Making games is hard enough already.

Making games is hard enough already.

I support game developers & developer communities worldwide with insight, knowledge, interventions, connections, and resources. No matter who you are or where you are from, you deserve to focus on making the best game you can.

“Rami's mentorship and guidance have proven invaluable in every aspect of our game's development, ranging from design and programming to finance and deal negotiations. Whether through our one-on-one sessions or witnessing his collaboration with my team, I've gathered what I fondly call 'Rami-isms' — little nuggets of wisdom that I apply in my day-to-day management of the studio.

We're grateful for Rami's impact on our studio and can confidently say that any team fortunate enough to work with him is in for a transformative experience.”

Faris Attieh, Lunacy Studios
My Values

Game development is hard enough without the additional challenges that the world throws at us. For over a decade, I have worked in every aspect of the games industry, and made efforts to uplift all parts of the ecosystem: safeguarding sincerity and creativity in multinational corporations, accelerating the healthy success of game studios & publishers, creating a thriving and generous independent space, supporting educational institutes in adjusting to rapidly fluctuating space, and convincing parents & decision-makers that game development is not only a viable career, but a critical part of the future economy and culture.

This is what I stand for, and what I help others build: an inclusive, human-focused, and sustainable games industry — one game, one studio, and one community at a time.

Pitching & Funding Support

Take advantage of up-to-date insights and highly connected networks in the international funding network around the games industry. Upgrade your pitch, Be well-prepared for calls and negotiations, and never go into a pitch not knowing what to expect, what questions you'll get, or what deal is good or bad.

Starter & Closer Services

Prototypes start off with tremendous potential, but months later they're stuck in endless cycles without any progress. Or the second 90% of development gets stuck right when you need to be wrapping up. Get your project moving again with tried-and-tested production methodologies lead by an experienced un-stuck-er.

Community & Marketing Support

Create your communication and messaging plans right from the start of your development process. Build actionable communities, increase your odds of successful crowdfunding, and stop wasting your limited resources on unfocused marketing campaigns.

Direction & Management Advisory

How should you run a games studio? How do you keep the noses aligned, the goals clear, the team moving? Management, leadership, and direction are not skills learned overnight - give yourself the space and time to grow your leadership skills with an expert in your corner.

Advisory Services

It's hard to keep "zoomed out" on your process, game, and business when you're in the thick of it. If you get too close to your work to keep overview, get yourself an experienced extra perspective on what's actually happening, & get ahead of what's next.

Emergency Assistance

If you're at your wits end — your publisher suddenly exited your contract, your studio is running out of funds, or your team is falling apart — getting a fresh set of eyes can transform a studio-ending emergency into a clear path into the future.

748
Developers Assisted (2023)
49
Long-Term Studio Consultancies
US$47M
Deals Closed
150+
Game Credits
6,600+
Newsletter subscribers
34
"Top-rated" Talks

Community, Studio, & Project Advisory

Bring 15 years of unique industry experience on-board your studio.

With a unique and holistic perspective on the industry, Rami can support your creative business with insight and actionable support - whether it's a one-off strategy sanity check, or a weekly call to improve your pitch, process, or leadership. Bring aboard a unique and award-winning holistic perspective and run your studio or project with increased confidence.

Public Speaking, Workshops & Mentorship

An award-winning speaker that speaks with your audience, instead of at them.

Known for award-winning keynotes & talks at hundreds of games events globally, Rami boosts a unique ability to connect with varied audiences through custom-tailored talks, panels, and workshops. Increase the value of your event with an inspiring and informational speaker consistently ranked in the top 5% of content by audiences worldwide.

Industry-building & Government Services

Enabling Global Opportunities in Digital Creativity & Economy.

As an experienced community organizer and lobbyist, Rami supports local industry goals by working with governments and institutes globally to communicate and negotiate opportunities for economic & cultural stakeholders. Build upon practical experience & connections with the unique challenges of all major territories on Earth, on both hemispheres.

