Lever is a team of four people in Sweden who helps game studios and publishers to build sustainable ideas and brands.
The company has existed for seven years and has worked with more than 40 customers and projects. The list includes large companies such as Bandai Namco And Complaint Thus, a little “only man presents himself in the circle of the Arctic,” said Christian Fonnesbech, CEO and head of IP at Lerey, in an interview with Gamesbeat.
Sometimes the team consults a studio early and sometimes it happens late.
“We met really arrogant teams, and we met really humble teams,” he said. “We were really there. And the big challenge is how to reach the studio? Where does the game stop and where does IP start? »»
He raises the example of IO Interactive, the Denmark studio which went to 200 people and created the Hitman franchise. They had created a total of four different series of games, but Hitman was the largest.
“Hitman was 65% of the business value,” said Fonnesbech. “You focus on gameplay and technology and it’s great. But in addition to that, there is a second business model. You build the love of your IP. With all the time, people spend with your game, they get attached to your characters, and they get used to this emotion and travel. It is therefore the IP part. “”
And there is a third part, on how you communicate this to the market.
“How do you position yourself to stand out and call on the right people?” He said.
Origins
Fonnesbech was previously the head of the Nordisk Games IP, which belonged to a large conglomerate. He worked in the game, entertainment, advertising and films over the decades and came to learn the value of the IP. He worked on 30 games during his career.
“I served my time in the trenches,” he said. “While at Nordisk, we realized that there was not even a language for this speech on IP and what is missing in the games.”
The company has a team of four and it works with others if necessary.
“We have just realized that no one knows how to build an IP. They don’t even know how to understand what the right lever is. Some people are lucky to have an IP. What we do is advise on the problem we see is that most studios think like that. They just want to play a game and do it and then they realize that what they really needed was a lasting product. »»
To do this, you have to take the player in an emotional journey and give them a character he really likes. You want a character who is looking for revenge or who tries to find peace. You must design the IP so that it is legally owner and protectable, he said. This is what you normally ask when you read a book or watch a film. Why do I care about it?
“We realized that the big problem for the whole industry is that we do not pre-production on the IP. Because it’s just not a tradition. The gameplay was sufficient. Thus, all these companies have grown up with a total emphasis on the content of the game, “he said. “We produce the game. But emotions and characters and positioning – Ah, let’s talk about something else. Thus, a typical game development process is three to four years of development, then it is three months of intellectual property. »»
This is transformed into three months of brand panic and IP panic, he said, at the end of the game when it is almost too late to change anything.
“What we have been doing for seven years is helping people develop a clear idea early. The Sweet Spot is to do so at the start of pre-production, but of course, we are often taken at 80% finish or recovery, “he said. “We are able to understand it. If you do this, suddenly, you stand out on the market because you are not only a gameplay loop. “”
This is necessary because there may be 17,000 games a year on steam. To stand out, you don’t have to look at gameplay competitors. Your IP must be memorable.
“Today, you also have to watch your emotional competitors. There is therefore no point in making an excellent combat game with hand -to -hand. If your IP is exactly the same as Batman, you are not going to win. What does Batman do emotionally? He is in a big city full of corruption. He is an orphan. These are the central pillars of this IP. It is not enough to compete on the gameplay, you must also compete on emotion. »»
Obtain membership
It is not only a single writer who must accomplish this, said Fonnesbech. He says that the entire management team should get involved. But it is very different from one business to another, because some studios are motivated by a single creative force and others are led by leadership groups. Some companies are torn apart by madmen and bean meters that do not like to work with each other.
An example of doing it backwards is the League of Legends of Riot Games. He built the most successful multiplayer battle game (MOBA) with many characters but not many history. Now he has returned and has created the history of the rear, spending $ 250 million in two Arcane seasons on Netflix. And now he has built something to which fans are emotionally attached. And if you have already gone to a legendary league championship match, you will see the emotion of the crowd. Sonic The Hedgehog from Sega started in the same way, with a quick character with attitude and a quick gameplay. Now, with the films, the emotional center of Sonic focuses on the point.
Fonnesbech thinks that companies like Remedy, CD Projekt Red and Naughty Dog have done brilliant work creating their IP.
“If you want to build a precious intellectual property, the thing is that it is not necessarily the thing that makes it a success,” he said. “But it’s the thing that makes you lasting,” said Fonnesbech. “I would recommend characters. You don’t need to have them, but it’s really good. Having a character is just an excellent anchor and a model. You can talk about having an emotional trip. What is the emotional journey? Franchises and IPs are like darling memories you want to live. »»
He added: “If you take a hitman or the last Bourne film about, you expect this emotional journey. Lara Croft is always looking for her father in the ruins and, you know, Geralt de Rivia is always the stranger who tries to protect people who really do not trust her. You come back for this same feeling. Then there is a unique world. You think of Hitman, you think of Lara Croft, you think of Superman. It is a world and a certain tone and a certain attitude to which you also return. So these things are starting to add up. The more you have, the more intellectual property is consistent. »»
When it works well
Some companies like Skybound, manufacturer of The Walking Dead, will test a new IP in the form of a comic strip. If he resonates, he places the writer’s room to work there and produces different types of media. He tests the waters and doubles on the blows. Before The Walking Dead, “good guys are never dead,” he said.
But people have to pay attention to “transmedia error,” said Fonnesbech. “The idea that we are going to go out on six media at the same time and it will be greater success. It doesn’t work. You have to put everything you have to go out on a support and make it work. It is so difficult to make a good game, fiction or history. »»
As for the way things have worked in recent years with 34,000 layoffs in industry, Fonnesbech said there was a delayed effect for his own advice. While other large companies were affected earlier, the crisis arrived for him in the spring of 2024, when there was a big match.
“Things are booming now, and it seems that there is a greater need for this way of thinking because I think publishers and investors have become a little more cautious to invest in strange wonders”, he said. “If they want to put all this investment, they want to see something that will last.”
