game academy app guide
TRANSCRIPT
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Game
Acade
my.co
m
presen
ts...
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Hi,
Thanks forcheckingoutthe AppBusinessGuidefrom
GameAcademy.com. Ourpassionistheappand game business and
wereextremely excitedtohelp outnewand veteranapp business
ownersfrom acrosstheworld.
Sofarover5,389people havereceivedourappand game business
trainingfromover 24countries. Our customers and clientshave a
combinedtotal ofover100,000,000downloadsandwhatsin these
pages willshow youhowtheygotstarted.
The main thingweteachour clients istofocusonthethreemost
important aspectsoftheappbusiness:
1.Creatingan appthatpeoplewant
2.Gettingitdevelopedatacompetitiveprice
3. Monetizingtheapp correctlysoit makesmoney
Thisguideisbroken downintothesethreesectionstohelppushyouin
therightdirection. Wehopeyouenjoy reading itasmuchaswedid
puttingittogether!
Thanks,
TreySmith
Founder, GameAcademy.com
http://www.gameacademy.com/http://www.gameacademy.com/http://www.gameacademy.com/http://www.gameacademy.com/http://www.gameacademy.com/http://www.gameacademy.com/ -
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Thisisthemostcommonmistakeweseenewappdevelopersmake.
Firstoff,dontreinv
entthewheel...
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Goingwithamadscientistapproachisaveryriskybusinessmodel
Weareallforinnovation,butyourbasisofyourideashouldbebaseduponsomethingyouknowpeoplealreadyenjoy
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Eventhebiggesthitonmob
ileapps,Angry
Birds,wasbaseduponapro
venmechanic
thatmillionshadprovenwo
rked
Roviowasverysmart. Theyimprovedthegameplaymechanics,graphicsandmadetheoverallthemeappealtoawideraudience.
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Youshouldntevercopysom
eoneorclone
theirapp,butitsgoodtoba
seyourideaoff
ofsolidpastresultsifpossibl
e
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Findinggoodappideasispr
ettyeasy,rst
youwanttocheckoutwhati
sworkingright
nowintheappstores
Theeasiestwayistoseewhatisdoingweinthetoplists
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Nowafteryoupickanappthatseemstobedoingwell,checkoutthereviewsandhowlongitsbeeninthestore
Ifithasthousandsofreviews,then
most
likelyitsbeenoutforawhile.This
isagood
signthatpeoplelikethebasicstr
uctureof
theapp.
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Nowthinkabouthowyo
ucanimprovethis
appandmakeitbetter.
Whatdoyoufeel
likeismissing?
Mostbigcompaniesmodelandimproveuponprovenconcepts. Seewhatuniquefeaturesetoroptionsyoucanaddtomake
yourappstandoutabovetherest.
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Whendevelopinganappthatwill be asuccess,therearetwothingsyoushould
focuson...
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Ifyoumakeanuglyapp,
thenpeoplewillnotdow
nloadit. Focus
onanamazingiconand
greatscreenshots.Thisi
swhatpeoplewill
focusonmuchmoretha
ndescriptionsorevenn
ame.
Great Average
Tryandmaketheiconsimple,uniqueandaesthiticallypleasing. Remember,thatifyoumakeanaveragelookingapp,youllgetaverageresults.
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Lookattopfeaturedappsintheappstoreto
seehowsimplistic
theyaretouse. Forexample,bothInstagram
andMailboxhave
verysimple(anduseful)interfaces.
Asageneralrule,thelessbuttonsthebetter. Makeuseofgesturesandnaturalmotionstouchscreenusersareoftenusingwithoutthought. Ifyouarecreatingagame,thenfocusoncreatingsimpleuserinterfacesthatgetthemintothegamequicklyandeasily.
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Afteryouhavearmgraspofwhatyouwant
tocreate,youneedto
ndagreatprogrammeranddesignertobui
lditforyou. Most
peoplespendwaytomuchonthis,thesecret
istouse.
Belowaresomeofthemorepopularoutsourcesitesthathavesectionsdedicatedtondinggoodmobiledevelopers
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The Ad
1. I write ads quickly(Youre about to see a very common thread in all of this. To movequickly. This starts with the ad. I keep my ads short and sweet. I rarely discuss project
details and put a focus on the fact that the project is unique and discuss the core details.
