So I’m having a bit of a dilemma. Right now I’m working on getting my game’s minimal viable product (MVP) together and it’s looking good. Fantastic, even. Trouble is, while it’s perfect for what it is, there’s not much to it.
For a fair comparison, if my game were Jetpack Joyride then my MVP would be just the one jet pack, the obstacles, and the backgrounds.
Good, but thin.
Obviously I want to add in all those goodies that make it fun, like achievements, missions, unlockables, and what-not.
So that brings me to my dilemma: how should I handle doing the extra content?
Option 1) I push the game out as a MVP, then patch in content.
Option 2) I get some decent content together, then release.
Option 3) I push out the game, then release a version with the content and call it a “sequel”.
Obviously these all have thier merits. On one hand, I don’t want people to look at the first release and go “Okay, that’s what this game is all about.” then never look at the patch or the sequel. But if I do release the MVP is could get some embers going for when I add the content. And if I do release the MVP patches may not re-ignite the same interest as a sequel, but with a sequel I think people have certain expectations for it, such as new artwork that I can’t afford.
Personally I’d only consider releasing a product that I’m happy is complete. Now obviously the real world can make that difficult, through finances, deadlines or any number of things.
I have to guess that you aren’t under much pressure to release though since option 2 is being considered.
I don’t know the mobile market well, and maybe you’d get away with options 1 and 3, however I don’t imagine option 3 being very popular given that even you feel your MVP is thin on content.
If it were up to me, option 2 without a doubt, release the game in its full glory.
Pushing content via patches is quite acceptable on non-mobile platforms I’d say, but (and this is just my opinion), I would get annoyed at my mobile app updating all the time to add stuff that I’d expect to have been in there from the start.
(Apps updating whenever I turn on my wifi is one of the things I hate most about smartphones, especially when they are frequent)
I think releasing your ‘thin’ initial version is too risky (though of course, I haven’t played it so I wouldn’t know, maybe it can stand on it’s own). If you aren’t under pressure, make the game as good as you can, get feedback, then think about sequels once the first is done and dusted.
Releasing a thin product on mobile is stupid because there’s absolutely no guarantee anyone will even keep it installed long enough for you to monetize it.
In the case of it being paid for up front, you’ll get a much more critical crowd so you’ll need something that feels like value for money.
I agree with 3agle, option 2 seems like the best route. I would want a complete game first and then add the extra stuff. I would add some extra content before the game is released but not all, let the players know that there will be more content coming to the game.
So publish it! Hippo’s feedback is from the perspective of a long-term professional. Based on other threads, I think he might agree that if monetization is not the goal, then publishing your first game will give you: invaluable experience, pride of accomplishment, and opportunities for feedback. If you’re starting out, it’s also the beginnings of a resume, and something you can point to saying, “I did this!”
The answer to your actual question is that you may be over thinking things.
I dunno, I mean isn’t quality experience better than just having it bomb with not many downloads? What experience would he get just flinging it out there, that we couldn’t tell him? if he has a decent quality product then that cannot be the excuse for it bombing and may teach him much more. Specially if its the sake of a couple of weeks.
No reason to release it “thin”, those features will only keep your users playing your game longer. Why would you shoot yourself in the foot especially in the mobile market where games are usually DOA anyway. The big review websites dont cover updates, only releases
If it were me, I’d release it. Polish it so it’s still fun to play, but don’t go adding additional content. I’d use it to gather feedback, then release a second game based on that feedback (not necessarily a sequel). I don’t know if I would patch the game, because first impressions make a huge difference and there’s no easy way to keep in contact with past customers.
But then, I haven’t released a game - I work primarily in software/web apps where this is acceptable. The whole point of MVP (for me) is to get something out to users as quickly as possible, then build on their feedback - rather than trying to guess what people would like.
Well, for me it is kind of important to have this game successful. The game is going to give 50% of the profits to the charity I work for and they desperately need it. The other 50% will go back into making more games and paying my artist bonuses if the game makes enough.
That said, I also want to take my best shot because I’m going in it with a few advantages.
