indie series 03: becoming an indie
TRANSCRIPT
How to be
An Indie Mohammad Shaker
Founder, Strong Emotions
Wikilogia Talk, April 2015
Stories, Marketing, and other Advices
@ZGTRShaker
Before Indies
Publicher
Ubisoft EA
Activition …
Before Indies
Publicher Retailer
Ubisoft EA
Activition …
Who’s Indie
The Rise of Indies, 2005+
Platforms
Platforms Mobile: iOS, Android/ WindowsPhone, BlackBerry Stand-alone: Xbox, PS4, PS Vita
iOS Android
iOS Android
100$ Per year
25$ lifetime
iOS Android
Quality User +
Quality User -
iOS Android
Rights +
Rights -
iOS Android
Native Apps Objective-C, Swift
Native Apps Java
iOS Android
Third Party Engines / Frameworks
iOS Android
Built-in Leaderboard, Achievement, Localization, etc.
Google Developer Console https://console.developers.google.com/
Apple Developer Account https://unityads.unity3d.com/
iOS Android
Free Apps +
iOS Android
Paid Apps +
Paid Apps -
https://support.google.com/googleplay/android-developer/answer/112622?hl=en
iOS Android
70/30 You receive 70% of the payment. The remaining 30% goes
to the distribution partner and operating fees.
The
http://www.statista.com/statistics/283753/apple-app-store-global-category-revenue-share-per-business-model/
6.1% of revenue came from paid-for gaming
apps without in-app purchases, ONLY, on iOS.
Advertisment (Ads)
Advertisment (Ads)
# Clicks # Views # Purchases # Quality Users # View/ Click Curves
iOS Android
Apple Ads Engine Google Ads Engine
Admob https://www.google.com/admob/
UnityAds https://unityads.unity3d.com/
Crossy Road: Watch a Video, Earn a Gift / 1 million in 1 month https://unityads.unity3d.com/
In-App Purchaes
Soomla http://soom.la/
Publishing
Alpha/Beta Testing / Roles / Selected Users for Feedback are all available in the Developer Console iOS and Android
iOS Android
Publishing - (time)
Publishing + (time)
Marketing Your Game
Differentiate your self.
Why the costumer buy urs?
Mark Cuban, Shark Tank!
Monopoly. this is not a game.
Book: Zero to One, Peter Thiel, Co-founder of PayPal!
Monopoly. Avoid competition as much as possible.
Book: Zero to One, Peter Thiel, Co-founder of PayPal!
DON'T listen to the costumer, he doesn't know what he wants
Steve Jobs, Apple / Sociology of Malcom Gladwel!
Social Media .,!?
Linked in, Professional Wesbite, etc.
Don’t EVER think That your first game will be a hit.
Get Paid More than Once. In-App Purchaces?
Market before you publish.
Your product is unique.
Not all rules follow.
Monument Valley
in Numbers http://blog.monumentvalleygame.com/blog/2015/1/15/monument-valley-in-numbers
Ustwo Team
http://blog.monumentvalleygame.com/blog/2015/1/15/monument-valley-in-numbers
http://blog.monumentvalleygame.com/blog/2015/1/15/monument-valley-in-numbers
http://blog.monumentvalleygame.com/blog/2015/1/15/monument-valley-in-numbers
Indie Best Practices & Stories
Minecraft
Notch
Limbo
Limbo VVVVV
VVVVV
Spelunky
DEREK YU
Meat Boy
Edmund McMillen and Tommy Refenes Team Meat
Fez
Phil Fish
Ridiculous Fishing
Ridiculous Fishing
Rami Ismail Vlambeer
Threes
Crossy Road: 1 million in 1 month
Matthew Hall and Andrew Sum Hipster Whale!
Did You Catch Something ?
Did You Catch Something ? • All are young. • Not all of them are 2 or 2+. One-man can do it. • They did millions* of games before their success.
Did You Catch Something ? • All are young. • Not all of them are 2 or 2+. One-man can do it. • They did millions* of games before their success.
Did You Catch Something ? • All are young. • Not all of them are 2 or 2+. One-man can do it. • They did millions* of games before their hit/success.
* the number is negotiable!
Starting a Business
First, Aim for a Company not an idea.
Book: Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies, Jim Collins!
Don’t go for a Co-Founder, at first.
The sins while starting a business.!
Team Up with Best People. If non exsits, don’t team up at all!
Book: Good to Great, Jim Collins!
Two-Pizza Teams If the team needs more than two pizzas to make a meal, it’s too big.
Book: Lean UX. Applying Lean Principles to Improve User Experience/ Amazon, Jeoff Bezos!
Don’t Plan so far into the future, everything gonna change.
Book: Rework, 37Signals!
