Tuesday, 1 April 2014

Monetisation research (27/3/2014)

* After choosing the menu design as a group we all got to listen to the edited versions of our voice acting which turned out fantastic and got a good response from the group. I was very happy with my performance since it was edited to sound echo-y and got a good laugh from the others.

Finally, we prioritised programming to be our main focus so as to have a working game. We then listened to some fantastic tracks for the game and reviewed the great new user interface and level design.

* After the above I then went over ideas with Jon and Ryan before double checking the tutorial.

* Having been asked a while back to research the different methods by which we could include possible monetisation options within our game, I decided to look up some websites and write down their advice.
  • Understand your audience!
  • Distimo (a market research firm) has stated 'while only four per cent of titles in the iOS App Store feature an in-app purchasing business model, 72% of revenue generated in that market comes from consumers paying for in-app items.'
  • Give players plenty of options so as to give them variety. After all, players love choice.
  • Michael Schade (CEO of Fishlabs) says “Think of ways to reach out to as many players as possible and how to convert non-paying members of your community into paying members over time,”. “But also think different". He then continues to state “Free-to-play with in-app-purchase might not be an equally successful solution for all developers alike. Before you blindly copy your competitor’s business model, your team should take the time to analyse your IPs and evaluate their chances on the market.”
  • Companies that own the sites we potentially publish on will, on average take between 30 to 40% of the revenue made off the games. This isn't a bad percentage as we would still make a reasonable amount. 
  • If the player is happy then they are more likely to buy content for the game. Thus, we must make sure they understand the rules of the game and make the game accessible so as not to ruin the user experience and, as a result convince them not to buy from us again.


* Considering the above advice stated, you should understand your audience, I decided to share a Youtube video from 'Extra Credits' on the Facebook page entitled 'Designing for Youth - Making Games for Players Under 14'. I did this so as to get everyone thinking about new ideas and what our target audience would want to play. After all, age can have an enormous impact on the game as, if you fail to cater for your audience then you alienate them. 
You can watch the video itself below...



* Wanting to include narrative in our piece, I will over the weekend write down some new ideas for openings and endings (cut scenes) as we are no longer forced to make them safety focused, especially since we have the fire information cards for that. Therefore, they can be made fun and somewhat silly (within reason). 

Harvard Referencing:
  • Extra Credits (2014) Designing for Youth - Making Games for Players Under 14 - Extra Credits. [Online Video] Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NdFw8kvHAY8 (Accessed on: 27/3/2014).
  • Freeman, W (2011) Beyond free-to-play: The future of game monetisation. Available at: http://www.develop-online.net/analysis/beyond-free-to-play-the-future-of-game-monetisation/0117249 (Accessed on: 27/3/2014).
  • McAllister, G (2012) The four essential steps to successful monetisation of free-to-play games. Available at: http://www.edge-online.com/features/the-four-essential-steps-to-successful-monetisation-of-free-to-play-games/#null (Accessed on: 27/3/2014).



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