There Is No Single Right Approach To A Feature

There's no single right approach to a feature or a game. I learned this lesson early on at Playrix.Years ago, I reviewed a new feature prototype for Fishdom.It was complex, experimental, and heavily inspired by another game.After playing, I felt the prototype missed the mark.The feature didn't evoke the desired emotions like its reference.So, I prepared detailed feedback:• Pointed out the flaws and differences• Suggested changes to align it closer to the referenceI was confident my feedback was perfect.I thought I found the only "right answer," as if it was a math equation.Later on, my mentor looked at my feedback and said:💬 "Anton, your feedback boils down to remaking everything from scratch to get closer to the initial reference.While that may be valid, did you consider finding something that works well and could be developed in a new direction, even […]

Anton Slashcev June 24

Journal

Game Publishers vs Investors: Key Differences

I have made deals with both investors and publishers. Here are the key differences between them based on my experience: Funding 💰- Publisher: Provides milestone-based funding specifically for the game.- Investor: Provides lump-sum or structured equity investments for the company.Terms & Ownership 📜- Publisher: Takes 30-70% of game revenue, may own the game IP, and covers their costs before distributing profits.- Investor: Takes 20-40% equity in your company, with the IP remaining yours.Focus 🎯- Publisher: Seeks marketable concepts, high success potential, clear USPs, and alignment with their portfolio.- Investor: Looks for great founders, a cohesive team, and a strong, innovative vision.Deal Speed ⏳- Publisher: Faster (1-3 months) with a detailed publishing agreement.- Investor: Slower (3-6 months) due to due diligence, legal issues, and incorporation.Additional Value 🌟- Publisher: Handles marketing, distribution, game feedback, QA, and localization.- Investor: May provide marketing loans […]

Anton Slashcev June 21

Journal

Desire Beats Pain In Game Monetization

Many game designers think the key to successful monetization is creating pain points for players. But this often leads to mediocre conversion rates and significant churns.Why?Because Pain points give players two options to relieve the pain:1. Pay2. Close the gameAnd many will choose to close.A more effective strategy is to create Desire:Make players really want something that requires a purchase.Desire also causes a form of Pain—the Pain of not having what they want.But there's a crucial difference:- Pain points offer two choices to relieve the pain: pay or leave- Desire offers only one: obtain the Desired itemThis way, players feel like they're making their own decisions and getting extra value for their money.In the "carrot and stick" system, the carrot always wins.Desire > Pain

Anton Slashcev June 20

Journal

12 Key Money Metrics in Mobile Game Development

🛠️ Product 1. LTV (Lifetime Value): The total revenue a player is expected to generate over their entire time playing the game.2. ARPU (Average Revenue Per User): The average revenue generated by a single user over a specific period (daily/weekly/monthly).3. Conversion Rate: The percentage of users who make at least one purchase.4. Average Check: The average amount spent per transaction. 🚀 Marketing 5. ROAS (Return on Ad Spend): Evaluates the profitability of user acquisition.6. CPI (Cost Per Install): The average cost incurred to acquire a new user who installs the game.7. Target Spend: The planned budget for user acquisition (daily/weekly/monthly).Increasing the volume of target spending usually reduces ROAS.8. CPM (Cost Per Mille): The cost per thousand ad impressions. 💼 Business 9. ROI (Return on Investment): Measures overall profitability by comparing the net profit to the total investment cost.10. Burn Rate: […]

Anton Slashcev June 18

Journal

What Is The Process Of Creating a Narrative In Games?