When in doubt
go with your Gut
Video: Steve Jobs, Stanford Speech.!
Be in your flow, Don’t be in their flow.
Book: Flow, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi!
Business is different to what you’ve study. 50$ million last year in sales?
Business is different to what you’ve study. 50$ million last year in sales? This means nothing!
Don’t worry about the past. Just focus on the future.
Don’t ever waste time with
wasters.
Know when to quit.
When you fail. Do sth different. Move on.
Starting a Game. Being an Indie.
The Most Brutal Business in the
WORLD.
Mark Cuban, Shark Tank!
No one knows who you are. And no one cares.. Sorry.
Prototype, Prototype, Prototype Quick-access your ideas.
Agile Software Engineering!
SyncSeven Prototype in 4 hours
Part of Ropossum. Research Paper Idea and Implementation in 8 hours Nominated for Best Paper Award, Denmark, EvoStar 2015
Design for the 5 senses
Jinsop Lee: Design for all 5 senses | Talk Video | TED.com!
Angry Birds: Eye, Touch
SyncSeven: Eye, Ear, Touch
You don’t always need a designer.
Thomas was alone Paid, Unity3d
Flappy Birds ±50K a day
NEXT Play Alpha: www.mohammadshaker.com/next.html
Don’t go with first thought/solution
Move the boxes on screen?
So Be clever.
and Use the Camera.
Simplicity is cool.
Flappy Birds
Dots
Simplicity is not always the key in games.
Keep UI to minimum. Remove (don’t add) features.
Book: Rework, 37Signals!
Need Settings in SyncSeven?
Insure 3-click rule. Access any feature in the app within 3 clicks.
HCI / Yahoo Mobile Apps!
3-click rules in SyncSeven
Represent what's happening in the backend.
Loading.
Loading.
Not good all the time.
Authenticating with server..
This is better.
Retrieving your data..
This is better.
Signing you in..
This is better.
Visualizations, Faster Progress Bars. http://www.chrisharrison.net/index.php/Research/ProgressBars2
Visualizations, Faster Progress Bars. http://www.chrisharrison.net/index.php/Research/ProgressBars2
-
+
Test it early. Refine early.
Your Years Studying
in a University IS NOT FOR STUDY, ONLY
Schools kill creativity.
Book: The Element, Ken Robinson!http://www.ted.com/talks/ken_robinson_says_schools_kill_creativity?language=en!
You only have one life. Have a Goal.
Book: Steve Jobs, Isaacson!
Doing Something unimportant well does not make it important.
Book: The 4-hour work week, Tim Ferriss!
Requiring a lot of time does not make a task important.
Book: The 4-hour work week, Tim Ferriss!
Do ur work yle u r @ uni.
Don’t Underestimate Yourself Don’t Overestimate the Opponents
Don't wait till it's perfect Don't wait till you’re perfect
The sins while starting a business.!
DON’T WAIT. Uni is the last thing you should rely on.
Manage time? You don’t have time for everything.
Know what you love now.
Learn on demand. Don’t listen to x or y or z for what to learn/do.
Stop Planning
Just START
The sins while starting a business.!
Man Up! Seriously!
مش عم تزبط معي
Be harsh. Don’t make loose businesships.
1-man team? No Problem.
In Syria?
Stop Nagging!
Take Rest. Only when you deserve it.
Have your own beliefs, Have your own ideas.
Always carry sth to write. Ideas come from nowhere, anytime.
“Some people like driving the long way home.” People like what they want to like.
Movie: Margin Call
Good is the worst enemy to Great Movie: Whiplash, 2014
Book: Good to Great, Jim Collins
Wanna DO? What do you
Industry • Ubisoft • EA • Activition • ..etc
Research • ITU Copenhagen, Denmark • UoM, Msida, Malta • NEU, USA • NYU, Newyork, USA • University of Essex, London, Goldsmith, UK • Germany, UK, USA
Startup
Indie • Yourself
Read.
The book that changed my life.
Book: Steve Jobs, Isaacson.!
Lean it. Make it Agile.
Book: The Lean Startup, Eric Ries!
Don’t overthink the future. Be in the NOW.
Book: Rework, 37Signals!
Start from nowhere.
Book: Zero to One, Peter Thiel!
Built it for future.
Book: Built to Last, Jim Collins!
Have a dream, no matter what.
Book: Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead, Sheryl Sandberg!
"Stickness"
Book: Made to Stick, Chip Heath, Dan Heath!
Books: Any book for Malcom Gladwell!
A good book to start for Malcom Gladwell!
Books: Any book for Dan Ariely!
Ludum Dare ludumdare.com
Watch: Indie Game The Movie
@ZGTRShaker www.mohammadshaker.com
Thx.