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Making Fun
Unlocking the Potential of Web3 and Digital Assets in Gaming
In this episode
Host Siva Avvaru, Managing Partner at yWhales Solutions speaks with John Welch, CEO & Founder Making Fun, Inc., an independent game developer and publisher founded in 2009. Siva and John discuss the potential of blockchain technology in revolutionizing the gaming industry and why blockchain can address the drawbacks of the traditional free-to-play gaming model. John shares why blockchain technology can create a more transparent and just gaming ecosystem and create a fairer and more rewarding environment, moving away from the current ad-based monetization model. John also shares how game designers and developers are working to unlock the full potential of digital asset ownership for gamers.
About John Welch
John Welch is a veteran product designer and leader that has spent most of his career building video game platforms, publishers, and developers. John is CEO at Making Fun, a developer and publisher of mobile and PC video games he co-founded in 2009.
Check out hit RPG Eternium and CCG Runestrike. He sees convenient and secure decentralized ownership of games and assets is the next wave of innovation - with the potential for even more disruption to the industry than the internet or smartphones. Free-to-play is flawed; blockchain can fix it! Prior to Making Fun, John was co-founder and CEO of PlayFirst, famous for its best-selling "Diner Dash" brand that has touched hundreds of millions of consumers. John was responsible for the vision, financing, strategic direction and operations of the company for its first 5 years, as well as the production of the first Diner Dash title. PlayFirst was an innovator in bringing the full-service console publishing model to online games. Today, Electronic Arts owns PlayFirst via its acquisition of Glu Mobile. Previously, he spent nearly 5 years building Shockwave.com into one of the Internet's top entertainment destinations. As the company's Vice President of Games and Product, John was an early pioneer in the digital distribution of entertainment. Before that, he was a key member of the Dreamcast Network leadership team at SEGA . Previously, John spent several years running a software development consultancy he co-founded. He began his career at Andersen Consulting (now Accenture). You’ll learn about: Why regulation is one of the biggest hurdles for Web3 How video games are creating community What Making Fun is focusing on in building & delivering products
Making Fun’s Social Links:
Making Fun’s Website: http://makingfun.com/
Making Fun’ Twitter: https://twitter.com/makingfun
Making Fun’s YouTube: 
/ makingfunvideos
Making Fun’s Facebook: https://facebook.com/makingfun
Guest Social Links:
John’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jwelch
John’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/jxwelch
You’ll learn about:
- Why regulation is one of the biggest hurdles for Web3
- How video games are creating community
- What Making Fun is focusing on in building & delivering products
Timestamps
00:00 Siva’s intro
0:29 John’s intro
1:23 Digital assets and tokenization in gaming
8:05 Who are Web3 games built for?
11:26 John’s intro to gaming
15:29 Video gaming for good
22:17 The evolution of gaming
29:24 How blockchain brings value to gaming
36:13 About Making Fun
43:05 Where is Making Fun at now?
47:48 Next steps for Making Fun
50:57 Alpha drop
56:38 Contact
Other places to listen: Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Spotify | Pocket Casts | Podbean
DISCLAIMER: yWhales is not affiliated with YPO. Support and production for today’s episode was done by Truth Work Media. Nothing in the podcast constitutes professional and/or financial advice, nor does any information on the podcast constitute a comprehensive or complete statement of the matters discussed or the law relating thereto.
