作者：Jay Yarow

手机游戏公司Digital Prunes首席执行官Vadim Dagman曾表示，要在苹果App Store这片饱和市场中脱颖而出非常困难，但不是没有可能。

他给未来开发者的建议是：保持应用简单性，使其富有视觉魅力。

Vadim直到2009年夏天都还是流媒体高管。此后他便决定在iPhone平台放手一搏。

Slingshot Cowboy from blogspot.com

他和好友决定携手制作《Slingshot Cowboy》，这是款简单iPhone游戏（iTunes）。玩家通过iPhone触屏拉伸虚拟弹弓，射击远处动物。若射中动物，就能获得积分。

这款免费游戏2009年8月发行头星期就荣登App Store应用榜单之首。此后，《Slingshot Cowboy》免费下载量增至500万次。其中有10万用户掏4.99美元升级至付费版本。除此之外，游戏完全靠广告支撑。

Vadim同AdMob、谷歌达成合作关系。他表示，应用CPM（游戏邦注：千人成本）高于2美元。他没有透露总营收。但当问及是否介于100-200万之间，他没有否认。

他和伙伴随后又推出《Slingshot Safari》（iTunes），这和之前作品大同小异。应用入驻App Store1个月后，下载量就增至50万次。iPad和Android版本目前正在制作中。

Slingshot Safari from 99d.com

Vadim打算全心投身手机游戏。他希望2010年底能够出品5-6款游戏，希望能够创建真正的手机游戏业务。

当被问及如何制作成功应用时，他给出如下答案：

* 保持应用简单性。用户都会随身携带iPhone设备，通常会体验少量游戏内容，所以游戏不要太过复杂或过于沉浸。用户要能够快速把握游戏玩法。

* 保持视觉美感。游戏应有唯美画面，值得向好友展示，能够吸引人参与其中。

* 保持成功信心。不要认为游戏会成为失败之作。若你具有成功信心，那么你将处于更好状态。也就是说你要做好迅速创收的准备。Vadim表示，他最初并没有依托广告，这令他损失不少。

* 保持更新内容。这能够持续用户兴致。就像电视节目，观众会持续收看新内容。所以开发商应持续提供新角色、新等级或新环节。

* 关注质量。苹果商店如今有数十万款应用，但其中很多实在令人不敢恭维。若你的应用质量上乘，定能够崭露头角。

* 宣传作品。这点显而易见，但Vadim强调是通过使用社交媒介及其他工具告知公众游戏内容。

游戏邦注：原文发布于2010年5月28日，文章涉及数据、时间以当时为准。（本文为游戏邦/gamerboom.com编译，如需转载请联系：游戏邦）

The Secret To A Successful iPhone App: Keep It Simple

By Jay Yarow

Apple now has over 200,000 applications in its App Store.

Standing out in that crowded market is difficult, but not impossible, says Vadim Dagman, CEO of mobile gaming company Digital Prunes.

His advice to would-be developers: Keep it simple and make your app visually engaging.

Vadim was a senior executive working in the realm of streaming until last summer. That’s when he decided to take a chance on the iPhone platform.

He and a buddy decided to make “Slingshot Cowboy,” a simple iPhone game (iTunes link). Using the touch screen on the iPhone, you pull back a virtual slingshot and fire at animals in the distance. As you knock out animals with your shots, you get points.

The free game reached the top of the App Store charts in its first week of release in August of last year. Since then, Slingshot Cowboy has been downloaded 5 million times for free. Of those, 100,000 people spent $4.99 to upgrade to a premium version. Otherwise, it’s advertising supported.

Vadim works with AdMob and Google. He says his app gets slightly better than $2 CPMs. When asked about total revenue generated, he demurred. But, when we suggested a $1 million to $2 million range, he didn’t shoot us down.

He and his business partner launched a follow up called “Slingshot Safari,” (iTunes) which is basically the same game. It has seen 500,000 downloads after one month in the App Store. An iPad version is in the works, as is an Android version.

Vadim is trying to build a business around mobile games. He wants to be selling 5-6 games by the end of the year, and he says he’s trying to build a real business.

We asked him what he thinks makes for a successful app. Here’s his advice to other app makers:

* Keep it simple. People are carrying iPhones around in their pocket. They’re going to play in bite sized chunks, so do try to make your game overly complicated or involved. A user should understand how to play a game immediately.

* Make it visually engaging. Have it be something that’s nice to look at, and nice to show friends. Have it draw people in.

* Be ready for it to be a success. Don’t launch a game thinking it will be a flop. If you’re ready for success, you’ll be in better shape. That means being ready to monetize immediately. Vadim said he didn’t have advertising lined up at first, which cost him a few dollars.

* Keep updating. This keeps people interested in the app. It’s like a TV show, they keep tuning in to see what’s new. So push out updates with new characters or levels or tweaks.

* Keep an eye on quality. There’s 200,000 apps in the app store, but most of them are really crappy. If you make a quality product it will stand out.

* Spread the word. This one’s somewhat obvious, but Vadim emphasized using social media and anything else to tell the public about your game. （Source：businessinsider）