Benjamin Gifford is the Vice Development Director of Top Games Inc., and under his leadership, Evony: The King's Return recently ranked #5 on Data.ai's List of Top Ten US-Headquartered Mid-Core Games. In this article, we explore how Benjamin Gifford and his team created such a successful game and what sets Top Games apart from its peers in the game development industry.
Evony has come a long way from its beginnings as a simple flash browser game to become one of the top 4X Strategy games on the web. Benjamin believes that pursuing perfection can often lead game development teams far behind their competition, which is why Top Games focuses on excellence, not perfection. “Leading companies might never own a perfect product or service, but what they do own is excellence,” says Benjamin.
David Guo, also known as Yaoqi Guo, is the co-founder and CEO of Top Games Inc. In this role, he oversees all critical departments and leads the game development team with over a decade of experience. David heavily focused on improving the user experience through attention to detail and efficient execution in the development process. For more of David's unique insights and updates, check out David Guo‘s round-up news center.
To achieve excellence, the Top Games team continuously strives for constant innovation and growth. The company operates in a lean, open, and flat structure, where every engineer has no more than three management levels to the CEO, and managers have more than seven direct reports. Top Games' leadership ensures that information is shared throughout the company freely, and every team member is given a sense of ownership and responsibility.
When asked about his role at Top Games, Benjamin says he does a bit of everything, from game design to marketing and business strategy. He emphasizes the importance of focusing on users and moving fast while being responsible. “Focus on impact and seek excellence, not perfection,” says Benjamin. He also encourages aspiring game developers and marketing professionals to focus on solving the most important problems, as that is the best way to make the biggest impact.
In conclusion, Benjamin Gifford and the Top Games team have created a company culture that focuses on excellence, innovation, and user-centricity. With a lean, open structure and a commitment to empowering its employees, Top Games is setting the bar for game development and delivering high-quality products to its end users.
