Global reports and market data
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Documents
PocketGamer.biz14 min
FTUE: Transformers Earth Wars
Transformers: Earth Wars is a mobile build-and-battle strategy game developed by Space Ape Games and published by Backflip Studios, a subsidiary of Hasbro.
- Transformers: Earth Wars is a 2016 mobile build-and-battle strategy game developed by Space Ape Games and published by Backflip Studios, a subsidiary of Hasbro.
- The game utilizes a core loop of base building, resource management (alloy and energon), and tactical combat to leverage the Transformers intellectual property.
- Progression is driven by a gacha-style crystal system used to unlock characters with unique roles, alongside leveling mechanics for both the player's headquarters and individual Transformers.
PocketGamer.bizJun 2016
Extra Credits8 min
Legacy Play - Thoughts on the Vanilla WoW Server - Extra Credits
The tension between developer control over live-service software and consumer desires for historical preservation is a central conflict in the modern gaming industry.
- The conflict between developer control and historical preservation arises because live-service updates effectively overwrite original versions of games, rendering them inaccessible to consumers.
- Developers prioritize a single, current build to streamline customer support, ensure security, and maintain a unified community, while avoiding the technical burden of managing fragmented codebases.
- High engagement on unofficial legacy servers indicates a significant, untapped market demand for official, developer-sanctioned classic experiences.
Extra CreditsMay 2016
PocketGamer.biz12 min
FTUE: GodFinger 2
GodFinger 2 serves as a modern reboot of the original 2010 god-game simulation, transitioning the franchise into the contemporary free-to-play mobile market.
- The GodFinger 2 FTUE suffers from a high cognitive load, as the initial ten-minute tutorial introduces complex resource management, structure placement, and follower satisfaction systems simultaneously.
- The game transitions the 2010 original god-game IP into the modern free-to-play mobile market by incorporating standard retention mechanics like push notifications and daily login rewards.
- Core gameplay centers on a 2D simulation loop requiring players to balance resource production, such as bread and chicken feed, against the specific needs and prayers of individual followers.
PocketGamer.bizMay 2016
Game Developers Conference59 min
'Doom:' A Classic Game Postmortem
The development of Doom, initiated in late 1992, represents a pivotal evolution in first-person shooter design, transitioning from the rigid, military-themed architecture of its predecessor, Wolfenstein 3D, toward a more abstract and atmospheric aesthetic.
- Released on December 10, 1993, 'Doom' revolutionized the first-person shooter genre by shifting from the rigid architecture of 'Wolfenstein 3D' to complex, non-orthogonal environments enabled by Binary Space Partitioning trees.
- The development team prioritized high-speed, skill-based gameplay over complex narrative or inventory systems, utilizing NeXT workstations to achieve technical performance that exceeded contemporary hardware limitations.
- The project was defined by a lack of formal pre-production and significant internal creative friction, which led to key personnel changes and the abandonment of external collaborations like a proposed 'Aliens' project.
Game Developers ConferenceMay 2016
Extra Credits7 min
Integrating Academia - Experimenting for Better Games - Extra Credits
The video game industry currently lacks a symbiotic relationship with academia, a deficiency that hinders long-term innovation and the development of a skilled workforce.
- The game industry lacks a symbiotic relationship with academia, preventing the long-term, experimental research that drives innovation in sectors like pharmaceuticals and robotics.
- Current academic tenure and advancement criteria discourage game development as a scholarly contribution, prioritizing traditional publishing over the practical creation of interactive media.
- Academic institutions must modernize their evaluation standards to recognize game development as a valid form of research, similar to the practical application models used in robotics.
Extra CreditsMay 2016
PocketGamer.biz11 min
Monetizer: Hungry Shark World
Hungry Shark World, the fifth installment in the long-running franchise, demonstrates a strategic shift toward a more robust free-to-play meta-game layer.
- Hungry Shark World achieved 10 million downloads in its first week and reached the top 50 grossing charts on the US iOS App Store.
- The game employs a hybrid monetization model that combines direct in-app purchases for currency and items with rewarded video advertisements for features like shark revivals.
