Tamatem CEO: “Never build something that you cannot launch in two to three months”

The useful part

Prefer PocketGamer.biz on Google Hussam Hammo says developers should start small and avoid overambitious projects. His previous gaming venture spent two years developing an Arabic shooter that ultimately failed. Hammo advises building projects that can launch within two to three months.

How it works

• "My advice to everyone is to build something very small, copy things that were working, and once you have the luxury of revenue, then you will be able to raise money and you will be able to get a publisher...
• Speaking during an online panel organised by UAE Games, Hammo reflected on a gaming venture he ran around 2009 and 2010, where the team initially built simple Arabic versions of successful browser games.
• The company later became ambitious, spending two years developing an Arabic shooter that Hammo said ultimately failed.
• "Typically, at that time, there was not a lot of competition in the market," said Hammo.
• "What we made a big mistake doing was becoming too ambitious and having ego come our way.

What to take from it

Investment will bring more attention to the region and create more opportunities" Get the best advice in raising investment for your projects at Pocket Gamer Connects Jordan Stay Informed Get Industry News In Your Inbox… Sign Up Today Tamatem CEO and founder Hussam Hammo has urged aspiring game developers to start small, avoid overly ambitious projects and think of their businesses as companies rather than simply studios. We started thinking that we could build the ultimate shooter game." Ambition became a burden Hammo said the project's problems began when a developer convinced the team they could build an Arabic shooter set across multiple locations.

Example or evidence

• Never build something that you cannot launch in two to three months." Lessons learned Hammo said his goal in speaking at panels is to educate young developers rather than preach to them.
• "They spend a month pulling all-nighters to build an amazing project, but they forget HR, legal, hiring and firing, they forget the sleepless nights that they would need talking to investors.
• "I want people to start thinking about building companies, and within these companies, you can have units that are called studios, and these studios are developing stuff," he added.
• "We got excited and we thought that this would become a passion project on the side and it could take maybe six months to develop," Hammo said.

Details worth keeping

"The six months became two years." Although Hammo said the game's quality was "top-notch", the team eventually recognised the scale of the competition. With a core team of just three people, it was attempting to compete with titles such as Crossfire and companies with hundreds of employees. The project also exposed the team's lack of experience in marketing and testing.

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