Devolver Digital shares pitching lessons from its Australian partners

gamedeveloper.com:

Devolver Digital reckons there's something in the water down under. The publisher has signed a platter of Australian productions in recent years–including Cult of the Lamb, Phantom Abyss, and The Plucky Squire–and was back in town for Melbourne International Games Week to see about adding to that portfolio.

During an energetic PAX Australia, we grabbed a few minutes with Devolver marketing manager Daniel Lucic to learn more about the company's current approach to publishing, its interest in Australia, and what makes for a winning pitch.

For Lucic, Devolver's interest in the Australian development scene is rooted in finding the right talent. He says the company isn't focused on any specific region, but rather follows the creativity–wherever that may be. "Obviously with the big success of Cult of the Lamb, which is developed by Massive Monster based here in Melbourne, we heard from them and other partners that there's a lot of talent here," adds Lucic.

Discussing how that partnership was formed, Lucic suggests signing Cult of the Lamb was an easy decision because the publisher quickly formed an emotional connection with the dev team. "Sometimes you get a pitch and you know immediately that this is it. Sometimes it takes more time, and sometimes it doesn't click–not because it's a bad game–but for other reasons," he explains. "This clicked immediately. We knew it was something special. Sometimes you get a really good game, but there's no emotional connection between you and the team and you don't want to work together. [...] We always want to work with people who we see ourselves working with for years to come."

Lucic notes that one of the major factors behind Devolver's continued flirtation with Aussie devs is the support and