Popular cooking series from publisher Slitherine welcomes Focus Entertainment’s Chief Creative Officer Dessil Basmadjian to the kitchen
November 21, 2023
[This unedited press release is made available courtesy of Game Developer and its partnership with notable game PR-related resource Games Press]
Slitherine Software :
Slitherine welcomes hungry gamers back to its kitchen. In the second episode of Season 2, Chief Creative Officer of Focus Entertainment Dessil Basmadjian spills the beans on the ins and outs of the games industry while making a mouth-watering risotto with pumpkin and sausage.
As the celebrity guest and helpful cooking assistant to Slitherine’s very own master chef (and Chief Marketing Officer) Marco Minoli, Dessil Basmadjian lifts the lid on an often-overlooked aspect of game development: publishing. From the first seeds of creative vision to marketing and helping developers launch their games, all of it was talked about in depth in The Geek Recipe’s latest episode.
Focus Entertainment is the French publisher of a wide variety of games encompassing a whole gamut of scopes and genres, from the upcoming Space Marines 2 and Atlas Fallen to Evil West, Dordogne, and the acclaimed Plague Tale titles. As Chief Creative Officer, Basmadjian is in direct contact with developers, both internal and external. “Our role as a publisher is to accompany the developer from the beginning of their idea up to release. Challenge them, ask them questions, help them solve problems, but never impose a creative vision. We want to stay true to the developer’s wishes.”
"The games industry is writing the pages of history" - Dessil Basmadjian
After a start in moviemaking, including direction and SFX supervising work in Los Angeles and Paris, Basmadjian began his games career with Focus Entertainment, creating cinematics for Battlefleet Gothic - Armada. “>From the beginning, I saw so much passion and dedication in the games industry.” He further mentions: “It is a new industry. You don’t have the weight of the past. We are writing the pages of history. This makes it incredibly exciting.”
During the episode of The Geek Recipe, Basmadjian said the smaller the budget, the more risk developers can take creatively. “The super big productions, the AAA games, they play it safe. They have to please such a wide audience; it's so hard to take risks and be very innovative.” Basmadjian said that the publisher receives over 1500 pitches every year from new game studios, which are all reviewed. “Lots of them are easy to say ‘not for us’, but quite a lot are interesting. We are gamers, first and foremost. If the idea is good, if the team has the production capacity to execute it well, we get excited!”
More about publishing, Warhammer, and Basmadjian’s creative vision - and how that pumpkin-and-sausage risotto turned out or not - can be checked in the latest The Geek Recipe episode.
The Geek Recipe reaffirms that the way to a gamer’s heart is through the stomach, regardless of background or skill level. Each new episode invites a renowned game developer, writer, creator, or director to Slitherine’s kitchen, where the celebrity guests share the secret ingredients of not only what makes great food but also great entertainment.
Watch the latest The Geek Recipe episode on Slitherine’s YouTube channel here!
Industry veteran and Heroes of Might and Magic III creator David Mullich kicked off the Geek Recipe’s Season 2 with a special Eggplant Adventure. The Geek Recipe’s previous Season 1 saw three celebrated game industry celebrities get busy in Slitherine’s kitchen. From the Creative Director of WolfEye Studios and founder of Arkane Studios Raphael Colantonio to Ubisoft Milan’s Creative Director Davide Soliani (Mario + Rabbids series) and Frederik Schreiber, CEO of 3DREALMS, all had juicy tales to tell about their time and extensive experience in the games industry.
Find out who the guests are for the first four episodes of Season 2 of The Geek Recipe
About The Slitherine Group
The Slitherine Group is the world’s leading producer and publisher of digital strategy and wargames. Under the Slitherine (www.slitherine.com) and Matrix Games (www.matrixgames.com) brands it has published literally hundreds of games, with many award-winning titles in its portfolio and spanning all digital platforms, from home consoles to smartphones and tablets. Slitherine also works with a wide array of key licensing partners, such as NBC Universal®, Games Workshop®, Sony Pictures, BBC, Osprey, and many others.
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