Lancaster University

Stockport College of Technology

Gameconsulting.com.au
- Helping devs pitch, manage & publish games. Helping publishers connect with & manage indies.

Helping Team17 support ANZ development teams.

• Before We Leave, Balancing Monkey Games, PC, Mac, Xbox One/Series/Win10 Gamepass, PlayStation 4/5, Switch
• DREDGE, Black Salt Games, PC, Switch, PlayStation 4/5, XboxOne/Series
• Moving Out 2, SMG Studio, PC, Switch, PlayStation 4/5, XboxOne/Series
• Age of Darkness, PlaySide, PC
• Earthless, Blackbird Interactive, PC
• Conscript, Catchweight Studio, PC

Team17 Digital

Game consultant - ANZ production

Offering consulting services to indie developers and publishers.

For Developers
• Operational Support, including 3rd party management, business consulting & marketing
• Independent Review & Management, including project review, pitch material preparation, events & representation.
• Development & Production Management, including budgeting & forecasting, scheduling, project management, shipping assistance, localisation process & management, QA process & management, and social media planning and management.

For Publishers
• Business Development
• Developer Due Diligence
• Project Management
• Project Shipping

GameConsulting.com.au

Game consultant

• Managing commercial opportunities and business development for Prideful Sloth, attending conferences and events including GDC, Gamescom, and Tokyo Game Show.
• Operational and financial forecasting.
• Launched original IP “Yonder: The Cloud Catcher Chronicles” on PS4 and Steam digital storefronts in July 2017 to commercial success. Valve listed Yonder as one of the top grossing titles of 2017.
• Negotiated retail publishing deal with Merge/Signature Edition Games for “Yonder” on PS4 and Nintendo Switch throughout the US, EU and ANZ regions.
• Showcased “Yonder” at BICFest in Busan, Korea in September 2017, and took out the Grand Prix Award for best game.
• Showcased “Yonder” at Tokyo Game Show in September 2017 and jointly took out the Indie Game Grand Prix Award for best game as judged by the 3 top Japanese gaming publications.
• End to end project management of the Nintendo Switch version of “Yonder”, including QA, Localisation and social media ahead of digital release in the US, EU and ANZ regions on May 17th 2018. 
• Managed expressions of interest from Korean publishers for regional publishing of “Yonder” resulting in a Korean localised digital release with H2 Interactive in March 2018 on PS4, and at retail for Nintendo Switch in May 2018.
• Managed expressions of interest from Japanese publishers for regional publishing of “Yonder” resulting in a Japanese localised digital release with Nippon Ichi Software in February 2018 on PS4. The title earned a Silver Award from the premier Japanese gaming publication Famitsu and reached #6 in the Japanese PlayStation Store chart.
• Negotiated license to include Nippon Ichi Software’s characters and IP in the Japanese Nintendo Switch version of “Yonder” released 5th July 2018. This became the quickest selling country for Yonder on Switch, reaching #4 on the eShop in under a week.

Prideful Sloth

Commercial Director

• Strategic and operational management of the Australian business unit.
• Continued development and increased monthly revenue on VEGA Conflict.
• Successfully deployed over 100 public releases and maintained a 4.2+ positive rating on iOS and Android stores.
• Designed and oversaw implementation of customer re-engagement tools, delivering a 1200% ROI.
• Executed the seamless addition of the Steam PC client to the game, migrating users away from the ailing web platform.
• Successfully brought community, data analysis and live ops management functions to Brisbane to increase efficiency of delivery and team ownership.

KIXEYE

Managing Director

• Project Management of multi-disciplinary team of 40 staff to develop, deliver and update MMORTS game VEGA Conflict in a SaaS business model.
• Established internal QA team as part of the continuous integration/deployment program within the agile development process.
• Guided the development team to soft-launch through to global launch of innovative MMORTS VEGA Conflict as a web client with server authoritative back end.
• Managed A/B testing of early product UX flow and iterated on refinements with product management and data analysts to increase user retention.
• Defined best-in-class product release management process, encompassing pre-release product verification/validation, internal stakeholder communication, customer and community messaging, downtime playbook, client version management, and post-release QA.
• Successfully managed the major product pivot from web to mobile platforms, migrating the client from legacy Flash technology to Unity 3d whilst retaining the original back end platform.
• Launched the product on Android and iOS platforms, ensuring compatibility with a wide variety of hardware and operating system configurations..
• Designed and managed the implementation of the in-app customer support system for mobile platforms, integrating with ZenDesk to create tickets for the US-based customer support team.
• Managed the development and migration of the SaaS back end systems from dedicated data centers to AWS to drive cost savings in excess of 50% and enable scalability.

