Journal

🚀 Reelshort: Real Life Interactive Stories – IAP & Ad Monetization Design 🤑Reelshort has scaled to $30 million per month, with $23M from IAPs and another $5.8M in ad revenue. This crazy growth showcases the next step iteration in the interactive story genre. 🎮Reelshort extends the choices game category by producing full TV shows where viewers make choices that influence the storyline. The content is theatrical, filled with cliffhangers, and presented as 90-minute soap operas broken down into 1-minute chapters. Each story only costs about $300k for Crazy Maple Studios to make  📺💰 Ad Monetization Strategy at Reelshort’s Core:- 13 Rewarded Ad Opportunities Per Day- 7 rewarded ads to earn coins for content choices where value increases the more ads you watch.- 5 rewarded ads to unlock new chapters.- 1 rewarded ad to unlock coins for welcome back rewards.Another prominent […]

Fortnite collaborates with so many IPs that it’s easy to forget the game itself is a powerful IP 🧱the LEGO Group just launched a new line of physical playsets based on Fortnite, and I absolutely love this move!While exploring UEFN and getting blown away by the LEGO Fortnite regime, I overlooked the potential of Fortnite becoming a part of the LEGO universe—not just the other way around. 🏰Back in April 2022, KIRKBI (owners of LEGO) invested $2B in Epic Games. With that level of investment, it was only a matter of time before we saw deeper integration between the two brands. And LEGO isn’t the only major partner. Earlier this year, Disney invested $1.5B in Epic Games. 💰Given the epic (🙃) results we’ve already seen from the LEGO collab, I’m excited to see where Epic could go with Disney—especially considering […]

I was playing 'Pin Out Master' and got this collab code for Hamster Kombat. 🐹🔑I know it’s something related to cryptocurrency, but that’s about it. Can anyone explain more about what Hamster Kombat is? I’m curious!---#GamingCollab #HamsterKombat #GameCommunity #MobileGaming

10 bad pieces of advice to ruin your game.(and 10 tips to make it decent)10 spots to nail or fail:• Gameplay• Story• Sound• Replay• Setting• Controls• Graphics• Challenge• Originality• PromotionAsk your inner Gru 😈What bad advice would he give?Then, ask your inner anti-hero how to fix it!

ReelShort by Crazy Maple Studio scaled to more than $1 Mil. a day 🤑 with around 200K downloads a day. Is it an App? Is it a game? It's a money-printing machine 😅. This story is one of the craziest games we covered this year, redefining the whole interactive story genre to its base. Get the full rundown here 😎ReelShort "App" is in the Film & TV streaming category with contenders such as Disney+, HBO or Netflix. By hiding its gaming nature it is much more approachable and mainstream. The overall UI as seen in the images really looks like a streaming app, but don't be fooled 😵, beneath the polished exterior lies the tried and tested interactive story game, that has took its monetization to the next level. By the use of soft currency in interactive choices, clever ad […]

Some of the best free resources for game developers(It's all in one place for you to grab)Game Development Resources:My Career Guidehttps://lnkd.in/dRG5kTeZThe Ultimate Collectionhttps://lnkd.in/dbKb8xjJTop 10 Tools Every Game Developer Must Knowhttps://lnkd.in/dmibFbxeLearn to Code for Freehttps://lnkd.in/deeE86-CGame Programming Patterns - Free ebookhttps://lnkd.in/deppg78qProgramming Patterns on Unity - Guide from Unityhttps://lnkd.in/dC_Pux8cIntroduction to Game Development with Unity https://lnkd.in/dhKQtjigGitHub Student Developer Pack - Access real dev toolshttps://lnkd.in/d2iiW8nZ________________________Game Design Resources :Game Accessibility Guidelines - Principles and exampleshttps://lnkd.in/dNaRrEysGuide on game development and businesshttps://www.develop.games/Game Design Concepts - Free videos about game designhttps://lnkd.in/dhz4pzSE________________________Game Art/Asset ResourcesFree Blender textures, models and morehttps://lnkd.in/dp7jFUMMFree tutorials and brushes for digital paintinghttps://lnkd.in/dCeCcySzRepository of freely licensed game art and assetshttps://opengameart.org/________________________Community ResourcesActive Reddit community for discussing game devhttps://lnkd.in/dma-dUE4Game Design Communitieshttps://lnkd.in/dCkDrQw4

What to keep your game fresh?ENTERTAIN YOUR PLAYERS WITH EVENTS!An event is a time-limited experience that boosts engagement and monetization.These 11 parts give you a full event view 👇 𝟭. 𝗣𝘂𝗿𝗽𝗼𝘀𝗲• Why are you starting this event?• No clear purpose means scattered focus.• Tip: Express the purpose in 1-2 sentences.𝟮. 𝗦𝘂𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗖𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗮• What targets will define success?• No criteria, no way to measure success.• Tip: Make criteria specific and achievable.𝟯. 𝗩𝗶𝘀𝘂𝗮𝗹 𝗥𝗲𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲𝘀• What’s the look and feel of the event?• No clear visuals disrupt development.• Tip: Use images to inspire creativity.𝟰. 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗽𝘁• How can you summarize the event?• No concept, no stakeholder alignment.• Tip: Keep the concept jargon-free, and simple.𝟱. 𝗠𝗲𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗰𝘀• How will players interact with the event?• No depth in mechanics, no lasting interest.• Tip: Tie mechanics to the core concept.𝟲. 𝗦𝗰𝗼𝗽𝗲• What’s inside or outside the event?• No […]