- A robust meta-game layer—consisting of shark evolution, statistical equipment, and gameplay-assisting pets—is used to drive both long-term retention and monetization.
PocketGamer.bizMay 2016
Extra Credits5 min
In Defense of Short Games - Worth Every Dollar - Extra Credits
The gaming industry frequently undervalues short-form titles, often subjecting them to negative reviews and refund requests based solely on their limited playtime.
- The industry-wide reliance on a dollar-per-hour metric to determine game value incentivizes developers to artificially inflate playtime, which often dilutes narrative quality and mechanical integrity.
- Forcing a game to expand from a concise four-hour experience to a fourteen-hour duration frequently compromises the creator's original vision without providing a superior product.
- The consumer habit of returning short games after completion or relying on Let’s Plays creates a hostile financial environment that discourages the development of brief, high-impact titles.
Extra CreditsMay 2016
Game Developers Conference78 min
'Diablo': A Classic Game Postmortem
Diablo emerged from a vision to modernize the roguelike genre by blending atmospheric depth with accessible, action-oriented gameplay.
- Diablo's core design underwent a radical shift during development, moving from a turn-based, single-player DOS game to the real-time, multiplayer experience that defined the genre after Blizzard Entertainment insisted on the changes.
- The studio operated with severe financial constraints, signing a contract to develop the game for $300,000, which barely covered the salaries and operational costs for a 15-person team.
- Technical development was highly specialized for the era, with approximately one-eighth of the game's code written in assembly and the project serving as the lead programmer's first experience coding in C.
Game Developers ConferenceMay 2016
PocketGamer.biz4 min
Rewarded video ads in Angry Birds 2
Rewarded video advertising serves as a critical monetization strategy in free-to-play mobile gaming, specifically within titles like Angry Birds 2.
- Rewarded video ads monetize the 95% to 97% of players who do not engage in direct in-app purchases.
- The model functions by offering players a choice between spending hard currency or watching a promotional video to bypass level failure.
- Developers maintain game economy integrity by implementing scarcity, limiting the number of times a player can use video rewards before requiring hard currency or accepting failure.
PocketGamer.bizMay 2016
Whitepaper12 pages
Hybrid Moments: Using Ludonarrative Dissonance for Political Critique
Ludonarrative dissonance functions as a potent analytical lens for uncovering the political tensions embedded within video game design.
- Ludonarrative dissonance should be reclassified from a design flaw into a diagnostic tool for identifying political and ideological tensions within game systems.
- Mechanical actions that contradict narrative messaging serve as a primary indicator of the friction between individual player agency and systemic constraints.
- Analyzing the misalignment between stated moral goals and systemic incentives reveals how games simultaneously reinforce neoliberal ideologies and simulate potential alternatives.
Loading... The Journal of the Canadian Game Studies AssociationMay 2016
Extra Credits6 min
Enclothed Cognition - Do Character Outfits Affect Our Play? - Extra Credits
The concept of enclothed cognition suggests that the clothing an individual wears influences their psychological state and behavioral patterns.
- Character attire functions as a psychological cue that influences player behavior and tactical decision-making, often overriding a character's underlying mechanical statistics.
- The concept of 'enclothed cognition' suggests that players subconsciously adopt playstyles associated with visual tropes, such as utilizing a methodical approach when wearing a ghillie suit or a defensive stance when equipped with heavy armor.
- Cosmetic customization serves as a powerful design tool to guide player behavior and deepen emotional connection, even when changes are purely aesthetic and provide no functional gameplay advantage.
Extra CreditsMay 2016
Game Developers Conference61 min
'Magic: the Gathering': 20 Years, 20 Lessons Learned
Effective game design relies on aligning mechanics with human nature rather than attempting to force players into unnatural behaviors.
- Design components for specific audience segments rather than trying to please everyone, as attempting to satisfy every player often results in a product that no one loves.
- Leverage the pre-existing emotional associations players bring to a game—such as established cultural concepts like zombies—to help them understand mechanics faster and deepen engagement.
- Prioritize player agency by providing diverse choices, formats, and paths, because players perceive higher quality in games where they feel a personal connection and sense of ownership.
Game Developers ConferenceMay 2016