  • Coaching & Mentorship in creative direction, game feel, production, leadership, management, marketing, pitching, and business development.
  • Flexible meeting schedules. For ad-hoc meetings, availability varies per week. For recurring meetings, a retainer fee applies.
  • Discounts and fee waivers may apply for marginalized developers & those operating from emergent territories.
  • Award-winning inspirational, interactive, and informational keynotes, panels, and talks... or get a custom offering with perfectly tailored content.
  • Attract quality attendees and speakers with a trusted and popular (keynote) speaker or panelist as a grounding element of your event.
  • Discounts and fee waivers may apply for events serving marginalized communities & those in emergent territories.
  • Over 15 years of experience structurally building, growing, and accelerating sustainable game industry communities on both hemispheres.
  • Focus on boosting relevant KPIs for (government) stakeholders while empowering the creative and human heart of game development.
  • Discounts and fee waivers may apply for educational institutes, marginalized communities, & emergent territories.

“We started as two childhood friends who had never made a game before and, through Rami's advice and encouragement, have built a team of 30+, mostly AAA veterans, within less than 2 years. We are now living our dream of making the kinds of games we grew up with.

Rami has been instrumental in everything from helping get funding and networking, to scaling the studio and leading it responsibly. If there is one piece of advice we could give other indies for success, it's to seek good mentors, and we cannot recommend Rami enough for such a role.”

Nick Knight & Robbie Lennon, Riyo Games
Creative Entrepreneurship

Game development —as creative entrepreneurship— is a unique challenge, a fragile dance between the risks and staggering opportunities that the games industry affords. Staying up-to-date on the latest developments behind the needlessly opaque scenes of the games industry is critical to successfully exist, bootstrap, or scale-up studios and ecosystems globally. My work with thousands of developers, platform representatives, publishers, scouts, analysts, investors, influencers, governments, and reporters allows me to hold a complete overview of the challenges and opportunities ahead.

My mission focusses on sharing this ever-changing knowledge as openly as possible — through talks and guest lectures, and through initiatives like gamedev.world & my popular Levelling the Playing Field newsletter. I created my consultancy practice to catch those cases that require a more personalized approach due to their unique circumstances risks, or opportunities.

Clients, Talks, Appearances, & Recognition

Latest Articles

Popular Consultancies

Latest Articles
Ask Rami!
Ask Rami: Prototyping Pros

Rami answers a common question from a programmer about why they just can't seem to get better at prototyping.

General
On Bluf, and writing copy

A pattern most of us learn in school holds us back from writing clearly. Over the past few weeks, I've spent a lot of time discussing …

Ask Rami!
Ask Rami: The Ten-Thousands Rule

Rami reassures a South American developer on how much they can negotiate on a publisher deal before the publisher might walk away.

Podcast
Suhoor Bites #04 - Fawzi's Favorite Anime Movies #9

Every day for the entire Holy Month of Ramadan, one of the Habibis will release a short 5-10 minute "Suhoor Bite" episode to …

Popular Consultancies
Business & Pitch Feedback

Ensure you have the best odds with up-to-date perspective and actionable insight on your business case and pitch, and pass even the most scrutinous of publisher scouts.

Popular
Indie Advice - 1 Hour

The 60 minutes paid consultancy is a one-hour consultancy meeting for folks who have in-depth questions or concrete specific problems within their project, team, or production.

Best Value
Diversity Consultation

The Middle East and the Arab world are increasingly relevant in the global games industry. Avoid cultural & linguistic faux-pas as you expand your games and business into the region.

Rami begins where your most desperate forum search ends. He was able to help us with life altering information (no hyperbole) which he clearly garnered through rare experiences of his own. We call him when we are at our wits end and have not been let down to this day. It‘s almost like therapy for game devs, helping you out of the most difficult situations, and reassuring when everything is going well anyway.

Onat Hekimoglu, Slow Bros

Frequently Asked Questions

Consultancy

I understand! Game development is extremely multi-disciplinary and can be overwhelming. It might be best to start with a 20 minute call to discuss your specific situation before figuring out what ways I might be able to help you.

If that sounds good, try booking a short introductory call — usually I can already help a lot in that period if time. If you're from a marginalized territory or identity, please check out the discount options available.

I use the phrase "emergent territory" to describe any territory that is marginalized or otherwise suffers a geographical, economical, or linguistic disadvantage to the main industry hubs. In general, the phrase refers to the following locations:

  • South, Central, South-Eastern and Eastern Europe
  • North America (excl. the contiguous United States & Canada)
  • Central and South America
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Oceania (excl. Australia & New Zealand)

That said, subdivisions of these territories could meaningfully be or not be considered "emergent territories". If you're unsure, ask yourself if the average person in your region would be able to visit a major games event in the United States without too many obstacles: if the answer is yes, you're likely not an emergent territory.

