Editor’s note: This article was written and published by Homa Games. You can find their original version here.  So what exactly happens once you submit your prototype at Homa, and how does it all work? In this article, Homa’s team take you through the process and explain all the essential info you need to know about scaling your next hit. Here’s what they said. The main challenge behind game publishing Publishing a game might seem straightforward; however, the list of actions to make it the next hit is quite long. In a short period, you need to make sure there are no bugs, the ad monetization is working properly, the testing metrics are good, and the data is analyzed correctly. Don’t you worry; the Homa Games team is there to help you figure it all out! The Homa Squad supports...

Editor’s note: This article was originally crafted by TapNation. If you fancy reading the original, you can find it here.  It’s no secret that creating a game can be pricey. Hiring a strong development team is just the start of your journey. Aside from the months (even years) of developing a game, when you start focusing on your marketing and ongoing user acquisition campaigns, the expenses and costs can pile on (before you’ve had a chance to make any revenue). Making it near impossible for smaller dev teams to enter the market. Hyper-casual is changing that. These games are turning into a developer’s stepping stone into kick-starting their career in the gaming industry.  Without the need for large initial investments. And to get a better idea of how the hyper-casual genre can help game makers enter the professional world of...

Editor’s note: This article was written by our friends at Homa Games. We recently ran a game jam with them. And we’re thrilled to announce the winners and results below. Another game jam edition comes to an end as we announce the winners of our Arcade Idle HomaJam, and we have many! With the best quality submissions we have seen so far, this jam’s games reached outstanding metrics and presented the most promising ideas under the theme of Arcade Idle. Arcade Idle is a new subgenre that combines idle and adventure arcade’s main attributes with a chilled Hypercasual look and feel. Removing all complexity from resource mining games, but preserving its core ability to engage, this clever mix translates into hybrid games with medium/low CPI, but much stronger playtime metrics that can reach 30+ minutes. With games like Harvest It, Craft Island, and Farm Land,...

We all play games for different reasons. Indeed, as individuals our motivations to play games shift continuously. Whether we’re playing to pursue the respite of escapism, or have some competitive urges to sate, we can all get different things from games at different times. That statement will likely feel rather obvious. ‘We play games for different reasons’ is a plainly straightforward assertion. But behind it lies considerable nuance; subtleties games makers can identify and harness to guide the design or their games in pursuit of both commercial and critical success. So what are the leading player motivations, and how can understanding them help your efforts in making and publishing your games? Let’s start by considering the eight most common player motivation, and how they connect with making a game that engages, retains and – hopefully – monetizes. 1. Competition With...

Making a game is one thing. An impressive, creative and wonderful thing. But a game really comes to life when it is released to players. Being played is a game’s reason to be – and the vital step in starting to generate revenues that let your studio grow, or allow you to begin work on your next title. As such, getting the release of a game right is about as important as it gets. And in today’s connected era where titles so commonly exist as live, maintained entities, releasing is now about a lot more than making it available for sale. With all that in mind, we’ve built up a checklist of all the things you need to consider before releasing your games. It’s a list that considers quality, performance, marketing, monetisation and more. Bear in mind that many of...

Editor’s note: This article was originally published by the crew at OneSignal. Check out the original article here.  You know how powerful player messaging can be. It can improve a game’s experience and enrich competition. It can engage new gamers and win back churned players. Although the potential benefits are compelling, there are also examples of messaging channels detracting from the game experience. As a result, many savvy game developers overlook opportunities to enhance their game experience with messaging because they’re afraid of what might go wrong. Getting mobile messaging right takes some skill and thoughtfulness. We pooled our collective knowledge, along with input from leading mobile development studios, to create a list of seven common messaging mistakes in the gaming industry and how you can avoid them. Sin #1: Leading With an Opt-in Request Imagine you’re a bored commuter. You head...

Editor’s note: This article was originally published by TapNation. Make sure to check out their version here. The question of how people find your content is a tale as old as the internet. Having the best story or the most innovative gameplay means very little if no one can find it, never mind play it. Which is why ASO (App Store Optimization) is so important. It plays a crucial role when publishing your game. And it isn’t as time-consuming or complicated as you may think. At TapNation, we help make sure new players find your hyper-casual games by using the best ASO techniques and most effective marketing strategies. If you have great intuitive gameplay, we want to make sure everyone in the world is playing it. But if you’re just looking for some simple advice to get you started, well...

Editor’s note: This article was originally published by Kinsey Dardanus, publishing expert at TapNation. You can find their version here. Bubble Sort is a worldwide leading puzzle-game, on both Android and iOS, totaling more than 15 million players across the world. We originally launched this game on December 19th 2019, and since then we’ve been at the top for a whole month. But what’s the secret sauce behind this game’s success? The short answer: deep player behavior analysis, and lots of level difficulty improvements. But there’s much more to it than just that. At TapNation, our data scientists and engineers have developed tools and algorithms to monitor, analyze and test our gameplay and difficulty curves in order to improve our KPIs. And in this blog, we’ll give you a sneak peek behind the curtain, and share some of the techniques...

Editor’s note: This article was originally published by Voodoo. You read the original version here.  Lumbercraft, the hit game by the studio Noor Games, is not a typical hyper-casual game. With a successful fusion of a core hyper-casual game mechanic and more casual objectives, Lumbercraft is a great example of innovating in the hyper-casual sphere and exploring the possibilities when thinking of the up-and-coming hybrid-casual space. Let’s take a look at the studio behind the game, the game mechanics, and some key takeaways from the development process. Noor Games are a 5-person studio from Armenia and have been working with Voodoo for over a year, regularly tuning in to our live streams and keeping up to date with our resources for studios looking to create hit hyper-casual games. Thanks to their hard work and commitment in the hyper-casual sphere, their prototypes have...

There are quite a few things a developer or publisher needs to consider before working with a Chinese publisher. Here are some of the big questions you should be asking: Would their current partners recommend them? You can ask the publisher to show you examples of the games they’ve launched, companies they work with and what results they’re getting. But that can only tell you so much. It can be extremely insightful to check who they’re already working with and contact those people directly. We recommend talking to at least two or three of the publisher’s current partners. Every developer might have had a different experience and hearing only one story might not tell you everything you need to know. Who’s on their team and how is it structured? You should find out what the publishing team looks like. Do...

Idle games don’t involve much in the way of thinking from the player. And they don’t have an end goal – you just continue to play them, earning more in-game currency and upgrading as you go. They’re usually free to play, relying on in-app purchases and currency passes to make money. But how can you make sure that your players want to keep coming back? In this blog we’re going to tell you how to do just that, and also share some stats on engagement metrics. Why idle games appeal to both players and developers On paper, idle games sound a bit ridiculous. Why would anyone want to play a game that involves hardly any, well, playing? The numbers say different though – idle games have really high retention rates, and users keep coming back, even when they’ve been playing...

Should you or should you not try to launch your hyper-casual title in China? There are a bunch of rules and regulations to consider before trying to enter the Chinese market. Which are changing all of the time. Keeping up is a challenge, as we’ve seen a lot of changes over the past year – with even more coming over the next year. While bringing mid-core mobile games to China is more complicated, there’s a different process and different things to consider for hyper-casual games. There are plenty of interesting opportunities for hyper-casual developers who might not have even considered publishing in China, or perhaps just don’t know where to start. China’s mobile game market is huge The Chinese mobile market is a 25 billion USD market and it’s predicted to grow even bigger this year. Of course, the global...