Finding Your Favorite Game - Game Discovery in a Crowded Market - Extra Credits

even if you're a seasoned gamer you probably haven't had the chance to play what could be your favorite game steam alone offers more than 30 000 games and no matter what kind of schedule management dark math you practice there just isn't enough time for you to play them all plus steam is just one of countless stores serving hundreds of regions and dozens of languages around the world not to mention the multitude of mobile and console storefronts all this is to say in a massive global industry where popular titles saturate the conversation you statistically speaking probably haven't found your favorite game yet and for developers hoping to make someone's favorite game it can be a real challenge to get your attention so with that in mind we wanted to talk about the five major reasons you and your favorite game haven't met yet and also offer a few ways to help better your chances of finding each other [Music] real quick up top please welcome today's guest writers from game development and publishing studio serenity forge z and parker thanks guys let's get started

reason one distribution even working in the games industry z really dislikes when people ask what his favorite games are because most people haven't even heard of his all-time favorite taiko rashid in five which is a japanese historical strategy game about people relationships war and culture but the reason most people z talks to have never heard of it is because it's only available in japanese and chinese translating games or localizing them is remarkably expensive sure getting a game to new regions does mean more players and more revenue but a lot of studios don't have the cash to make that happen localization starts around 10 cents per word per language so the costs add up fast it's a tough financial decision to make so fans showing excitement for games that aren't in their language yet does do a lot to encourage wider distribution also if you're willing to venture deeper into the gaming distribution ecosystem beyond the haven of steam there's a bunch of other niche or regional stores whether it's a foreign language juggernaut like dmm.com which is in japanese but with global traffic roughly equivalent to rotten tomatoes or an

indie gem like ichio which adds more than 5 000 free games a week exploring marketplaces off the beaten path can increase the likelihood you'll find your favorite game reason 2 censorship crossing cultural barriers is often harder than typing a url whether it's the concept of the undead in china or imagery of dismemberment in japan every country has their own flavor of censorship that can skew artistic expression and media coverage for instance america is more comfortable with violent content than other countries but less comfortable with sexual content even more so with games than film or television but just like any media business game companies become more comfortable trying to release and promote edgier content as soon as they know they can sell it so one of the best ways to encourage that risk taking is with your spending behavior now we know that censorship is a tough nut to crack especially in all the different places in the world but pushing companies with your wallet is one good way to help move the needle on the kinds of cultural conversations that can eventually lead to societal change and maybe help your favorite game

have a wider release than its home country reason 3 platforms lots of lower budget games rely on specialized tools that offer a streamlined development process at the expense of being difficult to port across multiple platforms fortunately though the industry is constantly creating new tech to bridge these systems so even though your favorite game might be stuck on pc buy beloved but limited engines like rpg maker or renpi it's often just a matter of time until you can play it anywhere and if you're a fan of retro games you probably know some great games that require some tough to find hardware but if you don't have a retro gaming store nearby emulators are always a popular but sometimes inconvenient band-aid for this problem that allows folks to hack together new tricks for old dogs now of course there are the various legal landmines we've already covered in a few episodes so as always proceed with caution on that front however one upside of an increasingly digital games industry is that it is becoming even easier for willing developers to adapt their games across multiple platforms for generations to come reason 4 promotion even if you follow

big game publications to stay up to date on the industry it's still really easy to miss out on smaller successes in the shadow of blockbuster titles and for every article about a cool new indie or a foreign language surprise there are literally thousands about the aaa franchises luckily the games industry does have some niche publications that carve out a place to drill down on less reported stories so spending the time looking for gaming communities that focus on what excites you the most is time very much well spent for instance if you love jrpgs find a jrpg review site like rpggamer.com or rpgvan.com and another actionable thing you can do is that once you find your favorite niche gaming news location shout it from the digital rooftops because we're all responsible for the content that we share and talk about and the more this happens overall the easier it will be for everyone to find their new favorite game through all the mainstream noise reason 5 competition every year cutting edge game dev tools get sharper and the on-ramps for creators get smoother and this simultaneous increase in quality and quantity creates

an intense competition for gamer's attention plus it's just unrealistic to expect most gamers to purchase every console and spend around 60 dollars for every game in short there's a higher supply of higher cost games than gamers can afford to keep up with now there's no doubt that it's very challenging for developers and fans to find each other in such a competitive industry but on the flip side that is kind of a good problem to have whether it's music movies or games more good art is good for everyone the trick is being able to try out new games developers and genres whenever you can just like with awesome local bands most folks haven't heard of or indie film masterpieces that were never at your local theater oh remember theaters you'll find countless amazing moments in games that might not usually make the headlines also if the idea of buying a bunch of 60 games makes your wallet burn that's all the more reason to mix things up and try out one of the three hundred thousand free games on sites like gamejolt who knows maybe your new favorite game won't cost you a dime at the end of the

day even if you bought every console learned a dozen languages and scour the internet for hours on leads for new games you simply can't catch them all there are lifetimes of great games scattered across the world and it can definitely be overwhelming to think about how many you'll never have the chance to see let alone play but that's exactly why putting in a little effort to seek out new games supporting smaller and foreign studios and encouraging artistic risk takers you personally vibe with can pay such amazing dividends for gamers and creators alike your favorite game could be just around the next digital corner so be on the lookout and in the interest of paying it forward also don't forget to post your lesser known gaming sources and hidden gem masterpieces in the comments below because who knows maybe you'll show someone their new favorite game they've been looking for all along legendary patron roll call ahmed ziad turk alicia bramble casey muscha dominic valenciana gunner clovis kyle murgatroyd and o reals one thank you so much

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