Sergei Zenkin

How to build game monetization around skins and customization? The most basic tips. 🎀✨This is not a rare occurrence when game developers try to stand out (especially in f2p) and build games around selling visuals and vanity stuff. Is it possible? Definitely. Is it possible to achieve success by copying the "homework" from the most successful projects? Most unlikely. 1. 🖨️Avoid copy-pasting from other games. What worked 10 years ago for big hits will most probably not work now. 2. 🌎 The project should be quite popular, it should be a hit in terms of audience. People don't need to buy new vanity items every day, also it will be meaningless to charge high prices for such content because it will be demotivating for the players.3. 🎆Vanity & customization content should be amazing and interesting (as possible) for the audience. […]

We’ve just launched a collaboration with Girls und Panzer in WoT! Hooray!🌟In my personal opinion this is a great and wholesome anime for those who love tank history. And that’s why: — A lot of different vehicles made with care and respect to historic details. Tanks are also main characters of this show!— Non-violent setting! Everything is presented as a sports competition between different schools. All tanks are equipped to conduct staged battles, without real danger to the participants (it may not always be believable though).— Different schools based on references to different countries with a little flair around it. And with fitting vehicles fleets.— Lighthearted story, quite simple and rather good for such a theme. It is building the foundation for competition between different schools with extensive tank battles in it.But I admit, I may be a bit biased. […]

Game Matchmaker cheat sheet with components that can be used for MM design! ⚖🎮 Use it to find a personalized approach that suits your game! 🌟Some explanations:— Couple of parts are simplified for the sake of brevity— Several parts from PvP block can be used in PvE, but with lesser impact— Analytics present here only as a reminder to not forget about it. And also because it will be difficult to fit it on one page.— Some terms may not be very clearly defined (I tried to do my best here)📚In terms of genres, there are some differences:— For premium games it is important to be ready for big number of people. And with bunch of MM systems from the start.— For f2p and GaaS games it may be scaled through game live ops after the release, if the audience […]

While we may be living in a time of crisis for the gaming industry, there are still a lot of cool games that have been released or are coming out. On different platforms and markets, both indie and AAA, even MMORPG has a lot of stuff! 😎 🎉 This year looks truly special for the MMORPG genre. There are:— Expansion for the World of Warcraft— Expansion for the Final Fantasy XIV Online (with boosted graphics)— Updates in Destiny and TESO— Guild Wars 3 development confirmed— Pax Dei, Blue Protocol, Throne and Liberty planned for release this yearPersonally I want to check up FFXIV. Already played for 100 hours, but it is clearly not enough. 🤗

Master the types of in-game customization with a single cheat sheet!🎀✨Use it to find a way to implement more meaningful customization in your own game.It’s almost universal and can be used for lots of game genres (with some creative adaptation). The best fit should be for RPGs, Shooters, Multiplayer games, and Character-oriented projects with heroes, vehicles, weapons, tools, and other stuff that can be collected and used in that way.Remember, customization can be used:— As basic content, available for everyone— As a content reward— As a status reward, for example in ranked or challenging quests— In monetization features📊Based on that, always check what you aim for improving gameplay and game systems, setting goals and working with retention, and developing diverse monetization that makes more sense overall. 🎯Don’t overinvest in a single direction or specific part of it to avoid a […]

A kind of anniversary: 10 years ago I decided to start working on f2p games. 🏆🎮It was a difficult decision that I weighed for six months. F2P's reputation was worse than it is now, mostly it was represented by browser and mobile casual games. I wondered: is there a way for such games to be as fun and engaging as retail titles for PC? With those thoughts I applied to RJ Games and got work at "UnderControl" - browser tactical RTS in modern setting. And never regretted this decision. After all: I've always dreamed of working with RTS, the genre on PC was mostly non-existent, Clash royale was't released yet.At RJ from the one side the team was struggling with soft-launch that gone wrong: project was on the brink of closure when I joined (or it felt this way). Game […]

🕹Gamedev history: The unexpected impact of Dota on f2p RPGs in Asia. 🐔💤 Once there was a game, capitalized greatly on the Dota lore and content, had collab with Assassin creed 2 and placed major mark on f2p RPG genre in Asia. Gameplay was about going into battles with Dota characters, doing ultimates and leveling heroes with same items just like in Dota. The name of the game was Dot Arena.✨ It seems that the overall idea of dota-like progression is later impacted other games in the genre a lot. Many of modern f2p RPG often designed and structured in the rather similar way (e.g. Blue Archive). (but for now it is more a guess than a proper research 🧐) The Dot Arena was an instant hit, the core idea was super familiar to the players and capitalization on the […]

How to build a PvP game with Esports and hardcore competitive features. 🎮🏅Checklist for beginners. During working on the PvP game it is often tempting to go towards advanced competitive gameplay or even eSports-related features. Especially when team members are passionate about it. Is it hard to implement? It's not very difficult to do, but to make everything work together - that is the main challenge. Especially when it goes to the monetization and user engagement parts.1.🏆Great and popular games have better chances in the Esports field. And it is not working in reverse: games can support Esport and compete perfectly, but that will not make it popular and interesting if it can’t bring some features to stand out in terms of gameplay and overall looks. So it is important to build a good game in the first place.2.🚀The game […]

7 years ago Guns of Boom was released to global launch. A mobile f2p shooter with emphasis on easy controls and bright cartoonish style, 100M+ downloads.🚀🐄💥 I was there, as part of the team making the final push possible. Shooter genre on mobile already had some notable games at that time: thriving slow-paced tactical shooters, as well as shooters tailored for the tastes of lesser audiences. The goal of Guns of Boom was daring: to build an accessible and appealing shooter for everybody. Fast, but simple. With complex core mechanics, but without gloomy hardcore vibes. 🚩At the beginning of 2017 GoB already had polished core gameplay and good tech. But the question was: is it enough? Is the game really standing up to be a hit? In terms of advanced gameplay, player motivation, and UX there were uncertainties. COD and […]

A lot of amazing games keep coming out, setting new records and showing the world how it should be done. 😌⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ It's nice to know that it's not only gloomy changes that are happening in game development industry right now.