For one, the charity has a lot of Facebook followers who will no doubt look at it. Then on top of that I’m going to ask a famous friend of mine to help out, which is another pile of people. Then I also have two people that I know that are looking to invest in capital ventures, such as mine, but need something to show for it before we start to really talk. Also, I have a few other people that I may be able to tap for additional help.
And of course I’m REALLY hoping to get the PewDiePie bump. From what I hear he’s a pretty nice guy and I think that since it’s a game to raise money for abused children it may help me stand out as an episode option.
But one of the biggest reasons I want this to succeed so much is because this isn’t just this one game. My ultimate goal is to expand the Bravely Bear property to include other character that raise money for other charities. Bravely for child abuse, another for sick kids (most likely Mayo Clinic), another for poverty (Heifer International), and one for education (TBD).
This isn’t just one game and some money to me. This is my life goal. I have this vision and I genuinely feel that I am fortunate enough to be in a position to do significant good for kids that need it. And I just feel that this is my one big opportunity to get in that one giant sucker punch to get it started.
Is this a first game? That’s some pretty giant ambitions for a first game. Let’s face it, first games generally don’t do so well. If this is your first game, release now. Get the experience with the process, and move on.
If this is not a first game, you know the answer already. Release the best game you can make. Even if that means delaying a little while.
Why ask strangers? It sounds overly ambitious for a first project and at the same time, you’ve already decided what you’ll do. So maybe you’re struggling with fear that the plan has weaknesses, or maybe you need a morale boost. If it’s the former, Rami Ismail might argue you’ve not yet had enough failures and the Gallup organization would advise that great organizations invest in bullets before going full-bore on a canonball. However, if you’ve figured that stuff out, and you’re looking for a morale boost, then here’s a potato. Now get back to work!
Gigi
PS - Unlike movies, in real life, success is rarely about ‘one big opportunity’.
Ok, so… I’m going to go out and say don’t release an MVP for this. I agree 100% that under normal circumstances releasing (and failing) with your first game is the best step you can ever take towards success, regardless of its current state. But it sounds like what you need next is just a little more content. Not much. Don’t try to complete your entire XVP, but getting it beyond MVP may be just what the doctor ordered.
Why? Because you’re still likely to fail! Only this way you’ll fail and you won’t start questioning if the problem was with content quantity. You’ll be able to learn something else from it.
The most likely lesson you’re going to learn, and ironically going to learn even though I am going to tell you straight up is this:
Marketing and PR for your game is the hardest, most important part. Hoping to get PewdiePie? Good start. There’s about 1,000 other video casters you need to be talking to also… and by that I mean emailing them NOW and talking about your project and why they should care and letting them know it’s coming. If you launch and send PdP an email that day, you’ve likely already failed (and if you succeed, it is due to dumb luck, which teaches a poor lesson too).
So there you have it: Get on that whole marketing work. There’s no shortage of people who believe that your marketing budget (in this case, how much time you spend) should be 50-100% of the entire game! Have you spent half the time you took developing the game to sell it to the press and consumers?
Have you actually dealt with this on a real project directly? I mean, mentioning pewdiepie at all just sounds naive. The guy’s got 36 million subscribers.
I’ve been trying to find details on how streamer coverage actually works in the real world - as in dollar figures and stuff. Do you have any insight on this?
I’ve worked with PewdiePie twice in the last two years or so out of about 20-30 game projects I have been involved with. He’s just one guy of many options, albeit the biggest. My youtube caster contact network is ~1,000 casters, of which i have probably worked with 100 on a regular basis, some simply don’t reply to emails and messages. Some don’t speak English and are just hard to get ahold of. What you’ll find though, is if you can get 100 mid-large casters to cover your game a huge chunk of the 1,000 or so notable youtube personalities out there will cover it also without prompting. Another huge chunk of them only cover minecraft … true story. sigh
Keep in mind I have been doing game PR for 12 freakin years You can’t establish these kinds of relationships overnight, but over the space of a couple months you should be able to come pretty close to an established PR person.
Also as an aside, I have found PewdiePie’s traffic is worth less, on the whole, than many other casters. Yogcast’s coverage of a client of mine was probably the most valuable dollar wise. Not any easier to get their attention though
I bet pewdiepies viewers dont really care about the games they are more interested in watching the games. Now if you dont buy snakebird after watching this stream ill be very surprised.
