Mobile Gaming: Is It Really the Future of Gaming Industry?

The mobile gaming industry represents an incredibly lucrative market, being the leading gaming platform in terms of both player numbers and revenue generated. However, on the other hand, it is also the most challenging area to invest in as either you can achieve great success or risk a rapid collapse. Nevertheless, the trend is clear: all major publishers want to try their luck and have moved accordingly in recent years.

It is important, therefore, to understand what the mobile market is today. According to the analysis company Newzoo, the mobile segment was worth $92.2 billion in 2022, which is 50% of the overall industry revenue. For comparison, the console market is worth $51.8 billion. Even a national perspective allows us to give more context when we talk about this vast market.

The reason is evident: almost everyone has a smartphone, while far fewer people have a console or a gaming PC. It is not surprising, therefore, that more and more companies are looking at mobile gaming in light of the incredible commercial opportunity. But it would be a serious mistake to believe that the mobile world is easy to explore. "For various reasons, mobile is probably one of the most expensive platforms to develop on today," says Mauro Fanelli, CEO of MixedBag, which has published Forma.8, Futuridium, and, exclusively for Apple Arcade, Secret Oops on Android and iOS. "The cost of mobile development and launch is different. Beyond the quality of the game, there is a matter of maintenance, user acquisition, and how a mobile game works. It requires constant investment."

The mobile market can be divided into two major categories. On one side, there are free-to-play games in constant update, the live services. Here, the difficulty is evident: an entire team of developers must constantly work to produce new content, engage users with events and novelties, and maintain the game's quality. "The whole free-to-play model is based on game-as-a-service: first, launch the game, and then the team must produce content weekly," explains Fanelli. "Constantly balancing, changing the meta to keep users engaged: the game never ends. On mobile, this is extreme, much more than on console. It is continuous development, and the team must always work on the same game. It's a constant investment."

Otherwise, especially for an independent developer, the mobile world is an endless sea but full of sharks. "The number one platform for indie games is still Steam, followed by Switch and other consoles," according to Fanelli. "Then, way down the list, there is mobile. There is always the illusion that it is easy, but then the market is complicated. Even games promoted by platforms may not succeed." This is where the consolidation that many major publishers are carrying out begins.

When entering a market like mobile, which has different dynamics from PC and console, there are two ways to engage: developing an internal specialized department over time or acquiring a consolidated entity with the competencies and technologies needed to create new mobile titles.

How to Use Reddit to share your indie game

Reddit is a website with two reputations.

For Redditors (as its users are called), it's a good way to keep your finger on the pulse of the internet, participate in open discussions around shared interests, get answers from highly engaged niche communities, and, of course, perpetuate memes.

For outsiders who haven’t learned how to use Reddit, though, it might seem like a haven for snark and sarcasm, where anonymity runs rampant and users commit to weird inside jokes and try to one-up each other for upvotes.

Reddit is an entirely different world compared to TikTok, Instagram, Twitter or wherever else you might spend your time online. So in a way, Snoo—Reddit’s iconic alien pictured in this post’s header—is a fitting mascot for this strange, wildly popular community-based website. 

But there are plenty of reasons to put some time into learning how to use Reddit.

With 52 million daily active users and a $10 billion valuation, Reddit is the 16th most popular social media platform and considers itself “the front page of the internet.”

Reddit is also where a lot of viral content gets early traction, where celebrities and interesting people open up and tell the world to “ask me anything,” and people come together to talk about every topic under the sun.

There is a subreddit for (almost) everything—from r/Fitness for exercise and nutrition enthusiasts to r/CatsStandingUp which is literally just a bunch of pictures of cats … standing up.

This subreddit isn’t even among the top 100 weirdest things you’ll find on Reddit.

Once you get past the complicated-looking interface, understand the basics of how “sharing” works on the platform, and get to know its nuances, Reddit can add a lot of value to your life and—despite being generally averse to marketing—to your business.

Understanding the basics of Reddit

The first thing you need to understand is that Reddit thrives on anonymity, but it's kept in check by transparency.

Reddit thrives on anonymity, but its kept in check by transparency.

Using your real name or birth year in your username is strongly discouraged unless you plan to invest in your own personal brand. Speaking and engaging freely with others is how you get the most out of Reddit. That’s because other users can easily see your entire posting/commenting history, which makes it easy for the community to police itself and gauge how authentic a person is based on past behavior on the site.

Creating an account is easy enough. All you need is a username and password—you only need to enter your email if you want to verify your account for long-term use.

For this reason, it’s not uncommon for users to have one or two “main” accounts that they rely on and several “throwaway accounts” that are only used once or in certain situations.

Once you’ve signed up, you'll be automatically subscribed to several popular subreddits, like r/videos and r/gifs, but should also search for and subscribe to other subreddits you want to be a part of based on your interests.

Subreddits are niche communities within Reddit—each with its own rules, subscribers, and posts—indicated by r/subreddit (based on the URL structure: reddit.com/r/subreddit).

You can sort all the posts within a subreddit by Hot, New, Rising, Controversial, and Top submissions.

If you’re interested in handcrafts, you might join r/somethingimade or r/crafts.

