Mobile Game Developer

Which is more important in creating a successful mobile game: game design, or marketing?

Asked by ben about 13 years ago

Ben, this is like asking which came first, the chicken or the egg (sandwich). Some of the most brilliantly designed games of all times died on the vine with poor marketing, and sometimes a game that has great marketing but is terrible has poor sales. Hits are a very, very fickle thing to come by in the gaming industry, and I have worked on games both great and terrible that have had a wide range of sales success. Ultimately, it comes down to your belief in a game. With Angry Birds, Rovio knew they had a great game and marketed the heck out of it. I would focus first on making a great game, and then building the marketing to support it. It's important to plan out the marketing while still in development, because you don't want to launch a game with no marketing plans, or else you will likely just shortchange yourself.

Do you think "Draw Something" has staying power, or will it burn out quickly? I heard it got bought for $200 million just weeks after it was released, seems too good to be true.

Asked by turdswithfriends about 13 years ago

Draw Something creator OMGPop was purchased by Zynga for $200 million last week. You can read about it here: http://news.yahoo.com/zyngas-purchase-draw-something-going-drawsome-213850131.html I think the game itself has *SOME* staying power, especially since the developers have the ability to add new words on the fly. New words will be important for keeping the game fresh. Even if the game does burn out in not too long of a time, OMGPop has a decent customer base online, and if Zynga is ever hungry for anything, it's new paying customers.

What's a mobile game you think should've been huge but for some reason never quite got there? How about the opposite (a game that got huge much to your surprise)?

Asked by jason m. about 13 years ago

That is a really, really good question. I have to think about it for a while longer, but off the top of my head I thought a game like Nutz from Limbic was hilarious and really well done, but I don't know what kind of success it has generated. As for the opposite, I would say a lot of these apps that do just one thing that blew up have been a surprise.

Does anyone make games for Blackberry or is that a lost cause?

Asked by tomson about 13 years ago

Some people definitely do! I just haven't met them yet! :-)

Does a game developer who creates a blatant knock-off game (e.g. Words/Scrabble, Scramble/Boggle) need to get permission from the original creator?

Asked by skyski about 13 years ago

Ah...the ultimate conundrum. Generally, if you ask permission first you will be denied. If you make a great knockoff, you will be sued (or even bought!). My belief is that if you are going to make a game, make it your own. Most mobile games take inspiration from something else, mine included. But I put my own spin and my own ideas into play, and for me that made it different and more satisfying.

Favorite video game of all time?

Asked by subzero about 13 years ago

Oh I hate this question, because I can never just choose one game. I generally have to keep it to a franchise rather than specific games. Here are my top ten (in no particular order): 1) Halo 2) Ratchet & Clank 3) Battlefield 4) Batman (the new ones) 5) Uncharted 6) Mass Effect (just 2 and 3) 7) Dead Space 8) Resident Evil 9) Lego Games 10) Mirror's Edge If push comes to shove and you really twist my arm, I would probably go with my number one game as Resident Evil 4.

How long did it to take you build your game, and if you don't mind my asking, how much did it cost to do?

Asked by redbaroN about 13 years ago

In terms of straight man-hours, this would be about a two month process to get to the version that is in the app store now. We did go through some iterating in terms of design and gameplay balance, and that can take a lot of time along with strict a QA process. What is important is knowing who needs to do what - an engineer probably won't be able to do what an artist needs to in terms of fixing art bugs, and vice-versa. As for the costs, I can't share what I spent, but every developer and publisher may want to work on a different model. Some developers may want to do rev share, some may want cash, and some may want a hybrid of the two. It is important to find a developer that you are comfortable with if you are going to make and publish a game.

Is markteing a mobile game mostly based on iTunes ranking, or are there other channels to create a breakout hit?

Asked by slowgrind about 13 years ago

There are many other channels, such as openfeint, tapjoy, chartboost, and more. In Sliced Bread (http://slicedbreadgame.com/) we partnered with OpenFeint for promotions, which really helped to boost downloads. Additionally, I am looking at ad buys to drive revenue. However, iTunes ranking still drives the majority of downloads by people who weren't looking for your game specifically.

Other than Angry Birds, what are the most successful mobile games in recent years that everyone wants to emulate?

Asked by san855 about 13 years ago

Look at the top of the iTunes charts and you will get your answer! It changes weekly, and companies always scramble to emulate what is working for the top games.

What's your opinion on charging up-front for mobile games, vs. offering them for free? Which way did you go with yours and why?

Asked by Maximillllllion about 13 years ago

This really depends on the type of game you are putting out, and what your priorities are. I think that by charging up front for a game, you limit your market size, but you get revenue right away. With freemium games, you lower the barrier to entry and get lots more players, while you give players a chance to play your game first before they make a purchase decision. We decided to test the paid version first, because once you go free, it will be difficult to impossible to go to a paid version from that. It was a tough decision that took a lot of thinking and discussion. We are working on a freemium version now, though.