Here is the pipeline I created and used when I was a Narrative Producer: 0) Logline— High-concept premise— Two or three sentences— Includes the protagonist, goal, and main conflict1) Synopsis— Brief story overview (1-2 pages)— Follows a three-act structure— Outlines main plot points, key characters, and the overall story arc2) Story Outline— Breakdown narrative into acts and major chapters— Highlight key events, character development, and plot twists— Roadmap for the entire story2A) Worldbuilding— Create the game's setting— Focus on aspects that influence the story and characters2B) Characters Passports— Backstory and motivation— Key character traits— Role in the plot— Description of appearance— References2C) Speech Characteristics— Unique speech patterns for each character— Examples: old-fashioned or slang speech, stuttering, etc.— Sample of dialogue3) Chapter Flowchart— Visual representation of story progression— Detail branching paths, scenes, player decisions, and possible outcomes— Indicates game mechanics used […]

Anton Slashcev June 17

Journal

Game Retention Cheatsheet

To improve retention, it's necessary to deconstruct the factors influencing it. Here’s a cheatsheet on how to keep players engaged from the start: I. Short-Term Retention (Day 1-3) 1) Onboarding:🎯 Clear objectives🧠 Minimal cognitive load⚡ Immediate action2) First Impressions:🎨 Strong graphics and good readability🖱️ Intuitive UI/UX📜 Compelling story hook3) Core Gameplay Loop:🎮 Fun & engaging gameplay📏 Easy-to-understand rules🎁 Rewarding sessions II. Mid-Term Retention (Day 3-30) 1) Game Depth:♟️ Diverse strategies🆕 New mechanics🗺️ Side quests2) Live-Ops:🔄 Regular updates🎉 Events⏳ Limited-time content3) Progression & Difficulty:🏆 Balanced challenges📈 Satisfying progression4) Engagement Mechanics:🎁 Daily bonuses🗓️ Quests🔔 Push notifications III. Long-Term Retention (Day 30-360) 1) Meta and Long-Term Goals📑 Narrative🏡 Decor👤 Character customization🎨 Cosmetic items2) Endgame content and loop 🏁3) Social engagement👪 Community Features:🛡️ Guilds and Clans🏅 Leaderboards🤝 Co-op, PvE & PvP events4) Balanced economy ⚖️5) Technical Stability🛠️ Continuous optimization🐛 Bug fixes IV. Monetization 💸 […]

Anton Slashcev June 17

Journal

Passion For Games Is A Huge Business Advantage

Why? 1. Passion = KnowledgeEver met someone who lights up when discussing a topic?They can talk for hours, knowing every tiny detail.This deep immersion can't be faked—it's driven by passion.2. Passion = Understanding the AudienceIf you love the games you make, you know exactly what your audience wantsBecause you are the audience!3. Passion = High Product ValuePassionate creators can't tolerate mediocrity.They strive to enhance every aspect of the game, adding interesting details and putting their soul into the project.Players notice this dedication.4. Passion = Going the Extra MileEvery project faces tough moments.In these times, the willingness to go the extra mile is crucial.Those who don't care will give up.Those who love the game will find creative solutions to succeed.Of course, other qualities are essential in game development.Game design, business skills, management, strategy, etc. All are critical.But a love for games […]

Anton Slashcev June 8

Journal

Most Game Tutorials Suck

But why?Because they feel like boring homework instead of an adventure. Limiting the player's freedom Making you do obvious things Requiring reading lots of dull text Nullifying challenge, excitement, and the sense of flow Yet, players still need the necessary context to understand the rules, objectives, and controls.So how do you do it right?Here are the key principles for creating effective tutorials:1. Teach through gameplay 🎮Let players learn by doing and experimenting.2. Use visuals 🖼Arrows, interface elements, and lighting work better than walls of text.3. Minimize tutorial steps 🕒Keep it short and engaging.4. Avoid "hard" tutorials 🔓Don’t lock controls unless it's absolutely necessary.5. Skip the obvious 🤔Don’t teach what players already know (familiar controls, or tutorials for features the player has already seen).6. Make actions intuitive 🧠Ensure the required actions are naturally understandable during the tutorial.By following these principles, you can create […]

