Indie Games Contests: 12 Tips for Developers

Among the 5 million mobile applications, the chances are that users will notice yours, unfortunately, a little. To attract the attention of the industry and the players, many small studios participate in contests like the Casual Connect Indie Prize or DevGAMM Awards .

Participation in such competitions is a good experience for novice developers. You get not only feedback, but also the attention of players and senior colleagues. However, even to get on the shortlist of a major competition is not easy, and to win it is even more difficult. After evaluating hundreds of games during the Appodeal contest for indie developers, we identified the main problems that will prevent your game from reaching the final. If possible, avoid this.
')

Do not overload the player with a large number of complex rules.

For an average player, the concentration of attention is not so great (and now imagine the judges - in one day they need to evaluate dozens of games, each of which is given quite a bit of time). Therefore, if reading the rules to the very start of the game takes more than a minute, you have lost the user.

Do not complicate - explain the rules of the game gradually, as the game progresses.





Bring Them Home , the finalists of the Appodeal Indie Game Blast Off Contest, introduce players to the course gradually, adding one rule at each level.

Do not let players feel like losers

Here the user downloaded your game, read the rules and clicked the “Play” button. After 2 seconds, he sees the inscription: '' The game is over! ''. Another 2 seconds is the same. Another attempt - nothing changes, game over! And there are no lives left. After such a failure, users are unlikely to continue, too insulting.

Let the player feel like a winner! Balance complexity: let the gameplay require some effort, but not excessive, and stimulate to continue the game.

Do not keep players waiting

Video and screen savers at the beginning of the game - a great idea. They bring us up to date, represent the main characters, create the first impression. If the screensaver is also funny - great, it will amuse users and be remembered for a long time. However, an introduction that lasts more than 30 seconds is a bad idea. Users are here for the game, not for the Hollywood blockbuster.

Avoid long screen savers, especially with slowly appearing and disappearing text. Or at least add the option to skip it.



Runaway Duffy , one of the contest finalists, has a charming screensaver. And you can skip it.

Do not greet players with advertising

It is strange to see how a company that deals with advertising mediation discourages you from displaying it? We like it when developers monetize their projects with advertising, but this must be done correctly. Display ads immediately after the launch of the application - one of the worst tricks, and it is very annoying users.

Do not be tempted to immediately show ads , especially full-screen video, to new players. Give them the opportunity to enjoy the game, and leave the ads for later.

Another tip: think about the frequency of ad impressions. If one round of the game takes an average of 30 seconds, you do not need to include 30-second non-skipped videos after each one. Once in 10 rounds - that's a good ratio. Experiment, but watch for retention metrics.

Do not offer in-app purchases too annoyingly

Do you come across sellers who run up as soon as you enter the store, slip a completely unnecessary item and eagerly persuade it to buy it? Then you understand that sales do not work that way. If your game involves in-app purchases, and they make up most of the monetization, pay attention to how other games do.

First, if you put too much pressure on users, they will simply stop playing. Secondly, the built-in purchases do not work with new players - they will not spend money until they decide that they like the game and they are ready to invest in it.

Instead of pushing purchases to new players, work hard to get the game hooked . As soon as you understand what happened, fine, open the store.



Simulator-novel Episodes correctly bases monetization on the storyline. Purchases in Episodes open to the player additional stories that are available only once. It makes paying a price right now so as not to miss the interesting plot twist.

Do not send another copy of the popular game to the competition.

Your game should not be uniquely unique, but it should not be a complete copy of the famous hit. Even if such a game accidentally wins, imagine what happens when the public finds out about it. Everyone will be very embarrassed. If you are still hoping to repeat the success of Candy Crush, at least add unexpected details to the plot.

Try to make the game original. Add zest to the popular plot!

Do not use free design elements.

After reviewing hundreds of games, the judges find it difficult to distinguish one from the other. The most memorable ones usually have an original visual style, and among the two gameplay-like projects, the odds are higher in that where the pictures are more interesting.

Free publicly available visual elements are a good idea at the initial stage of development, but unique art will bring much more value in the long run. If art is not your strongest side, make the game neat and minimalist. The intricate, but poorly made design looks worse than simple minimalism.

Limit duplicate elements and show imagination. Hire an artist in the end.



Loony Quack shooter, the finalist of the Appodeal contest, is immediately remembered for amusing and unusual characters such as a killer duck with a saw or a dead duck with a scythe.

Try to get closer to perfection.

Presentation is an important thing. Before submitting an application for the contest, make sure that your game is polished to the maximum (unless you give it a retro look intentionally). In any case, check for typos and spelling in texts and descriptions. Prepare high-quality screenshots for which you can evaluate the game, check whether your site is working (if it exists) and whether links to it are active.

Yes, these things seem obvious, but you won’t believe how many developers send a broken archive or give a link to download the game from a half-dead website.

Do not forget the tutorial

Even if the game seems super simple to you, add a tutorial at the start and the opportunity to review it later. This is an optional element, but it makes life much easier for players and is good at retaining users. In addition, the user can postpone the game for a while and forget the rules. Help him to easily remember them.

Add a tutorial (short!) To quickly remind the rules and purpose of the game.



Colorfill.io , the winner of the Appodeal Indie Game Blast Off Contest, has a tutorial with rules, tips, and helpful tips. It can be skipped at the beginning of the game and re-viewed after a while.

Do not rely on the Internet

If you need an Internet connection or a server connection to start the game, let the users know in advance. Ideally, you should have the option of playing without going online, otherwise the user will be stuck on loading the first screen.

Moreover, the launch of loading additional items immediately after installing the game is a bad form. Let the players feel the game, get them interested. And then offer to download additional items.

And of course, make sure that the game works on all major device models.

Make the game available even if the internet connection is down.

Do not forget about the promo code for judges

If your game has hidden content and you want the judges to get to it, or if you have to pay for the game, do not forget to give the judges of the contest a promotional code for free access.

But at the same time, clearly and in detail explain to the organizers how this code works, what it is for, and how and why judges should use it.

A good description is the key to success.

An understandable brief description of the game will help the judges remember what the point is, when they need to select the finalists for the shortlist from hundreds of projects already reviewed.

Include in the description the key points, interesting and memorable details of your game.

Good example:

“Loony Quack is a simple animated arcade game. With the egg as a weapon, the player must defeat the armada of crazy ducks by pressing the screen at the right moment. The game works on the principle of "easy to play, not easy to win": elementary rules, an intuitive interface, an ever-increasing level of complexity. All the ducks in the game are memorable characters with unique animation and soundtrack. Each of them has a name and a story. ”

Although following these twelve points does not provide one hundred percent victory in contests, but with them you will definitely increase your chances of getting into short sheets, and hence on the attention of the players and the industry. Good luck!