If you run your own business, maybe you’ll weigh in at r/Entrepreneur or r/smallbusiness.

If you’re into cooking, you’ll probably check out r/Cooking or r/AskCulinary. 

If there’s a subreddit you want that doesn’t exist (though that’s unlikely), you can even create your own subreddit.

Learning the language of Reddit

On Reddit, people tend to be fluent not only in “internet speak” but also terminology that’s specific to the platform. There are a whole host of terms and abbreviations you’ll end up learning over time.

Here’s a glossary of commonly used Reddit terms to help you navigate this strange new world—many of which will be covered in greater detail throughout this post:

A glossary of Reddit terms

• Upvote: A positive vote that indicates a post or comment contributes value to the subreddit or discussion.
• Downvote: A negative vote that indicates a post or comment is irrelevant, promotional, or doesn’t contribute any value.
• Karma: There’s post karma and comment karma, both of which reflect the quality of your account on Reddit. These points are awarded based on the upvotes you get from your actions on Reddit, and only exist to give the community a sense of your legitimacy and experience as a Redditor. 
• Reddit Gold: A premium Reddit membership with additional features that can be bought for yourself or awarded to users who you think have made a significant contribution to Reddit.
• OP (original poster): Referring to the person who shared the post that the comment is made on.
• Mod (moderator): An account that polices the subreddit to make sure its rules are being followed, with special permissions to ban and remove users, posts, and comments as they see fit.
• TL;DR (too long; didn’t read): A short summary briefly describing a large body of text, usually in a lengthy text post.
• X-post (cross post): Sharing a post from one subreddit to another by submitting the URL of the original submission on Reddit and adding to the title that it’s an “X-post from [original subreddit].” This is considered the proper way to share something across multiple subreddits. 
• Repost: Posting something that has already been posted in that subreddit. Try to avoid this by searching the subreddit to see if your link has already been shared.
• Lurking: Actively consuming a subreddit, but not actively contributing to it. Many people use Reddit this way.
• Throwaway account: A Reddit account that isn’t a user’s main account and wasn’t made for long-term use. A user can have several accounts made for different occasions.
• OC (original content): Content that is deemed original to Reddit and isn’t reposted from elsewhere, but is something a user has created themselves.
• IRL (in real life): Synonymous with the offline world and refers to your actual experiences outside of your online Reddit identity.
• NSFW (not safe for work): Explicit or inappropriate content you might not want to open in a public place. This is usually found in the post’s title to warn people before they click the link.
• FTFY (fixed that for you): A correction made regarding a typo or factual error, or sometimes used as a tongue-in-cheek comment.
• TIL(today I learned): Something the user didn’t know before, but now knows (probably) because of the internet. There’s an entire subreddit for these lessons in r/todayilearned.
• AMA (ask me anything): An invitation for Redditors to ask any questions they may have with the promise that the user will answer. It usually starts with “I am a [something unique/interesting about you], ask me anything.” Visit r/AMA for examples.
• Shadow banning: Since a person with a banned account can just go make another one, "shadow banning” is a special punishment where the user is unaware that they are banned because, instead of having their account shut down, all of their future posts are essentially made invisible to everyone else.
• Flair: Added as part of your display name within a specific subreddit (some are defined by the mods, and some let you create your own). Sometimes the subreddit’s rules will require you to use a flair to indicate you are a specific type of poster.

By no means is this a comprehensive list, nor should you expect to grasp it all right away, but it's a good resource to refer back to as you get to know Reddit.

Reddiquette: Understanding the rules of Reddit

Online etiquette is important wherever you post online. But it’s even more important on Reddit, where it’s easy to hide behind anonymity and engage in bullying, spam, and sneaky self-promotion.

You can read up in full about Reddit’s own guidelines, or Reddiquette, but it boils down to one simple rule:

Aim to contribute value with every action and consider the community first.

When you post something, ask yourself if it’s relevant to the subreddit and do a quick search to see if it’s already been posted there.

When you upvote, downvote, or comment on someone’s post, consider how it’s benefiting the greater good of the subreddit.

You’ll quickly realize that commenting and sharing on Reddit is very different from, say, Facebook.

Posts and comments need to add value—posting the same thing someone else has posted or commenting with “That’s hilarious” or “Cute dog” won’t get you upvotes, but something new, witty, insightful, or educational will. 

Each subreddit also has its own rules and guidelines, which you can find on the right sidebar.

These rules are enforced through a combination of:

• Manual moderation via the subreddit’s moderators 
• Automation via moderator “bots” that flag posts that break certain rules
• The subreddit’s community via the downvoting and reporting system

It’s best to assume each subreddit is different from the next and to take some time to get to know the rules and posting behavior of each one before contributing. Ignoring the rules can get your post deleted or get you banned from the subreddit.

Posting and commenting on Reddit

Posting and commenting on Reddit is how you get upvotes that lead to karma, which is Reddit’s way of quantifying the contributions of each user.

