游戏邦在:
杂志专栏:
gamerboom.com订阅到鲜果订阅到抓虾google reader订阅到有道订阅到QQ邮箱订阅到帮看

分享独立游戏成功的50个简单步骤

发布时间:2013-10-16 15:39:01 Tags:,,,,

作者:Tanya Short

作为Kitfox Games的总监,我阅读了大量声称会帮助我的四人团队制作出“成功的独立游戏”的文章。每天都有新文章发表出来,为我和我的团队提供了不少实用的建议。有些文章是我的朋友、家人、同事或同行链接给我的。

我认为他们都是出于好意。

所以,阅读完所有这些文章后,我自己有什么样的成功计划呢?以下是我通过阅读归纳出来的50个简单步骤。

1、显然,你能做的最好的事就是,把游戏做完。

2、但等一下,不是真正地做完!我希望你在游戏完工以前开始营销工作!

3、那么如何营销?你需要卖点。我希望你的计划不只是制作出一款好游戏!不要搞笑了!你需要一个独一无二的卖点,使媒体从塞满其他一千多封邮件的邮箱中一眼看到你的邮件。

4、你有了卖点以后,把它放在那里?新闻资料袋。这不是玩笑,真的要做。

5、然后联系媒体!你可能需要“有专人花至少6个月的时间全职负责这方面的工作”。

6、除了真正的记者,还要“认真考虑社交网络网站。”

7、甚至reddit(游戏邦注:新闻网站)。或者尤其是reddit。

8、那么广告呢?绝对“不要在传统的营销和用户开发策略上花钱”。

9、但你不想让所有人失望。“现实地接受对自己能做什么”。所以,手机游戏更容易做,是吧?我们要现实一点。

10、除了“许多人从来不在应用商店花钱”。

11、“大多数应用在商店上失败了。”也许是因为手机领域竞争太激烈了。

12、但不要开发游戏机游戏。“靠开发和发行XBLIG游戏,可能不能保证你放弃本职工作后还能谋生”。“绝大多数Xbox 360游戏赚的钱少于1000美元”。

13、开发Ouya游戏值得一试,但也可能难以为继。

14、所以,PC!但前提是你要在Steam上发布游戏,否则还是算了吧。如果你想走传统的营销路线,那么请先联系媒体;如果你想参与“绿灯计划”,那么社区建设是关键。

15、另外,如果你是开发PC游戏,你可以通过捆绑销售拉动销量!但专家建议你只在“你的游戏的寿命期的长发期”使用捆绑销售。

16、你的游戏有多人模式吗?如果没有,为了“给创造长期价值”,请加入多人模式。

17、请与“广大受众”对话。

18、等下,请找找“长期被忽视的小众市场”。

19、但你想挣钱吧?免费模式是“电子游戏中唯一能挣钱的模式”。事实上,“免费模式将是主导。你不可能打败免费模式”。

20、等下,免费模式太邪恶了。几乎与强制付费一样邪恶。

21、但无论你做什么,都不要把挣钱当成第一要务。这么说有点讽刺了。

22、其实,独立英雄们“尽一切努力忽略可能产生的经济压力”。

indie_developer(from david-amador)

indie_developer(from david-amador)

23、另外,失败的时候也可能成为“你生命中最快乐最满足的一段时光”。为什么不把失败当成“另一种成功”?

24、如果你确实挣钱了,你应该感到愧疚!你可能“利用了人性的弱点”。

25、事实上,“并非所有游戏都能做成免费的”。所以,你自己想想吧。你可能走错路了。

26、记得你交谈过的记者吗?他们对免费游戏不感兴趣。

27、记住,“人们想玩你的游戏好几年是没有错的”。不需要感到愧疚或什么的。

28、另外,付费游戏的盗版形势恶劣。可能把你最成功的游戏变成“最不赚钱的”。

29、但是,盗版可能“让独立游戏成功”!

