This Wednesday, I had the opportunity to present my project at the Dragon’s Den session. It was a very valuable session as I was able to get feedback from external experts, including Dominic Stone, the former course leader for Applied Imagination. Below is a rundown of how it went and some key takeaways from the experience.
Positive Feedback and Putting the Opportunity into Perspective
Feedback from the session was very encouraging. Dominic, a gamer himself, brought a personal perspective to the discussion. Realizing that I hadn’t fully articulated the scale of the project’s opportunity, Dominic helped to provide a broader context. He highlighted that the games industry is larger than Hollywood, which helped frame the scale of the project.
Despite not having personally engaged in board games (Dungeons and Dragons etc.), he acknowledged their inherently social nature based on his observations. He was also supportive of including “Family and Friends” as stakeholders, recognizing them as an essential part of the support network for socially shy gamers. He said he could absolutely see where I am going with this project, which was a really big encouragement for me.
Caution
One of the most important pieces of feedback that day was about my portrayal of the “shy gamer.” I was advised to avoid leaning in on the stereotype of shy or reclusive gamers, which is a view that doesn’t accurately represent the diverse gaming community. This was a reminder to carefully consider how my use of language might affect the perception of my project.