Game Development reports and market data
Documents
Andras Velvart talks SongArc
SongArc emerged from a desire to bridge the gap between passive music listening and active, expressive performance on mobile devices.
- SongArc achieved 1.3 million downloads within its first year on the Windows Phone platform, peaking as the sixth best-rated game in the store.
- The game’s development was supported by the Microsoft Imagine Cup and the AppCampus program, a partnership between Microsoft, Nokia, and Aalto University.
- The development team is currently executing a multi-platform expansion to iOS, Android, and Windows tablets, with a target rollout for the holiday season.
Awesome Per Second - Don't Waste Time - Extra Credits
Game design should prioritize the density of high-quality experiences over total play duration, a metric defined as awesome per second.
- Game design should prioritize 'awesome per second,' a metric that emphasizes the density of high-quality experiences over total play duration.
- Developers must ruthlessly edit their projects to remove content that is merely 'good' rather than 'great' to maintain a consistent interest curve.
- The industry-wide pressure to inflate play time to justify price points often leads to the inclusion of mediocre filler content.
Designing for gamers with disabilities
Accessibility in game design is defined as the removal of barriers that prevent individuals with medical conditions from engaging in gameplay.
- Accessibility is defined as the removal of design-based barriers, with approximately 20% of the gaming population living with an impairment.
- Integrating accessibility features early in the development cycle is a cost-effective strategy that improves product discovery, user retention, and long-term viability for an aging demographic.
- Developers should prioritize visual accessibility through high-contrast elements and scalable text, which accommodate both color blindness and situational challenges like direct sunlight.
How to create FPS using audio not graphics
The development of audio-based games represents a shift in interactive entertainment, moving away from visual reliance toward immersive, sound-driven experiences.
- Audio-based games utilize proprietary engines and Head-Related Transfer Function (HRTF) technology to create 3D soundscapes that allow for navigation and interaction without visual reliance.
- Stationary combat mechanics, as seen in titles like Audio Defence, simplify user experience and broaden accessibility by removing complex movement systems.
- Traditional heads-up displays (HUDs) are replaced by auditory cues, such as heartbeats for proximity alerts and distinct weapon sounds for combat feedback.
10 top legal tips if you're making a F2P game
The free-to-play (F2P) gaming sector faces increasing legal scrutiny as regulators in the European Union and the United Kingdom prioritize consumer protection, particularly regarding children and the transparency of in-game monetization.
- Regulators in the UK and EU are shifting from general consumer protection laws to specific enforcement actions targeting F2P monetization mechanics and game design transparency.
- Marketing a game as 'free' is increasingly viewed by regulators as inherently misleading if the title contains in-app purchases.
- Developers must separate transaction flows from core gameplay and provide clear, non-aggressive options for users to decline in-app purchases.
Why Nordeus is opening an office in London
Nordeus, the developer behind the successful football management title Top Eleven, has established a new studio in London to expand its global footprint and tap into a broader talent pool.
- Nordeus has established a new, autonomous studio in London to access a broader talent pool and expand its operations beyond its Belgrade headquarters.
- The London studio is tasked with defining its own creative direction and exploring new genres, with a goal to launch at least one new title within the year.
- Nordeus is currently scaling the London office by hiring for key roles, including game designers, developers, and artists.
Very Big Indie Pitch 2015 winner - Joel Nystrom from Ludosity
The Swedish developer Ludosity, established in 2008, emphasizes the growing importance of physical, social, and unconventional gameplay in the current indie market.
- Ludosity, established in 2008, identifies a market shift toward physical and social gameplay, exemplified by their collaborative title 'Progress' which uses shared physical discomfort as a core mechanic.
- Success in the volatile mobile gaming market requires developers to maintain strict product focus and avoid the common pitfall of over-committing to excessive feature sets.
- The mobile industry is currently defined by a 'gold rush' mentality, characterized by high competition and the prevalence of low-effort app flipping and re-skinning.
Why Vlambeer's Rami Ismail is against the current implementation of F2P
Rami Ismail, co-founder of the independent studio Vlambeer, argues that the current implementation of the free-to-play (F2P) business model is fundamentally exploitative and creatively bankrupt.
- Vlambeer co-founder Rami Ismail argues that current free-to-play (F2P) models are exploitative because they often involve intentionally degrading a game's design to sell back the intended experience.
- The prevailing F2P reliance on 'pay-to-win' or 'pay-to-skip' mechanics shifts the player's goal from engaging with gameplay to paying to avoid it.
- Console and handheld platforms currently hinder developers with archaic, slow certification processes that contrast with the rapid, iterative update capabilities available on PC.
Alistair Aitcheson on why you should be always pitching
The practice of pitching serves as a critical tool for indie developers, functioning not only as a promotional strategy but as a fundamental exercise in game design refinement.
- Pitching serves as a diagnostic tool that forces developers to identify and prioritize the most engaging mechanics by articulating the game's core value proposition to others.
- Developers should prioritize immediate accessibility and intuitive rules, allowing the game's core loop to demonstrate its own merit without requiring extensive explanation.
- Treating every interaction as a pitch helps developers bridge the gap between their intended design and the actual player experience.
LabLike's Olaf Morelewski on making a game based on Mozart's Magic Flute
Magic Flute by Mozart represents a unique intersection between traditional performing arts and mobile gaming.
- LabLike, a Warsaw-based studio, developed the mobile game 'Magic Flute' by translating their professional expertise in theatrical video set design into a cubic, sliding-puzzle format.
- The development process prioritized iterative gameplay mechanics over purely aesthetic fidelity to ensure the title functioned as an engaging game rather than just a visual showcase.
- The studio utilized industry networking events, such as the Big Indie Pitch, to gather critical peer and judge feedback that directly informed the final product's refinement.
Asymmetric Play - Can One Game Cater to Many Playstyles? - Extra Credits
Asymmetric gameplay serves as a critical design tool for fostering cooperation and expanding the reach of multiplayer experiences.
- Strong asymmetry allows developers to bridge disparate player bases by enabling users with different genre preferences, such as RTS and action-RPG fans, to compete within the same shared game space.
- The primary barrier to strong asymmetry is the high development burden, as it effectively requires building and balancing two distinct, high-quality game experiences that must function cohesively.
- Weak asymmetry forces player cooperation by withholding specific tools from individuals, necessitating reliance on teammates and the use of non-verbal signaling mechanics to achieve objectives.
Some trends from GDC 2015
The 2015 Game Developers Conference (GDC) in San Francisco served as a primary venue for major engine providers to refine their market strategies and for industry leaders to re-evaluate player engagement terminology.
- Epic Games transitioned Unreal Engine 4 to a free-to-access model, shifting its monetization to a 5% royalty fee on live product revenue.
- Unity Technologies introduced a tiered pricing structure, offering a free Personal Edition alongside a professional subscription service priced at $75 per seat per month.
- Major engine providers are aggressively targeting mobile developers by lowering barriers to entry and increasing the accessibility of high-performance development tools.