Sally Lu, Director of Customer Success at Unity, joins Melissa Zeloof to discuss the role of Unity and gametech more generally in the games industry, and what we might expect for the future.
Listen to the full episode here, or read the transcript below.
The evolution of the industry
My journey in the industry sort of tells you how gaming platforms have evolved over the last 15 years. I began at a company doing PC games...then I went to Facebook web gaming, doing monetization for Zynga. Zynga of course evolved to tap into mobile gaming, and that reflects my path - I went on to join Scopely and later Jam City, before starting at Unity.
The epitome of a gametech company
The most important thing is to think about the player experience and then bring products to our customers - mainly game developers - to create and operate their great games.
This goes beyond the tech ecosystem really into the heart of what makes a great experience. That’s why Unity is expanding into verticals outside of gaming...Our goal is to bring more creators into the world.
Gametech - what’s next?
Gametech is all about creating the most engaging experiences...I don’t think the ecosystem is necessarily missing any tech, rather there is room for improvement for what currently exists.
For example a better real time picture and understanding of the players, in terms of analytics and understanding player behavior in real time is critical and has room for improvement.
The other side is AI and machine learning components. Most game studios have this perception that it’s so expensive to build a data science team to do AI and machine learning, and actually this is a massive misconception. For example our tool GameTune that can seamlessly integrate machine learning into the game’s tech stack to leverage real time information and make the game development process more efficient.
Good for society
What’s special about gaming is the ability to connect people, across geographies, platforms and game types. Interactive gaming experiences are good for society - I’m interested to see the growth of social gaming content.
Specialist vs. Jack of all trades
Unity is different as we’re engine agnostic, so we provide developers the flexibility to develop on the engine they choose. It’s important for us that they remain in control of their IP and experience. You never need to leave the Unity ecosystem to succeed, but we’re careful to not lock you into a one-size-fits-all mode.
Gametech spilling over
AR is one pivotal experience for brands today. Brands, especially in retail, will expand their experimentation with this technology.
Mixed reality will powerhouse experiences and bring them to new levels, like in the metaverse. This tech will help bring creativity to new heights.
Future
The most exciting thing for me is how the lines between operations and development, and development and growth, are blurring. There are so many components of gametech that can overlap more in the future