30、事实上,如果是付费游戏,你也许应该在游戏处于alpha测试阶段就开始出售。

31、等等,从商业的角度说,这是不是跟“最小可行产品”一个意思?不是,不可能是同一个意思。不要多想了。

32、在游戏领域,它叫作“试玩版”。“在早期阶段没有推出试玩版,就太没道理了。”

33、或者你可以放出一些免费内容作为赠品。

34、游戏试玩版会减少销量。

35、如果你的试玩版做得不错,有人会抢在你推出完全版之前就推出山寨版。

36、你仍然需要钱?你可以求助于众筹网站Kickstarter。众人拾柴火焰高。

37、但不要看数字。你不应该真的缺钱。

38、如果要抬高众筹目标,请务必谨慎。最好永远不要抬高目标。

39、除非你已经有些名气了,否则不要抬高目标。

40、记住,如果你赚钱太多,网民们会反过来攻击你。

41、也许“Kickstarter就快泡沫化了”……

42、但如果你有办法追踪赢利情况,且让DARPU非常高,那么你就可以避免众筹了。“你的游戏必须找到‘赢利百万以上的配方’”。

43、事实上,在商业智慧中,“没有唯一正确的答案或标准模式”,所以寻找你自己的标准吧。

44、但只有标准不能让你赢利成功。

45、所以,我希望你不要太术业专攻,因为你必须多才多艺。程序、商业、营销、设计、美术、制作……

46、不只是游戏,你还要懂电影艺术。“你能做的最坏的事就是,做一个糟糕的预告片,完全不能反映你的游戏的品质之高。”

47、好吧,也许你不必追踪你的工作日程和预算。你只需要安排好时间,做好了就交工,因为品质才是最重要的。

48、所以,做一款真正的好游戏!获得好评!

49、但评价也不是最重要的。事实上,“做出一款好游戏并不能保证什么”,你仍然可能失败。

50、不要太担心设计。搞砸一些地方总是难免的。

你赚了百万美元,并赢得IGF大奖了吗?没有,我也是。

当然,我们从我们已经知道的事情中得到的真正教训是:每一款游戏都是独一无二的。

建议通常是由专家针对自己的领域提出的,但仍然可能适用于你所从事的工作。除非这个专家确实玩了你的游戏,且对你的平台的方方面面都了如指掌,且可以看到你的游戏发布时会发生什么事,否则采纳任何专家建议都是有风险的。有些建议是无时限的常识,但大部分建议是有适用条件的。

我的团队和我会犯错,但我们从错误中学习,如果你问我有什么建议,我会根据已经获得的成功和已经经历的失败给出建议。但愿你不会只看建议的表面,而是结合自己的游戏、团队、目标和处境,认真地评估别人的建议。

只要我们继续制作游戏,我们就会不断进步。(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

50 Easy Steps to Indie Success

by Tanya Short

As the director of Kitfox Games, I have read dozens, perhaps even hundreds, of articles claiming they will assist my 4-person team in making “a successful indie game.” New articles come out every day, all with helpful advice for me and my team. Some were linked to me by personal friends, family, colleagues, or industry mentors.

I like to think these people were well-intentioned.

So, having read all of this, what’s my plan to succeed? Follow my lead:

1、Okay. Obviously the best thing you can do is FINISH YOUR GAME.

2、But wait, don’t ACTUALLY finish it! I hope your game isn’t done yet! You’re supposed to start marketing first!

3、So how do you market? You need a hook. I hope you weren’t planning on just making a good game! Don’t be ridiculous! You’ll need a unique tagline that’s more interesting than the other 1000 emails in a stranger’s inbox.

4、Now that you have a hook, the best way to get your hook out there? Presskit(). No, this part isn’t a joke. Do it.

5、Then contact the press! Here’s some checklists on who to contact and how. You’ll probably need “at least 6 months worth of one person working full time”

6、And aside from actual journalists, “take social networking sites very seriously.”

7、Even reddit. Or maybe especially reddit.

8、But advertisements? Definitely “don’t spend money on traditional marketing and customer acquisition.”

9、But you don’t want to disappoint anyone. “Be realistic about what you can do.” So, mobile games are easier to make, right? Right. Let’s be realistic.

10、Except “a lot of people never pay anything on the App Store”

11、And “most apps fail commercially”. Probably because the mobile scene is “completely commoditised”.

12、But don’t go console. “Chances are you won’t be able to quit your day job by releasing a game on XBLIG.” “The vast majority of games on [Xbox 360] make … less than $1000”.

13、And putting your game on Ouya might just be worth it … but maybe not.

