The Entrepreneur Forum | Financial Freedom | Starting a Business | Motivation | Money | Success

Welcome to the only entrepreneur forum dedicated to building life-changing wealth.

Build a Fastlane business. Earn real financial freedom. Join free.

Join over 80,000 entrepreneurs who have rejected the paradigm of mediocrity and said "NO!" to underpaid jobs, ascetic frugality, and suffocating savings rituals— learn how to build a Fastlane business that pays both freedom and lifestyle affluence.

Free registration at the forum removes this block.

App Game Dev Advice From Crossy Road Dev

A detailed account of a Fastlane process...

luniac

Platinum Contributor
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
158%
Dec 7, 2012
1,781
2,811
33
brooklyn
The guy had 5 out of his 7 games hit #1 on the app store. He "cracked the code". Very good interview actually...

http://kotaku.com/the-five-rules-of-a-very-successful-indie-game-creator-1732710794

Seems like he's just sayin "GIVE THE PEOPLE WHAT THEY WANT"

Funny at all the "hardcore gamers" haters in the comments... they just don't get it.

I think a lot of developers fail on the app store because they try to make more complex games that they themselves would love, instead of swallowing their pride and making some mindless games that can provide the cashflow to finance their future dream project.

Also they don't know what "marketing" is... too antisocial maybe? stereotyping here?

P.S. Does WANT = NEED in the entertainment field?
 
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.
Last edited:

beatgoezon

Bronze Contributor
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
165%
Aug 31, 2013
293
482
Very good article Luniac. I'm just getting back into game dev finally too, and this post provided some gold nuggets on what to and what not to focus on.

Matt Hall is definitely a legend when it comes to mobile games, thanks for the great share Luniac!
 

Delmania

Silver Contributor
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
155%
Aug 21, 2015
498
772
43
Rochester, NY
The guy had 5 out of his 7 games hit #1 on the app store. He "cracked the code". Very good interview actually...

http://kotaku.com/the-five-rules-of-a-very-successful-indie-game-creator-1732710794

Seems like he's just sayin "GIVE THE PEOPLE WHAT THEY WANT"

Funny at all the "hardcore gamers" haters in the comments... they just don't get it.

I think a lot of developers fail on the app store because they try to make more complex games that they themselves would love, instead of swallowing their pride and making some mindless games that can provide the cashflow to finance their future dream project.

Also they don't know what "marketing" is... too antisocial maybe? stereotyping here?

P.S. Does WANT = NEED in the entertainment field?

Hardcore gamers remind me of Metallica's early fan, back before they became popular. The band was a lot more heavy metal sounding. A some point, they decided they like money, altered their sound and became popular. This pissed off their early fans because those fans lost their "pocket band", meaning they knew of a great band no one else did, and thy felt special. The same can be said for "hardcore" gamers. They believe they have something special, they believe they are special, so when someone comes along and is successful making games for mere mortals, they feel angry.

As for your question, like any engineer, developers tend to fall to the meritocracy fallacy, most genuinely believe the best application will bubble to the top. Most also fear marketing because it doesn't look like work. They tend to overestimate how hard engineering is, and underestimate how hard good marketing is.

As for the article itself, it's the "lean startup" mentality, meaning start small, measure, observe, change. Don't get me wrong, it's excellent advice. It reinforces the core idea that is mentioned around here alot: find a customer first, and then build something.
 

Weaponize

Workin on it!
Read Fastlane!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
185%
Nov 15, 2014
266
491
Thanks for sharing, great article that definitely spans beyond gaming software...

A few bits that I really liked:

He went into a girl’s catalogue, or a magazine ... he cut out a picture of a random 10 year-old-girl and he stuck it on the wall. This is Amanda. Meet Amanda. Amanda doesn’t care about embedded skill trees. She cares about her Pony and she wants to feed it sugar and pat it every day.

If you can’t make a video game [any product] that one person -- just one -- will absolutely fall in love with, what’s the point? Shouldn't you be capable of that? If you can't make one person love your video game [any product], does it deserve to exist?

