Introduction

In the fast-paced environment of game development, efficiency and clarity are paramount, particularly when it comes to reviewing and iterating on creative assets like cinematics and marketing videos. Funcom, a well-established developer and publisher in the gaming industry, needed a way to streamline its feedback processes and collaboration across multiple teams, both internal and external. As their projects grew more complex, the demands for clear communication, secure content sharing, and iterative feedback increased. Funcom turned to KLASH to optimize its workflows, ultimately reducing friction in the feedback loop and allowing the team to focus on producing high-quality content at a faster pace.

KLASH has become an essential part of Funcom’s video production pipeline, especially in their work on game cinematics and marketing trailers. By enabling real-time collaboration and review, the platform has transformed Funcom’s ability to manage multiple iterations of content across its development and marketing teams.

Problem

Funcom’s challenges were rooted in the complexity of coordinating feedback across a diverse range of stakeholders, both internal and external. Their video production workflows required seamless collaboration between internal teams—such as directors and producers—and external partners such as motion capture actors, creative agencies, and press. Funcom needed a more efficient and secure solution that could handle the complexity of collaborating with high-profile partners while ensuring the security standards were robust enough to satisfy even IP holders.

The core issues Funcom faced included:

Suboptimal Feedback Cycles

Review processes for cinematics and trailers required feedback from various parties. Managing multiple versions of videos and collecting notes across different platforms created confusion and delayed decision-making.

Managing External Collaboration and Controlled Sharing

Funcom’s projects often involve co-development with external studios; these are essential partners to the team, but inherently remote and may be used to different workflows and cultures. Sharing content for collaboration with these partners, as well as with stakeholders like publishers or marketing teams, requires a secure and efficient system. Funcom had to ensure a smooth exchange of assets, enabling partners to review, comment, and iterate on video content without disrupting their pipelines. KLASH provides the necessary tools to simplify this remote collaboration, enabling secure sharing and seamless integration across different teams, whether for partner approvals or internal reviews with external stakeholders like publishers.

Difficulty Comparing Iterations

As the team iterated on content, comparing different versions and tracking changes became increasingly challenging. This slowed the review process and progress in finalizing high-quality video assets.

Funcom needed a tool to address these frustrations by offering a seamless way to share, review, and manage video content across multiple iterations and stakeholders.

Solution

KLASH provides a solution that integrates seamlessly into Funcom’s workflows, addressing the core challenges they face. The platform’s lightweight design, intuitive interface, and powerful collaboration features make it easy for Funcom to manage video reviews across teams and projects.

Key aspects of KLASH that proved essential to Funcom’s success included:

Secure and Controlled Sharing

KLASH enables Funcom to securely share video content with external partners while maintaining strict control over access, downloads, and comments. This level of security is especially important when working with high-profile collaborators, such as licensors, or when engaging with press or motion capture actors. By ensuring that only authorized personnel can access sensitive materials, Funcom can confidently collaborate with external stakeholders without compromising security or the integrity of the content.

Frame-Specific Commenting

One of the standout features of KLASH is the ability to leave frame-by-frame comments. This allows stakeholders to provide highly specific feedback on particular moments in a cinematic sequence or marketing trailer. It reduces ambiguity and eliminates the need for long email chains and complex notes, leading to faster, more precise revisions.

Real-Time Syncing

KLASH ensures that everyone working on a project is always viewing the most up-to-date version of the content. This eliminates the confusion that often arises when teams work from different versions of a video. With KLASH, Funcom can easily upload multiple video versions, compare them side by side, and decide on the best take.

Version Comparison and Management

In situations where you need to create multiple versions of a video (for instance, when deciding on the best cinematic take), KLASH provides tools for easy comparison. Funcom can label different versions (e.g., “good,” “better,” “best”), allowing stakeholders to quickly review and vote on their preferred options.

Integration with Jira

The ability to convert comments and feedback into Jira tasks is another workflow quality improvement. Funcom’s teams can streamline the revision process and efficiently address all notes by easily transitioning from feedback to actionable tasks.

Outcome

The integration of KLASH into Funcom’s workflow has had an immediate and profound impact on the efficiency and clarity of their video production processes. The platform has significantly reduced friction in the feedback loop, allowing Funcom to deliver high-quality content in shorter timeframes. The game development team, which often works on cinematic sequences involving multiple stages — from rough previews to motion capture and final animations — experienced a notable improvement in communication and iteration speed. The ability to share previews, collect comments, and implement changes in real time means that teams can quickly align on creative decisions and move forward with production.

For the marketing team, KLASH is instrumental in the creation and refinement of game trailers. As these trailers often grow over time, with new footage, music, sound effects, and motion graphics being added at different stages, the ability to manage and review multiple versions is crucial. KLASH provides a clear path from rough animatics to final output, ensuring that every stakeholder can contribute feedback at the right time, without disrupting the overall process.

The sync feature, combined with frame-specific commenting, is particularly valuable to Funcom’s teams. It allows directors, producers, and external partners to pinpoint specific issues or highlights in a video, facilitating more focused and productive revisions. As one Funcom representative notes:

“The sync feature and the ability to leave comments on specific frames are both massively useful. That’s where we’re mining the most value out of KLASH. It’s easy to sync up and review specific pieces of content, which is exactly what you need it for.”

This feedback underscores the platform’s ability to deliver real value by simplifying the often complex process of video review and collaboration.

Conclusion

KLASH revitalized the way Funcom manages its video review processes, streamlining collaboration and reducing the friction that had previously slowed down their feedback loops. By addressing the key challenges of secure sharing, frame-specific feedback, and version control, KLASH supports Funcom’s teams to work more efficiently, reduce delays, and focus on what matters most — creating high-quality cinematics and top-tier games.

The platform’s ease of use, combined with powerful collaboration tools, makes it a valuable part of Funcom’s production pipeline. As a result, Funcom not only improved the quality of their video assets but also accelerated their production timelines, ensuring that they could deliver compelling, polished content to their audiences in a timely manner. KLASH’s success in Funcom’s workflow highlights the importance of a lightweight, intuitive solution that enhances creative collaboration and helps output quality in the gaming industry.

About Funcom

For over 30 years, Funcom has been crafting worlds that are as big, wild, and imaginative as the players who dive into them. From their early days of making games on the SEGA Genesis to now developing massive open-world adventures like Conan Exiles and Dune: Awakening, Funcom has been on one incredible journey! They’re not just about survival games, though—they’ve explored everything from cosmic horror in Moons of Madness to the heavy metal chaos of Metal: Hellsinger.

Through it all, Funcom has kept pushing boundaries, embracing new tech, and diving into fresh stories, all while keeping things fun. These days, they’re bringing the legendary Dune universe to life with Dune: Awakening.

So, whether it’s battling through Hyborian landscapes or navigating the shifting sands of Arrakis, Funcom is here to build unforgettable experiences—one epic world at a time!