Sami Liukka (He/Him)

Sami Liukka is a seasoned entrepreneur and games industry specialist. He previously managed a midcore mobile game studio, Heavyweight Rex, successfully leading a veteran team with over 2 million euros in funding. Additionally, Liukka was on the founding team and developed Sisurace, a record-to-earn gaming community and platform. Under his leadership, the community, featuring popular titles such as Angry Birds 2, Call of Duty: Mobile, Floppy Birds, and Valorant, experienced rapid growth.

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Work Experience:

2024-> | Hammer Out Games, CEO

2023-> | Hammer Out Games, Head of Product

As the Chief Executive Officer at Hammer Out Games, Liukka is driven by a passion for creating a collaborative space, professional flexibility, and space for creativity where exceptionally talented developers can bring the studio's creative experiments to life. Founder Liukka is on a mission to pioneer new gaming experiences for mobile gamers, taking their minds on enchanting journeys through each pixel and storyline.

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Liukka’s Key Responsibilities at Hammer Out Games in 2023 to 2024:

• Team Leadership: As a team leader, Liukka's goal is to gather and nurture a diverse group of game developers together with exceptional product focus. Liukka aims to assist our developers in excelling in their roles, fostering an environment where creativity thrives, and positive teamwork is encouraged.

• Product Strategy: Lead the development of a comprehensive product strategy aligned with the company's vision, market and competition, and player preferences. Ensuring that Hammer Out Games' game project aligns with the company's culture and target audience.

• Principal Game Design: Prioritize player experience by creating design, gameplay features, and mechanics, and some of the user interfaces, crafting the initial progression for the prototype, loops, and calculus, and exercising captivating storytelling.

• Concept Art: Defining the foundational vision for the entire game, aligning with the team's vision, creating concept graphics for the world and characters, and guiding to realize the vision in the high-quality product for the end user.

• Business Development: Collaborate with top people in top companies to explore partnerships and potential new revenue streams. Assessing the viability of business models to make informed decisions.

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2022 - 2023 | SisuRace, GM/CEO

Liukka was responsible for driving the general business operations of the privately held web 3.0 game platform startup from the Helsinki Metropolitan Area, Finland.

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2015 - 2022 | Heavyweight Rex, Commercial

Liukka was responsible for founding the company and later for the business development and commercial efforts of the privately held mobile game development studio in the Helsinki Metropolitan Area, Finland.

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2005 - 2012 | Eccu Research, Director of Research

Liukka was responsible for co-founding the company, leading sales, marketing and product strategy, and conducting market research and internal research for notable companies in 50+ markets in this privately held market research boutique.

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Education:

• Further Qualification in Audiovisual Communication in Game Graphics, Amiedu

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Certifications:

• Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award by Entrepreneurs in Finland in Northern Savonia Association

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Key Technical Skills:

• Programming Languages: HyperText Markup Language (HTML)

• UI/UX Design & Flowcharts: Figma, Draw.io, Taskade

• Game Design: Game Mechanics and Systems Design, Prototyping, Game Design Documents (GDDs)

• Assisted Communication & Research: Chat GPT, Merlin

• Office Suite: Google Workspace

• Project Management: Jira, Confluence, SCRUM

• Graphic Design: Adobe Photoshop, Branding, Character Animation

• Generative Art: Scenario.gg, Layer AI, Midjourney, Leonardo.ai, Picsart (mobile)

• Digital Marketing: SEO, SEM, Email Marketing, Content Marketing, Social Media Marketing, Paid User Acquisition (UA)

• Business Analytics: Business Intelligence, Data Analysis, Data Modeling, Cash Flow

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Projects:

• Project name: [codename] "Pizza 2232"

Mobile free-to-play casual food simulation RPG game, iOS/Android

Designed the gameplay concept and create key concept art

Utilized Liukka's own game industry network for feedback.

• Project name: Idle WarForge

Mobile free-to-play hybrid idle game, Android

Created a fully functional hybrid idle game.

Utilized Unity and C# + AWS for the backend.

• Project name: Card Smash: Tribal Lords

Mobile free-to-play card battler game, iOS/Android

Designed and produced a synchronous turn-based card battler game with complex design.

Employed Unity and C# + AWS for the backend.

• Project name: Sisu Dragons

SisuRace esports tournament in Valorant in LATAM

80 players, 16 teams, and 15 hours streamed content on Twitch

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Interests:

Sami Liukka enjoys outdoor activities like exploring the Indochina wilderness. As an avid AI prompter, he frequently reads newsletters on history, technology, personal development, and writes amusing life theories. His long-term interests include the universe, space, and humanitarian efforts. He attends local tech meetups and global game conferences to stay updated and network. His hobbies include playing Magic: The Gathering and video games, with favorites like Final Fantasy VII, Spelunky HD, and Baldur's Gate 3.

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For those interested in Sami Liukka's work and looking to engage in further discussions, he suggests connecting with him on LinkedIn or Twitter.