Freebie Reminder: Mobile Game Design book…

Hey folks,

Here is a reminder for a popular freebie…a book on mobile game design…

We always try to explore new ideas and concepts on the show that make experimental game developers more innovative and effective.

In that regard, I’ve written a book on mobile game design.

The book “Mobile Game Design”…which you can buy on Amazon…is now free for listeners for a limited time. It talks about the main mechanics for mobile games…as well as “hidden game mechanics” you can use to stand out in the marketplace. Enjoy 🙂

Put any feedback or suggestions on the book below 🙂

You can download the book here…

http://www.indiegamepod.com/mobile-game-design-book.pdf

Game Research from the Tiltfactor Research Lab To Help Design Games for Social Change…

Max, from the Tiltfactor Game Research Lab at Darthmouth, talks about research findings that can help design better games for social change…

You can download the podcast here…
http://www.indiegamepod.com/podcasts/dartmouth-game-lab.mp3

Or listen to it here…

Developing a Goat Simulator…

Anton, from Coffee Stain Studios, talks about their latest game…Goat Simulator

You can download the podcast here…
http://www.indiegamepod.com/podcasts/goat-simulator.mp3

Or listen to it here…

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Extrasolar — GDC 2014 Independent Games Festival Nuovo Award Finalist

Keith from Lazy 8 Studios talks about their Independent Games Festival Finalist game, Extrasolar

You can download the podcast here…
http://www.indiegamepod.com/podcasts/extra-solar.mp3

Or listen to it here…

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If the developers of “Threes” cloned themselves, they would have been more successful…

A few months ago, I wrote a post about how developers need to clone themselves.

It may seem silly, but in the mobile space, there are always folks preying on the next big hit. For most people, it is so much more motivating and easier to work on a game once they know it will be successful — hence the clones.

The clone folks also don’t have much vested in the idea so are willing to experiment. They have nothing to lose. So they can play around with design changes, business models, and giving away the game for free.

Anyways, the “Threes” developers wrote a post about the cloning of their game…the clones called “1024” and “2048”…

Sometimes the clones do add innovations to the original game design. Sometimes they don’t.

But I think the real story is that original developers need to clone themselves. By flooding the market with clones, you help to keep your original work successful. The clones can be variations and experiment with new business models and game design ideas. You can even place ads in the clones to promote your main game.

It may seem silly, but what other choice would you have? Sometimes the most successful games are the most simple. So they are really easy to clone.

Do developers need to clone themselves?

Hi,

There are always discussions amongst indie developers about cloning. Some people think it is evil and that people that do it have no decency.

But maybe that is the wrong approach…maybe indie developers need to clone themselves. For example, if the folks that did Castle Crashers asked…”how would I clone my own game?”…maybe they would have created Angry Birds?

What about the Infiniminer developer…what if they cloned their own game…maybe they would have reached Minecraft fame.

Even Temple Run…what if they asked how the could clone themselves…they might have also created Subway Surfers?

I know these might sound like extremes…but I think this strategy is compelling. Developers shouldn’t just copy their old game…but the cloning strategy has to be elegant…it can’t be brute-force cloning. Maybe you have to look at your own game…and ask…”if I wanted to clone this…what would I do”…and then maybe you cut out the hard parts of the game, maybe you only focus on one part of the original game … and make a clone based on that mechanic.

Maybe you ask…what theme would I change about the game…maybe change the theme to birds?

This may seem crazy, but cloning offers some benefits…it kind of breaks away from the current flow and structure and thinking of the original game. You can just do it in a way that is fun in a new way.

In fact, a better question a developer might ask is…what would a clone have to do to really piss me off? Like, what if a clone borrowed the mechanic and used a “fluffy” theme like birds…and got 1 billion downloads. Ok…now how do I create that clone?

Finally, even if you have a hit…it might be good to clone your game with cheap knockoffs so that other people can’t clone you successfully. The cheap knockoffs take up space in the marketplace.

In fact, one of the developers from Spooky House Studios…talks about how they released a mobile game called “Doodle Train”…and how it flopped…they then decided to “clone” it…and of course, used a different strategy and approach. They changed the theme a little…and then released it as “Rail Maze”…and got several million downloads on IOS and Android for the new game…

So…a developer cloned their own game to success. Now, maybe, they could have iterated on their own same game…but it was the ability to clone…from a different perspective…that helped to make a success.

Maybe one can “clone” by iterating on their initial game…as long as they have the courage to make drastic changes to theme, design, and details…as they iterate on the game.

What do you think…do experimental game designers need to learn how to clone themselves?

Designing a Card Game…

Erick, from Starcat Games, talks about designing a card game…

You can download the podcast here…
http://www.indiegamepod.com/podcasts/cardgame-podcast.mp3

Or listen to it here…

Is the journey required to have indie success…

I interview a fair amount of aspiring game developers that are working on games on the side while they do their “day job”…with the hope that they “get their chance”…and can turn game dev into something full time in the future.

I found this video on YouTube…it is one of those clips that went “viral”…about some old lady that went on one of those Reality TV shows to sing…she was an unemployed 47 year old… and during her audition, she mentioned that she wanted to be a professional singer…but she “never got the chance”…she dreamed of being as famous as Elaine Paige…the equivalent of Will Wright in the games industry.

Check out the video…
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Despite the audience’s doubts and hesitations about her situation…she is still optimistic and hopes to amaze them.

I find it interesting that her journey was probably a huge part of why the video went viral. If she was younger or any other thing going for her…I’m not sure what would have happened.

But…she did keep developing her talent. From the sound of her voice, she didn’t sound like she spent her years complaining…but preparing.

Casual Connect Kyiv 2013 Videos Now Online…

Hey folks,

Once again, Casual Connect is nice enough to post the videos of their recent conference in Kyiv…you can view them on YouTube…
http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL63BVidWw3h-cHFJXpqQP3chH0o5Bjxde

Enjoy 🙂

Going From Indie Game Dev To Small Volunteer Team

Frank, from Mantis Studios, talks about developing the 3D game Dragon Royale

You can download the podcast here…
http://www.indiegamepod.com/podcasts/mantis-studios.mp3

Or listen to it here…

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