Usually I write an ad in one pass and it takes about 5-6 minutes)
2. I never search for someone, I only hire people that respond to an ad. (This reasonis simple people that respond to your ad are hungry for work and interested in what youare doing. Random people you contact are probably not.)
3. I post ads like CRAZY(I post on multiple sites and post multiple times. Sometimes I willpost an ad even when Im not actively looking, just to see whose out there. Last week I
posted 3 ads and had some amazing people reply. I didnt hire any of them as they were
great, but not PERFECT. Often Ill post 10 ads before hiring someone. Seriously, Im psycho
about this. Whenever I talk to someone who is having problems, 99% of the time theyve
posted just a few ads and havent found someone. Think about it this way, if every time I
hire someone I go through 200 people and someone else goes through 20, who do you thinkwill end up with the best guy?)
4. I ALWAYS go with my gut(Why didnt I hire anyone from last weeks posting even thoughsome seemed really good? Different reasons. Some seemed good not great. Others didnt
reply to me quick enough when I messaged them. Some I talked to on skype but they kept
me waiting for a few minutes between interview questions. If its not perfect, I move on.)
5. I move quickly(I dont spend much time on each one, I am quick to hide someone if theydont look like the perfect match. Its better to scan 200 people quickly than review 20 peopleslowly)
6. I dont get bogged down(Ok, this is basically the same thing as moving quickly, but this isthe biggest issue I see people having so its worth repeating. You have to cover a lot of
ground fast and look for diamonds in the rough. This requires you to not focus on any one
area too long.)
HeressometipsfromTreyonhowhepostsadsanddoestheinterview....
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The Interview
1. If they dont respond quickly during an interview, I close the interview
immediately(I dont wait around for 3 minutes every time they are responding. If thathappens I just tell them its not working out and move on.)
2. If they are sarcastic, I close it immediately(This one baffles me. Id say about 1 out of7 programmers I interview ends up being sarcastic or shows a bit of attitude. I will never
understand it but if that happens I immediately tell them its not working out and move on.
Dont be scared to turn someone down. I always just say Look, its not personal but I dont
think this is working out. Thanks though. Rarely will they even ask why. If they do, I just say
that Im talking with another guy that is better suited.)
3. I dive deep into their answers(This is huge. First offI always question people about theirtalent. I ask them point blank how good are they. Could they make a game like this or thatwhat is the extent of their ability. I might not know all the programming lingo, but I know
how to ask them Could you make a 3D shooter game? or Would you know how to create
the server part of a turn based game?. I let them know its OK to answer no, that I am just
trying tofind out what all they are comfortable with. If they say yes, I dont just end it. I say
Ok cool, how would you do it?. Then if they say I would use python I say Is python hard, I
dont know it. Is it common to use? Is it scalable?. I dig and dig and dig and dig until I can
tell they are either very competent or they are BSing. The secret is the word HOW no
matter what they say you can always ask HOW that is done)
4. I actually PLAY their previous apps(I have never hired someone withoutfirst trying outone of their apps and making sure its not a buggy mess)
5. I only hire people that I bond with (If we dont get along, I dont hire them. I want
someone with a similar personality. This is someone you will spend a LOT of time with so it
really helps if both of you bond during the interview.Again, go with your gut, if you get ANY
weird feelings then dont hire them)
6. If I am unsure of either price or their ability, I just offer a SMALL PORTION of the
project(If you are really unsure about someone but think it might be YOUR lack ofknowledge and not them, then hire them to do 1/4 of the project at a set price. If you are
making a jumping game, get them to make a rough prototype with nothing but a bouncing
circle jumping on rectangles. If its a running game get them to make a circle that runs and
jumps over squares.Anything super simple like this should take a matter of 2-3 days max
for a rough demo. My good guys do it in an afternoon. Pay them for that if they deliver on
time and then work out a deal for the rest of the project. If you are scared to jump in with
someone this tip works really well.)
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Thebestwaytomakemoneyfromyourapp
sistorst
chooseanapptypethatmonetizeswell
ThebestplacetoseethisdataisontheAppleandAndroidTopGrossingLists
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ThoughwerecommendmakingAndroidand
iOS(iPad/iPhone/iPod)apps,typicallyApp
BusinessOwnersmakemoremoneyoniOS.
Currently,iOSisdominatedbygamesinthetopgrossingcharts. Mostofourstudentshavehad
themostsuccessinthegamemarket.
