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.