This is one in a series of stories about companies in Brock LINC’s incubation program, the LINCubator. The LINCubator supports a small cohort of companies at an early stage and helps them reach the next stage of business development. The eight-month program combines workshops, mentorship, networking, business coaching and partnerships with local investor groups. For more information about the LINCubator, visit brocku.ca/linc/lincubator
Agusia Krzywinska (BSc ’20) and Adam Henderson (BA ’20) want to make their mark in the fast-growing gaming industry, but they are determined to do it their way — for the benefit of their employees and gamers alike.
Graduates of Brock’s GAME program, a highly competitive program offered by the University’s Center of Digital Humanities and concurrent with Niagara College, the couple launched their mobile game studio, Adjective Noun Studios, after graduating in 2020.
The idea for the company was born on a bus ride leaving the university’s main campus in 2019, when Henderson noticed that an update to his favorite game on his phone repeatedly prompted him to spend money to continue playing. These ‘microtransactions’, which require users to pay more to win, had become increasingly popular at the time.
“We had already discussed the idea of creating our own studio, but this experience cemented the exact type of game we wanted to make,” said Henderson, whose focus at Brock was game design. “From that point on, our main goal was to create great games that didn’t have microtransactions, ads, subscriptions, loot boxes, or anything else to get in the way of the player’s enjoyment.”
Krzywinska and Henderson have signed up for Brock’s Kick-Starting Entrepreneurship program, which helps young entrepreneurs with a business idea advance their goals through mentorship, coaching, and community building with other participants.
Since launch, Adjective Noun Studios has released two games: Fisherman and the Sea and Hotel Hermes – the latter of which was nominated for Best Indie Mobile Game at the Canadian Game Awards 2021.
Their new company gave Henderson and Krzywinska the creative freedom to develop games they were passionate about, but they soon learned that the typical lifestyle of a game studio is not sustainable in the long run. The industry is known for working long hours with little to no breaks, which was not in line with the values of their new venture, the couple say.
“The gaming industry is full of problems that exploit workers, from 80-hour workweeks to exploitative contracts, to insecure and discriminatory workspaces,” said Krzywinska, who at Brock focused on game programming. “For us, making the game we dream of is important, but never at the expense of the physical and mental health of our employees.”
Now with six full-time employees, Adjective Noun Studios operates remotely and has no business hours, relying on set times each week when the team meets to discuss projects and collaborative efforts across the company. This flexibility allows the team to work from across Canada, attract talent from Newfoundland, Toronto and St. Catharines, and partner with companies from Quebec and British Columbia.
“In a creative industry like game development, you can’t be expected to be creative all the time, every day,” Henderson says. “Sometimes part of the creative process is taking an hour to go to the park, walk the dog, or just relax and recharge your creative mojo. Without those opportunities to relax and reflect, you just have a recipe for burnout.”
While the company is thriving creatively, the team struggles to gain visibility in an oversaturated market and has turned to Brock’s LINCubator for help.
“Hundreds of new games are released every day,” says Krzywinska. “Finding a way to navigate that noise and get noticed is a huge marketing challenge and is by far the area we’ve had the most trouble with.”
Through the LINCubator program, Krzywinska and Henderson have access to mentors who have connected them with professionals in their field, who have provided insight and tips on marketing efforts. The program has also opened them up to new opportunities to build professional relationships with other young technology entrepreneurs.
“For us, 2022 was our year of expansion and reflection,” Henderson says. “Until now, our focus has been keeping our heads above water. Only recently have we been able to catch our breath and think about what kind of company we want to be and where our priorities lie.”
Adjective Noun Studios is still growing. This year they are producing their next game, which will launch them from a mobile game studio to a multi-platform studio for mobile and PC game users.
For more information about the LINCubator program, visit the Brock LINC website or email Cassie Price, Brock LINC Program Manager, at cprice2@brocku.ca
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