There are two types of submissions you can make on Reddit (although certain subreddits might limit themselves to just one or the other):

• Post: Expand into a text-based post that you can format and add links to to provoke a discussion.
• Image: Share pictures with a title to convey an idea. 
• Link: Take visitors directly to a webpage or piece of content when they click through on your post.
• Poll: Get an opinion on anything and encourage Redditors to vote. 
• Talk: Host events, AMAs, hangout, and connect with other Redditors through live audio.

You can submit these from the “Create a post” page on your subreddit and clicking Post when you’re ready to publish. 

Before you submit, however, be sure to use Reddit’s search feature to make sure you’re not reposting an existing post (Redditors frown upon this). You can find tips here on how to get specific with your searches.

Timing, the text you write, and the subreddit you submit to all play a role in gaining traction on Reddit. Get enough upvotes and comments in a short amount of time and your post could end up at the top of the subreddit and then eventually the front page of Reddit, where millions of people will see it.

How to build up your Reddit karma quickly

Since Reddit embraces anonymity and having multiple accounts is common among users, the karma system is how Reddit establishes credibility. The more karma you have, the more seriously Reddit will take you. But there are two kinds: post karma and comment karma.

You get post karma for the upvotes you receive on posts, and comment karma for the upvotes you receive on your comments, so it’s a good idea to be active in the comments of your own submissions and in posts by others. You can also lose karma if your individual posts or comments are irrelevant and get enough downvotes for the count to fall below zero.

There’s no easy way to build karma on Reddit. You’ll need to consistently contribute to the platform in meaningful ways.

However, there are strategies to help you get going: 

• Make a list of very niche subreddits that you’re in a good position to contribute to because you’re an expert or enthusiast. Then go to the New tab and see if there are any relevant questions you can answer.
• Go to r/AskReddit and ask or answer questions for post and comment karma.
• Make an effort to incorporate Reddit submissions into your regular day-to-day browsing. When you find something worth sharing, post it on one of the highly active subreddits on this list, wherever it would be most relevant.

How to use Reddit to share your indie game

Reddit’s community puts a lot of effort into protecting its integrity. Users will go out of their way to vet suspicious activity by browsing an account’s posting history to gauge its authenticity.

Reddit generally hates shameless marketing, self-promotion, URL shorteners, and anything that makes you seem like you’re only using Reddit as a place to sell your products or services. If you want to understand the level of disdain Redditors have toward this behavior, just look at r/indiegames.

But that doesn’t mean Reddit can’t be useful for game developers. Redditors trust the platform when it comes to helpful information about products. Some 90% of people who use Reddit for research reportedly trust the product information they find more than information they find on other sites. 

Once you’ve built up some karma and a decent posting history, you can begin harnessing Reddit to grow and improve your business. Let’s look at what types of content you can publish on the platform, whether you’re a startup or an established business. 

1. Pay for Reddit ads

Recent data revealed that Reddit purchase journeys result in deeper research sessions, nine times faster purchase decisions, and 15% more spending compared to other social platforms. 

Advertising on Reddit is probably among one of the safest ways to market your game on Reddit. With Reddit ads, you can target people based on the subreddits they’ve subscribed to, which lets you get in front of some very specific, super-passionate niches. 

Keep in mind that Reddit advertising operates on a cost-per-impression (CPM) basis rather than cost-per-click (CPC), which you might be used to with Facebook ads or Google Ads.

2. Promote in the right subreddits

There's a subreddit for everything, and that includes deals. If your game is totally free, you can post in r/freegames. If it is just a demo, you can post in r/freegamedemos.

If your game is made with Unity Engine, post in r/unity3d; if it is made using Unreal Engine, use r/UnrealEngine, if it is made using RPG Maker post in r/rpgmaker and so on. If your demo or game is on indiexpo website, you can create a post in r/indiexpo.

3. Customer service and community management

Brands both small and large should consider monitoring Reddit for brand mentions and replying to them. There are a lot of people on Reddit asking about potential purchases, airing complaints about companies, and talking about other things you’ll want to keep an eye out for. A community management plan can lead to higher engagement with Redditors and more sales. 

4. Post something interesting (that happens to do with your business)

Reddit might not like marketing, but it does like authenticity. For a lot of game developers, their game is an extension of their life and it won’t come across as inauthentic to share it in certain contexts.

5. Do an AMA if you have a compelling story

You can raise your game company's profile and build your personal brand by doing an AMA on Reddit. Post in r/AMA, or find a relevant post and comment on it with “I am the Game Developer of ______. Ask me anything.”

AMAs are conducted by regular folks, like this car salesman, all the way up to Steve Wozniak, the co-founder of Apple. As long as you can position yourself as someone with unique insight, Reddit will have some good questions to ask. 

6. Curate viral content

Reddit is an endless source of good content. By subscribing to the subreddits that relate to the niche you’re selling in, you’ll get a steady stream of top quality content to curate: articles, videos, GIFs, and more.

7. Hire local or remote talent

Like any social network, you can also use Reddit to find and hire specific talent. If you’re looking for someone who lives near you to hire full time, you can post about the job in your city or region’s subreddit (e.g., r/Toronto, if you're hiring in Toronto). Or you can post in the subreddits dedicated to the skills you need (e.g., r/gameartists, if you’re looking for a copywriter).

