The document provides 20 questions that game developers should ask themselves and their team if they want to be successful. Some of the key questions addressed include: spending time ensuring the first 15 minutes of the game are engaging; understanding where potential players are and how to reach them; constantly testing the game with new players; preparing marketing materials and pitches; understanding the market and competitors; focusing on retention, virality, and revenue strategies; and getting feedback from influencers like YouTubers and streamers. The document emphasizes the importance of research, preparation, and continual improvement for game studios.

1. (And Why Answering Them is Worth Every Bit of Effort)
20 Questions You Should
Ask Yourself and Your
Team If You Want To Be A
Successful Game
Developer
http://www.slideshare.net/VGVisionary
HD Redux Edition

2. Table of contents
• Who is this guy!?
• Where does this talk come from?
• Steps 1 - 20
• Summary
• Questions

3. Who am I?
This is a talk by
Vlad Micu
Now Head of Studio at
Critical Force Entertainment
Used to be the PR Manager of
Grambleworld.com
Did production, game design and creative direction for
arkavis Siam co. ltd. in Thailand
Wrote for many other international outlets including
Gamesauce.org, TechInAsia.com,
PocketGamer.biz, Control Magazine,
Gamer.nl, XBLAFans.com, Casual Connect
Magazine and many more.
@vgvisionary

4. Partners & Clients

5. Where does this all come from?
• 500+ developers
interviewed
• Personal start-up
experience
• Advising multiple
international studios
• Reading a BUTTLOAD on
the interwebz & listening
to other devs.

6. Bad News

7. Good News

8. #1 Should we even JAM?!
•Think Small
•Aim High
•Fail Fast
•Repeat x 100

9. Even the big boys do it!
www.globalgamejam.org

10. My own first publishing deal
(2009)

11. • Arcade Online Multiplayer Tank FPS
Total organic installs: 300.000+ since Dec 18th on Google Play
Average rating: 4.02/5.00 stars
Installs per day +/- 2000
DAU: 1000-2000
50.000 Euro funding from AppCampus program for Windows Phone version
Talking to publishers about seriously publishing the game on iOS.

12. #2 How much time did we spend
to make first 0-15 minutes of your
game count the MOST?

13. #2b Have we watched Sequilitis
with the team?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8FpigqfcvlM

14. We’re on top of it too

15. #3 Where are all our players
going?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8FpigqfcvlM

16. #3 Is our game popular before it’s
finished?
• YouTubers
• Press
• Key influencers in the
industry
• Events
• Game Portals
http://www.freelives.net/broforce-game

17. #4 Do we have ‘The LOOK’?
“One of the hardest parts of the job when trying to get
people to look at games is having something that is
interesting to look at. Just in the fact that we did a very
dramatic change, which was perceived to be late in
development, everybody was looking.”
– Steve Gibson, VP of Marketing at Gearbox about Borderlands

18. It really helps, trust us

19. #5 How much do we test our game
with strangers?
• At a train station
• In any queue
• As a pick-up line!
• At a school/university

20. #6 When was the last time we
applied for indie game festivals
and competitions?
• To volunteer
• To showcase
• Or even speak

21. Example
www.promoterapp.com/calendar
www.gameconfs.com

22. #7 Do people consider our game a
‘must-have’?

23. Or at least a ‘must-try’…?

24. #8 Are we prepared for big
business?
• Assets on your mobile
• Elevator pitch
• Investor deck ???
• Soft-launch numbers 
Check Kadri’s awesome talk here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FXRverBntZc

25. #9 Where’s our investor deck?
http://www.seriesseed.fi/

26. #10 How smart are we about
EVERYTHING we do?
• Interns/friends are
awesome!
• Integrate processes
that work for you.
• Use that lovely
Minimal Effective
Dose (MED)
approach.

