Video games are not what you think
Aymar Azaizia takes a step back to examine game creation, intellectual property, communities and the complexity of the industry.
🎙️ Could Be Better Podcast: the podcast for professionals and enthusiasts in the creative industries.
Meet experts in video games, animation, VFX and CGI to discover what happens behind the scenes, their career paths and their practical advice.
⭐ Today’s episode: Video games are not what you think, with Aymar Azaizia, Director, Transmedia and Business Development at Ubisoft Montréal.
For this final episode of the season, we take a step back to examine an industry that is often discussed from the outside but rarely understood in all its complexity.
With Aymar Azaizia, we explore what really goes into creating a game, building an IP, working with communities, maintaining a coherent fictional universe, and addressing branding, transmedia and long-term challenges.
A video game is never just a product. It balances creative vision, strategy, production, business, audiences and collaboration between very different teams.
👤 About Aymar Azaizia
Aymar Azaizia, Director, Transmedia and Business Development at Ubisoft Montréal, is a recognised expert in transmedia strategy, the development of fictional universes and building IP in the video game industry.
With more than 15 years of experience, particularly at Ubisoft, he has supported the vision, consistency and expansion of major franchises, working at the intersection of storytelling, brand strategy, licensing, adaptations and transmedia content.
His career has involved connecting creative, business and production teams, with a detailed understanding of the challenges that allow a franchise to last, evolve and remain coherent across different formats, media and audiences.
Through conferences, panels and public appearances, Aymar regularly shares his perspective on the industry with a clear aim: to provide context, challenge common assumptions and explain what really happens behind game creation and development.
🎮 In this episode, we discuss:
• What the public often misunderstands about video games • The gap between outside perceptions and production realities • The difference between listening to a community and overreacting to feedback • What separates a single game from a fully developed IP • Building a franchise for the long term • The role of branding, transmedia and narrative consistency • Common mistakes when expanding a fictional universe • The realities of the industry, its constraints and its ecosystem
🎧 An episode for anyone who wants to understand the industry from the inside, beyond common assumptions, shortcuts and oversimplified analysis.
📚 Resources discussed in the podcast
- Playing Hard — the For Honor documentary
This episode also marks the end of the first season of Could Be Better. Thank you to everyone who has followed, listened, shared and supported us since the launch. 🔥
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🎙️ About Rexhino Hoxhaj
Rexhino is an entrepreneur and co-founder of Lovelace, a platform dedicated to analysing communities and player feedback in the video game industry. With several years of experience in innovation and supporting startups, he helps studios and creators understand their players and make informed decisions through data.
Through Could Be Better, his main goal is to create a space for honest conversations about the realities of the industry, the contradictions of the job, doubts, decisions and the things that success stories do not always reveal.
Contact • LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rexhinohoxhaj/ • Studio: https://lovelace.gg/
📩 Contact For any questions:
Resources from this episode.
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