tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11719805.post1419655215608377877..comments2023-11-03T01:45:11.288-07:00Comments on Lost Garden: A Services Strategy for Casual GamesDaniel Cookhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10437870541630835660noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11719805.post-25685092730551691282008-09-08T08:32:00.000-07:002008-09-08T08:32:00.000-07:00Very cool site. I've read you comment about you h...Very cool site. I've read you comment about you having too many projects to take on any more so the question is, where should we go to find an artist of your calibre to work on some game graphics ?<BR/><BR/>Regards,<BR/>LeeLeehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12448816921115100084noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11719805.post-20156962023910411242008-05-23T09:19:00.000-07:002008-05-23T09:19:00.000-07:00First of all, Danc, Just want to say thanks for wr...First of all, Danc, Just want to say thanks for writing this blog. I've been reading for a few years now.<BR/><BR/>Second, while I question the promise of traditional casual games, I think the idea of applying game design to non-game experiences is where the big opportunity lies. And in a way that's the future of design, at least on the web: http://tinyurl.com/3fmq2kAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11719805.post-26782691988555034832008-04-20T11:50:00.000-07:002008-04-20T11:50:00.000-07:00Nice article but how can you really use a portal t...Nice article but how can you really use a portal to get customers if they are not really giving that kind of information ?<BR/><BR/>They take half the chunk of your money and don't give you any info about their customers, so developers only really have the solution of releasing your product by yourself. If you go this route then it's going to take quite some time (years) to attract customers to your products.<BR/><BR/>Also you must have in mind that there are some products that <B>ONLY</B> sell through portals because they are well tailored to portals. I couldn't imagine a hidden object game, or puzzle game selling well outside a portal.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11719805.post-5081200530935107602008-04-09T21:11:00.000-07:002008-04-09T21:11:00.000-07:00I think you are drawing an artificial distinction ...I think you are drawing an artificial distinction between the two, and missing the middle-ground - online aware downloaded clients.<BR/><BR/>For a living I make downloadable software that communicates internally with web-servers via web-services or other mechanisms. Building this type of technology is not particularly difficult (especially if you are using a modern framework like .Net, but even in regular C++ there are web-service libraries available), and gives you control over the level of online-connectivity you implement. It may start with a simple posting of online scores, but it can then evolve to the full set of metrics and community-integration and in-game micro payments.<BR/><BR/>This has nothing to do with compromising artistic integrity however. Whether you attempt to monetise your products or not is unrelated to the obvious benefits to building online-aware games. If for no other reason that it allows you to find things out like who plays your game, how long they play for, what aspects of the game they spend the most time on, etc. These metrics can then be fed into your next game, allowing you to improve as a developer directly from accurately measured feedback, and returned back to the people who enjoy your work.<BR/><BR/>Building a community is an end in itself, regardless of the financial implications.Chrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01820409963072076964noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11719805.post-644527137010231752008-04-09T18:25:00.000-07:002008-04-09T18:25:00.000-07:00I was discussing this with my collegue, we're putt...I was discussing this with my collegue, we're putting out a casual game in the very near future. <BR/><BR/>Your points are really good if you're doing something that is a browser-client, multiplayer kind of thing, because you get all kinds of metrics all the time, it's a singular game/brand, and you can monetize however the design is suited. For people making casual games as products though, you're screwed, they wouldn't give you customer information if let them keep all the revenue. <BR/><BR/>So my take-away is "make really lite, webby, browser-embedded, multiplayer stuff that you can monetize with microtransactions" which is great, but most people making casual games have no deliverance because they're working on download products.<BR/><BR/>Though I guess that's what you get for compromising your artistic integrity and not just making something totally indie.Patrickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13614962832390315553noreply@blogger.com