Jason Della Roca: “I am impressed with the high quality of Uruguayan video games”

Level UY, the largest national meeting of video game developers, brought together the entire community and the most relevant representatives of the sector. In addition, thanks to Uruguay XXI, the Canadian video game specialist, Jason Della Rocca, arrived at the event and provided mentoring, gave a lecture, and met with the Video Game Board, comprised of several national organizations dedicated to promoting the industry.

The industry business consultant, investor, funding advisor, and ecosystem strategist advises governments worldwide on fostering and supporting the success of their regional video game development ecosystems and game studio founders on funding and product strategies.

“The agencies must be talking about the same thing and are in sync; that makes the processes go much faster. That Uruguay has a table with all the players on the same page is very encouraging because it is critical for success. Not all countries have an organized ecosystem like Uruguay, which has a table of public and private actors,” he told Uruguay XXI.

Asked about the Uruguayan video game industry, the specialist said he was “impressed” with the various projects he saw and in which he officiated as a mentor. “Some Uruguayan projects are of extreme quality, I am impressed. The art style is unique; many focus on deep narrative and storytelling, which is very exciting. Video games involve a billion-dollar industry, so the possibilities are awe-inspiring in economic terms,” he said.

Della Rocca also gave the lecture Discoverability by Design: Turning Your Game Into a Contagious Commercial Success, in which he gave guidelines for developers to start thinking about marketing their video game from its design so that it becomes “embedded” in the game and once it is finished it starts selling without additional advertising.

“Most video game developers don’t think about the whole business; they get stuck in creativity, create a product, but don’t generate profit, and don’t think about the economics or the business, so as a company, they are not sustainable. Small teams with the right guidance have a tremendous impact on profits,” he said.

On the importance of empowering the entire video game development ecosystem, Della Roca explained that it is “a cool, modern industry with much money.” “It is particularly interesting for a country like Uruguay because most of the profits come from exports; they are new currencies that enter the country,” he explained.

Level UY energizes the video game sector

Level UY is organized by the Uruguayan Chamber of Video Game Developers, the National Telecommunications Directorate of the Ministry of Industry, Energy and Mining, Uruguay XXI, the Uruguayan Film and Audiovisual Agency (ACAU), the National Culture Directorate of the Ministry of Education and Culture, Antel and Ingenio.

The event, which promotes culture and video game development opportunities in Uruguay, took place over two days (October 26 and 27) at LATU and the Alliance Française and offered talks and workshops by renowned national and international exponents. The activity also served as an exhibition of the most recent local projects. There was networking and an awards ceremony.

Uruguay XXI was present throughout the event with a stand that provided information on promotional tools to boost exports of companies in the sector. In addition, organized by Uruguay XXI’s Smart Talent program and CAVI, the Interview Day was a meeting space for aspiring workers in videogame companies and some sector actors who carried out mock job interviews. This activity aimed for the previously registered participants to meet with human resources managers of video game development companies.

The video game industry in Uruguay -the first country in Latin America to offer university degrees for professionals in the sector- is characterized as a collaborative community with significant events. One of them is Level UY, a 100% local production that promotes development opportunities both in Uruguay and the region, and which this year reached its seventh edition.