Here are the top 10 gaming creative takeaways on what’s NOT working based on many GamePlan diagnostics we did for publishers of all sizes: 1. Gameplay mechanic not recognizable in a fraction of a second. 2. Too much repetition in visual execution. 3. Content that is too generic or too niche. 4. Stock footage. 5. Trying to say too much. 6. Visual clutter (such as unnecessary UI elements). 7. Everything is too small (made on a large screen, viewed on a tiny mobile). 8. Not isolating variables when testing creatives = no learning. 9. Doing only basic ad iterations. 10. Not utilizing affordable 3D hooks.

Want to start your career in Game Dev?FOLLOW THESE THREE STEPS:𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗣 𝟭: 𝗦𝗘𝗟𝗙-𝗟𝗘𝗔𝗥𝗡𝗜𝗡𝗚. ↳ Get familiar with the field.📚 BOOKS:The Art of Game Designhttps://lnkd.in/e7pAJpdwBlood, Sweat, and Pixelshttps://lnkd.in/escwgRZBReality is Brokenhttps://lnkd.in/ePCtAzr8Game Feelhttps://lnkd.in/eXwTAa7v▶️ YOUTUBEBrackeyshttps://lnkd.in/eyFD6UEZExtra Creditshttps://lnkd.in/e3kSmPGQGame Maker's Toolkithttps://lnkd.in/eShb3qwdGame Developers Conference (GDC)https://lnkd.in/eppfYqi4📢 COMMUNITIES Reddit (r/gamedev)https://lnkd.in/ecnH3JbcSlack (IndieDev)https://lnkd.in/eAmJaE96Discord (Game Dev League)https://lnkd.in/eagsjDPGDeconstructor of Funhttps://lnkd.in/eNuy5Hc8𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗣 𝟮: 𝗦𝗧𝗨𝗗𝗬𝗜𝗡𝗚. ↳ Advance with guided education.🌍 ONLINE COURSESEpic Games: Game Design Professionalhttps://lnkd.in/evHMusAcUnity: The Ultimate Guide to Game Devhttps://lnkd.in/egBjQJrAIntroduction to Game Developmenthttps://lnkd.in/e54cp42mHP: From Code to Creation.https://lnkd.in/e4usFaqF🎓 UNIVERSITIESExplore game development at Harvardhttps://lnkd.in/eB2vtfBz Introduction to Game Design at MIThttps://lnkd.in/eSbMXMUFAnimation at BHUhttps://lnkd.in/etz8_MNt Introduction to Game Audio at Berkleehttps://lnkd.in/e_ppj67y𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗣 𝟯: 𝗘𝗫𝗣𝗘𝗥𝗜𝗘𝗡𝗖𝗘. ↳ Turn knowledge into results.🕹️ GAME JAMSitch.iohttps://itch.io/jamsLudum Darehttps://ludumdare.com/Global Game Jamhttps://globalgamejam.org/Nordic Game Jamhttps://nordicgamejam.com/🚀 INTERNSHIPSWargaming Forgehttps://lnkd.in/esg2VjmtEpic Internshipshttps://lnkd.in/etDHGqa9Activision Early Careershttps://lnkd.in/er3K3hwVElectronic Arts Early Careershttps://lnkd.in/e8k-eqQ5💼 PORTFOLIOArtStationhttps://lnkd.in/e6ghghpNGitHubhttps://github.com/Behancehttps://www.behance.net/LinkedInhttps://www.linkedin.com/________Found this valuable?♻️ Repost to help your network.

The Gaming Industry's 'Big' Problem Remember the movie 𝘉𝘪𝘨 with Tom Hanks?It's a perfect mirror to today's gaming industry.I've been in gaming for 30 years.And I'm seeing a worrying trend.Game execs aren't 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 anymore.They're lost in:- Corporate meetings- Disconnection from players- Misaligned prioritiesResult? Games suffering.(Think Concord's recent struggles)In 𝘉𝘪𝘨, Tom Hanks' character thrives because:1. He's passionate about toys2. He understands what kids want3. He brings fresh, honest perspectivesWhat today's gaming industry lacks:1. Passion for the Product Like Josh's love for toys, we need execs who genuinely love games.2. Market Understanding Josh knows what kids want. Do our execs know what gamers want?3. Real Solutions vs. Toxic Positivity Josh cuts through corporate noise. We need leaders who do the same.4. Aligned Leadership In 𝘉𝘪𝘨, execs lose sight of fun. Sound familiar?The solution?We need more 'Josh-like' leaders:- Passionate about games- In tune […]