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Butwevealsohadsuccesswithstudents
makingUtility,Entertainment,Business,Mus
ic,
Fitness, Photo,Sports,Travelappsandmore.
..
Regardlessoftheappyoumake,youwanttousemonetizationtechniquesthatwork.
Onthefollowingpagesyoullnd47different
tacticswerecommend.Picksomeoftheseand
trytheminyournextapp...
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Youdontseethisdone often,butI always
thoughtitwasasmartmove onAngry
Birdsparttodoit...when youpausetheir
games,theyhaveaslidingmore screenthatencouragesyoutodownloadtheir
otherapps. Prettysmart,becauseifyou
thinkaboutit peopleareoftenpausing
becausetheyarelosinginterest.
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When weoriginally releasedSteam Rush, wedidnt havethisfeature in. Weaddedit later and itdenitely increased revenue. Before auserstarts,
showthemitems they can buy... especiallypowerups. Thisincreasesthespend ofingame
currency.
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Freetoplayisdominatingtheappstore,butacommonrookiemistakeIseedevelopersmake,isnotaddingenoughtimestounlock. Inourgame,Maze,youcanseewehavethreecategoriesofunlocksthat
areallinterchangeable. Thisgivesthousandsofdifferentoptionsonhowtheycanusetheseitems.
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TopGrossingphenomenon,RageofBahamut,hasnumeroussalesandspecialoffers.Tryputtingapop-upafteranupdatethat
givesaspecialdiscount.Salesworkinthevirtual
worldtoo.
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ThisonefromPocketGemsblewmeawayandtakesthespecialoffertothenextlevel. Ithasa
greatspecialofferthatgoesawayafterXhours...withatimercounting
down!
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Thiswasasupersimpleonethataddedalottothebottomline. Whensomeonetriestobuysomethingandtheyareoutofmoney,insteadofsayingYoudonthaveanycoinssimplyask
themiftheywanttobuymore,andlinktothecoin
storeiftheysayYes.
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AnothergeniusonefromPocketGems. InTapPetHotelyourfoodexpiresifyoudontcollectitquickenough,y
oucanthenspendmoneytorestoreitorjustthrowitaway.
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WhenwereleasedAnimalMall,Imadeabigmistake. Originallywhenyoucamebacktothegame,youhadtoRESTOCKallyourstores. So
immediatelyuponreturningtothegame,youwereputtowork! Nowuserscollectcoinsuponreturn
andtheaveragetimepersessionwentupdramatically.
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Thisisasubtleonethatmakesab
igdifference. Youwanttokeepdistractions
whileingameplayataminimumsopeopleenjoyactuallyplayingthegame.Youneverwanttogive
peopleareasonnottoget
immersedintoyourgame.Themoreimmersiveitis,themoremoneyyouwillmake.
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Thisisaneasyonethatmanypeoplemiss. MostgameoverscreensjustsayRestartandMenu,butthisisagreattimetobringthembacktothe
storesotheycanspendtheirnewlyearnedmoney.
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Oneoftheoldesttricksinthebookanditsagoodone. Haveabuttononyourhomescreen
thatsaysmoregamesandwhentheyclickit,showthemyourothergames. Itsaneasyway
toturnonedownloadintotwo.
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GeniusmoveherebyImangStudios. Theyscoredover4.7millionFacebooklikesbygivingaway250coinsto
peoplewholikedtheirTempleRunfanpage.
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This isagreat techniqueandone thatworksonany type ofgamewith currency. Reward players
forcoming backonconsecutivedaysby
increasingtheamount offreecurrencyyougivethem. Playhaven.comhasan easy wayto
integrate this intoyourapps.
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ThiswasatestwedidinJumpPackthatblewmeaway. Wehadcreatedarobotthatwas5000gemstounlock. We
createdagoldenversionandmadeit20,000gemstogaugereactionandnowitsoneofthemostsoughtafteritemsinthe
game.
Creatinghighlevelcontentwillalwaysyieldbettermonetization.
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YoucanseeinAnimalMallweaddedrealsocialconnectivity. Youcanvisitfriends,addthemfromFacebookandbookmarkthemtorevisitlater.Allowinguserstoconnectandshowoff
newitemstotheirfriendsincreasesrevenueandinteractionwiththegame.
