Zadzen Games [OUT OF BUSINESS]

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

ITSOFT is an Israel-based company offering subcontracting services for projects in Ukraine, including Unity game development. I am the owner of the company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Zadzen Games?

We wanted to develop a startup product within the children's gaming space.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Zadzen Games worked with us as a subcontractor, developing our Unity-based game. On the server side, we are using .NET, Microsoft technology, and host the system on Amazon Web Services. The project is quite complex regarding components, user interface, performance requirements and so on.

We have worked with many developers from Zadzen Games, including 2 on front end, 1 for backend, 1 designer, and 1 QA resource.

How did you come to work with Zadzen Games?

I contacted 4 or 5 companies, offering a detailed, 70-page requirements document. Based on it, I requested a price estimate, as well as demos using our code. For example, if we needed to make animations for a character, we provided the content for it and requested to see how it would be integrated.

How much have you invested with Zadzen Games?

The cost of our project with Zadzen Games has been between $50,000 and $100,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

We have been working with Zadzen Games for around 10 months. The project is ongoing, and we hope to reach the A/B testing phase in 6 months. The project should be live within a year.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

As with any software development project, we will have good and bad sprints, delivering good or bad results. Overall, regarding code, time reporting, and communication, I would give Zadzen Games a rating of 7.5 to 8 out of 10.

How did Zadzen Games perform from a project management standpoint?

Zadzen Games used our software development system, so I can't comment on their tools. Zadzen Games knows how to utilize Jira properly, and can adapt to our Agile workflows.

What did you find most impressive about Zadzen Games?

I decided to work with Zadzen Games because their project manager is very good. Other companies I approached didn't have the same level of skillsets. If the project manager does not understand the scope, the whole project will be impacted.

There are good and bad aspects of software development, but I didn't experience anything which wasn't standard within the industry.

Are there any areas Zadzen Games could improve?

I would like access to more resources from Zadzen Games, on a short-term basis. Now, we're working with a set amount of full-time resources; getting more requires waiting for a long time until someone becomes free.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

Diamond Tail Production has a home-brand called Babyloonz. We create apps and TV shows for kids. I am the chief executive officer and founder of the company.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Zadzen Games?

Our goal was to create high-end children's apps.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Zadzen Games has produced a couple of apps for our company. For one of them, Zadzen Games was in charge of every aspect, except for the idea and overall game objectives.

I'm not sure how many developers were assigned to our projects. I normally talk with our team manager from Zadzen Games and know of about 4-5 people in the background.

How did you come to work with Zadzen Games?

The options in Sweden are very expensive, so I looked extensively online, trying to find a good developer. I found out that there are numerous developers in Zadzen Games' location, so I googled the city name, and their company turned up.

How much have you invested with Zadzen Games?

The cost of Zadzen Games' services has been between $20,000 and $30,000 overall.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started working with Zadzen Games 2 years ago. We just finished our latest apps, and will probably work with Zadzen Games again in the future. 

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

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

I've worked with a number of developers and had been looking for the best fit. Zadzen Games is a professional company, and the team has done the job well. Their expertise is in game design. We've used Zadzen Games for some functionality apps, but they're not as strong in this respect.

How did Zadzen Games perform from a project management standpoint?

Zadzen Games was a new company when we started working together, so there were some initial issues around contracts and planning the scope of work. This is normal for a newer company, but Zadzen Games' team knows what they're doing, and I haven't been disappointed so far.

What did you find most impressive about Zadzen Games?

Zadzen Games' main strength is that they honor deadlines. In general, Zadzen Games gave good estimates for how long things would take.

Are there any areas Zadzen Games could improve?

We started working with Zadzen Games when they were quite new, and most issues have been resolved since then.