We were lucky to catch up with Lionel Alexander recently and have shared our conversation below.
Lionel, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today How did you come up with the idea for your business?
You can honestly find inspiration in the most unexpected of places. For me, it was in a boat, riding through a canal in Amsterdam. About a couple of years before this, in 2017, I married my wife, and about a few months into our marriage, we touched on another discussion about our dreams.
I told her that I always wanted to not only play games, but make them. She looked at me and just simply said: “Well, why don’t you make them?” It’s like a light bulb went off. For so long, I thought of obstacles to doing something like that. It never dawned on me to just start.
So, over a couple of years, I tried to do that. I incorporated the business and came up with outlines, brainstormed, and bounced ideas around, but I just couldn’t find inspiration for the first title. This was until December 2019.
My wife and I were in a boat floating through the canals of Amsterdam. I can’t remember the specific conversation, but we had to be talking about how beautiful Amsterdam was. We visited the museums, walked through the cobblestone streets, and saw bikes as the main transportation. The city had such an airy and freeing vibe.
As we sat on the boat, I began to consider alternatives to the name Amsterdam and landed on Hamsterdamm. I started to see the main character, Detective Fatback, pursuing villains down the streets. I could hear the music, see the scenes, and a story unfolded. I mentioned the idea to my wife and the excitement she had let me know I was on the right path. We began to trade ideas. I added to the plot while she contributed thoughts also. We had found something that stuck.
It’s been five years since that trip. We’re finally to the point of releasing the first demo for a playthrough at a local gaming convention.
There’s still a way to go, and while there are many games out there, that trip to Amsterdam reminded me that I have art and a worthwhile story to share. I also know that even when you feel stuck, inspiration may come in the form of a walk, vacation, or drive home from work.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
Since 2018, I have been the owner of Nerdy Bear Studios. The goal of the studio is to produce creative and engaging games that celebrate diverse stories. My love for gaming, representation, and all things nerdy has lead to me wanting to create art and stories that inspire others.
We are working on our first title, Hamsterdamm, and are in the process of releasing a demo. It is a detective noir-themed party game set in the fictional land of Hamsterdamm. This game will be part of a wider universe and story that encompasses the other games in development.
Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?
Social media can be a challenging part of business. It’s great because it puts you in front of so many people, but there are pitfalls. The first is that there is a lot of competition out there, so you have to find ways to make your voice the loudest and get in front of your target audience. Additionally, there are so many platforms to be on, it can be hard to find the best fit.
For a couple of years, NBS was making some traction on social media, primarily on Twitter and Instagram. However, we weren’t getting the engagement that we wanted, especially when it came to building our newsletter list. About a year and a half ago, we started giving TikTok a try. We heard that engagement there could really grow if you did regular lives throughout the week. So, that’s what we did.
A couple of times a week, we scheduled lives around a topic that really resonated with our target audience: favorite pieces of animation. People had so much fun participating in the conversation during the live that they would stay engaged enough to hear us out about what we had to offer as a company.
So, our advice would be to find the best platform for your audience. Don’t feel as if you have to be on every platform. Additionally, find content and methods that appeal to your audience. It can be as simple as talking about an adjacent topic that resonates with them or interviewing a thought leader in the field. Lastly, always connect it to a call to action.
How do you keep in touch with clients and foster brand loyalty?
Great question! We are just now getting into this. We have a bit of a unique situation as we are still working on the formal launch of our first game. Nevertheless, as we get closer we’re able to bring our audience along for the ride. For example, we’re able to share actual game footage and more in-game music with our audience via email newsletters. Additionally, we attended our first convention, Momocon, in Atlanta, GA. We were able to meet with some of our followers face-to-face, and share portions of our journey at our first Con with those who couldn’t be there.
The goal has been to be as personal as we can about our journey as indie game developers. We have tried to share the victories (like attending our first convention and showcasing new game footage) as well as the challenges (the time and effort it takes to actually stick with it and complete the game). We want our audience to feel like they are coming along with us as we make this game. We do this through the TikTok lives we mentioned in a previous question and email newsletter updates.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.nerdybearstudio.com/
- Instagram: https://www.nerdybearstudio.com/
- Twitter: https://x.com/NerdyBearStudio
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@nerdybearstudios
- Other: TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@nerdybearstudios
Image Credits
N/A (We took all the photos).