Posts by FrieChamp

  • F2P is burning article on polygon

    This article is based on the assumption that paying = enjoyment. Are 100% of the people who shell out $60 for a paid game happy with the game? A good F2P game is enjoyable, no matter if you decide to pay or not.


    About the state of mobile in general and this evil "data" specifically: there have always been people who'd rather copy a succesful formula for quick profits than taking risks with original stuff. We've all seen shovelware on other platforms, too. The points he is making is the usual artist vs suit discussion. I don't think he knows what he's talking about when he talks about analytics. Intuitive design skills are as important as ever. Otherwise you're just throwing shit at a wall to see what sticks. Data cannot give you that awesome game idea nobody has thought of yet. But data can be a tool to optimize games and create better experiences.


    If you think that the top grossing games on mobile are crap and not "real" games, have you considered that the majority of mobile users don't consider themselves "gamers" and have different tastes/backgrounds than you? If you want to make an artistic game that's fresh and looks/plays amazing, then slap a price tag on it - nobody is stopping you to do that on mobile. Apple is constantly looking for great, original content and they are featuring decent paid games. It is not guarenteed, but I don't remember a guarentee when Steam was still accepting/rejecting games at their sole discretion either.


    P.S.


    Quote

    Threes, Plague Inc., Limbo, Minecraft, New Star Soccer


    Plague Inc. offers IAP, Limbo was VC-funded and New Star Soccer is F2P. Just sayin'.

  • What are you playing now?

    Quote from KoKo5oVaR

    Playing Rimworld, it's a dwarffortress with a space colony basically. Still in its alpha state but it's pretty cool


    highly recommended 5/5 A++ gold distinction honor seal of approval


    I was contemplating to buy it the other day, but then I read that it is super-buggy/far from being finished and changed my mind. What's your experience?

  • Destiny

    Hirshberg said that there will be "no subscription". He didn't say there will be no microtransactions and no DLC


    EDIT:

    Bungie's CM said this on the topic:


    "We’ve not announced anything on the microtransaction front but our goal is to absolutely make sure that when we deliver a game for $60 that’s a great experience no matter what type of player you are," he said. "So we’re not looking at any pay-for-power type stuff. That’s what I hear as a player when people say they’re worried about models and schemes that nickel and dime people; we’re not going to do that."


    http://www.ign.com/articles/2013/…crotransactions


    This sounds to me like a confirmation that they'll add vanity items and similar items/features that players can choose to buy.

  • Destiny

    I like open world shooters like Farcry 3 and I like online games, so by default this game is interesting to me. For the longest time I had expected Activision and Blizzard to pool their talent to create a CoD MMO, but as it turns out, this game is now Destiny in cooperation with Bungie. Activision is all about doubling down on a handful of IPs. They know better than anyone else how to build and leverage a franchise. I heard Bungie is pretty good at making games, too...So does this mean it's a safe bet? Of course not. I haven't even played the game yet. But if I had to put my money down right now, I wouldn't bet against Kotick and trust his judgement.

  • So i made a game...what next?

    Some reviewers ask for money, some don't. This might be a useful resource for you to learn more about how to get PR and market your game on a shoe-string budget: http://www.pixelprospector.com/indie-resources/#marketing


    You'll fight an up-hill battle without a marketing budget or an excellent presentation/very original mechanic that gives you those sweet Apple features. You could try adding viral hooks to your game like "pay with a tweet/like" and video replays via Kamcord or Everplay. Check out "Skyline Skaters" for devs who do this well.


    Maybe get some input on the app's description ("Lose yourself in a world full of balls" sounds unappealing to me). Make sure to mention awards, great reviews and depending how much time you have: add keywords that will make users stumble upon your app easier.


    Add a simple analytics suite and optimize the game but make sure that the data you're looking at is statistically significant. If the metrics are nowhere close to where they should be: kill the app and move on to the next one.


    Btw. I tried the game and while I'm OK with video ads I found the placement to be rather annoying. Almost every time I navigated to the menu, a video ad was triggered. I'd consider moving them to the beginning of every 3rd or 5th level or so. Maybe removing ads with any purchase might be worth considering, too, depending on the sales of the stand-alone "ads removal" feature. I know you've got a very "minimalistic" look going on here but the presentation of the additional chapters in the store is a little too boring for my taste


    Good luck!

  • What have you watched recently?

    "47 Ronin" - Went in with low expectations, but as it turns out, if you want to see a movie about legendary warriors, do yourself a favour and watch this one instead of the 300 sequel (I've watched both). It doesn't only have ninjas, pirates, demons and Keanu Reeves (so what I like Keanu Reeves) it also has 10x more brains than Rise Of An Empire which is really just a cash-in with a script that has MURICA written all over it.

  • Are there any good mobile games?

    Triple Town & Kingdom Rush (Frontiers) are the two games I've spent most time playing on mobile I think. Hero Academy is great albeit a tad old. Ridiculous Fishing is fun but didn't keep me engaged for that long. Plague Inc., Game Dev Story, Jellysplash & Subway Surfers are worth checking out.