Discounts are on a case-by-case basis, but generally the rule is that if you could meaningfully be expected to be unable to pay for the services, discounts may apply. In general, consider if you are a marginalized identity, or from a marginalized community: such communities might include people of colour, people from the Southern hemisphere, or people with marginalized genders. If you feel this includes you, please consider a complimentary 30 minute call to discuss a potential collaboration.

Discounts are funded directly by income from consultancy, public speaking, and other sources of revenue resulting from the resources I create. If you can afford the services without risk to your studio, project, or life - please pick the paid options.

Public Speaking & Mentorship

Costs for my attendance at a (physical) event will include, at the minimum, air travel and lodging. Depending on whether your event is for-profit, is for marginalized developers, or has made significant efforts towards accessibility for marginalized developers, I will charge a speaker fee that can range from €0 to €2,500 per hour (all-inclusive).

I also have a public event rider with considerations and other information available here.

Obviously, if your event has conditions that you feel should waive or otherwise affect the speaker fee, I am happy to talk about those. Please book a call to discuss your needs.

I can perform various activities at your event, but given time and space I will generally work towards giving feedback to any showcasing developers, creating meaningful network opportunities for attendees and experienced games industry attendees, and helping attendees make the best of your event.

Beyond that, I routinely perform the following services:

  • Public Speaking, including keynotes and talks. This includes popular talks but can also be custom talks.
  • Panel discussions, including as panelist and moderator.
  • Interviews, specifically 1-to-1 expert interviews, including as interviewer or subject.
  • Hosting, including as event host or room host.
  • Interactive workshops, including multi-day workshops.

In general, I'm interested in any activities at games industry events regardless of their size. If you think you have an interesting proposal, please do reach out.

Speaker fee discounts are on a case-by-case basis, but generally the rule is that if you could meaningfully be expected to be unable to pay for the services, discounts may apply. In general, consider if you represent or serve a marginalized identity, or host your event for or from a marginalized community: such communities might include people of colour, people from the Southern hemisphere, or people with marginalized genders. If you feel this includes you and your event, please consider a complimentary call to discuss a potential collaboration.

Note that under no conditions a discount on travel and lodging can be negotiated. It has traditionally been beneficial to event organizers to see if other events nearby also have speaker needs, to potentially coordinate lower travel fees.

Absolutely! I work with universities, accelerators, and community groups around the world to mentor their developer community with custom-targeted business and development advice. Normal fees & discount rules apply.

In general, I'm interested in any educational activities regardless of their size. If you think you have an interesting proposal, please do reach out.

My bio and brand assets are available at my Brand Assets page. For talk titles and description, please ensure you ask for these at time of booking as per the event rider, as due to workload no guarantees of timely delivery can be made after that time.

Community Building & Government Services

Over the years, I've worked with governments around the world on aligning their policy and incentives to the needs and opportunities of the local games industries. Whether its lobbying for tax credits or figuring out what sort of development processes to incentivize, fund, or tighten - whether its from a Cultural or Economical point of view, whether its in a larger Digital portfolio or initiative or not, I have experience assisting in the creation of well-aligned and successful policy.

If you represent a developer association or government, please book a call to discuss your needs.

Absolutely! I work with several game developers associations around the world and any given time, and also currently hold official positions at the International Game Developers Association & the Dutch Games Association. My focuses are on finding paths to sustainable industry growth and mentorship & acceleration. If your association is looking at these topics, please do reach out.

I love working with aligned charities, non-profits, or activist groups. I strongly believe in coalitions of aligned goals, and will happily join or assist any charity that focuses on accessibility, safety, or inclusivity in games. If you're interested in working with me, please book a complimentary call to discuss a potential collaboration.

Games as Culture

Games are a uniquely cultural medium — a thesis that sits at the heart of all my work. Despite being made by multi-disciplinary teams and under tremendous technological and economical constraints, almost any US-made game about war is from a US perspective on war: a heroic voyage to foreign lands, where the worst outcome is to not come home. Spec Ops: The Line — a German war game — about the very same topic is about the guilt of destruction. This War of Mine — a Polish war game — is about surviving war as a civilian.