8. Market research and feedback

Depending on the subreddit, you can ask its subscribers to give you feedback about your game  or product idea. Be careful and transparent about doing this in non-business-related subreddits, especially when you are a new user.

When in doubt, ask for feedback in business-related subreddits such as r/indiedev.

Reddit is best when you put the community first

When I first gave Reddit a try, I was put off because I didn't “get it” and couldn’t find any substance on it because I didn’t know how to find it.

But once you’ve subscribed and contributed to a few subreddits and understand how to find the discussions you want, it becomes a great source of value in your life, where you can freely ask your questions to a community of enthusiasts, learn new things every day, and contribute front-page-worthy posts.

Hopefully you now have a better understanding of how to use Reddit.

Reddit won’t always make sense. It can be hard to familiarize yourself with the site when every subreddit has its defined rules and inside jokes, each carving out its own unique corner of the web. But that’s what makes it so great.

How to promote your indiegame on Pinterest

Pinterest is a visual discovery platform that allows users to discover and save ideas for a variety of topics, including video games. By using Pinterest to promote your indie game, you can reach a targeted audience of users and new gamers (or other game developers).

There are several ways you can use Pinterest to promote your video game, here are some tips for promoting your indie game on Pinterest:

1. Create a Pinterest account for your indie game and start by pinning images and videos related to your game. This will help you establish your game's presence on the platform and give people an idea of what your game is all about. For example: "has your game a retrogaming style? Start to pin images and videos about famous retrogames like Sonic, Super Mario or SNES and NES games!"
2. Use relevant keywords in your pins and boards to help people discover your game. For example, if your game is a puzzle game, you can use keywords like "puzzle game," "indie game," and "brain teaser" in your pins and board titles. If it is in pixel art, you can use keywords like "retro games", "pixel art", "pixel artist", "pixel games", etc.
3. Collaborate with other Pinterest users who have an interest in indie games. You can share each other's pins, repin content from each other's boards, and even co-create a board together. This will help you reach a wider audience and build relationships with other members of the indie game community.
4. Utilize Pinterest's promoted pins feature to reach even more people. Promoted pins are pins that you pay to have shown to a targeted audience, and they can be a great way to get your game in front of potential players. Then you can see all the stats about your promoted pins and check what are the next pins to share.
5. Engage with your audience by responding to comments and messages, and asking for feedback on your game. This will help you build a loyal following and foster a community of fans around your game.

Pinterest can be an effective tool for promoting your video game because it allows you to showcase the visual elements of your game, such as character designs and game environments, in a way that is easy for users to discover and share.

Additionally, Pinterest has a large and engaged user base, making it a potentially valuable platform for reaching new players and building buzz for your game.

User Stories: 16 Bit Nights - Is it still possible to promote a game using Facebook Groups?

I thought about also sharing with you guys a recent marketing experience with 0 funding, mostly because I assume most of us do marketing ourselves so it automatically becomes part of the game development.

So during this post, I want to: 

• point out the importance of knowing your target audience;
• the importance of having good promotional material;
• my personal experience with Facebook groups promotions;
• some Facebook algorithms.

Ok, let`s start! 

First-round

I recently remade my Steam thumbnail and what better way to get some promotional material than this?! Also please note that this information is strictly resuming to Facebook groups.

I first posted in pixel art theme groups on Facebook. Why? Because I try to aim for the target audience and what better way than to start on a place where people love pixel art (since the game is also pixel art) and here are the results from day 1:

1. Pixel art + 35k members = post got 330 likes 30 comments 17 shares​
2. Pixel Art 29k members = post got 111 likes 25 comments​
3. Pixel Art Heaven = post got 136 likes and 22 comments​

Results: 1 follower and 20 new wishlist additions.

Conclusion

I am not some high tec guru dark star fapfap button Wizzard master developer, no, I am just like most developers so when I start to see so many like per post I was very excited, normally my posts on those groups get per average 20-30 likes, I was having high expectations for a wishlist so I was a bit disappointed when I saw only 20 new additions. It can also be the fact that some of them already had my game on wishlist since I posted there before from time to time about the game. Anyhow it was a good result and I strongly recommend you make smart posts, for example, I only stated in the post I made these pixel art banners but I did not put any links in the description so people actually asked for a link and only after that I edited and added the link, so try hard not to be a hit&run poster. Also if you want to keep your post up, respond to comments a few days after so that your topic gets bumped up. Please also consider I did not include the private messages received based on this.

Second round

So why haven't I posted in all FB groups the same day?

Because of Facebook algorithms, for example, even though I made the new custom text for all posts, I did have the same 2 pictures uploaded and if facebook sees you post the same comment too many times it will automatically warn you and mark your posts as spam. The second day I decided to target Xcom players because my game is heavily inspired by Xcom, I am not talking just about some art and 1-2 mechanics, no I am talking about the overall game design and the majority of features, heck, my game is basically Xcom in real-time.

