Games pitching and presentation : how to pitch a project to potential investor/publisher and account for cultural and professional biases

Abstract

This thesis investigates how indie video game developers can and should pitch their game projects as effectively as possible. It aims to formulate an idea of optimal pitching process by drawing from intercultural-communication theory, behavioral-finance research and combining their theories with a set of qualitative interviews with experienced Finnish game developers with more and less successful game pitching experiences from the field. The study explores how persuasion, empathy and bias awareness, both cultural and professional, can significantly affect the success of game project pitching. The methodology of the thesis follows the interpretivist and inductive approach described by Saunders et al. (2019). For the interviews, it uses a semi-structured formula designed around five themes: experience, pitching process, cultural influences, dynamics & reflection, and closing advice. Altogether eight interviews were conducted to form the quantitative interview data. The findings indicate that clear logical structure combined with credible self-presentation achieved the strongest engagement with recipients of the pitching, which included publishers and financiers. A recurring theme of decision biases was detected in the analysis of the interview material: regret aversion, anchoring, and similarity preference appeared to affect the investors’ and publishers’ evaluations. In conclusion, the study proposes a practical, pitch-plan framework that aims to combine industry experience and best practices with academic insight. The practical contribution the study aims for is transforming intercultural communication theory into a practical framework that could be used by game developers, as well as potentially educators and industry mentors.