Every new developer, every new developer community, every new perspective, every new topic, every new fingerprint affords new games, new narrative techniques, and new mechanics to support the creators' vision. Fascinated by this notion, I have become fond of the games that do not exist — and by extension, the latent potential of our medium just waiting to be unlocked if only the creators got the right support.

“Rami’s advice to us has been deeply empathetic, sharply strategic, and effectively tailored to our needs as a small two person indie studio from India. With his years of experience working in games, alongside his involvement and efforts to champion devs from underrepresented regions, he has an understanding of our additional struggles. We are very grateful to have his support and kindness. Our game wouldn't have had the trajectory it has had so far without his expertise and encouragement.”

Rhea Gupte & Prateek Saxena, imissmyfriends.studio
Recommendations

Initiatives & Activities

gamedev.world

Industry knowledge should not be in a vault.

gamedev.world is an online games conference with over 30,000 attendees, in which all content is translated into the worlds' eight largest languages - reaching developers in all of the Americas, Africa, the Middle East, and throughout Asia.

The Habibis

Three game developers drinking good Arab tea.

Together with game designer Osama Dorias and game executive Fawzi Mesmar, Rami is part of The Habibis, a games industry podcast ran by three visible Arab game developers. With over 100 episodes aired, new episodes release often, Inshallah.

presskit()

The original industry-standard presskit format.

It was a coders' laziness that led to Rami creating presskit(), and his unique insight into messaging made it an industry standard. Almost a decade later, the expectations of presskits are still very much shaped by the original presskit().

Private Pilot

Fulfilling a life-long dream & sharing it: aviation.

A traveller at heart, Rami is an EASA and FAA-licensed private pilot with a VFR single engine piston class rating. He goes flying with friends and family frequently. If you're interested in flying in a small airplane, you can sign up for a flight below.

Playfulness

Games might feel like a young medium, but the tradition of "play" that games carry into the 20th century and beyond has existed for hundreds of thousands of years. Play has been encoded into humans and many other creatures over countless millenia as a safe method of learning, bonding, empathy, relaxation, and exercise.

It was inevitable that games went from simple lines on a screen to becoming the worlds' largest medium in mere decades. Games have sat at the foundation of countless technical, societal, psychological, and economical innovations. Games are part almost every part of our lives: from behemoths of the entertainment industry to gamified learning systems and loyalty programs, and from safely developing high-stakes skills for surgeons & airline pilots to allowing distant strangers to play complex games together thousands of miles apart, games have evolved humanities' most innate super-power into the digital space.

I hope you're equally excited to be part of shaping the future. Let's make some games.

“Rami joined as an advisor during the early development stages of our debut title. From the outset, he provided great clarity on the project and the team's strengths and weaknesses; he quickly identified our potential pitfalls and obstacles, and suggested solutions. Perhaps most importantly, Rami helped us realize the true value and potential of our game. Since then, he has continuously supported the project by offering advice on all aspects of business, management, and game development, making effective use of his network and position in the industry when necessary, and overall empowering us to stay true to our unique artistic vision while creating a great game and building a strong company.”

Leandros Ntolas, AFTERNATURE Productions
Popular Videos
10 Empty Slides

Konsoll 2021

Something Annoying

XOXO 2015

Indie Strategy

DevGAMM 2023

No Chance

Control Conference 2013

GDC Ambassador Award

...has worked tirelessly as an advocate for the democratization of game development, helping with incubators, local events, universities, community efforts, and industry policy around the world.

Person of the Year

...a more open and accessible industry to all people, regardless of the size of their bank balance, the breadth of their experience, or, crucially, the countries and cultures with which they identify.

30 Under 30

Co-founder of the influential Dutch independent game development studio best known for arcade games like Super Crate Box, Ridiculous Fishing and Nuclear Throne.

Lifetime Achievement Award

Recognizing the career and achievements of an outstanding developer who’s made an incredible impact on games.

Game Changer Award

An individual who has impacted the gaming landscape in a significant way, a positive disruptor who has has brought a paradigm shift to our community.

Most Influential in Games

If you want a model to how to live your life in the games industry, your best bet might be Rami Ismail.

Apple Design Award

Honoring excellence in innovation, ingenuity, and technical achievement in app and game design, with an expertly-crafted, lo-fi, retro video game style.

Best Micro Studio

For a studio with ten or fewer employees who’ve achieved exceptional critical and commercial success during the qualifying period.