Christian Fonnesbech is a well-known name in the North European games industry. He was previously head of IP development at Nordisk Film Games, but in 2019 he founded Leverage in Copenhagen to help game studios develop their IP.
Down the years, he has worked as a consultant on games of all sizes, although non-disclosure agreements prevent him from saying much more. What he can say is that among many others, he has worked with the teams behind Dead Island, Metro, Conan Exiles, Dune Awakening, Exoborne, and the Dark Pictures Anthology – although not necessarily on those games. And he thinks there’s one key thing that studios get wrong: switching main characters for a sequel.
Christian Fonnesbech | Image credit: Daniel Hinz
Fonnesbech points out that although it’s far from the only component, the main character is probably the most precious facet of any fledgling IP. “Gameplay, first and foremost, is a huge part of every franchise, of course,” he tells GamesIndustry.biz. “The world is a huge part of it as well. But the character is the easiest thing to own in a court of law. It’s where people connect emotionally.
