作者：Chris Luck

越来越多开者利用下载量冲击应用商店。我们现在可以看到用于开发应用的应用程序，所以任何用户都可能马上变成另一个“开发者”。这种快速发展导致用户选择的过分饱和、开发者的激烈竞争，甚至开始损害用户在应用商店中的体验。用户在查看应用的子类别之前就已经被眼花缭乱的产品弄得不知所措，因此让用户下载某个应用的难度越来越大。开发者的持续赢利能力也进一步被削弱。

所以，开发者到底如何才能在当前拥挤的应用市场中生存下来？如何让质量在数量中脱颖而出？

Curiosity(from cf.shacknews)

挖掘好奇心

Peter Molyneux的最新游戏《Curiosity》能大获成功，原因是很明显的。“好奇心”就是这款游戏的核心组成部分。就像这款游戏背后的方块概念，数量就是一切。

《Curiosity》创造的互动体验成功地吸引到各种类型的玩家。玩家在游戏中的任务就是合作解决唯一的一个问题——这就给“集体活动”增加了新的一层意义。这款游戏的概念前提是，玩家不断地“剥落”方块，以接近方块的核心。吸引玩家的是：不知道方块中所谓的核心到底是什么，但每一层都会发现新的线索。

复杂的心理学

考虑到所有游戏的典型结构，这确实算不上什么新概念，但《Curiosity》运用的心理学比大多数游戏的都复杂。正是因为它迎合了玩家心理的不同方面，使它与其他游戏相比，显得那么与众不同。除了《Curiosity》的核心机制，还有许多元素导致它现在的成功：

*应用商店优化策略游戏分类

*广泛吸引不同类型的玩家，迎合玩家的各种心理特征

*用数字比较和衡量玩家的活动

*结合Facebook社交网络挖掘玩家的“好友”，从而产生惊人的下载量

*游戏的神秘属性满足了玩家探索未知的愿望

*IGC或游戏内置金币允许玩家通过解锁更多功能强化游戏体验

*简化游戏概念，以避免玩家流失

*游戏内置商店的预报或“即将达到”效应

*对玩家的注意力和脑力要求低，以产生最佳的游戏专注时间

*游戏的概念本身就极具传染性，因为玩家的数量与方块“核心”暴露的速度直接相关。

对玩家简单，对开发者复杂

“好奇心”给游戏开发带来的启示是：不是刺激玩家心理的一个方面，而是迎合玩家心理的多个方面，并且是在一次游戏体验的条件下。《Curiosity》具有传染性，是因为它表面简单，内部复杂。玩家并不真正理解这款游戏到底是怎么回事，除了明确揭开核心这个目标。上文提到的所有元素都是很隐蔽地在起作用。

开发应用是很昂贵的，所以不能指望“挖掘人类心理就是产生游戏概念的最佳方法”，与其说这是一个独立的策略，不如说是策略的一部分。开发者利用人类的好奇心以增加应用的收益，不是靠广告、解锁内容或推出付费版本。一款应用的用户越多，你交叉推广其他应用的效果就越好。

数量为大

如果你是应用开发者，那就尝试一下制作独特的、怪异的应用，以建立庞大的用户基础为目标。用户基础越大，付费下载的可能性就越大，这也是与其他开发商竞争的根本筹码。在应用开发中，数量意味着机遇，也是长期收益的来源。（本文为游戏邦/gamerboom.com编译，拒绝任何不保留版权的转载，如需转载请联系：游戏邦）

Build Your App with the Ideas Behind “Curiosity”

by Chris Luck

More and more developers are flooding app stores with downloads and now we’re even seeing apps to develop apps so that any given user can also instantly become a “developer” as well. This rapid growth is prompting over-saturation of choices for users, intense developer competition, and a crowded landscape that is starting to infringe on the user’s app store experience. Users are becoming overwhelmed before they can even dive into a sub-category to explore, thus creating a growing distance between the user and the actual download. We’re moving toward an unfavorable scenario for driving consistent and increasing revenues for developers.

So how exactly does a developer survive and thrive in the current app marketplace slash cesspool? How can we stand out as quality among the quantity?

Find Your Curiosity

Think like Peter Molyneux. His latest app release, “Curiosity – What’s Inside The Cube,” went viral and for good reason. “Curiosity” embodies all of the key components of a top app. And just like the cube concept behind the game, dimensionality is everything.

Molyneux’s highly successful interactive creation can be generally described as a cross-user game that challenges players to collaboratively solve a solitary problem — giving new meaning to “group activity.” The app is based on the premise of continuous “chipping away” (or tapping rather) to get closer to the core. The catch: users don’t know what the core really even is, but they are progressively provided more details with each layer.

Complex Psychology

This really isn’t a novel concept considering this is how all games are typically structured (beating level after level with increasing difficulty), but the design of “Curiosity” employs psychology in a far more complex way than most games. It plays to a number of different aspects of the user’s psyche setting it far apart from other gaming apps. After chipping away at the engineering behind “Curiosity,” there are plenty of elements contributing to its app phenomenon status:

ASO or app store optimization via strategic app title

Appeals to wide scope of users of multiple demographics and psychographics

Stats feature allows users to compare and gauge their activity

Facebook integration yielding endless downloads tapping into users’ “friend” networks

Elusive quality playing to users’ zeal for the unknown

IGC or in-game currency allows users to enhance the interface by unlocking more features with increased play

Simplicity of the app’s concept leads to decreased user drop-off

Built-in anticipation within the in-app store or the “coming soon” effect

Requires minimal focus and brain power yielding optimal engagement time

Concept is geared toward virality as the size of the user base is directly correlated to how quickly the “center” is revealed

Simplicity to the User — Complexity for the Developer

“Curiosity” is bringing something more complex to the world of apps. Instead of appealing to one aspect of the user’s psychology, it appeals to multiple facets of the user’s psychology within the confines of one single app experience/gaming session. “Curiosity” is infectious because of its front-end user simplicity and a rather complex backend configuration. Users aren’t truly aware of anything else that is taking place within the app other than the objective of uncovering the core, and all of the above elements are taking place in a behind-the-scenes manner.

Developing apps isn’t cheap, so it may not seem like tying in human psychology is the best place to center an app concept around. However, it’s more part of an approach than a standalone strategy. The major way developers are using human curiosity to monetize their app is not with ads, paying to unlock things early, or pushing paid versions. The more users an app boasts, the more leverage you have to cross-promote other apps.

Leverage Mass Appeal

If you’re an app developer, try building apps that are totally unique, strange, or different with the objective of building a massive user base. The larger user base translates to greater probability of paid downloads down the road and direct deals with other developers. Volume breeds opportunity when it comes to app development, and that’s where the actual, long-term revenue potential exists. (source:gamasutra)