Matthew Hall. He isn’t a man who talks about metrics. Or marketing. Matthew Hall is just one person.

When you create a video game for one specific person, believes Hall, when you apply all your thinking towards one goal, you usually end up creating something that a lot of people like.

After I make that game for one person I try and broaden it a little bit. And as long as I don’t destroy what that one person loves, I’m happy.
 
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

sija1

Turning Coffee Into Code
Read Fastlane!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
162%
Jun 20, 2015
240
388
33
Quebec, Canada
The guy had 5 out of his 7 games hit #1 on the app store. He "cracked the code". Very good interview actually...

http://kotaku.com/the-five-rules-of-a-very-successful-indie-game-creator-1732710794

Seems like he's just sayin "GIVE THE PEOPLE WHAT THEY WANT"

Funny at all the "hardcore gamers" haters in the comments... they just don't get it.

I think a lot of developers fail on the app store because they try to make more complex games that they themselves would love, instead of swallowing their pride and making some mindless games that can provide the cashflow to finance their future dream project.

Also they don't know what "marketing" is... too antisocial maybe? stereotyping here?

P.S. Does WANT = NEED in the entertainment field?

Thank you for this article, it is great.

I think that gaming is the only field (or one of very few) in which the rules of NEED don't apply the same way they do with other things - it has it's own set of rules. A game is never a need, for something specific, only a cure for boredom. Complex games with complex graphics are usually for the real gamers IMO, those who will spend 3000$ on a brand new computer just so they can play whatever they want without lagging. Normal folks, on the other hand, prefer much simpler games, where they have only one objective. These games are quite repetitive in order to add to that simplicity, but they have some tricky parts, a little challenge, so that users get hooked and don't see them as too simple. Subway Surfers, Angry Birds, Flappy Bird, Jetpack Joyride all follow the same rule. Other games that perform very well are mind challenging games with words and numbers like 4 Images 1 Word, Sudoku, Wordsearch, 2048 and different types of quiz based games. Also, the element of global scoreboards and real time competition adds to their popularity (SongPop, Trivia Crack).
 

luniac

Platinum Contributor
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
158%
Dec 7, 2012
1,781
2,811
33
brooklyn
Here's a resent counter article on gamasutra for a game that was 100% commercial failure:
http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/Dani...d_enough__releasing_an_indie_game_in_2015.php

This is the kind of doom and gloom that scares me:
"I’ve lost pretty much all confidence in the possibility of reliably making a living with indie games."

I'm just praying in my present/future ability to get a sense of what kind of game i can make that people would wanna play. It's the difference between another failed game versus overnight success.
 

Delmania

Silver Contributor
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
155%
Aug 21, 2015
498
772
43
Rochester, NY
Here's a resent counter article on gamasutra for a game that was 100% commercial failure:
http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/Dani...d_enough__releasing_an_indie_game_in_2015.php

This is the kind of doom and gloom that scares me:
"I’ve lost pretty much all confidence in the possibility of reliably making a living with indie games."

I'm just praying in my present/future ability to get a sense of what kind of game i can make that people would wanna play. It's the difference between another failed game versus overnight success.

Well, he admits they made a beautiful game no one wanted to play. Steam's Greenlight feature is a great way to validate your game before you invest too much into building it.
 
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

luniac

Platinum Contributor
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
158%
Dec 7, 2012
1,781
2,811
33
brooklyn
Well, he admits they made a beautiful game no one wanted to play. Steam's Greenlight feature is a great way to validate your game before you invest too much into building it.

yea its definitely useful for validation. WIsh they had something like that for the app store... UH OH DID I JUST DISCOVER A NEED!?!? :woot:
 

Delmania

Silver Contributor
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
155%
Aug 21, 2015
498
772
43
Rochester, NY
yea its definitely useful for validation. WIsh they had something like that for the app store... UH OH DID I JUST DISCOVER A NEED!?!? :woot:

I'm sure you did, but I doubt you can execute on it. Greenlight works because it is right on Steam and operated by Valve. Users can vote for the games they want, follow them, and get early access all. Developers get access to Steam huge customer list. But make no mistake, Valve is always there. You'd need to work with Apple to make something like this happen, keeping in mind the available apps on the App Store absolutely dwarf Steam's offering.

