Interviews
Brian Hodous, is the Chief Advisor at MeloQuest.
What initially attracted you to the world of gaming?
It was an amazing way to fully understand selling, marketing, PR and manufacturing.
Utilizing technology and delivering real tangible value in the way of entertainment was very attractive to me.
That said, data and insights absolutely play a part in the discovery process.
That is the great thing about this community…they are very engaged and vocal!
What in your opinion made Guitar Hero such a hit?
The Wii pulled the gamer out of a very solitary activity to a group engaged, family activity.
Families and friends were anxious to discover new ways to use the Wii platform and ways to play together.
Engaging in music in an interactive way was the perfect fun activity to share with families and friends.
This move really broke the brand wide open and we received very broad acceptance.
Friday Night GH Night started to catch on and we added variety to the game and the content.
Always changing and always providing those surprise and delight moments!
It is so important to keep innovating without losing the plot of what is important to the player.
How were you initially introduced to the concept of MeloQuest Studios?
Graeme Winder and I had a mutual friend that knew my background and my passion for music.
I really believe that this concept has a unique approach to learning music while enjoying the learning process.
When did you realize you wanted to become involved with MeloQuest and their initial game launch Keys & Kingdoms?
As mentioned, the attraction to the company and the brand was nearly immediate.
This is a concept that is quite easy to grasp and easy to execute.
What is it about Keys & Kingdoms that makes it so special and unique?
Learning through gamification is the way forward with the youth.
Attention spans are low with this demographic and gaming holds attention that promotes the absorption of the learning content.
By layering in this fun, story-led video game content, the learning by ear approach is cleverly integrated.
The result is truly remarkable.
Children are captivated and are learning how to play music without even knowing it.
Besides being a very effective way to learn music, K&K is an incredibly good value.
Why are so few other gaming studios developing music-based games?
Music-based games are difficult because the music stems, if you want the original versions, are expensive.
You need real scale to make the economics work.
No longer do kids like to be tethered to one room in the home.
The monetization to pay for the more expensive music-based games are more difficult on the transient platforms.
It is a factor of economics.
How has the market reacted so far to Keys & Kingdoms?
We have a very powerful holiday plan prepared to drive consumer awareness, education and gifting.
One unique area of awareness is through school programming and evangelism.
K&K is very unique in this approach.
Is there anything else that you would like to share about Keys & Kingdoms?
This game has a very noble and innovative approach.
I believe that this approach can be used for other subjects to help kids learn and retain content.
Thank you for the great interview, readers who wish to learn more should visitKeys & Kingdoms.
