7 Highlights from the interview with AFK Journey Dev Lilith:
When a new game enters public testing, many people use the first day’s performance to judge its quality. After all, most mobile games peak at launch. However, this curse doesn’t seem to apply to “AFK: Journey” (hereinafter referred to as “Journey”)—more than 20 days after its international test launch, the game continues to surpass its records, even rising from around Top 30 to Top 7 on the US iOS best-seller list.
Considering “Journey’s” multi-platform gaming options, its actual revenue may be higher than what the charts suggest.
1. AFK Journey hasn’t peaked yet; too early to judge.
+ Rising after launch.
Team doesn’t know how the game will perform; nervous.
2. IAP improved KPIs.
“A good numerical game must enhance the game experience after players pay. Here’s a small comparison: in September 2022, we tested without payments, and the data wasn’t great; when we tested with payments, the data improved significantly.”
3. Development started in 2021.
The problem with updating AFK Arena rather than creating a new title is that the genre declines over the course of six months to a year. Confirms the impact of Genshin on the 3D world and the importance of storytelling.
+ Lots of demand for custom narrative pacing (skip elements)
4. 200+ Headcounts
“but just the art team had 80-100 people. A 3D team of over 200 people worked for 3 years, so the investment was significant.”
5. Tough Design Choices but Clear Goals
+ Vertical for accessibility (one-handed play), ala Arena. Joystick was crucial.
+ Cut social spaces feature (!)
6. Expansion based content model
“Thus, we want to emulate the expansion pack model of “World of Warcraft,” where it’s okay if a player AFKs (away from keyboard) for a version, as they can return in the next version without cost.”
+ Aimed for 25 hours of mainline content
7. SquadRPG declines 6 months to a year after launch, and AFK Arena has declined, too.
No surprise there! But it’s unclear what their thesis is to mitigate this.
Translation: https://lnkd.in/eeEG8pfr
Original: https://lnkd.in/e3xuYjT3