The biggest problem with the App Store is discovery. Apple has attempted to solve this by its Editor's Choice program, but they don't always pick good apps. If you're looking for something in this space, check out Product Hunt, which seeks to provide users with a curated set of apps for a given field. There might be a market for taking that concept and expanding it out to other niches within the App Store.
 

luniac

Platinum Contributor
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
158%
Dec 7, 2012
1,781
2,811
33
brooklyn
I'm sure you did, but I doubt you can execute on it. Greenlight works because it is right on Steam and operated by Valve. Users can vote for the games they want, follow them, and get early access all. Developers get access to Steam huge customer list. But make no mistake, Valve is always there. You'd need to work with Apple to make something like this happen, keeping in mind the available apps on the App Store absolutely dwarf Steam's offering.

The biggest problem with the App Store is discovery. Apple has attempted to solve this by its Editor's Choice program, but they don't always pick good apps. If you're looking for something in this space, check out Product Hunt, which seeks to provide users with a curated set of apps for a given field. There might be a market for taking that concept and expanding it out to other niches within the App Store.

I think at this point the best way to get discovered is word of mouth, im planning to make controversial/edgy games that will generate buzz lol.

product hunt looks cool, never heard of it before though. But whatever...
 
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

Delmania

Silver Contributor
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
155%
Aug 21, 2015
498
772
43
Rochester, NY
I think at this point the best way to get discovered is word of mouth, im planning to make controversial/edgy games that will generate buzz lol.

product hunt looks cool, never heard of it before though. But whatever...

Those games will likely get pulled. As @sija1 said, video games are not a typical need based industry. You're still solving a problem which can be stated as "I am bored", but the way in which is it solved at a given moment in time depends largely on how that person feels.

That being said, the same rules apply. You need to identify what type of game you want to build, look at the best selling games in that niche, and develop a game that outdoes those offerings. And of course, you need to validate your game.
 

luniac

Platinum Contributor
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
158%
Dec 7, 2012
1,781
2,811
33
brooklyn
Those games will likely get pulled. As @sija1 said, video games are not a typical need based industry. You're still solving a problem which can be stated as "I am bored", but the way in which is it solved at a given moment in time depends largely on how that person feels.

That being said, the same rules apply. You need to identify what type of game you want to build, look at the best selling games in that niche, and develop a game that outdoes those offerings. And of course, you need to validate your game.

Not THAT controversial!
Im interested how close to the edge i can go, skirting the line of controversy. If i make an app that gets accepted and LATER removed due to controversy ill have publicity!

I actually don't really validate past talking to some people about the idea, im focusing on creating a basic framework so i can make apps quick, "agile development" if you will, sprinkled with my personal blend of "game design" genius, im 2 years into the learning process.
 

Delmania

Silver Contributor
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
155%
Aug 21, 2015
498
772
43
Rochester, NY
Not THAT controversial!
Im interested how close to the edge i can go, skirting the line of controversy. If i make an app that gets accepted and LATER removed due to controversy ill have publicity!

Considering Harvester is on Steam, going for controversial will be hard. If you can't tell, I have an interest in the video game industry, but I don't want to use that for a fastlane business because it's brutal.
 
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

luniac

Platinum Contributor
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
158%
Dec 7, 2012
1,781
2,811
33
brooklyn
Considering Harvester is on Steam, going for controversial will be hard. If you can't tell, I have an interest in the video game industry, but I don't want to use that for a fastlane business because it's brutal.

LOL i think ive heard of that game before.

Doesn't have to be purely about violence, could be political, or just offensive to certain demographics.