14、So, PC! Just make sure you’re on Steam, or else. You’ll need press first if you go traditional, and going Greenlight means community management.

15、Plus, if you’re on PC you can maybe get hundreds of thousands of sales through bundles! But even bundle salespeople say to use bundles only “during the long-tail period of your game’s lifespan”.

16、Does your game design have multiplayer? Incorporate multiplayer “to create long term value for players”.

17、Try to speak “to a wider audience”.

18、No, wait, find a “small niche long-abandoned”.

19、、But did you want to make money? Free to play is “the only way to make money in video games”. In fact, “freemium will dominate. You can’t beat free.”

20、No, wait, that’s Evil Game Design. Almost as evil as those coercive, greedy pay-2-play techniques.

21、But whatever you do, don’t make money your number 1 priority. It’s, like, ironic.

22、In fact, indie heroes try their “utmost hardest to ignore any commercial pressures that may arise”.

23、Besides, when failure can be “one of the happiest and most satisfying times of [your] life”, why not do away with the word failure entirely and “redefine success”?

24、And if you DO make money, feel bad about it! You’re probably “after weak people in vulnerable states.”

25、In fact, “Not all games can be free-to-play.” So… figure it out yourself. You’re probably doing it wrong anyway.

26、And remember those journalists you talked to? They’re not interested in free to play.

27、Just remember, “there’s nothing wrong with people wanting to play your game for years.” No need to get defensive or anything.

28、Besides, premium games get pirated like crazy. Might even turn your most successful game into your “least profitable.”

29、But hey, pirating can “make an indie game into a success”!

30、In fact, if it’s premium, maybe start selling your game as soon as it’s in alpha.

31、Wait, isn’t this the same as a Minimum Viable Product from business? No, that can’t be the same thing. Never mind.

32、No wait, in games, it’s called a demo. “There is simply no excuse for failing to have a demo at an early stage.”

33、Or you can just give away some for free, as a gift.

34、No, wait, game demos halve your sales.

35、And if your demo’s good, someone might clone it faster than you finish it.

36、You still need money? You could do a Kickstarter. Everyone loves crowdfunding.

37、But don’t ask for high numbers. You shouldn’t actually need money.

38、And be careful about using stretch goals. Never stretch goals.

39、Unless you’re famous already. Then stretch the goals.

40、Just remember if you get too much money, the internet will turn against you.

41、And maybe “the Kickstarter bubble is strained to breaking point”…

42、But you can avoid crowdfunding nonsense altogether if you build in metrics to track your monetisation and get those DARPUs sky-high! They say “your game has to fit a ‘million dollar+ formula’”

43、Actually, “there is no single right answer or standard model” in business intelligence, so just get used to flailing about with your metrics. After all, Ultima Online used metrics. Are you better than Ultima Online?

44、But metrics alone can’t save your monetisation.

45、So, I hope you haven’t been specialising too narrowly, because you’ll have to be a master of everything. Programming, business development, marketing, art, design, production.

46、And not just game stuff. You’ll need cinematography too. “The worst thing you can do is make a bad trailer and deliver something that’s not the same level of quality as your game.”

47、Well, maybe you don’t need to track your schedule and budget. You might as well take your time and deliver when you’re done, since quality is what matters.

48、So just make an awesome game! Get really good review scores!

49、But reviews won’t matter. In fact, “making a good game doesn’t guarantee you anything” You’ll still flop. And that’s okay!

50、On second thought, don’t worry too much about the design. You probably suck at it anyway.

So! Have you made a million dollars and won IGF yet? Ha! No, me neither.

Of course, the real lesson to take from this is what we all knew already: every game is different.

Advice is often given by genuine experts in their field, and yet it still might not apply to what you’re doing when taken literally. Unless this guru is specifically playing your game, and has a telepathic connection to every niche of your platform, and can look into the future to see what will happen when your game releases, any insight naturally comes with caveats. Some advice has timeless common sense behind the words. Most doesn’t.

My team and I will make mistakes, but we’ll learn from them, and if asked, we’ll give others advice based on what succeeded and what failed. Hopefully they won’t take that advice at face value and will interpret it carefully for their own game, team, goals, and situation.

As long as we keep creating, you and me, we’ll be all right.(source:gamasutra)


上一篇:

下一篇: