The Mind Behind Madden NFL's Hit Stick Explains Game Design | Ian Cummings (Photo Finish)

Ian Cummings joins us to discuss how to build a sustainable crypto game. Ian has been in gaming for over 23 years, created NFL Madden's hit stick while working at EA Sports, and is now the creator of Solana's race horsing game Photo Finish. In this episode, we discuss the story behind the hit stick, how Ian chose to go after the horse racing market, the secret to customer retention, how to win at Photo Finish, Photo Finish's partnership with the Kentucky Derby and more! - - Timestamps (00:00) Introduction (01:19) Starting at EA Sports (05:51) Creating Madden NFL's Hit Stick (12:24) Access Protocol Ad (13:26) DAS London Plug (14:23) Why A Horse Racing Game? (24:42) How Crypto Became A Core Component (30:16) Photo Finish's Key Differentiator (36:19) Launching the Stylish Studs PFPs and Go-to-Market (45:35) How to be Good at Photo Finish (54:47) Customer Retention and Growth (01:01:19) Partnerships with CNBC and the Kentucky Derby - - Access Protocol is the best way to discover premium content from crypto's top publishers and independent creators. Access Protocol has reinvented content monetization, meaning you can access this premium content without endless ads or hard-to-cancel subscriptions.  Access Protocol is crypto-native, built on Solana, and already has 225K users reading content, receiving NFTs and interacting with creators! Use this link to check out Access Protocol today:https://bit.ly/AccessProtocol_Lightspeed - - Join us at DAS (Digital Asset Summit) in London this March! DAS is the #1 institutional conference in crypto, hosted by Blockworks. Use the link below to learn more, and use LIGHTSPEED10 to get 10% off your ticket! Sign up now because the price goes up every month. See you there! Learn more + get your ticket here: https://blockworks.co/event/digital-asset-summit-2024-london/home - - Follow Ian: https://twitter.com/iancummingsnft Follow Mert: https://twitter.com/0xMert_ Follow Garrett: https://twitter.com/GarrettHarper_ Follow Lightspeed: https://twitter.com/Lightspeedpodhq Subscribe on YouTube: https://bit.ly/43o3Syk Subscribe on Apple: https://apple.co/3OhiXgV Subscribe on Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3OkF7PD Get top market insights and the latest in crypto news. Subscribe to Blockworks Daily Newsletter: https://blockworks.co/newsletter/ - - Resources Photo Finish Live https://twitter.com/photofinishgame https://photofinish.live/ - -  Disclaimers: Lightspeed was kickstarted by a grant from the Solana Foundation. Nothing said on Lightspeed is a recommendation to buy or sell securities or tokens. This podcast is for informational purposes only, and any views expressed by anyone on the show are solely our opinions, not financial advice. Mert, Garrett and our guests may hold positions in the companies, funds, or projects discussed.