Interama

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I work at a company called Instituto Ideias. We work with a project that deals with social and environmental issues. We’ve been in the market since 2001. We’ve developed a lot of programs for the government and also for private companies. I am the Business Director.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Interama Interactive?

They designed online and offline systems for us, where we could use forms to attend to certain demands of our clients and also manage our field activities. We have an operation where we have to go to find people to understand their demands with regards to a certain public service, like energy or water waste. We have interactive units in the field, so we had to send people in the field to use certain forms. What they did was design systems where we could have those systems online and could interact with our system in the field; both online and offline. As managers of the activities, we could see what was being produced each day and have important information about each of those forms that were being used, [enabling us to oversee] the strategy for the program.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

They built it from scratch. We designed the project roadmap in a way that they could understand the activity that was supposed to be done. So they put it together in a system for us. We provided the intelligence and information they needed, where the people were supposed to be and how the logistics were. What they did was get all that information and make our team work better, have higher production, and greater efficiency.

How did you come to work with Interama Interactive?

We started working with them at least five or six years ago. What happened was: we had a team before that used to design systems for us inside of our company. We decided not to have that team anymore. We decided to look for a company in the market that could provide us with this kind of service. We actually got to know them, I think, with somebody that already knew them. We went to the market and we requested a proposal from them. It seemed to be what we expected, so we’ve been hiring them and using their services.

How much have you invested with Interama Interactive?

$30,000 to $40,000 a year, for the first years. I would guess over $100,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started in 2010 or 2011. We’re still working with them. The logic of the system sometimes needs updates. We actually study the system model and sometimes we need to change something. As we don’t have anybody internally that can program this, we go back to them and request them to change things in the system. Since then, we have had to hire them once or twice a year to review the system and make new implementations to meet the different demands of our clients.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

How did Interama Interactive perform from a project management standpoint?

It’s really easy to work with them. I didn’t interact with the technical people too much, but all the requests and all the demands of my team were attended on time. Luiz [Gerosa, Interama Co-founder] is a guy who is really easy to get along with. It’s pretty normal and pretty professional.

What did you find most impressive about Interama Interactive?

Usually, our clients need changes made very quickly. So one thing that I cannot complain about, and I hear it from my team, is that they deliver everything on time. Speaking of our resources, sometimes I’ve noticed that other people have a problem with delivering on time, but not them. I know once we have a need, they can go for it and deliver on time. That’s a quality that I would recommend them for.

Are there any areas Interama Interactive could improve?

I don’t interact with their technical teams too much but I don’t see anything that needs improvement.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I was working at Atari, and that’s where I had my experience working with Interama. I was the Director of Production. I was in charge of the digital production for all of our free-to-play titles on Facebook as well as other online and mobile platforms. My role was to select and then manage our portfolio. Primarily speaking, our portfolio was developed by external companies such as Interama.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Interama Interactive Technology?

As I recall, Atari has a large intellectual property portfolio in games such as Asteroids and Adventure and games of the like, and our strategy at that time was to utilize those intellectual properties and to hire external developers to develop on those using new technologies, new business models on new platforms. Fairies vs. Darklings, I believe, was their property, and that was something that we partnered with them on. They had already developed that to a degree, and it was a pleasure of mine to work with Louise and the team on continuing to develop that and ultimately publish that on Atari’s website and platform.

At the time, it was available online, and we ported it to Facebook. Then we expanded the development in terms of features and in terms of its ability to monetize. A décor of the game was there; their vision was there. It was a three-match puzzle adventure game. I actually was quite proud of the game they developed and where it went from a design standpoint.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Basically it was their baby, and then they allowed myself as the head of the publishing, to be their point of contact. We worked together on making the game optimal for Facebook and to put the game into a position that there was a maximum amount of engagement, solid retention, and ultimately multiple avenues to monetize. This was a publisher-vendor relationship. They were their own development company, but they were flexible and partnered with us with to work on what we thought we needed and what we wanted to see to make that game a mutual success. They were the ones that implemented that design, and ultimately they were making the creative choices. In essence, while we were a publisher, they were the development team. It was really myself and Interama and their capabilities, and then ultimately our platform team, in terms of uploading, testing, and launching the game itself.

They were the core game developers, and then our platform team assisted them in getting it up and running, but they were the ones that allowed the technology to connect with Facebook Connect and their coding. The objectives that my superiors had were extremely aggressive. The budgets and timelines they had were really unfair. They put me in a position where really I needed the developers to be flexible, and I was quite demanding. I had 26 different development teams working, and they were my favorite group. They were my number one team. They were the kind of guys where you’re asking for more and more, without a budget and the time to give them, and they kept working. It was a really solid product.

To be frank, Atari pulled our complete budget for our entire division. This was before they went under. We launched Fairies vs. Darklings with zero marketing, not even $1 spent and no support whatsoever. We put it out, and had we been given the marketing support at that time, I am 100% confident that that game would have had every opportunity to see a profit and to see a level of success that would make both sides feel proud.

How much have you invested with Interama Interactive Technology?

I would say that it was probably under $100,000. I worked with them for months, day in and day out, adding this and doing that, and they really worked for free because they loved the game and they believed in what Atari could do for them. Unfortunately, Atari really didn’t hold their end of the bargain in terms of being able to put the resources necessary to promote the game.

What is the status of this engagement?

Around the summer and fall of 2011, I believe, was when we put this out. In fact, Atari forced me to cancel a lot of the projects. This was one that I stood behind and said, “You’re not cancelling this project. We’re going to put it out there.” I fought to the bitter end to try to get some kind of marketing investment. This was when Facebook games were so popular, and there was still an opportunity to get this out there for the people to play.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

Could you share any evidence that would demonstrate the productivity, quality of work, or the impact of the engagement?

Considering there were very few eyeballs, I think that we peaked at over 1,000. That was with zero marketing. As long as we were able to continue to publish it and operate it, it consistently had users playing and progressing through the game. We basically had a small loyal following, but unfortunately, with Facebook and no marketing, with no ability for people to discover the game, it really wasn’t in an environment where it was going to get the views to be able to grow beyond some of just the pure luck of stumbling into it.

How did Interama Interactive Technology perform from a project management standpoint?

Even though they are a Brazilian group, their English was very strong. I worked with them on Skype. They worked basically 24/7 in the sense that they were always available. They were always flexible. We implemented my project management templates, and they worked with them beautifully. Basically, we were using Excel to prioritize features and to track changes and updates. They were really cool to work with.

What did you find most impressive about Interama Interactive Technology?

When you’re dealing with a lot of creative changes, and when there’s not a lot of money and it’s their game to begin with, you run a lot of times into people that are going to be reticent, but they worked really well. There was a lot of trust. The implementations that they had made were really right on with what I was trying to do. They are good listeners, good communicators, and are available all the time. Ultimately, I felt like they executed on the things that I needed them to get done.

If there was a mistake that was found in testing, they would jump on it to fix it, and all of that of course was free. If there was a mistake, they took the onus to fix it on their dime no matter how long that would take. They were very professional. The project was a bright spot in an otherwise really challenging environment for everyone.