Xcom

And note that I posted same 2 picture but I adapted the text, Here are the results:

1. XCOM players 4k members = post got 80 likes 50 comments​
2. XCOM: Enemy Withinposting 400 members = post got 14 likes 3 comments​
3. Xcom 2 2k members = post got 40 likes 8 comments​

Results: 10 followers and 80 new wishlist additions

Conclusion

Based on pixel art communities results, I was expecting around 8-12 wishlist additions so when I saw the results it was clear for me, I first yelled some mumbo-jumbo spartan DarkStar Sailormoon Voltron lines in a weird language then I realized that even though the pixel groups were A LOT bigger then Xcom ones and that I got more engagement on them then on Xcom ones, the more I get closer to the target audience the bigger the conversion rate is. So I strongly recommend hard research on the target audience before starting marketing. I believe it is the same s**t with wishlist conversion rate into sales, as in if you get wishlists from giveaways and from people who meh or are casuals the conversion rate will be lower, and the more genuine wishlist audience you got the more the conversion rate will grow.

Third round & forth round

At this point, I included both 3 and 4 rounds of Facebook group marketing because the results are non-existent. Round 3 was aiming toward casual gamer groups and round 4 was aiming toward Indie Game developer groups and other small pixel art groups, same promotional picture + adjusted text. Please notice how huge are some groups, how small, and how that factor is truly not important when it comes to smart marketing and knowing your target audience.

Results:

1. Indie Game Promo IGD 56k members = post got 9 likes 3 comments
2. ​Retro Indie Pixel Game 9k members = post got 12 likes 1 comment​
3. RTS game lovers = post got 2 likes

​and other groups not worth mentioning because of results

Conclusion

And for the casual gamer audience, I targeted PC gamer(more than 30k members) group, steam gamers, and so on BUT and it is a strong BUT here, I got 1 or 2 likes per post in these groups, now you are going to say "awww then this is a waste of time I will ignore those groups" and after you say this I will strangle you because you know nothing, Jhon Snow! Why? Some time ago I made TAURONOS game and that game had casual players as the target audience, the thing is that I got good love on this casual player audience group for that game specifically because that was its target audience.

So in conclusion: Know your target audience & do not be a spammer that does hit&run, be smart about it and you will avoid wasting time on promotions that will bring no results. Time is very important. Now I am not saying not to post in Indie game development groups but I am saying do not post in Indie game development groups unless you have too much time.

I will make some more posts during the week in other groups but I estimate the main goal was already achieved.​

Overall:

• always make posts in target audience groups otherwise you would just be spamming;
• adjust the text to each specific group, don`t be lazy or hit&runner, put a bit of soul into your post;
• respond to all comments, it helps when people see you care and it also gets your post bumped back up;
• put quality/polished promotional material;
• have a call to action, either by asking for feedback or support for your wishlist, it is all up to you on what you need;
• do not post in all groups in a short period of time or Facebook will mark you as a spam post;
• do not post the exact content on many groups or again, Facebook will mark you as a spam post.

Aditional:

• I also used ads a few times this year and I must say the conversion rate for Facebook ads is totally not worth it. It brings some traffic but most its from fake accounts.

If you got any suggestions/feedback on what I did wrong please do let me know.

Tauronos developed by Popa Cristian/16bitnights

Also please do not think marketing resumes only on Facebook (I am talking now to the newbies, not to the veterans who obviously know this). If you enjoy this post I will try to share my marketing up-to-date experience for all social platforms and marketing-wise related stuff such as email marketing, PR, marketing plan 1 month before release, and others.

I am not perfect and this is just my opinion & personal experience. I originaly posted this topic on TigSource.

- Popa Cristian/16bitnights

Why

Why-why-why, like an annoying little curious child. 

Many times, that simple question, reveal the lack of information. 

Why does the customer want to write this in the ad, Why does he wish to publish an ad there or at all., Why to play this game.

Suddenly we found out things that should have been known before.

Usually, things are "obvious" just because we got used to a schematic way of thinking.

When we'll ask, some will laugh like it's a silly question - but then, only after they'll get lost in trying to answer, we might find interesting information. 

Or they'll simply answer. 

And there always be those with the huge ego that will say that they knew it all. 

Even what they haven't known, like they have actually known, but just wanted that we'll ask them so we'll understand more...

Create a Game Trailer

To build excitement and anticipation around your game release.
Highlight some of the key aspects of your game and think about how to make it compelling to your audience.
What makes your game unique? Why should people play it? Show this in your Game Trailer.
Use the music and Sound Effects with the best animations of your game.

Here it's a trailer made by us about Donald Dowell

Gain publicity

... and give your game some good exposure.

In order for people to learn about your game and to find out about it, you need to get the game in front of them!

You can do this by contacting bloggers, Youtubers, game review sites – and asking them to take a look at your game.
The more exposure you can get for your game, the better.

You can link them your game page on indiexpo, it is an excellent platform for introducing your game to fellow game developers and those interested in games and game music.

The Power of the Habit in a videogame / free to play

New York Times writer Charles Duhigg published a piece in the Sunday Magazine that got much of the marketing world - and beyond --talking. The piece, an excerpt from His new book "The Power of Habit" focused on two case studies.