Have you seen any successful adventure or longer-form mobile games, or is it just all about the quick and simple casual games?

Asked by Micah Mic about 13 years ago

I have seen some successful longer-form mobile games. Infinity Blade comes to mind right away as one of the most successful, and there are many others. The thing that sets mobile games apart from most console games is that they are easy to boot up and play for a few minutes at a time. And that can be done with almost any type of game, not just quick and simple casual games.

Just downloaded your game -- super fun! Were there any other games on the market that helped inspire it?

Asked by thehellian about 13 years ago

When you are building a new product, whether it is a game, car, or anything, you need to understand your competition. When creating a game with a name like Sliced Bread, we needed to look at all the different types of slicing games on the mobile market. I wanted to see what other games did well, what we saw as missed opportunities, and what we thought our target audience would enjoy most. With a theme of yummy bread and pastry, the ability to slice everything multiple times, a variety of powerups and backgrounds, a couple of different game modes, and finally, the really crisp artwork, I felt we had enough to allow the app to stand on its own.

Once you complete the development of a game, how do you get it out there for people to see?

Asked by ERin about 13 years ago

This is a short question with a very long answer...I would say read all the blogs about publishing mobile games, but it starts with finding out who to talk to - find journalists that cover the types of games you are making and get in touch with them. Then create awareness with facebook, twitter, app review sites. Submit the app to be featured by the platform. It would take me an hour to review everything you could do. Best bet though is to read up on what others have done!

Are mobile games the new get-rich-quick scheme?

Asked by jason m. about 13 years ago

If Sliced Bread were my get rich quick scheme, I would be royally screwed. Casual games is a hot topic right now, and when something is hot, people gravitate towards it for two reasons - either to make a buck or to do something they love. You will find all kinds of developers in mix, some who have never played a game and never will, but do it because there is potential for a big reward. And some developers do it because they love games and hope their passion will lead to success. My advice is to do what you love and you will find a way to make it work.

Let's say another company wanted to acquire your game TODAY for $100K, and you only had an one hour to decide. Would you do it?

Asked by kasheesh about 13 years ago

Ha good question. I must ask, is it the code for the game or the worldwide rights for that game and all it's potential sequels?

How important is SOUND in mobile games?

Asked by Gregg about 13 years ago

Sound is a really interesting aspect of a game. While many people play with no sound on, nobody comments about sound if it is so-so. If sound is fantastic or really crappy, people pay a lot of attention to it. Sound is also really important in trailers, too. Check out the trailer for Sliced Bread, and you can tell we spent a lot of time on sound for the trailer.: http://slicedbreadgame.com/

Did you hire a full-time developer to build your game, or did you contract one? Did you use someone in the US or overseas? If the latter, did this make the process especially difficult?

Asked by b-rad about 13 years ago

We worked with an excellent development shop in the Philippines. I view game development similar to building a house (although I have never built a house, but I imagine there are a lot of similarities). You want to find the best person to do the job with the resources you have. That means doing a lot of legwork - finding a developer doesn't just mean looking someone up in the phone book. You need to do lots of research. What other games has this company worked on? Do they have clients who you can interview to determine excellence? Can you set specific milestones? How do they want to be paid? Where are they located? Do they speak the same language? For the development of Sliced Bread, I worked with the development studio Secret6. They have a team of over 40 people in Manila, all of whom speak excellent English and play tons of games. I could just send an email with a comment like "well in this game, this is what I saw that was effective - and I would get a response almost right away, sometimes agreeing, and sometimes pointing out that another specific game did it even better." It's always great to work with people who are passionate about what they do, and I hope to work with Secret6 on many more projects. I have heard horror stories of other people working with developers overseas, but this was an extremely smooth process. If you are interested in having them make a game, I would be happy to make an introduction.

What prompts someone to pay actual money for in-game crap like "coins" or "avatars" or whatever? What do people get out of this?

Asked by JvonD about 13 years ago

Not everyone thinks in-game items are crap, or else they wouldn't buy it. There are a couple of reasons people buy in-game items. One is that they can customize their avatar, home, background, etc. They want to truly make the game their own. Another is that someone is having a hard time beating a level, a score, or anything else. Buying in-game items can help them conquer that hurdle much more easily and quickly than they could have without that item. Some games like diamond dash only allow you to play a limited number of matches before you have to buy more plays. There are always a percentage of people who will buy in-game items, and that is what keeps game developers and publishers in business.

Is it possible to actually be successful without a publisher? Let´s say we created a fun game with F2P model on IOS. And we have very limited found on marketing or app. 650 $ for example. IS this enough? With good strategy can we make it?

Asked by Ryner about 12 years ago

What mobile games have you developed? How many?

Asked by Rach almost 10 years ago