because someone at Devolver sees it and wants to play the game. They’ll see something they like about the game and then pitch it internally. If whoever pitches it can convince enough of us to go with it, we’ll investigate further.
Do you have a favourite amongst the games you have published?
Haha…I love all my children, so I couldn’t single one out.
However, the game that I’ve put the most hours into is BroForce.
Devolver is known for taking risks with unconventional games. How do you balance the desire to experiment with commercial viability?
Originally it was quite risky. We’d mainly worked on Serious Sam with Croteam and then had reasonable success with Hotline Miami. We signed up with Free Lives in 2014 for Broforce and we’ve been working with them since then. They’ve had a variety of games including their upcoming game Stick it to the Stickman. It is all about building that relationship with the developer.
For new partnerships, it is all about finding more about the developer.
How much say does Devolver have in the development of a game? Are you hands on, or do you just let the development teams do their thing and just concentrate on the marketing side?
When we look at a title, it has generally already been in development for a while and that allows us to see a strong production ethic of the developer. From there it is a case of "What can the developer do with their current resources and what do they need help with?" We stay out of the artistic side of things, but will offer whatever help they need with things such as QA, localisation and certifications.
Do you use events such as this (PAX Aus) to look at the indie titles on show to see if there are potential partnerships?
Absolutely. Events such as PAX AUS and BitSummit in Japan are great for seeing some great independent games being developed. Here in Victoria in particular, we like the VicScreen funding prototype and how it allows developers to gain funding for their games. As a result, the products are more polished by the time we see them.
Is it usually developers that come to Devolver to pitch a game, or you guys see a project that you’re interested in and reach out to the developer?
More often, it is something that we’ve seen that has attracted our interest. As I said before, events such as this are great for seeing some polished games in development. However, for Cult of the Lamb, they reached out to us and the Massive Monster team pitched the game to us. That’s worked out well for both of us. It is amazing to see so many people, not just here at PAX AUS, but at other conventions dressed up as characters from the game.
Most of the games that Devolver releases are full/complete out of the box (rather than requiring customers to pay for additional material). Is that something Devolver aims for? And will this likely continue going forward?
Games such as Neva or its predecessor Gris are simply games with a start and finish and are never going to have gamers requiring to pay extra. However, games that have major DLC or significant development work, we need to determine whether those costs need to be recovered. The Cult of the Lamb and their DLC was an example of significant extra development.
But as for microtransactions, we've never been a fan of them and it is unlikely that we'd head down that path
Devolver likes to poke fun at the industry as a whole (as seen in some of their marketing campaigns). Do you find that draws gamers with a sense of humour to Devolver?
It is great to see that some people appreciate it. Primarily, more than anything, we're actually poking fun at ourselves. And if that draws some positive attention, then that's great.
You've been out to Australia quite a bit. What keeps bringing you down under?
I love it. I can’t think of anything not to like about being here, especially at PAX AUS. The consumers seem to be more engaged with the titles on show., helping to make this such a great event. The industry seems to be thriving down here too, especially with the funding available for the local developers and as I said before, that gives us a chance to see some quality titles.
And the coffee is great too.
And lastly, what are some of your proudest moments in your career at Devolver?
Haha…just having a job and still getting paid. I honestly love doing what I do. There was a point early on that it may not have worked out and I could be stacking shelves instead of being at events like this. Seeing how Devolver has grown over the years and become such a vibrant company gives me some satisfaction too.
Thanks for your time today. Enjoy the rest of your time in Melbourne
It's been a pleasure
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