Product Crunch: Play Edition
Some of our earliest memories of learning are in the context of play. Through play we learn to take turns, handle defeat and win with grace. Through play we learn strategic thinking, creative problem solving and we can explore without the fear of consequence. According to Einstein: Play is the highest form of research. We couldn’t agree more.
So on Thursday, November 14, we let our hair down and well…played.
Our first speaker was Christoph Mille, who presented his game Daiichi Dash and walked us through his team’s experience developing a game that started as an idea at a hackathon and turned into a 4 year journey.
Mille shared game play footage throughout his talk, giving us a first hand look at the fantastically amusing game play and distinct sound effects. The team of three strategically focused their efforts on making their game as visually unique as possible. Dare we say: mission accomplished. Keep an eye out — Daiichi Dash will be available the beginning of 2020.
Up next: Karthik Nagarajan. A Product Manager at CrossLend, he works with the Product Team to build a digital debt marketplace. He likes to balance his hard work out and bring his teams together by playing Dungeons & Dragons (D&D).
Made popular in the 80s, D&D, the medieval role playing game has made a huge comeback in recent years, reappearing in pop culture, like on the television show Stranger Things. What makes D&D unique for team building is that in order to win, the whole team has to win. Success hinges on teams’ ability to work together: share knowledge, exchange ideas, take risks and align on a vision. A beautiful way to better get to know your colleagues, the best part is D&D can be played again and again and never gets old.
Last, but certainly not least, Florian Müller, Senior Product Designer at LEGO Group, took the stage. Educated as a software and media engineer and with a background in advertising and consulting, Florian has always loved games and building things in a creative and innovative environment.
As a model builder and kids experience designer at LEGO, he is responsible for designing new products and elements as well as finding and testing untapped markets with new fun products ideas. Florian walked us through the entire lego production cycle, from initial design and character development all the way to packaging, marketing and retail, ultimately answering the question: How do you create a truly playful product experience?
Need we say…another killer event for the books. A HUGE thank you to our speakers and everyone who makes Product Crunch possible!
SAVE THE DATE!!
Paris: November 28 — Education Edition
Berlin: December 12 — The Good Cause Edition
An initiative by Goodpatch, Product Crunch is a learning platform and community for passionate product people: project managers, designers, engineers, researchers, founders, and everyone in between. If you’re tired of missing the fun, make sure to join a Product Crunch meetup group:
Berlin: www.meetup.com/Product-Crunch/
Paris: www.meetup.com/Product-Crunch-Paris/
We also share all Product Crunch talks on our YouTube page. New talks every Thursday — like and subscribe!