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InourgameSteam Rush,you can seewe have theMore Coinsbuttonright on thehome screen. Aconstant reminder they can unlockmoreitemsat
anytime buypurchasing currency. Youwant torespectfully make it easyfor users topurchase in
your game.
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Agoodgameshouldhavelotsofrepeatusers. Itsessentialtokeeptheentertainedandcomingbacktoyourapp. Tryevolvingthefolkloreofyourtitlewithmorestories.
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Manypeopledomorescreensbuthardlyanyonedoesingamepromotions. NoticehowbigthisoneisinStorm8shitgame,
WorldWar. Ittakesupnearly25%ofthe
screen.
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EverysocialgamehasaCoreLooptheplayermustdo. Thisloopshouldrequirethemtowaitawhilebeforeitsdoneandthenyoucanoffertospeeditupforthematthecos
tofingamecurrency. Strangely,thisisthemostmonetizedtechniqueinSocialGamesbutrarelyusedin
otherapps...Hmmm....;)
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OurgameJumpPackhasdonewellwithover1.5
milliondownloadsnow,butonebigmistakewemadeinthebeginningwasnotutoriaAtrstwegotmanybad
reviewsbecausepeopledidnknowhowtoplaythegame.
ProTip: Ifyoushowthemhowtopurchaseitemswithingamecurrencyinyour
tutorial,peoplewilldoitmoreoften!
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InAnimalMall,weletpeoplehireemployeestodothetappingforthem. Ifthereisashortcutthatcanbehandledbycode,thenthinkabout
lettingpeopleinyourgamepurchasesomethingthatallowsthemtouseit. Forexample,maybea
machinegunforautoresotheydonthavetoconstantlyhittherebutton.
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Ifyoucangureoutwhatareaofyourgameisastickingpoint,thengivesomefreecurrencytothematth
atpoint. Especiallyworksgoodwithanicestoryattached!
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Thistakesfreecurrencytothenextlevel.Insteadofjustgivingthemfreecurrency,let
thempickitupatthesameplacetheycanbuyitlater. Thiswaytheyknowexactlyhowto
purchasecurrencyiftheyeverwantit.
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WhenyouaredonewiththetutorialinAnimalMall,confettifallsfromthesky,balloonsrise
andthecrowdgoeswild. Dontforgettomake
yourgameexcitingwhentheypassmilestones,itgoesalongwayforuserengagement.
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AsupereasywaytoincreaseyournumberofitemstounlockisbyaddingUpgrades. Wedothisinmanygames. Forexample,inSteam
Rushyouhave4levelsforeachpowerup. Eachadditionallevelmakesthepoweruplastlonger.InAnimalMall,eachupgradeaddsmoreclothestotheshops. Manygamessuchas
TempleRundothisaswell.
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InstallRevMobinyourappanditshowspopups
whenpeoplelaunchit.Wetypicallydothisjustoncepergameonstartupanditsincreasedrevenuelikecrazy. Nowtheyhavefancyfullpageimagesthatconvertlikecrazy.
CheckoutRevMobHere.
http://trey.revmob.com/http://trey.revmob.com/http://trey.revmob.com/http://trey.revmob.com/http://trey.revmob.com/http://trey.revmob.com/http://trey.revmob.com/ -
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DontforgettoaddasmallCoinsbuttononyourgameoverscreen.
Typicallythisisthetime
whenpeoplearegoingtotakeabreakandspend
somemoney.
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Offeritemsforsalethatpeopcanuseoutsideofthegame
LockScreens,backgroundscreens,PCFacebooktimelinpics,musicfromthegame...
Microsofthasmadeakillingbdoingthistypeofthingon
XboxLive.
Youdontseethisofteninmobile,butitsagoodideaanprobablytheeasiestingame
itemsyoucanmake.
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Bringemphasistothingsthatyouwantthemtoclick. Inourgame,Maze,wehaveasparklinglightoncustomizewhereusersspendtheirin
gamecurrency. Wealsohaveaspecialcoinicononthegetcoinsbutton.
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Fromthemonetizationperspective,there
aretwo typesofpeoplewhowillplayyour
game. Peoplethatspend moneyand
peoplethatdonot.Thepeoplethatdonot
makeupabout99%, somakesureto
includesomewaysto monetizethemas
well!Thetwomostpopularchoicesare
FlurryAppCircleandTapJoy.