The first detailed how Target uses its big data to determinates Which customers are pregnant and the privacy pitfalls it encountered on the way.
The second Looked at how P & G unlocked the secrets of household cleaning to turn Febreze from an almost failure into a billion-dollar product line. In each case, the stories centered on the science behind how human habits are formed, and how they can be broken and rearranged. The trick is in identifying the cues in our lives

That triggers the habit and the rewards we feel from performing the ritual. The cues can be tiny but the stakes can be huge.

The Power of Habit. But... how we can use this in a videogame ?

For example in a free-to-play the developers should add the "purchase" at the second part of the game. In the fist part they should create "the habit". In the second part the players will be like a "compulsive gambler" and the developers can sell extra-life, new objects, etc. This is one of the powers of the free-to-play.

6 Tips to Get More Subscribers on your Game

How many time you thinked "Oh! C'mon player click and subscribe!" ... ?

We already talked about how the first players of your new game should be the players of your previous game, inspired by several posts and books of Seth Godin.

If the player click on subscribe it's easier and faster. In fact when you will put a news/update on your indiexpo game page, every subscriber will receive an email about it.
And the 85% of subscibers open their emails on smartphone and check/open them.

So... how to increase your subscibers with news/updates ?

1. Create remarkable content. Your content needs to be amazing if you want people to stay subscribed and forward your games to their friends, family, and colleagues that aren't already on your list;
2. Promote an online contest, like a free giveaway (and don't forget to promote your contest on social!);
3. Add a link to your followers' signatures that leads people to a landing page where they can sign up for your game (you can also use the image that you can see in the Statistics Area)
4. Promote one of your lead-gen offers on Twitter or Facebook. Create a "Sociali Campaign" to promote your free resource to your followers;
5. Run a promotion on a partner game page or social page that targets a new but appropriate audience to collect new followers;
6. Add a QR code to your print marketing collateral (you can find it also in the Statistic Area) that people can scan to opt in to your "database".

Also for the Game Developers is the Time of the Video Interviews !

Community : a social group of any size whose members share the same passions, hobbies, works and often have a common cultural and historical heritage.

It's nice to see how the interviews of the developers are showing and making a nice community (and not only on Twitter where the developers use #indiedev only to promote own games and ignore the others), where they report their experience, the followed indie games and authors and how they develop their games.

The interviews for a game developer are very important and in particular the video interviews. Now it's the time of the videos. It's not fortuity if Facebook is making moves to become 'video first'. Mark Zuckerberg says video will soon consume the lion's share of attention of its 1.7 billion users. And it's making aggressive moves to get people to make and view more video.

With a video you can tell fastly and easily infos about your games, passions and your favourite artists. So we're catching this opportunity realizing short videos with fast questions and fast answers.

The previous Summer we wrote posts (on this blog) about the Game Marketing and several developers contacted us. So now you can find their interviews here or on our Facebook Page.

We will continue to publish this kind of interviews and if you are a developer and want to join... contact us ! You will be added you in list ! :D But remember to share your free game or demo on indiexpo! ;)

See you soon !

How to Convince People to Click on your Game : The first Screenshot

The first screen of your game, that is used like cover of it, is very important.
It's like a good dress. If you are a boy with an amazing talent, a nice personality and rich... If you haven't a good dress is harder to "hit" a girl than have a good dress.

The first look/screen has only one goal: convince the user to click and open the page.

So you should hit him with colors, an animation or an original image. And, at the same time, the first screen will be also the cover of your game.

So I want to show you several "first screen" posted on the indiexpo that convince to click. They are all cured, animated (so they evidence own presence) and fresh.

Brain Reconstructor

Project Abyss

Abstract Arena

Owl Spirit

Keep attention and choose the right first screen!
And now you can also read the 3 features that should have a game to be downloaded !

Carpe Diem

Summer? New Tv Show? Halloween? Christmas? Olympics? Get this and create something mixed with your game or characters. It's like the Instant marketing.

It doesn't need to be inside the game... create an image and post it, it will get attention and people will click on the link to see what's that !

Example:

It's Nono from "Pocket Quest!" during Valentine's Day

How you can develop a game that attracts like the football ?

Do you like football ? How you can develop a game that attracts like the football ?
And what I can learn from it to develop a popular game ?

So. We can start. The main question is :
Why do many people like football ?

The football is the most popular sport in the world.

It's so popular for three main reasons :
1 - It's easy
2 - It creates Heroes
3 - Money

1 - It's easy and it's "free to play".
This is, IMHO, the main reason. It's easy. Everyone can take a ball and start to play it. The rules are very easy and it's funny.
It's the same logic adopted by League of Legends. First of all it's free to play and everyone can start to play lol. Download, setup and play. The logic is easy, the rules are easy.



2- It creates Heroes
From dust to Glory. Maradona, Pelè, Cristiano Ronaldo, Messi, etc.They started from the dust (Pelè was a poor boy from Brazil) and now they are the best of the best. Cars, houses, models, pools, fans. The football creates the mith. Your economic condition is not so  important, You can be a star.

3 - Money
It makes money and the people makes money. Bets, sponsor, commercial spots, etc.

