" title="Conceptopolis"> Conceptopolis

A  new G.I. Joe Monopoly game is on the way, featuring artwork from Conceptopolis. Check it out!

Reports say it should be on store shelves in June, so be on the lookout for it. Yo JOE!

Coming to a store near you…G.I. Joe: Hall of Heroes toys featuring artwork by Conceptopolis. Enjoy!

In a recent article in Game Developer Magazine, the Editor in Chief, Brandon Sheffield, covered some key points about the video game industry and how to adapt to the perceived “recession proof” nature of the business. While there was no doubt a lot of people losing jobs due to the current climate, there were also opportunities coming about as well.

One of the key things that we saw was that we fit in nicely to this “Hollywood Model” that was mentioned. We’re hired for a project and then we’re done. We then move onto the next project. This allows for scalability as well, giving us the option to do something small, all the way up to a full-blown production, featuring hundreds of pieces. This works well for everyone involved, so you get the best talent on a project, but you’re not having to keep them on and force them into taking on other roles because you need to spend the money on employees that are contracted one year at a time. In a simple dollars and cents level, the Hollywood Model works great – and we’re set up perfectly for it.

On a side note, this may seem bad for employees at studios, but that’s only an illusion. It actually allows companies to free up budgets to hire the right people for each phase, giving more opportunities to those individuals who specialize in a particular area. This way, a person with a particular skill set can work at a high level, potentially on multiple projects at any given time.

There was also mention of a new era coming about, where the indie games gain momentum. Smaller, more agile teams could be the future. Again, we fit into this model really well because of our scalability, but the work never suffers because of it. We always treat the indie publisher the same as a Fortune 500 company. I mean we’re all people, and want to see some cool stuff developed, right? This is all possible due to downloadable content to console game devices (Xbox, Playstation, etc.), PC’s and now personal devices like iPhones. Now, more than ever, the smaller budgets can get a chance to compete with the bigger publishers. The nice side effect is that it drives more competition and will give consumers a better variety of games to choose from.

We look forward to the new era and new possibilities. As hard as it might seem out there right now, it’s these tough times that force us to look inside and really move forward and grow.