Indie Games Tips & Tricks By Anna Grueter @ ReignDesign Nov 2014
Jul 17, 2015
over 10 years a developer
5 years experience making mobile games
Anna GrüterStudied Computer Science & Digital Media
Successful Ones
Games with 4M downloads
Main App Store Featurein China multiple times
Ranked #2 Best Games in the USA App Store
Ranked higher thanAngry Birds in their good days
Featured New & Noteworthy sections in many countries
A ton of failures
1 year of working hard== minimal users
no return of investment
no or minimal revenuebad reviews, noranking
store-versions with bugs, crashes, bad UI
A scientist contacting us for the flocking algorithm he saw in our game, because he is working tiny robots
that enter the human body and that need to be controlled like a flock.
THATS AWESOME
1. Make a Quick Prototype.Strip out anything but the absolute essentials that make it fun. No special graphics either, nothing.
1. Make a Quick Prototype.Strip out anything but the absolute essentials that make it fun. No special graphics either, nothing.
2. Give it to someone. Observe them, is it as good as in your mind? Do they think it’s fun? No?
1. Make a Quick Prototype.Strip out anything but the absolute essentials that make it fun. No special graphics either, nothing.
2. Give it to someone. Observe them, is it as good as in your mind? Do they think it’s fun? No?
3. Throw away your idea. Work on something else. This is essential for all parts of the process. If it sucks, throw it out.
Introduce each new challenge or obstacle in a controlled environment…
… where you can learn without immediately dying.
Make use of these branding rules:
2. Brand the names (findability)If one game is successful and its called • Crazy Grandma in the jungle or • MiniApps - The Race All games will show up in the search results.
Make use of these branding rules:
3. Cross-promote your other gamesIf you’ve gotten one user, and he played your game - make your own in-game ads for your other games. It can even be tied to achievements even.
Make use of these branding rules:
4. Brand quality & visual styleWhen you brand something there is a expectation involved when people download a second app. Make sure that the visual style + level of quality are comparable / consistent.
Summary
#1 Connect with your users #2 Prototype - Fail often #3 First time experience #4 Tutorials - Show don’t tell #5 Branding #6 Know your game