I'm determined to win in the video game industry, no matter how long it takes, even if its a small win. Everyone says oversaturation kills everything, but im not deterred.
 

luniac

Platinum Contributor
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
158%
Dec 7, 2012
1,781
2,811
33
brooklyn

Delmania

Silver Contributor
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
155%
Aug 21, 2015
498
772
43
Rochester, NY
building an MMO would destroy my humble little framework :)

Yep, but considering WoW at one point had more players than the population of Rhode Island, MMOs are a rather large market.
 

luniac

Platinum Contributor
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
158%
Dec 7, 2012
1,781
2,811
33
brooklyn
Yep, but considering WoW at one point had more players than the population of Rhode Island, MMOs are a rather large market.

lol sure mmo's are huge and with WOW being over 10 years old, the next big MMO that will kill WOW did not come out yet.

However I literally do not have the resources to make an MMO. Having a workforce is mandatory for creating a WOW killer.

I've read many times in various articles about the "beginner error" of biting off more than you can chew, starting the DREAM game project and then becoming hopelessly overwhelmed by it and just quitting altogether.

That's why for my first real app game, i focused on just making a simple top down shooter and it still took me almost 2 years to complete!!!
Here it is on android, you wouldn't think it'd take over a year to finish but it damn well did.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.iagg.zombiecrisp
It was about 60% learning, 40% developing.

Making an MMO involves SO MUCH SHIT its mind boggling. The more you develop games the more you can appreciate the staggering amount of man hours that go into making the experience.

Just off the top of my head you got to handle:
1)Huge amount of environments
2)Huge amounts of text
3)Huge amounts of sound
4)Huge amounts of art
5)GAMEPLAY(all the leveling up skills, etc etc)
BALANCING is probably NUMBER 1 importance for creating a fun progressive experience for the user. that shit is time intensive, lots of critical thinking involved.

im sure i missed lots of other things like network programming, etc.

and TESTING TESTING TESTING. There is not a single software project in existence that had no bugs ever, and the bigger the project the more bugs there will be, guaranteed!

And that shit can tarnish your reputation. Hardcore gamers tend to be F*cking assholes and have 0 tolerance for issues.
I remember so many times that a game got backlash for issues.
Skyrim on PS4 was broken as hell, or maybe it was falllout new vegas... cant really remember.
recently the new game Batman Arkham Knight got RECALLED from steam!!! major publisher!!! that's how strong the backlash was.
Lets not forget about Simcity... that series is now DEAD after the shitstorm EA received when it was released, cities skylines has filled in the need for that type of game and made millions!!!

anyways... my point is, MMO should not even be on your radar...
 

7.62x51

Bronze Contributor
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
180%
Jan 27, 2015
168
303
35
If you're willing to bend the rules a bit, app validation is not that hard...make up some screenshots, post them on google play (less restrictive than the app store) and see what happens. This won't give you the whole picture since pretty soon you'll get reviews stating that there's no game uploaded, you won't have word of mouth or any marketing at all.

However, it's a quick and relatively cheap way to see if there's any real organic interest in what you're doing.
 
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

splok

Gold Contributor
FASTLANE INSIDER
Read Fastlane!
Summit Attendee
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
174%
Jul 20, 2012
673
1,172
Yep, but considering WoW at one point had more players than the population of Rhode Island, MMOs are a rather large market.

MMOs have a great ARPU, but don't forget that Candy Crush has about as many installs as the population of North America (and it doesn't take a 9-figure budget to make a match-3 game).
 

luniac

Platinum Contributor
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
158%
Dec 7, 2012
1,781
2,811
33
brooklyn
If you're willing to bend the rules a bit, app validation is not that hard...make up some screenshots, post them on google play (less restrictive than the app store) and see what happens. This won't give you the whole picture since pretty soon you'll get reviews stating that there's no game uploaded, you won't have word of mouth or any marketing at all.

However, it's a quick and relatively cheap way to see if there's any real organic interest in what you're doing.

what? you can't actually submit your app to google play without uploading an APK file, the submit button will be grayed out.

OH unless you mean uploading a dummy apk file LOL!!!!
shit i don't know it might work, however maybe not cause my apk was rejected once for not fitting the proper rating, which means they actually played the game i think.