27. 20/80 rule
www.lifehacker.com

28. #11 How much info and research have we
gathered before making a decision?
• FREE-TO-PLAY & FREEMIUM DEVELOPMENT
• Ethical F2P Game Design - LINK
• Successfully Migrating to F2P LINK
• The ghosts of development past – Free to Play Tips for 2013 LINK
• A comprehensive free-to-play game model: revenue, DAU, virality and
retention LINK
• Driving free-to-play revenue: Increase conversion rate or increase ARPPU?
LINK
• Developer Roundtable: Triple-A, Free-to-Play LINK
• The freemium monetization curve is continuous LINK
• Is piracy a freemium strategy? LINK
• New Study Investigates If Free is the Right Price for Mobile LINK
• The Ethics and psychology of the ‘freemium’ model LINK
• The Hidden Cost of AB Testing LINK
• Alternative Financing Schemes for Mobile Gaming Companies LINK
• Dear Indie Mobile Game Developer LINK
• The Pyramid of free-to-play game design LINK
• Mobile Indies and Three Steps Ahead LINK
•
USER ACQUISITION
• How to define reasonable KPIs for mobile games - LINK
• Interpreting the new users drop-off chart - LINK
• Three examples of misguided trips to the Top 10 Downloaded Chart - LINK
•
ANALYTICS
• Game Analytics 101 - LINK
• Intro to User Analytics - LINK
• Getting started with analytics 4: Reading (Part 1) - LINK
• The 10 Commandments of Mobile App Analytics - LLINK
• Guide to Mobile App Analytics - LINK
• Trevor McCalmont's Blog - 5 Common Pitfalls for Mobile Game Analytics -
LINK
• Soft launch product development using the Minimum Viable Metrics - LINK
• The Game Life Cycle & Game Analytics: What metrics matter when? - LINK
• Top 5 Performance Indicators for Mobile Analytics - Trilibis Mobile Blog -
LINK
• Data-driven design vs. Data-prejudiced design LINK
• Analytics is not a cost center LINK
• Minimum Viable Metrics for Mobile LINK
• Big Data in Mobile Gaming: Optimizing the User Experience LINK
• Quantitative Literacy an Interview with Wharton Professor Dr Peter Fader
LINK
• Guide to Mobile App Analytics LINK
• DEVELOPMENT
• Refining Diablo III LINK
• Starcraft 2 as E-SPORT LINK
• 6 Reasons why Pet Rescue Saga isn't the next Candy Crush Saga LINK
• Android Fragmentation Visualized LINK
• Gunghos Stock Price Rollercoaster and Hit driven valuations LINK
• http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/TanyaShort/20131010/201752/50_Easy_St
eps_to_Indie_Success.php
•
REVENUE
• Mobile gaming revenues are shifting to tablets...and to Asia LINK
• iOS vs Android - Revenue Wars Infographic LINK
• Six Ways to Maximize App Revenue LINK
• Maximize Ad Revenue and Maintain User Retention in Mobile Games LINK
•
RETENTION
• Why the retention profile is more useful than the churn metric in freemium
LINK
• Retention rates and their impact on lifetime customer value LINK
• Three Promotions to Get You Through the Holidays LINK
• Improving player engagement, retention and monetization - check out what
we’ve got in store LINK
•
VIRALITY
• Better way to monetize your app and drive deeper engagement LINK
• http://ufert.se/user-acquisition/mobile-virality/explaining-tinders-curiously-viral-
growth/
•
USER-ACQUISITION
• Emerging Strategies to User Acquisition: Video from Casual Connect Panel
LINK
• Two misconceptions about paid user acquisition LINK
• Infographic: Want your new game to land in the US Top 10? You have 72
hours to spend $56,000 LINK
• User Acquisition Divid Android iOS growing - LINK
•

29. #12 How well do we know ourselves,
our product and our market?
• SWOT analysis
• Competitors
• Devs with similar
backgrounds (and
what they’ve done)
• Keep minutes during
your key meetings!

30. Examples

31. Our own example
• We were the ONLY pitch with market research

32. #13 Are we pitching to everyone we can?
• Blow people away
• Show the core
gameplay
• An AWESOME video
helps (example)

33. #14 How much do we measure?
http://www.gameanalytics.com/

34. #15 What are we sharing?
• Insights and numbers
• Valuable contacts
• Opportunities and jobs
• Even a place to stay

35. Especially our mistakes

36. #16 What kind of partnerships
would we need to flourish?

37. Examples

38. Our example

39. #17 Are we making ourselves
better & stronger people?

40. Preparing mentally for success,
just as much as failure.
Both Failing and/or Succeeding Hard = Growing Up Incredibly Fast

41. #18 How have we embraced
the power of timing?

42. Examples
•Resogun on PS4 (Housemarque)
• Company of Tanks on Android (Critical Force Ent.)

43. #19 In what ways can we work with
YouTubers & Streamers?

44. #20 How do we get out of the
trenches enough?
You’re here now, but what about the rest
of your team?

45. Bonus: Should we quantify our
work?
My numbers (2007-2013)

46. Career in numbers (2007-2013)
• 22 talks given (next one being at Digital Dragons in Krakow, Poland next month).
• 232 articles written from September 2007 – today.
• 3 website staff managed filled with talented young writers for Gamesauce.org,
Windowsphonefans.com and PSNFans.com
• 1 super-talented development team managed (for arkavis Siam Co. ltd.)
• 13 videogames that I’ve been credited on (only six have been released till this day).
• 30 countries visited in the first 27 years of my life. 9 countries that I’ve lived in.
• 60 video items created with 85.253 views (16324 of which were for Control Magazine).
• 500+ people interviewed as an industry journalist (most of them game developers).
• 4500+ business cards handed out
• 8621 contacts in my Gmail (categorized thanks to Smartr).
• 1200+ hours spent playing League of Legends between summer 2011 and today spread over
my 2x EUW, 1x US and 1x Thai account.
• 1917 friends on Facebook (of which 1016 are Game Industry-related). I’ve spoken at least 5
minutes to 99% of them.
• 2000+ LinkedIn connections I have no clue what to do with.
• 97+ press badges collected
• 3 months per year spent traveling or abroad on average (4.5 months in 2013)

47. Bonus #2: Did we watch Vlad’s
other lectures?
www.youtube.com/vgvisionary

48. Contact me
• @vgvisionary
• Mail me at vlad@studioonmars.com
• Slides: www.slideshare.net/VGVisionary
#imlonely

49. Thanks!
Questions?