So, let’s say you’ve got a great idea for a game, you’ve just started the project and are about 3-4 weeks into it. Now another company comes along and releases a game similar to yours before you, not exactly the same, but say 80-90% similar. You’re still at a point where you can make a different game without losing too much work, but you’ve still already invested into this project.
What do you do? Do you continue with your game or do you change the design around completely?
My personal choice is leaning towards continuing with the original game design.
Make yours better is easy to say, but it does raise the bar for you a bit. You have to be at least this good to make a sale possibly. Also, it’s possible that some of your target audience will like the other game better. At which point I would begin looking through reviews for key or critical weaknesses in the competing game design and make a mock-up of similar portions of my own game for working out a solution. Also, make it better comes with the temptation to look at the competing game, I would avoid it and use clean-room tactics. This would likely lead me to intentionally shift my game away from the design presented in the competing game… or just flat out make my game weirder. (Weird, I can do).
You’re only 3-4 weeks in… I would brainstorm and come up with new game idea’s. There’s also the possibility that the game will morph during creation, the first 3d FPS was originally an RPG! Part of the answer comes from why you chose the game in the first place and how much work it would be to implement a differnt game. Also, you’re now dealing with competition you weren’t before, it’s a great time to re-assess the playing field and to determine if continuing is a viable option. The possibility of ‘attack of a thousand clones’ would suck… and being accused of clonging your original game would also suck. In short, I say have a brainstorming session. See what you come up with and assess the project at this point. Consider other options, and weigh them, choose what’s best for you in the current market.
This is actually the best thing to look up from. Check on their forums (multiplayer preffably) and ask people what would they liked new in game. Many AAA games are missing one or two very important features, that could make gameplay much better and i know that there are many players who would rather play lower quallity indie game with this feature implemented if there would be that game. So use that and you are on good way.
The biggest lie people tell themselves for not doing anything. If this statement were even remotely true nobody would ever attempt to make a CRPG that wasn’t the equivalent of Diablo III or DragonAge II or any CRPG with Link in it. Nobody would make a platformer game that couldn’t compete with Mario. And on. And on. And on.
You pretty much have to continue the original design, because if you changed it and another game came out that was similar to that, what would you do?
Better off applying competitive analysis on their game (did they do anything you intended to do which didn’t work out so well?) and emphasize your differences where possible.
When the competition releases the game does and should not really impact you.
There always was a competitor before you and one after you and for you to succeed it will be fundamental what you do around and after the release with your title, cause the success, especially on mobile, isn’t defined by a single day but by support, enhancements and growing a userbase normally (there are 2-3 blockbusters that are different, but the rest isn’t).
TowerMadness on iOS is an example of what good support and growing the userbase to become successful means for example.
PS: I just assume we talked about mobile, cause on desktop its even less a problem, there you have other problems like being found at all. On the same platform you will barely never have a similar release right in your release window, platform owners will want to avoid that to maximize revenue and customer happiness
All that said, I worked on an FPS game back in '95/'96 for PC and PSX. We just happened to have the unfortunate timing of our game coinciding on the exact same month that another small company you have probably never heard of called iD released their game called Quake.
The rest is history.
I still say, “Stay the course and forget your competition.” I just happened “to get hit by lightning.” I also turned down an offer from Digital Domain to lead Barbie Fashion Designer that same month. Those are the breaks, unfortunately.
Yes! Observe the competition, and work with that. Put yourself on your customers shoes!
Think of a single thing that’ll catch people fancy, that isn’t present in the competition, and make that the tip of the lance.
Disclaimer: All advice is not meant to be anything else than couch potatoes’ worth of advice!
This happened to me I was working on my niche game, Save the Silly Earthlings [beta], which pits the player against climate change and fossil fuel depletion, on a global scale against the clock. And Fate of the World was released by a team of developers/artists.
In a way I was relieved as a game about the full on consequences of climate change (read six degrees) and fossil fuel depletion (collapse) are dark topics and the game was getting bogged down in the complexity of balancing the game play and the need for more fun/depth to the game.
Unfortunately I suspect the Fate of the World game was probably funded by a big energy company and will not highlight the potential worst case scenarios.
Mind you resource depletion and environmental impact are apparent in most RTS games (to a degree) and are way more fun.
All excellent points, thanks guys and gals, I’m definitely going to keep working on my concept then and just try to release the best game I possibly can. I would hate for my game to be called a clone, but then again every game borrows some ideas from others.