Anton Slashcev May 20

Journal

Ultimate Cheat Sheet for Mobile Game Marketing

In a struggling market for performance marketing, mobile developers are increasingly exploring diverse promotional strategies for their games. 🔍 Let's break down what mobile game marketing consists of.Broadly, there are 2 sources of traffic for games:1. Organic Traffic: Players find your app in the store on their own 🌱2. Paid Traffic: Players click on an ad and go to the app page in the store 💸What drives Organic and Paid traffic?------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Paid Traffic is influenced by four main factors:1. CVR (Conversion Rate): Measures the percentage of users who install the game after viewing the store page 📈2. CTR (Click-Through Rate): Indicates the percentage of people who click on an ad after seeing it 👀3. CPM (Cost Per Mille): Represents the cost of 1,000 ad impressions 💰4. UA Settings like target audience, network channel, geo, etc.🛠️------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Organic Traffic comes from either search results […]

Anton Slashcev May 17

Journal

Live-Ops Product Management: Cycle Breakdown

Product management during the live-ops stage is very much like maneuvering ships in the open ocean. 🌊Here’s a breakdown of the cycle, complete with sailors' analogies to keep you anchored! ⚓️🌟 1. Vision (1-10 years)Objective: Define the long-term purpose of the productParticipants: Executives, Producer/Product Managers, StakeholdersAnalogy: Guiding Star 🌟🧭 2. Strategy (6-24 months)Objective: Outline key directions to achieve the visionParticipants: Product Manager, Executives, MarketingAnalogy: Compass 🧭🗺️ 3. Roadmap (3-12 months)Objective: High-level plan for major milestones and deliverablesParticipants: Producer, PM, Heads of DepartmentsAnalogy: Treasure Map 🗺️⚓ 4. Milestones & Releases (1-2 months)Objective: Detail the next release with features and contentParticipants: Producer, PM, QA, Team LeadsAnalogy: Anchor ⚓🚢 5. Sprint (1-3 weeks)Objective: Plan the work for the next sprintParticipants: PM, Team Leads, Heads of DepartmentsAnalogy: At Full Sail! 🚢🛠️ 6. Daily Operations (daily)Objective: Execute tasks and monitor progressParticipants: Development, Design & QA, […]

Anton Slashcev May 13

Journal

Don’t Make New Mobile Games

A piece of advice for new dev teams:Don't make new mobile games.Choose another platform for now (PC / UGC / Web).Here's why:From a business perspective, developing new mobile games has lost its appeal over the past four years because of:📊 Success Rate (For Experienced Teams):— Then: ~1 successful game out of 10-15 projects.— Now: <1 successful game out of 50 projects, even for top teams. 🔽💰 Development Costs:— Then: MVP development required 5-8 experienced specialists.— Now: 20-30 or more for casual games. 🔼💲 Potential Profit (Revenue - UA spends): remains unchanged at best.➡ As a result, the Expected Value of prototyping has decreased. 🔻Expected Value = (Potential Profit * Success Rate) - Dev CostsEven the biggest companies like Playrix and Supercell struggle to launch new games despite unlimited budgets.What does this mean for new teams?— The entry ticket for mobile game […]

Anton Slashcev May 9

Journal

How To Review Game Builds Like a Pro?

After reviewing more than 1,000 game builds I have prepared a framework for a Producer \ Creative Director \ Lead GD to review a build.Here are the aspects to evaluate and questions to ask yourself while playing:1. General Game Feel 😊 Fun: Is the game enjoyable? Why or why not? Engagement: Does the game make you want to play more? Paying Motivation: What would make you spend money in the game? Memorable Moments: What stands out about the game? Confusion: What aspects were confusing and how can they be improved? 2. Core Gameplay 🎮 Basic Actions: Are the mechanics like shooting satisfying? Complexity & Depth: How deep are the game mechanics? Clarity: Are the game goals and rules easy to understand? Variability: Does the game offer various playstyles? Evolution: Do the game mechanics evolve? 3. Art & UI 🎨 Visual […]

Anton Slashcev May 6

Anton Slashcev

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