People have been using landing pages around here from what ive seen. Basically describing what the app does and an email sign up if they're be interested in seeing this app made.
That seems to be a good way to do it.

I don't think it would work as easily for games since often you gotta play it to like it.
 

luniac

Platinum Contributor
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
158%
Dec 7, 2012
1,781
2,811
33
brooklyn
MMOs have a great ARPU, but don't forget that Candy Crush has about as many installs as the population of North America (and it doesn't take a 9-figure budget to make a match-3 game).

To take advantage of high mmo ARPU you first need a fully functional MMO, that's the really really hard part. I guess maybe making a total trash mmo would take less time if you copy and paste 90% of the functionality or something.

Candy Crush was done in house im sure. If they tried to outsource that game it the price would be pretty high for all the polish they have.
 
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

splok

Gold Contributor
FASTLANE INSIDER
Read Fastlane!
Summit Attendee
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
174%
Jul 20, 2012
673
1,172
To take advantage of high mmo ARPU you first need a fully functional MMO, that's the really really hard part. I guess maybe making a total trash mmo would take less time if you copy and paste 90% of the functionality or something.

Candy Crush was done in house im sure. If they tried to outsource that game it the price would be pretty high for all the polish they have.

Erm, ya, I was agreeing with you. MMOs are hard. I've worked on them. That's why I mentioned the 9-figure budget. I'm not sure what outsourcing has to do with anything though. You still need the money, whether it's playing employees or contractors.

My point was, if someone is picking an industry-leading game to chase, they're better off chasing Candy Crush than WoW. They're not going to upstage either of them, but at least a match-3 game is something that someone can actually complete and release. It's not going to have 1/1000th the development of Candy Crush, but at least it's easy enough to get a basic one functioning. There are probably thousands on the app store that have never made a penny, but at least people can learn from releasing something. Too many noobs want to make a WoW-killer as their first project, and all that really guarantees is that they never release anything.
 

Delmania

Silver Contributor
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
155%
Aug 21, 2015
498
772
43
Rochester, NY
My comments about making an MMO are facetious, it's a terrible market to be in. WoW is both the best and the worst thing to happen. It brought MMOS to the mainstream, but also set unrealistic expectations. I think my strategy were I get into game development is to release a few games via PC distributions channels like Greenlight, IndieGala, and the Humble Bundle to get a good sense of what I want to build, and then target mobile platforms.
 

Twopro

Contributor
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
133%
Sep 28, 2014
48
64
35
Texas
That was a good read, and I get it. Keeping it simple is good for mobile games because they're meant to be played 5-15 minutes during a break. I just got into developing games by doing tutorials for Unity3D and released my first game last week. Its basically a flappy bird clone parody, I named it Flappy Hair. Currently out for android only, but working to release it on iOS. Also trying to make a few more changes to one of the difficulties to make it more fun/challenging.

BTW I will download and rate your app Luniac. What did you use to make it? Are you working solo?

Edit: Just saw the unity logo so that question is answered lol, did you do the sounds/graphics?
 
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

James Thornton

Bronze Contributor
Read Fastlane!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
206%
Oct 31, 2014
141
291
40
P.S. Does WANT = NEED in the entertainment field?
Thanks for posting. I'm studying how to program a game, and struggle with this question.

One way to look at it is Need does not mean the opposite of Want. Need means market demand. If you look at the best selling apps, 90% are entertainment, 80% are games.

Entrepreneurs set out to solve problems, which often leads to super useful utility apps...that nobody wants.

That's not what people like to do with the little entertainment device in their pocket... They're walking around with high-tech portable hdtv gaming consoles. They use them to solve the problem of boredom and the need for fun after dealing with stress all day..

However, I don't view designing a game as building a business. The lifespan of the product is too short, the risk is too high, and the market is too saturated (500 games per day). It's a dice roll.



So I'm mitigating risk by designing a game with specific backgrounds that fill a big need in the art market. I know that business and have a sharpened strategy.

