What do I need to do to aim higher?
First of all, be the talent. There is ALWAYS something new out there for you to learn, and by being on top of the latest skillsets/programs as well as being knowledgeable of the old ones, you will have an advantage over other developers who stick to a singular skill set. A memorable quote from Mike Acton was “Skills are out of date, always. Even if you just learned them yesterday.” Also, another important thing to take note of is the uncomfortable truth that games never ship because they are ready, they ship when it is time for them to ship. There is always something else that could have been done to improve the game. All you can do is learn from the last shipping and improve on the next one.
Also be unique! Have something different to offer people and not just another run-of-the-mill FPS or Angry Bird spin off. This means thinking outside the box on your part which can be scary, however it’s necessary if you want yourself and your product to be noticed. Then in order to get that product really noticed you need to participate in EVERYTHING YOU CAN. Go and show people your game. Friends, families, and especially gaming convention and conferences like GCAP or GDC. You’ll get amazing feedback and have the opportunity to get advice from people with massive amounts of talent and experience.
Being A Brand
A very popular discussion at the GCAP conference was the topic of “being a brand”, which I admit I first thought was a form of selling out. By the end of the conference however, I was convinced that this is a very productive way to go about making your product. What they mean by Being A Brand, is creating a form of label that is well known to anyone playing the game. This is where you need to decide what exactly it is you want to make a brand of.
Rovio for example are the creators of Angry Birds, but you’ll find that not many people are aware of this name. That is because the people at Rovio did not want to make their company name a brand, they wanted Angry Birds to be the brand. When someone says “Angry Birds” You immediately know to what they are referring to. Even if you haven’t played the game because they have branded it so well. Hell there’s even angry bird toys now and apparently a movie on the way too!
It also works in the other direction and a great example of that would be Bioware, the company which is responsible for amazing games such as Mass Effect 2 and Dragon Age Legends. They have branded themselves in such a way that people know and trust the games coming from them. For example, imagine a new game is released but it is a totally new IP with an unheard of title. When you see the Bioware tag you immediately associate it with awesome games you have played before and hence are more likely to purchase this new product.
On the discussion of Bioware, we had the honour of listening to Richard Iwanuik who had some great points:
- Make each game better than the last.
- Selling is a reality – you need to make money.
- Be innovative.
- Commit to your audience.
- Growth is dominant in downloadable games.
- Packaged Games are slowly receding.
That last one was a fact I hadn’t thought of before, but it’s true. Most people I know buy their games on Steam or download them in some way. And this is something the game development community needs to adapt to along with the growing popularity of small iPhone or Android games.
Also, striving to make each game better than the last is important. I know of people who just throw out game ideas left right and center, not thinking about the reasons why this idea is good or how it is better than their past game product. It’s just like watching a movie then seeing the crappy sequel. If you sample that first product and its great, then you try the next in line and it’s just mediocre, they you won’t trust the quality of any future products. In the gaming industry it’s important to keep your players, so another important tip is listen to your customers! They will tell you what they want!