Senior Project Manager

• Forecasted  and  managed  the  R&D  budget,  reporting  directly  to  the  board  following  the  ASX  IPO.
• Project managed multi-disciplinary R&D team to investigate innovations in chemistry, electronics and technology for commercialisation as new products and services in the commercial energy storage sector.
• Project managed design through delivery of a MW-class commercial energy storage system for the Global Change Institute at the University of Queensland.
• End to end project management of the energy storage component of Ausgrid's Smart Grid Smart City project, successfully overseeing the design, development, production, delivery and deployment of 50 IP controlled 5kw residential energy storage units.
• Managed extensive IP portfolio of patent and trademarks, securing worldwide protection for the company's core technologies.
• Successfully maintained ISO 9000 Quality Management certification.

RedFlow International Pty Ltd

• Represented an international videogame developer looking to expand and set up a new game development studio in Brisbane.
• Took on all the business and operational responsibilities, providing a 5 year business plan and forecast, short listing potential rental property, specifying and costing office fit out and equipment, as well as advising on recruitment strategy and salary levels.
• Collaborated with the other Directors on a number of confidential project pitches for the proposed Brisbane studio. 
• Completed the submission for the Queensland Investment Incentive Scheme, and successfully secured a 6 figure investment grant for the company to set up in Brisbane.
• Unfortunately the increasing strength of the AU$ and a general shrinking of the games industry led to the company re-evaluating expansion into Australia, and ultimately withdrawing.

Undisclosed

Project Director/Studio Director

• Parachuted in to ship "SpongeBob SquarePants: Lights, Camera, PANTS!".
• Refocused development team and schedule, shipped on time in the US and 6 months early in Europe, winning the 2005 THQ Team Award.
+ Repaired and developed a frosty licensor relationship with Nickelodeon through personal visits, and increased transparency from the studio.
• Defined production process and project reporting at the studio
• Produced "Avatar: The Last Airbender", PS2, Xbox, GameCube and Nintendo Wii launch title.
• Produced "Avatar: The Burning Earth", PS2, Xbox360, Wii
• Produced "Avatar: Into The Inferno", Wii, PS2
• Found "de Blob" as a student game and recommended it to senior management for acquisition.
+ As a result of my lobbying THQ went on to purchase the rights and create a critically acclaimed and profitable game franchise developed out of their Melbourne studio BlueTongue.
• Managed and developed licensor relationships with Dreamworks Animation for the game adaptation of “Megamind”.
+ Visited Dreamworks Animation/PDI in San Mateo with work-in-progress game builds to get feedback from the director and animation staff.
• Managed and developed licensor relationships with Nickelodeon & Paramount Pictures for the game adaptation of “The Last Airbender”
+ Visited M Night Shymalan to demonstrate work-in-progress game builds, and secure 3d movie assets for use in-game and weekly work prints.
• Responsible for studio budget and staff forecasting

THQ Studio Australia

Director of Production, Executive Producer

• Joined the studio as Technical Manager, running the “Titan A.E.” project for Fox Interactive on PS2, PC, Dreamcast.
• Became the studios first Project Manager
+ Undertook site visits to Fox Studios Animation in Phoenix, AZ to meet with production staff, securing 3d movie assets for use in-game and weekly work prints of the movie for reference
• Produced "Taz: Wanted" for Infogrames/Atari on PS2, Xbox, GameCube, PC
• Nominated for "Best Children's Entertaiment" at BAFTA in 2002
+ Liaised with Warner Bros. Looney Toons writers and brand assurance, negotiating new creative storylines and characters for inclusion in the video-game.
• Produced "The Fairly OddParents: Breakin' da Rules" for THQ on PS2, Xbox, GameCube
• Won "Best Technology" at Birmingham Screen Festival
+ Liaised with Nickelodeon creative and the show creators in Burbank to get approval on in-game storylines and new technology to replicate the distinctive facial style of the show characters.
• Ran pitch/pre-production for "Reservoir Dogs" for SCi/Eidos
+ Wrote the game pitch for the game adaptation of the movie for Lionsgate

Blitz Games Studios

Technical Manager, Project Manager

• Programmed numerous 8-bit games for Codemasters: Dizzy, Seymour etc
• Programmed GameGenie for 8-bit and 16-bit Sega consoles
• Programmed PC title Tank Commander
• Programmed Mac version of Big Red Racing
• Became Head of Studio after the studio was purchased by Eidos plc

Big Red Software

Programmer, Producer, Head of Studio

• Designed, developed and released a number of home computer titles whilst still a student.

Jon Cartwright