Game Making: Start By Healing the Player

“Phew, that was unexpected!”

Inside the rental house, Chen Xu looked at a sales statistic in the background of his official platform with some surprise.

This was because the increase in numbers was really a bit beyond his expectations.

On the first day, the sales volume was 162 copies, which was acceptable but not great.

On the second day, the sales jumped almost fourfold, reaching 610 sold.

The main reason for this was publicity.

With a budget of 20,000 yuan, normal methods of advertising are definitely out of the question.

On the one hand, it wasn’t enough for much at all, and on the other hand, the game had some special features that weren’t exactly advertiser friendly. 

So Chen Xu’s eyes were drawn overseas, to forums frequented by men of culture. What he needed was exposure to the right audience. 

As for the method, it was the more primitive tactic of using older accounts with higher standings. 

Chen Xu did not bother using the modern internet water army tactic because he was worried it would backfire. 

So he took the quality over quantity approach. 

Buying older or abandoned forum accounts, then using them to make more visible posts. Then having other accounts upvoting or commenting on the post to generate activity. 

Of course, the most critical part of all this was that the game had to actually be good. 

Otherwise, he would have wasted 20,000 yuan for nothing. 

The most important point of this method is to have players who are active on the forums try the game, and then be converted into believers of the game. They will then proceed to spread the word and generate more players and believers. 

In his previous life, as a professional game planner and honest gamer, Chen Xu naturally understood one thing.

What are players interested in?

A very simple theory is that most players like to do one thing.

That is to do something colorful within a normal game; to do something normal within a colorful game.

You could say that this sense of contrast makes these players want to keep going.

Just like a flirtatious joke among online gamers: the two main hobbies of men are dragging people into the water and persuading the wind and dust to change from good to evil.

There will always be players who want to just mess around.

Of course, this is not enough to make a game a success, as the quality of the game is what ultimately counts.

But at least that kind of feature was enough to attract players.

Now, from the point of view of ‘Mirror’s sales, the effect of such a promotional strategy can be considered a success. 

After all, choosing ‘Mirror’ was something that Chen Xu had put thought into, not a spur of the moment.

How are competing products of the same type on the market performing?

Are the preferences of gentlemen different from previous generations?

The platform used and the feasibility of promotion, these aspects had all been investigated in advance.

They were all considered by Chen Xu.

In this case, the success of ‘Mirror’ was all but guaranteed and within Chen Xu’s grasp. 

The only thing that was unexpected was the level of enthusiasm displayed by these men of culture. 

With 610 copies sold on the second day, Chen Xu believed that this increase was just the beginning.

As time went on, the word of mouth would definitely give the sales another boost. 

“Well, if we follow this pattern, we’ll be able to pay off the software money by next week.”

“Fortunately, the settlement method of the official overseas platform is real-time, as long as the player has passed the refund period, they will be able to credit the payment directly.”

“But just like in the previous world, this is a third party platform, so the downside is a little hard steep.”

At this thought, Chen Xu couldn’t help but smack his lips.

The official game platform’s commission was 30%, mainly for the maintenance of the platform, as well as updating the game engine and researching and developing the latest technology.

As for the rest of the third-party game platforms, it’s going to be a lot worse.

Especially when it comes to mobile channels, with the lowest starting at 50%.

Some are basically extortions, going with a 7-3 split. Of course, that means 3 to the developers and 7 to the platform. Crazy stuff. 

Just like in his previous life with Tencent, dealing with other major app stores is also a struggle.

However, there are still advantages, the user volume of these third-party platforms is really not small, coupled with more relaxed standards and a less scientific algorithm.

So for many of these platforms, although the cut taken is higher, the game studios and companies are still able to earn a living. 

They can only drink the soup, while all the meat is eaten by the platform.

But for the current Chen Xu, the concerns regarding these platforms are just a minor detail, not worth mentioning. 

It’s not the worst thing in the world. 

In fact, if he really tries it, he would definitely be able to get an initial profit very quickly. 

The main reason is that the game ‘Mirror’ is a bit special, so even if it is on the platform, it will not be recommended. 

Of course, this is talking about the domestic platform, overseas platforms will have less restrictions.

But If there is an official platform, there is no need to go to third-party channels.

Because overseas platforms do not have much influence over domestic platforms. Their main focus will be domestic as well. 

………………

From morning till night, Chen Xu would keep an eye on the game sales data.

And this period was also the prime time for sales growth.

By refreshing the data in the background every hour, he could see that ‘Mirror’s sales were increasing.

The previous hourly additions of over 100 had risen to over 200 during this prime time period.

Apparently, the name ‘Mirror’ was slowly reaching the ears of various men of culture through a variety of channels.

These growing sales show the support of these kind men of culture for the game.

And with the unlocking of player ratings, ‘Mirror’s rating was successfully displayed.

9.7 points

A score that could be described as explosive.

But Chen Xu didn’t get too excited, because this is an 18R game .

It can be said that players are incredibly forgiving and tolerant of this type of game, and that tolerance has been amplified many times over.

Compared to traditional games, this score is not much of a benchmark.

Just like while in the forums frequented by perverts, where abuse and praise is exchanged daily.

The user’s interactions can be described as pleasant. Either they are posting well thought out messages, or they are exchanging their own experiences in books or films and their love for certain teachers.

The only thing that the score of ‘Mirror’ can prove is that in the eyes of the players, this game is definitely worth getting and recommending.

After all, who can resist a match-3 game with pretty girls?