AMA 03×01: David Lorenzo (Pentakill Studios)

David Lorenzo, CEO and at Pentakill Studios, a video game studio in Valladolid, responsible for the video game The Occultist, answers all our questions about the previous context of his studio, processes that have worked best for them, financing methods, how to find and strengthen the audience, among other invaluable tips for indie teams and studios that debut and are looking for sustainable formulas to make their roadmap viable as a studio.

ASK ME ANYTHING

Questions asked during AMA:

Level Up:

• Can you tell us a little about your current context as a studio, partners and team in general?
• What previous processes did you go through to decide that The Occultist would be the first IP of your studio?
• What financial and business context did you have at the time of starting the pre-production of The Occultist?
• How do you manage your previous lines of business and the concurrence with the production of your own IP?
• What have been the most important financial instruments for you, recommended and not recommended?
• How has the process of attracting a publisher been, what volume of activity, fairs or meetings have you handled before closing a deal?

Incubator Equipments:

• 2 Weeks at Home Team:
  • At what point did you feel that your project began to generate interest and what steps did you take previously to reach that point (at all levels and, particularly, in marketing)?
  • Was The Occultist born from a previous market study or did you start with an idea that you liked?

• CheapeeSoft Games Team:

• • Regarding the hiring of an artist, what factors make you consider a good portfolio depending on the position to which they apply? (Character Artist, Prop Artist, Environment Artist, Concept Artist, …) And what skills do you value most in a person as a company?
  • What is your workflow in terms of hard surface and organic 3D art? What software do you use?

• Dust Games Team:
  • Did you start only as a video game developer and later add the services or did you have it planned from the beginning?
  • How was the company’s growth managed internally, was it organic, and what problems arose in the process?
• Thruster Games Team:
  • At the company level, what were your first steps until you were able to have a physical space to work in?
  • What benefit did you get from your experience at GTR 2022 as finalists?
  • What is your experience with applying for public aid? Have any agencies helped you? How do you value your work?
  • From the publications you make on social networks (very focused on the people in the studio and the day to day) What results is it giving you?
  • Do you have a person dedicated to social networks or is it a collective effort?
  • What feedback have you received for The Occultist from Publishers? Did you try again with those Publishers later?
  • Have you ever considered modifying the funding requested from publisher?
  • What do you think is the key to finding a Publisher?
• Fisherman’s Games Team:
  • What collaboration opportunities do you recommend exploring to promote the study and/or ongoing project?
  • What advice would you give to optimize production costs without compromising the quality of the games?
  • How do you manage resources, including time and budget, to ensure compliance with development deadlines?