At DevGAMM Minsk 2014, held in Minsk this October, the producer of Renatus Denis Presnov, starting from work on the continuation of Bubble Chronicles Diamond Edition, made a presentation “How to make a good sequel“. Based on the lecture, Renatus has prepared a “developer’s guide”, which we offer to get acquainted with.
1. Work on mistakes – above all
You should start by analyzing the original game, which is already successfully working for you. At best, you have all the basic metrics that you can analyze and identify weaknesses. All this is necessary in order, firstly, not to step on the same rake when releasing a sequel, and secondly, in order to improve it and bring your game to a qualitatively new level. After all, the release of the sequel is a unique chance to fix what you missed the first time.
As a rule, among the key “gaps” in the original product are:
- Setting;
- a rendering style that doesn’t match the audience;
- incorrect architectural solution;
- weak monetization system;
- incorrectly selected launch platform.
As soon as the problem is identified, immediately start developing a plan to eliminate it and determine the planned result. And be sure to back up the too vague word “success” with real numbers – predict ARPU, LTV, Retention 1/3/7/14/30 days of your future product.
Let’s say you’ve discovered that your game style doesn’t quite match the target audience. Then you need to redraw the art and … wait for the sequel to make a splash, and the retention rates of players will skyrocket. Why? Yes, because art is considered one of the key components that “makes” users fall in love with the game and makes them come back again and again. Remember this.
2. Two games for the price of one
The creation of a sequel will be a pleasant surprise for you financially, because it is a great opportunity to “kill two birds with one stone”.
Having a ready-made game and a user base of the first part, your costs for the development and promotion of the sequel will amount to a negligible amount in comparison with the budget of the project “from scratch”. In addition, the release of the sequel will indirectly give a new wave of popularity to the first part. And there will always be new users who will have a desire to play the original version of their favorite game for comparison.
So, you will be able to reduce development costs by making minor changes to the game engine, backend and art. And in the field of marketing, the most effective solution will be to attract fans of the first part. At the same time, it is important to motivate them correctly, that is, to be able to convey that this is the same game that they love, but only in a new improved form.
However, do not forget about those who did not like the first part. Announcing the sequel, you may also be interested in this segment of users: you need to convince them that the new game is an improved version of the original, which no longer has what pushed them away from the first part.
The main advice: do not give in to temptation and do not skimp on the development of elements that can bring novelty to your project.
3. Not everything is new – well-forgotten old
A sign of a successful sequel is a skillful combination of old and new.
Players will obviously not be happy with the second part if it is a faceless copy of the first game. Each product should be unique and irreplaceable, only then it will find its audience, justify all efforts and investments.
To create a unique gaming experience, you will need to carry out a series of modifications of the original game. We have conditionally divided them into several types.
A.) Modification of the structure
Ask yourself whether the structure of your game corresponds to the chosen genre, whether its functionality is fully used. If the answer to at least one is “no”, then you should think about updating it.
At the same time, do not try to deviate far from the canons of the genre, otherwise you risk losing the bulk of the audience already at the first stages. It is more pleasant for users to play games if they are already familiar with the interface, the principle of interaction with other players, etc. If you still decide to radically change the structure, do everything necessary to make your experiment painless for the player.
To do this, put yourself in his place: time after time, go through the path that it will take, and embed the necessary functionality. Do not be afraid to expand the tutorial, try to simplify the life of your future players as much as possible, and then they will not have a desire to quit the game.
An example of drastic changes in the structure of the game is the sequel Bubble Chronicles Diamond Edition. Instead of the classical energy system (1 level = 1 life), an energy bank appears in the second part, the consumption of which depends on the number of shots. The volume of the pot is unlimited, as well as the number of shots, and if desired, the user can play the same level indefinitely. This original innovation (and unique, since it is not found in any other “bubble shooter”) led to an increase in the main indicators by 2-3 times compared to the first part.
B.) Gameplay modification
A great solution when creating a sequel is to change the gameplay. At the same time, it is very important to keep a balance: your gameplay should be flexible and match the target audience.
There are several ways to achieve this result.
Firstly, you can introduce additional functionality (new boosters, additional game modes, complication of mechanics). So, in the sequel Two Dots there is a completely new game mode “To lower the anchors”, which was not in the first part.
Secondly, you can succumb to fashion trends and mix several mechanics in one game. At the same time, it is important that both varieties are intended for the same audience. Otherwise, there is always a risk that the game will not find “its player” and will remain unnoticed.
And always remember about the game balance when you change the gameplay: your game should be both challenging and easy to play. If the scales outweigh in one direction or another, players will quickly lose interest in your sequel: either because they will be stuck on the same level for a long time, or the simplicity of the gameplay will kill all the excitement.
C.) Modification of the technical component
Today, technology is developing at an incredible speed, and after all, at least six months will pass from the release of the original game to the release of the sequel. This means that you need to optimize your product as much as possible, taking into account the latest achievements and trends. And, of course, to correct fundamental mistakes.
Pay attention to the technical characteristics of the build – try to reduce its size and optimize the download speed.
In conclusion, I would like to give some more examples of high-quality sequels that have multiplied the success of their predecessors – Cut the Rope 2, Farmville 2, Candy Crush Soda Saga.
Original report
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