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When showing itemsthey can buy,default towhat is most popular. The goal isto get them
really intoyour game immediately. In ourgameChase, we start offshowing power ups as
they arethe most popular and pretty easytoattain.
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Somepuzzlegames(andregularapps)monetizewelbyhavingadsonthescreenthewholetime(notjustonthemenuscreens). Thiscanworkifithasadesignated
placefortheadanddoesnteffectgameplay,butwetypicallytrytostayawayfromthisinourhigherend
games.
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This is a one thatwe invented in house. Whenyou collect coinsinagame,we run them
through thecoinizerand theyturn intocoins.
By default wehave1 gem= 1coin, but we canchange this ratio anytimefor the 1.3million
installs ofMaze+bysimply changinga leonour server. This lets us instantlycontrol the
economy ofthegamewith a number tomakethe gameeasier or harder asneeded.
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DirectDealsthroughChartboostaregreat.SometimesyoucangetgreatCPI(costperinstall)
ifyouasknicely.
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Ifsomeonehasntplayedyourgamefor X
number ofdays,givethemaspecialbonus for
comingback.
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When usersgetbored,theyleaveyour
game. Whentheyleave yourgame, its not
goingto monetizeatall.Tokeepusers
happyand monetizationup,add quests
andobjectivestoyourgame! Heck,I hear it
workedprettygoodforWorld ofWarcraft.
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Toengageyouruser,havethemphysically
collectcurrency. Wetested havingcurrency
auto-generatedand bonusesattheend ofa
levelandboth droppedaverageplaytimes.
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InsteadofusingtheboringYes orNowhen
askingaquestion, get creative. HereCSR
Racinghasthe optionMiss OutinsteadofNo.
Prettysmart,I betthatincreasedconversions.
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Ifyourgamehasthemaincharactercollecting
currency,haverareitemsworthalotofmoneytoraiseexcitementandengagementlevels.
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We sharealot ofclothes and itemsin ourgames. For example, ChaseandMaze have
the exact same backpacks. Wemake a
resource onetime anduseit multipletimes,making iteasytoaddinitems and boost the
economy ofthegame.
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Automaticallygiveyourplayersamissionaftertheyvenishedto
increaseengagement.ConsolegameslikeGTAhavebeendoingthissuccessfullyforyears.
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Throwatwitterbuttononthegameoverscreen.ThishasgottentonsofactioninJumpPackandiOSmakesitsupereasy
now.
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Whileyouratit,throwanemailsharebuttontoo.Supereasyandgetscompetitivefriends
ghtingitoutwitheachother...increasingengagementandmonetization.
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Includelotsofpower-upsinyourgame. Wetestedpower-upsvsnopower-upsinourgameMonsterMagic(pictured)anditincreasedaverageplay
timeaton.
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AlsoshowingfullscreenadsafterXamountofturnscanmonetizewell.Thetheoryhereistoshowanadforanewgameoncesomeonemightbesickof
playingyourgame. Justmindthattoomanyadswill
turnoffauser.
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Applewillonlyallowcertaiappstorequiresignup. Ithastobegamesthattrulyhavesocialconnectivity. Ifyourgamedoes,then
considerdoingwhatRageoBahamutdoesandaskthem
tosigninwithfacebookimmediatelyuponbootingupthegame. Greatforviral
growth.
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Pokemonssloganwasmarketinggenius,CollectThemAll. Peoplelovetocollectthingsinthevirtualworldaswell. Throwupguestbookto
givepeopleanotherobjectivetoyourgame.
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Ifyouhave afreetoplaygame youwantto
makeiteasy forpeopleto purchasecoins
fromyou. Makesureyour currency
interfaceis clickable. Alsoaddanindicatortoittoshow itsclickable, likemaking ita
buttonorputtingsparklesaroundit. I
mean,whodoesntlovesparkles?
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Dospecialpromotionsfor holidays. (Imnot
declaringSharkWeekanationalholiday).
Thisworksevenbetterifittsthelook/feel
ofyourapp.
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Youdontseethisoften,butwetestedanditconvertsEXTREMELYwell. Inthisexample,ZyngasgameHangingWithFriendslets
youpurchasenew
backgroundsfor$.99. Noamountofingamecurrencywillunlocktheseitems.
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Thanks for checking out our strategy
guide. Make sure to drop by the blog at
GameAcademy.com for big updates on the
app business and more reports like this.
http://www.gameacademy.com/http://www.gameacademy.com/