About the last point, in several countries it's also illegal win money with an app or a game. But think different. Your players can be money playing your game on youtube or writing a post on their blogs. If your game "captures" views, they will talk about it.

Game images in your Game Page

Game images can make or break your game's success. You can hire the best game designer in the world to create a killer design and ux, but when images posted on a website like indiexpo or Kickstarter are bad, downloads will be bad. It’s the first thing a gamer will look at.

Even studies show that people that "shop" online value product images. The most important features of a product page are:

Quality of the product images
Several images
Alternate views of the same game

In this post, we’ll go over a number of things you need to consider when adding game images to your game page on indiexpo.





One of the things we tell our developers is to use images of the gameplay in the different areas.

Using game images with the games in use works best (gameplay in high quality and/or full hd), because people will be able to see themselves playing that game. We need to try to give our players that same experience. So : in the Screenshots Area, use images of the gameplay.

It seems so obvious to use high quality images. But we have been telling you to reduce the file size for years, right. First of all, that doesn’t mean you have to use a crappy, blurred image of just a few kBs.

Internet connections are getting faster. There are just a few so-called white spots (locations with no internet at all), with a total size of a couple of baseball fields. That also means we’ll have less difficulties downloading your larger product image files. You’ll need larger images anyway, as that leads us to another necessary feature of our website: ability to zoom game images.

If there is no proper game image available, create one or capture your desktop (while you're playing the game).
It's the same as an online shop.

Shopify ‘s guide (one of the best Shop Online) on product images states:
"Your product images can be any size up to 2048px by 2048px, or 4.2 megapixels. […] Higher resolution photos will look more polished and professional to your customers, and we typically suggest 1024px by 1024px as a guideline for square product images."

Woocommerce states that the minimum dimensions should be 800×800 pixels. That seems to make sense, as it will perfectly fit most tablets as well without any problem. Smaller will lead to distortion, and we have established you want quality images, right?


You want to be able to look at a game from all angles. Show all the areas. if it's a RPG, show the battle system, the world map and the other maps.

P.s. Remember that on indiexpo you can also upload GIF !

15 Ways For a Game Developer To Get More Followers

1. Create dope art.

2. Use hashtags.

3. Comment and follow other people’s games to generate more followers and comments for you. 

4. Mention your Game Page on your other social media channels. Let your followers know what perks they get when following you.

5. Quality > quantity, so only post news you’re proud of and make sense for your game.

6. Tell your followers who you are and what you do.

7. Research the best time to post news on indiexpo so to get more visibility.

8. Be consistent. Know what you’re posting, who your target audience is, and how many times a week/day/etc. you plan on posting.

9. Use calls to action to keep your followers engaged by encouraging them to participate.

10. Don’t be scared of posting often.

11. Be authentic. You’re a real person, and so are your followers. Respond to their questions, leave thoughtful comments.

12. To boost your brand and increase visibility, create your own hashtag, and encourage your followers to use it.

13. Share candid, behind-the-scenes photos to showcase your brand’s unique personality.

14. Share your followers’ screenshots, especially ones that mention your game, to encourage others to post screenshots of your work.

15. Be yourself. Remember: your game rocks, and so do you.

Gamers are a part of 60 percent of American homes

April 28, 2016 – Washington, DC – Gamers are a part of 60 percent of American homes, according to new data released today by the Entertainment Software Association (ESA). The report also reveals that the most frequent video game player is 38 years old, on average, and has been playing video games for about 13 years.

Other key findings highlight gamers’ excitement for new technologies such as augmented and virtual reality. According to the report, more than half of the most frequent video game players are familiar with virtual reality, with 40 percent saying they will likely purchase their own VR headsets within the next year.

“This report illustrates how powerful storytelling, innovative hardware, and compelling design join together to fuel our industry’s growth and fan excitement. We are consistently upending traditional conceptions of entertainment and how consumers interact with media,” said Michael D. Gallagher, president and CEO of the ESA, which represents the U.S. video game industry. “These advancements provide new opportunities for audience engagement, and have established this industry as the leader in groundbreaking entertainment and high-tech development.”

The report underscores another rising global trend spurred by the video game industry: eSports. Half of the most frequent gamers surveyed say they are familiar with professional video game competitions. Of those respondents, 45 percent follow eSports on social media, 40 percent follow coverage on cable TV, and 38 percent stream coverage live.

Distribution

Create your Distribution

1. Create contents :

• create a Gameplay about your game;
• create a trailer about your game;
• create funny videos about your game;
• create funny videos with your main characters;
• create funny arts about your game;
• create a meme with your game;
• create a meme with your main characters;
• show (in a short video) how you develop your game;
• show (in a short video) how you draw your main characters;
• show (in a short video) how you work with your team;
• show (in a short video) how you have fun with your team;
• show (in a short video) you and your fans during the events;
• show (in a short video) you and your fans have fun during the events

2. Find a places where you can share your contents. And choose the place where there are already players and gamers.

For this reason on indiexpo we added the possibility to post news about own demo or full game directly on own game page and, in a first moment, they will be seen by own followers and then by new users.

Improve your distribution and you will have new followers and new downloads every day.