The game is superior to anything in a neglected mass market category (with serious search stats), but it doesn't have to succeed for the project to bear fruit.

(Sorry for the word wall. This is just relevant to something I've worked very hard on.)
 

luniac

Platinum Contributor
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
158%
Dec 7, 2012
1,781
2,811
33
brooklyn
Erm, ya, I was agreeing with you. MMOs are hard. I've worked on them. That's why I mentioned the 9-figure budget. I'm not sure what outsourcing has to do with anything though. You still need the money, whether it's playing employees or contractors.

My point was, if someone is picking an industry-leading game to chase, they're better off chasing Candy Crush than WoW. They're not going to upstage either of them, but at least a match-3 game is something that someone can actually complete and release. It's not going to have 1/1000th the development of Candy Crush, but at least it's easy enough to get a basic one functioning. There are probably thousands on the app store that have never made a penny, but at least people can learn from releasing something. Too many noobs want to make a WoW-killer as their first project, and all that really guarantees is that they never release anything.

That's awesome if you worked on MMOs! can you name some and maybe tell us about what you did? that stuff is mad cool :)

Regarding outsourcing, what i meant was that if you outsource a match-3 game then a generic cookie cutter one may not cost too much but once you start adding in a lot of customized features and polish then the price would skyrocket.

My comments about making an MMO are facetious, it's a terrible market to be in. WoW is both the best and the worst thing to happen. It brought MMOS to the mainstream, but also set unrealistic expectations. I think my strategy were I get into game development is to release a few games via PC distributions channels like Greenlight, IndieGala, and the Humble Bundle to get a good sense of what I want to build, and then target mobile platforms.

I miss Everquest 1 bro :D

That was a good read, and I get it. Keeping it simple is good for mobile games because they're meant to be played 5-15 minutes during a break. I just got into developing games by doing tutorials for Unity3D and released my first game last week. Its basically a flappy bird clone parody, I named it Flappy Hair. Currently out for android only, but working to release it on iOS. Also trying to make a few more changes to one of the difficulties to make it more fun/challenging.

BTW I will download and rate your app Luniac. What did you use to make it? Are you working solo?

Edit: Just saw the unity logo so that question is answered lol, did you do the sounds/graphics?

Thanks for playin :)

My coworker is a graphic designer and helped with the artwork, logos, google play art.
Everything else i developed solo using Unity and various plugins.
 
Last edited:

splok

Gold Contributor
FASTLANE INSIDER
Read Fastlane!
Summit Attendee
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
174%
Jul 20, 2012
673
1,172
That's awesome if you worked on MMOs! can you name some and maybe tell us about what you did? that stuff is mad cool :)

Regarding outsourcing, what i meant was that if you outsource a match-3 game then a generic cookie cutter one may not cost too much but once you start adding in a lot of customized features and polish then the price would skyrocket.

It would be pretty easy to figure out, but I don't want to directly associate the name in search. I was just a design peon though. It was like pretty much every mmo since wow though: huge budget, huge dev time, huge disappointment.

And ya, adding custom features will get expensive, but that's going to be the case with any game. The smaller the initial scope, the less expensive those features should turn out to be, on average. (I don't think we're disagreeing, just clarifying.)

The companies in the game industry that manage to stand the test of time are really the publishers. Unlike most studios, they are able to diversify their risk over a portfolio of products. Google up how many different skus EA had last year. Imo, studios need to be able to do the same. Instead most studios run on the "double or nothing" model, where they make every game as big as possible. That's great so long as you're winning, but at the same time, they're betting the entire business on each launch. Huge studios go under every year for exactly this reason. Huge publishers? Not so much. (pretty sure that lesson is transferable to other industries as well...)

I miss Everquest 1 bro :D

Me too :(
 
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

Post New Topic

Please SEARCH before posting.
Please select the BEST category.

Post new topic

Guest post submissions offered HERE.

Latest Posts

New Topics

Fastlane Insiders

View the forum AD FREE.
Private, unindexed content
Detailed process/execution threads
Ideas needing execution, more!

Join Fastlane Insiders.

Top