Any tips on how to validate a mobile video game idea?

[7.62x51]

Trying to avoid the trap of thinking "build it and they will come!"

How could one "pre-sell" a mobile video game before spending a ton of time developing it? It's hard for me to imagine how this could be done by a one-man team.

Looking to find any sort of data that could give me some sort of validation that a game of a particular style or niche will be profitable.

The only thing I've been able to think of so far is to find other games that are similar. To be honest, this has actually worked very well in helping me understand what works but I figure there must be other strategies too.

 

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

[fastattack03]

The only thing I've been able to think of so far is to find other games that are similar. To be honest, this has actually worked very well in helping me understand what works but I figure there must be other strategies too.

Emulating previously successful apps is a good start. Emulate and improve upon their success.

Learn why and how they got successful. What specific things did they do? What made it so entertaining? What did the user feel while playing it?

If I were to make the same thing, I'll build it out of passion. Money second. Detach yourself from the outcome. I'll probably start talking with a few friends about my idea. Ask people who are playing the similar game I'm building. Then tell them, hey, how about if this feature exist here? What if you can do this new thing in this game? Would it be cool?

Unfortunately, the pre-sell thing doesn't really work as well in the gaming industry. All you can really do is to make some calculated and well-planned risk.

Another good thing you can do - to minimize the risk is - to create a kickstarter campaign. For this to work, you must have an initial prototype. Some graphics, some basic gameplay you can show, and great copywriting. Tell them how is it going to be unique and entertaining. Promote it as hard as you can. If it gets funded, you get your answer.

Hope this helps. Good luck man.

 

[stephanduq]

The way how most game creators do it is by creating prototypes either a paper play version or small digital projects that take about a day to make. Then they get some friends over with the promise of beer and pizza. And study if the people enjoy playing with their concept or not.

Talking about a game idea tends to be pointless, its all about the experience. The sooner you can observe someone interacting with it, the better

 

[OverByte]

I would suggest playtesting as soon as possible. Sites like thebetafamily will help to get play testers. Also use reddit forums like gamedev / feedback fridays. If you review other games you can get the devs to review yours and give good feedback. You can do this testing with a very early prototype (doesn't have to have full polish, etc). The final polish takes the longest period, you / your developer can usually bang out a gameplay prototype pretty quickly.

Obviously, it's not guaranteed the general public will like the game but this approach will help reduce some risk. If initial tests are postiive I'd suggest you set out a very clearly defined MVP and keep it very minimal! I think it's very important to have a highly polished product once it hits the app store, so focus on quality and not quantity. See how users react and what features they want. Prioritize social sharing features as well as analytics (how long do people play, how far do they get, how many times do they visit store page, etc), these need to be part of your MVP in my opinion. Everything else focus on core gameplay and polish.

The hardest part for you will be getting people to download. If you figure this one out on an indie budget please let me know! I'd suggest posting around the indie community, retrospectives and some progress posts. Typically if you don't just try to sell and you actually explain process, how the game is being developed, etc. It's possible to release some news that may hit the front page of Indie DB which will give you some good exposure.

Best week of downloads I had with a game I released was after I released a retrospective of how the game development went and my lessons learned. It's one of the only pieces I was able gain traction with sharing across social media, and it drove downloads. This wasn't enough to kick start a massive amount of downloads but I think if you could reproduce this enough times you may get there.

Good luck.

 

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

[James Thornton]

You could make digital screenshot mock-ups that look like it's a real game, with a description of the game play.

Show it to people (don't tell them the screenshots aren't real), and try to get them to take some sort of action. From what I've read, words and pats on the back don't count with validation.

Try to get them to give you contact info for a pre-release discount (not free). You could test that with a Facebook ad linking to a sales page with email submission. Or get people you personally know in that market to pre-order (which you will refund

I'm researching the same thing, and that's what I might try. I'm also considering pitching a game to a brand, and will definitely not be coding the game beforehand. Just a few realistic mock ups and a good sell sheet.

Do be respectful of people's emails though. Give them some sort of value or honest communication regardless. Could be a good way to get beta testers in the target market that help you make the perfect game for that market.

 

[7.62x51]

You could make digital screenshot mock-ups that look like it's a real game, with a description of the game play.

Show it to people (don't tell them the screenshots aren't real), and try to get them to take some sort of action. From what I've read, words and pats on the back don't count with validation.

Try to get them to give you contact info for a pre-release discount (not free). You could test that with a Facebook ad linking to a sales page with email submission. Or get people you personally know in that market to pre-order (which you will refund

I'm researching the same thing, and that's what I might try. I'm also considering pitching a game to a brand, and will definitely not be coding the game beforehand. Just a few realistic mock ups and a good sell sheet.

Do be respectful of people's emails though. Give them some sort of value or honest communication regardless. Could be a good way to get beta testers in the target market that help you make the perfect game for that market.

That's more along the lines of what I was thinking.

Video game development is very time intensive and fairly high risk so idea validation should be essential. Just as one wouldn't spend months building a website for a super competitive market without any validation before hand.

 

[James Thornton]

Of course that's just what I'm going to try based on what I read on the computernet... The only real validation I've tried is posting art on Facebook, and asking people what types of games they prefer and why.

My guess is the only people who respond to validation techniques are early adopters. The mass market likes things that are established and well reviewed. You always need early adopters, but it's not like everyone who would buy will give you early validation.

Still couldn't hurt to test. Feel free to pm me your idea if you want some feedback with no worry.

 

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