原文: Industry Insights: 10 Tips to Succeed on iPhone
http://www.industrygamers.com/galleries/industry-insights-10-tips-to-succeed-on-iphone/2/
1. Choose a project that you can complete
It’s hard to become an indie developer. Most of us start out by working weekends and nights on our dream project, hoping that it gains enough traction to quit our consulting gigs or full time jobs.
What really happens for a majority of solo developers is they end up putting a month or two into their project, and it gets placed on the back burner because they either get excited about a new idea or they get wrapped up in a deadline for their full time gig.
Assume this is going to happen to you. Create something that can be done quickly, something you can just blast through and get out to the market. Besides, simple ideas can actually do really well: both Pocket God and Flight Control were initially done in 1 week.
2. Don't get caught up in engine building or grand designs
This follows from the first point, drilling down to two common ways of overreaching your development bandwidth.
Everyone wants to create an awesome MMO like World of Warcraft on the iPhone, but the thing is projects like WoW have hundreds of people on their teams, and they take years to ship.
If your team consists of two people working on nights and weekends, it ain’t gonna happen. Keep your grand designs in check and make sure the scope of your project is realistic.
The programming version of this is called ‘engine building.’ As a programmer, my one guilty pleasure is striving to come up with the perfect architecture.
I've started out developing many solo projects where I have a great game idea but I start working on highly optimized 3d renderer or a really generic AI system – and few months into it the original idea is stale and I move onto something else.
It's ok if your code is a little messy at first, or if it isn’t the fastest thing in the industry. Elegant architecture is not an effective bullet point in your game description!
3. You don't always need to innovate
Innovation is a decidedly good thing, but too much innovation is actually risky. If you come up with something wild that no one has ever seen before, there is a good chance you'll either be ahead of your time, or others won’t share your enthusiasm for the idea.
One great strategy for your first game is to go after a market that has already been proven – but not saturated – and put out a high quality alternative.
4. Work hard, but find an idea that's fun to work hard on
Enjoying the process of making your game is very important. If your project is a pain in the ass to make, your customers will feel it.
Don’t make financial success your primary driver; there are a lot of industries where you can just knuckle down and make lots of money, but the video game industry isn't one of them. You need to have a passion for what you do.
Putting financial success at the forefront is a distraction from really feeling your game. You need to create something you would enjoy.
5. Don't expect your game to be a hit, and move on if it doesn't fly
Don’t blame the situation. Don’t blame the competition. Don’t blame the audience. Your game just didn’t fly. There are lots of really incredible games out there and even though people might give you a lot of positive feedback about yours – well, compliments are free. It’s hard to predict what people will actually buy.
Just move onto the next one, keep your momentum, and focus on a new concept.
6. It's easier to keep the momentum on an existing success than to create a new one
We never expected Pocket God to be a hit (see my last point!). But we are sticking with it until the success dies down, if and when it does. We’re even looking to expand beyond the iPhone, and we’re adding different game mechanics that can take the Pocket God world to a bigger level. if you’re lucky enough to experience success as well, you should be doing everything in your power to fan the flames and keep the momentum going.
Don't quit before you've fully realized your game's potential.
7. There is no magic formula to making a successful game
Sometimes developers find success by following the trending game designs and mechanics. Sometimes they find it by bucking the trend and inventing something new.
Every success story is different – don't merely rely on guides that purport to help you replicate success. Pocket God’s success is closely tied to the game’s near-weekly updates – but not every iPhone dev has found that strategy to be effective for their games.
Some people find value in doing a ‘lite’ or demo app; some people find value in pricing their app higher and using price drops to kick up popularity.
If you simply follow someone else's plan, you are not really paying attention to what's going on with your app and your customers. Pay attention to your own situation and think about ways to incrementally improve your game and approach.
Look to other companies for inspiration and ideas, but do what makes sense for you and your project.
8. You need to be noticed
And ‘being noticed’ is not just a marketing exercise. A solid, well-developed game that does nothing new, better or different from the competition won’t stand out. And there’s a lot of competition, especially on the platform we’ve chosen.
So what distinguishes your game? We initially hooked the Pocket God audience with our sense of humor, and we expanded on that by providing constant updates and constantly interacting with the community.
Other games do it with jaw-dropping technology, sex appeal, or controversy. You have to find your own formula.
9. Work the community
Your community, if you’re lucky enough to have one, is extremely important. Don’t hire someone to be the face for your game – get out there on your own. There's a reason why politicians personally kiss babies and shake hands.
It’s your voice that makes your game special, so it’s your voice people want to hear. Your game isn’t just the game, it's the whole environment that it’s presented in.
You do your game and your community an injustice by having an intern manage your blog, Twitter and Facebook. You don't have to write a novel each day – just share your thoughts, complain about things that are bothering you, and talk about things you appreciate. Your fans will enjoy the transparency and they’ll relish the chance to take a glimpse behind the scenes.
10. Implementing user requests go a long way
Early on, with my first app, I learned the power of responding to the community. Someone gave us a 1-star review of our game, complaining that it didn’t have a save feature.
I turned around the fix a couple days later and he immediately responded in his review, changed it to 5 stars, and said he would make sure all his friends bought it.
Listen to your users. They have valuable feedback. If you can make them part of the experience, they will have a personal stake in your project, and they’ll be more inclined to spread the word to all their friends.
Customers that complain the loudest are your biggest opportunities. It can be very disheartening to get an email from someone saying that they hate your game and demand their 99 cents back.
