Meet the (rcp) family: it Matters Games
In today’s interview, It Matters Games UG studio founder Jens Kortboyer (pictured in the middle) tells us all about their journey founding a studio.
Who are you?
Greetings, we are it Matters Games (iMG), a game development studio based in Berlin, Germany. For more than five years, we have been developing all kinds of games for mobile and PC. 2016 has been our most productive year so far, with five game releases: CatHotel, CatRun, Caravan and two mobile VR titles: CatHotel VR and Salmon Race VR. Our mission is to create games with a touch of real world added value.
How did you meet?
We were team mates at Reakktor Media in Hanover back in the days. It was our first full-time job in the industry and we were working on the very ambitious space-action MMO Black Prophecy. It was an intense time, with lots of ups and downs, which forged a strong bond between us.
What made you launch a company?
It has always been a dream of mine to run my own game studio someday. When I left Reakktor after the release of Black Prophecy, I decided to move back to Berlin. Around that time, I met Hendrik by chance. I was wondering whether he could help me find a new position with a company in Berlin, when he mentioned that he would love to help, but was actually in the business of helping startups to take off and get established in the market place. On that fateful evening, I decided to cut three corners and jump right into the biggest adventure of my life (yet).
Why did you decide to join rcp?
Actually, I wouldn’t have founded if it wasn’t for Hendrik and the support from rcp. I was able to assemble a group of talented and likeminded programmers and artists, but we were lacking the business and organization qualities that I felt were necessary to survive in the real world. This is where Sir Lesser came into play. I had already known Hendrik from my studies at Games Academy, as a lecturer and business oriented industry veteran. After I joined Reakktor, we loosely stayed in touch through various game events over the years. I believe this fostered our mutual respect and trust in each other, which is a key foundation for any business relationship. In late 2011, we sealed the bond and founded it Matters Games together.
What does your work with rcp look like?
Generally speaking, rcp provides us with support for any business and production situation that we could encounter. I like to refer to our relationship like this: on-site at iMG, we take care of the actual game development. This is where our expertise and passion lays. For all the other aspects, we coordinate with rcp. This includes: Finance, Business Development, HR and Production. They do best practices and smart excel sheet workshops with us, so we stay on top of the Game. Sometimes, I have the feeling they might get a bit carried away and try to over-engineer stuff, but we simply apply as much or little to our routine as we see fit. Every company in the family needs to find their own style of approaching things, and rcp encourages this culture building.
You’re based in Berlin, undoubtedly the city with the biggest Indie spirit in Germany. How does the community there influence your work?
To be honest, I don’t go out enough. We are located in Adlershof, which has great infrastructure, but is a bit “outer rim territory”. On the other hand, I have very passionate team mates who enjoy networking and attending regular meet ups. They are more aware of the active indie scene and their latest escapades. It always sounds like fun when they report back. I should join them more often. It’s on my list.
You’ve recently released your first gamification project. Tell us about how that experience differed from other games you did.
The majority of work that we engage in is work for hire. However, in gamification it is likely that the client is not very familiar with the processes of game development. In order to produce a game that meets and exceeds the client’s expectations, service and communication is key. Also, the conceptual design to merge the subject matter and the gameplay is often the biggest challenge when it comes to gamification. Then again, it’s part of our mission to do just that and therefore we always get excited when such opportunities arise.
You’re an expert when it comes to cute animal games on mobile devices. Then last year youreleased your first core PC title “Caravan” and now gamification was added to your portfolio. What are your plans for the future?
Thank you! Animal games are always fun, and the target audience is overwhelmingly kind and appreciative of our products, which is very encouraging. It’s true that we are quite diverse, when it comes to tour track record. I think the reason is that we came together as a team for the love of game development in general, not because we wanted to make ‘this one particular game’. That’s why we are open for all possibilities that the market offers: animal-centric kids games, racing games, mobile runners, VR projects, management simulations, you name it. With every production, we increase our knowledge and become better prepared for the next opportunity. On the side, we are always engaged in own IP development. We usually have multiple productions running in parallel. It has proven to be a good habit to distribute eggs to more than one basket.
What are you working on right now?
We just finished working on another game for Tivola, which I am very much looking forward to releasing. Of course, we are also maintaining and updating some of our games through live support for our regular clients. Furthermore, we are going to one up our animal track record this year with yet another, very exciting, new branch. Everything else is still too early to say, I’m afraid.
Is there anything else you wish to say?
We will attend Quo Vadis in Berlin and of course Gamescom in Cologne later this summer. If you catch an rcp agent at any event, ask what iMG is up to 😃.
Thank you for having me. I feel blessed to be able to fulfill my dream for more than five years, thanks to the work and support from my talented team, Hendrik and rcp, and my family. I highly appreciate all of you taking care of me!
(This story was originally published on Facebook on November 11, 2016)