Email Marketing

"Do you want to download my game ? No."
"Do you want to play my game on your Youtube Channel ? No."

When we saw a very nice game on indiexpo, we tried to help the developers to share it. So we asked on several communities to play it or we contacted several YouTubers with their channels about gameplay.

I remember that once i contacted 100 Big Youtubers. The 50% said "No", the 50% never replied.

When you contact a person and invite him to an action... and he says "No" there are two options :

1. To insult that person. And (please) it's no a good way.
2. Ask to yourself : "Why did he say no ?". How I can edit my email ? How I can present the game ? Is the email too long ? Is it too short ? Never back down.

This is the Email Marketing
It's directly marketing a game to a group of people using email. In its broadest sense, every email sent to a potential or current customer could be considered email marketing.



Email marketing is significantly cheaper and faster than traditional mail, mainly because of high cost and time required in a traditional mail campaign for producing the artwork, printing, addressing and mailing.
Almost half of American Internet users check or send email on a typical day, with email blasts that are delivered between 1 am and 5 am local time outperforming those sent at other times in open and click rates.

Warning : no abuse. If your email adress goes in the SPAM... is the end. In the body of your message add always somethigh that can be interesting for the users.

How can your game compete with Pokemon GO ?

How can your game compete with Pokemon GO ?
Scale is often the secret to a commodity business and if your game to be better than GTA V, the only possible outcome doesn’t look good.

But what happens if your game decides to race to the top instead?

What if they say, “we’re always a dollar more than GTA V”?

And then they spend that dollar, all of it, on the music ...


What kind of person buys your game with the inaudible music?

GTA V becomes the bottom fisher, and your game is the place you go once you've proven yourself...
And a game should be a good way to relax.

Seth Godin that speaks about this topic, makes an example with the fast food :
what would happen if your fast food place said, “we’re the place that charges you a dollar extra at lunch,” and they spent all that dollar in paying their employees and their suppliers a living wage?

Some people will always want the cheapest, regardless of what it actually ends up costing them. But in market after market, the list goes on. Projects and organizations that proudly charge a dollar more.

Not merely a dollar more.

A dollar more, and worth it.

The first players of your new game should be the players of your previous game.

Few days ago we talked about the Fan Base, now we can see why it's so important.
Did you published a new game but you haven't the same downloads of your previous game ?

You have to follow and study your fan base when you're developing your new game.

First of all analyze which kind of gamers are following your projects and will play your new game. Because the first players of your new game should be the players of your previous game. It's more easy share something to someone that already know how you work.

On our Facebook fan page we made a poll, analyzing 6 kind of gamers : The Artist, The Performer, The Collector, The Thinker, The Quester and the Achiever.
The results ? Several "Questers".
How use this result ? We posted, after this poll, a post about a famous rpg game, Nocturne. The result : several Likes -> Test Passed (Fan Base confirmed).

Now let's analyze your games and your fan base.
If you developed a Puzzle game to play in the free time on your mobile phone... you should focus your attention about this kind of gamers. Where do they play my games ? In the metro ? At the bus stop ?
Ok. So, if you will develop a long Rpg ... you can lose your fan base.

Seth Godin (an famous American author, entrepreneur, marketer, and public speaker) says :

"You must develop products, services, and techniques that the market will actually seek out"

And you can start with your little "market". Not all the players in the world... but only your fan base (already created with your previous game).

Let's think about a singer like Michael Bublè. Jazz, Soul and Pop. His fans love him and his music. And when he releases a new album... you know that there are Jazz, Soul and Pop tracks. But.... what's happen if Michael Bublè releases a Hard Black Metal Album ?! His fans don't love the Metal Music... so if he will organize a tour... nobody will come. Neither his fans nor new fans of the Metal (becase he's new in this area).

So, analyze your game. What's the main feature of your game ? Not according to you. But you ask it at your fans. Meet them or chat with them.
Discover what they love of your game.
They love your graphics ? Good. In your next game, use the same graphic style with something of new.
They love your plot ? Good. Analyze the main aspect of your plot and make a new plot like the previous, in your next game.
They love your gameplay ? In your next game use the same gameplay but with something of new.

Think to GTA. It's one of the best game ever made. It changes its graphic style, his features but it has always a gameplay focused on an open world where the player can choose missions to progress an overall story, as well as engaging in side activities, all consisting of action-adventure, driving, third-person shooting, occasional role-playing, stealth, and racing elements.
It works and the Rockstar Games know it.

Remember that all the gamers have the same importance, you as a game designer, you should really think about your  kind of gamers during your design phase and ask yourself if the game has the same strength of your previus game (adding always something of new)

Is it works ? If you're thinking "oh my honey, it's easy to quote the success of a game like GTA... ! But about an indie game ? Where are the examples ?"

You can see Andrea Ferrara (Aprilskies). He released before Coline et le Trésor, then Donald Dowell. They are all funny point & click with easter eggs and a funny graphics. Game by game, the downloads growed up. And also with only a very short demo (Tales) the downloads were good. Because the fan base was the same. When he released a race game, Red Hot Overdrive ... the downloads falled.