However, these people have a ton of passion, and most of the time they just want to be heard. If you can convince them that you actually care about what they think, and that you are trying your best to entertain them, oftentimes they will flip and use that passion to evangelize your product. In short, revere the community.
http://www.industrygamers.com/galleries/industry-insights-10-tips-to-succeed-on-iphone/2/
1. Choose a project that you can complete
It’s hard to become an indie developer. Most of us start out by working weekends and nights on our dream project, hoping that it gains enough traction to quit our consulting gigs or full time jobs.
What really happens for a majority of solo developers is they end up putting a month or two into their project, and it gets placed on the back burner because they either get excited about a new idea or they get wrapped up in a deadline for their full time gig.
Assume this is going to happen to you. Create something that can be done quickly, something you can just blast through and get out to the market. Besides, simple ideas can actually do really well: both Pocket God and Flight Control were initially done in 1 week.
2. Don't get caught up in engine building or grand designs
This follows from the first point, drilling down to two common ways of overreaching your development bandwidth.
Everyone wants to create an awesome MMO like World of Warcraft on the iPhone, but the thing is projects like WoW have hundreds of people on their teams, and they take years to ship.
If your team consists of two people working on nights and weekends, it ain’t gonna happen. Keep your grand designs in check and make sure the scope of your project is realistic.
The programming version of this is called ‘engine building.’ As a programmer, my one guilty pleasure is striving to come up with the perfect architecture.
I've started out developing many solo projects where I have a great game idea but I start working on highly optimized 3d renderer or a really generic AI system – and few months into it the original idea is stale and I move onto something else.
It's ok if your code is a little messy at first, or if it isn’t the fastest thing in the industry. Elegant architecture is not an effective bullet point in your game description!
3. You don't always need to innovate
Innovation is a decidedly good thing, but too much innovation is actually risky. If you come up with something wild that no one has ever seen before, there is a good chance you'll either be ahead of your time, or others won’t share your enthusiasm for the idea.
One great strategy for your first game is to go after a market that has already been proven – but not saturated – and put out a high quality alternative.
4. Work hard, but find an idea that's fun to work hard on
Enjoying the process of making your game is very important. If your project is a pain in the ass to make, your customers will feel it.
Don’t make financial success your primary driver; there are a lot of industries where you can just knuckle down and make lots of money, but the video game industry isn't one of them. You need to have a passion for what you do.
Putting financial success at the forefront is a distraction from really feeling your game. You need to create something you would enjoy.
5. Don't expect your game to be a hit, and move on if it doesn't fly
Don’t blame the situation. Don’t blame the competition. Don’t blame the audience. Your game just didn’t fly. There are lots of really incredible games out there and even though people might give you a lot of positive feedback about yours – well, compliments are free. It’s hard to predict what people will actually buy.
Just move onto the next one, keep your momentum, and focus on a new concept.
6. It's easier to keep the momentum on an existing success than to create a new one
We never expected Pocket God to be a hit (see my last point!). But we are sticking with it until the success dies down, if and when it does. We’re even looking to expand beyond the iPhone, and we’re adding different game mechanics that can take the Pocket God world to a bigger level. if you’re lucky enough to experience success as well, you should be doing everything in your power to fan the flames and keep the momentum going.
Don't quit before you've fully realized your game's potential.
7. There is no magic formula to making a successful game
Sometimes developers find success by following the trending game designs and mechanics. Sometimes they find it by bucking the trend and inventing something new.
Every success story is different – don't merely rely on guides that purport to help you replicate success. Pocket God’s success is closely tied to the game’s near-weekly updates – but not every iPhone dev has found that strategy to be effective for their games.
Some people find value in doing a ‘lite’ or demo app; some people find value in pricing their app higher and using price drops to kick up popularity.
If you simply follow someone else's plan, you are not really paying attention to what's going on with your app and your customers. Pay attention to your own situation and think about ways to incrementally improve your game and approach.
Look to other companies for inspiration and ideas, but do what makes sense for you and your project.
8. You need to be noticed
And ‘being noticed’ is not just a marketing exercise. A solid, well-developed game that does nothing new, better or different from the competition won’t stand out. And there’s a lot of competition, especially on the platform we’ve chosen.
So what distinguishes your game? We initially hooked the Pocket God audience with our sense of humor, and we expanded on that by providing constant updates and constantly interacting with the community.
Other games do it with jaw-dropping technology, sex appeal, or controversy. You have to find your own formula.
9. Work the community
Your community, if you’re lucky enough to have one, is extremely important. Don’t hire someone to be the face for your game – get out there on your own. There's a reason why politicians personally kiss babies and shake hands.
It’s your voice that makes your game special, so it’s your voice people want to hear. Your game isn’t just the game, it's the whole environment that it’s presented in.
You do your game and your community an injustice by having an intern manage your blog, Twitter and Facebook. You don't have to write a novel each day – just share your thoughts, complain about things that are bothering you, and talk about things you appreciate. Your fans will enjoy the transparency and they’ll relish the chance to take a glimpse behind the scenes.
10. Implementing user requests go a long way
Early on, with my first app, I learned the power of responding to the community. Someone gave us a 1-star review of our game, complaining that it didn’t have a save feature.
I turned around the fix a couple days later and he immediately responded in his review, changed it to 5 stars, and said he would make sure all his friends bought it.
Listen to your users. They have valuable feedback. If you can make them part of the experience, they will have a personal stake in your project, and they’ll be more inclined to spread the word to all their friends.
Customers that complain the loudest are your biggest opportunities. It can be very disheartening to get an email from someone saying that they hate your game and demand their 99 cents back.
However, these people have a ton of passion, and most of the time they just want to be heard. If you can convince them that you actually care about what they think, and that you are trying your best to entertain them, oftentimes they will flip and use that passion to evangelize your product. In short, revere the community.
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