Are You Making the Right Game?
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Derek Elliott Executive Producer
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Transcript of Are You Making the Right Game?
Derek Elliott Executive Producer
These are the games we like to play
This would make an awesome game
Nostalgia from childhood
Inherently limited audience
No clue on sales potential
No community/marketing plan
Haven’t done competitive analysis
Not using Lean Startup methods to validate
Metrics & Data Analysis
A/B Testing
Break things on purpose
Commercial
Intent
Creative
Impact
Sellouts Independent
Entrepreneurs
Just Plain Lost Starving Artists
But can’t I have both?
Passion Market
RPG – Witcher, Skyrim, Fallout, Banner Saga
Builders/Sandbox – Minecraft, Terratech, BeSiege, Scrap Mechanic
Roguelikes & Crafting - Don't Starve, The Long Dark, Moonhunters
Pixel bit games – PewDiePie, Punch Club, Undertale, Binding of Isaac
Clickers – Adventure Capitalist, Tap Titans, Cookie Clicker
Strategy – Darkest Dungeon, XCom, Homeworld: Kharak
Simulators – Kerbal, Cities Skylines, Farming Simulator
Competitive – World of Tanks, League of Legends, Dota
Shooters – Call of Duty, CS: GO
Multiplayer
FPS
MOBA
MMO
Skillset $ Saturated
Multiplayer
FPS
Open World
MMO
Platform
Walking Sim…
Roguelike…
Builder/Sim…
Niche
Sports
Racing
Fighting
Builders/Sandbox
Crafting
Simulators
Resource Management
Roguelike…but…
Sci-Fi…but…
Bit Graphics…but…
Innovative & Risky
180k Units in 3 months
99% User Rating
Untapped Market?
Or
No Market?
Category Analysis (Platform Sales/Rev/% etc)
Team/Project Overview
SWOT
Feature Comparisons
Analytics Comparisons
Positioning Chart
Community
Survivorship Bias
Game in Early Access -> Wants help/$ to get to full release
$500k so far -> Needs $250k to finish in 5 Months ($50k MM)
8 Full time + 2 part time
Asking for $75k (10% of budget)
Comparables – 150k, 750k, 900k
Mediocre 75k sales, Decent 150k, Hit 250k+
Started discussions - 12k units ($110k) in EA
MSRP - $21.99 – Average net $9.24
Recoup @ 81k units ($9.24 * 10% = $0.924/unit)
3x = 240k Units ($225k on $75k investment)
$50k so far -> Have $200k in bank , needs $750k to finish
$1MM total budget
Comparables – 50k, 150k, 200k
Mediocre 75k sales, Decent 125k, Hit 250k+
MSRP - $19.99 – Average net $8.40
Breakeven @ 119k units….Good idea?....
Publisher/Investor @ $750k (75/25 split) = $6.30 per unit
2x @ 240k units!!! 3x @ 360 units!
If your projections for “expected” are 125k units…
Increase Sales Price
Reduce Scope/Cost
Cancel Project
Revisit & Retool style/genre/USP/breakthrough etc…
Concept is “great” but not hitting the right mark
What decisions to reshape the game?
USP – a real breakthrough, standout
Style – art, tone, vision
Genre – FPS, Platformer…Roguelike…
Trends – Builders, Resource Management, Strategy
Risks
Vision – Main Umbrella that Defines the Game
Blueprint – Major Elements of the Game
Design – The Details
The Vision is High Level Intent
The Vision is the Framework for the Blueprint of the game
Questions that your “Vision” answers
Why are we making this game?
Who are we making it for?
What is this game?
What is/isn't the game
Brand/Game/Experience Pillars
What is the singular goal/message etc
Core mechanic
Gameplay loop
Core Player Fantasy
Gameplay Rhythm
How to Build Immersion
Delivering Emotion & Intensity
Key Words
What you judge/define your game
against
Defined vision for the look of the game
How do the visuals support the theme
Player archetype
How is the game identifiable in pop
culture
Addressing the context of the game to the
player
Quality Benchmanrk
Realization plans/expectations
What is your story and how is it realized in
the game
What are your unique/one off
gameplay/level design elements
Progression/rewards for the player – what
is the “crack”
Builder?
Crafting?
Strategy RPG Dungeon Crawler?
DING!
Player Fantasy – Dragon? Ninja? Ninja Dragon!
Core Mechanic
Core Gameplay Loop
Biblical Warning – I am NOT a Creative Director
Nor do I play one on TV…
Re-evaluate Competitive Analysis
+ =
Step 1 Step 2 Step 3
???
Step 4
PROFIT!
Takes the Game’s Vision and translates it to quantifiable elements
Enables the team to think through the game visually
Defines the major criteria of the game
Defines the scope of the game
A clear and concise overview the team can get behind
Tension Mechanics
Key gameplay experiences
Tempo/Intensity Curve
Difficulty curve
Unique locations
Ability outlay
Progression
RLD
Achievements/Trophies
Target Audience
Competitor Analysis/Takedown
Inspiration/Reference
The pillars of the game
Story
Beat breakdown/Timeline
Characters
Key features
Gameplay loop
Compulsion loop
Player core fantasy
Unique one-off levels/events
Wow moments
