game development Archives - FXFX Studio

Are we entering into a new handheld console era?

fxfx — Sat, 15 Apr 2023 15:41:25 +0000

The gaming industry has evolved rapidly over the last few years, and we have seen an increasing trend towards portable gaming. With the recent launch of Valve’s Steam Deck and the announcement of ASUS’s upcoming handheld ROG Ally, it’s worth asking the question: are we going towards a handheld console era in gaming?

The answer is a resounding yes. Now you may say; “But handheld gaming consoles have been around for decades. What is the difference?” Actually, yes handheld consoles have been around for decades but it was always a totally different experience. Their technical abilities were limited and it was pushing developers to create optimized games, which were specially developed for those handheld devices. In decades, Sony and Nintendo showed us that there is a massive market for portable gaming consoles, and the success of the Steam Deck has only cemented that fact.

One of the biggest advantages of handheld consoles is portability. You can take them with you wherever you go, and you don’t need a dedicated gaming setup to enjoy your favourite titles. It’s perfect for people who don’t have the time or resources to invest in a high-end gaming PC or console.

Microinteractions with Macro Impact

Furthermore, handheld consoles allow for a more immersive gaming experience. You’re not tied to a desk or a TV screen, so you can play games in a more relaxed and comfortable environment. You can play on the go, on a long commute, or even in bed.

With the Steam Deck, Valve has taken things to the next level. It’s essentially a portable PC that can play all your favourite Steam games. It’s a game-changer for people who prefer the convenience of a console but want access to the vast library of PC games.

It’s worth noting that the success of handheld consoles doesn’t mean the end of traditional consoles and PCs. There will always be a market for high-end gaming setups, and they will continue to dominate the gaming industry. However the rise of handheld consoles is a clear indication that there is a growing demand for portable gaming devices.

It’s worth noting that the success of handheld consoles doesn’t mean the end of traditional consoles and PCs.

Where will always be a market for high-end gaming setups, and they will continue to dominate the gaming industry.

Augmented Reality (AR) Experiences

In conclusion, the handheld console era is here and here to stay. Valve’s Steam Deck and ASUS’s upcoming handheld are just the beginning. We can expect to see more and more companies jumping on the handheld bandwagon in the coming years, and we’re excited to see what the future holds for portable gaming.

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Transferring experiences from Hyper-Casual to Casual Games

fxfx — Sat, 04 Mar 2023 15:38:29 +0000

Last month, as FXFX Studios, we were invited to Pocket Gamer Connects London and we had an amazing and productive time there. I attended some sessions as I could find time from the meetings. But one of those sessions that I remember, started very straightforwardly: the session of Alexander Shea from Voodoo: he started like; “Hi everybody! Sorry to say but Hyper-casual is dead.”

He is right and we all should tell this honestly. I can see some heart massages in the market (like hybrid casual etc), nice trying but with the highly-saturated market and the changed market policies, in the long-term game-like-apps-to-make-watch-more-ads won’t work anymore. Now the market needs new ideas, and hyper-casual studios have a lot of experience to transfer to make “games”.

I really thought about this a lot and listed how and what we can transfer from our Hyper-Casual experiences to the games. In this article I want to talk about them:

Embrace Simplicity

One of the key features of hyper-casual games is their simplicity. HC games often feature straightforward gameplay mechanics and minimalist design, which allows players to quickly and easily understand the game mechanics. Game developers can learn from this approach and apply it to their casual games. While casual games may have more complex gameplay mechanics, it’s important to keep the design and user interface simple and intuitive, so players can focus on the game itself.

Rapid Prototyping and Iteration

To be honest, what I will miss the most with Hyper-casual games is rapid decisions. Hyper-casual games are known for their rapid prototyping and iteration process, which involves creating quick prototypes of game ideas and testing them with players to identify what works and what doesn’t. This process allowed us game developers/studios to create games quickly and efficiently, which is crucial in a market where trends and player preferences can change rapidly. Game developers can transfer this approach to their casual games by creating small prototypes and testing them with players to see what resonates.

Focus on User Retention

Hyper-casual games rely heavily on player retention, as they often generate revenue through ads. Longer retention means more ads and more income. Game developers can learn from this approach and transfer it to their casual games by focusing on player retention strategies. This may include offering rewards, creating a sense of progression, or providing regular updates to keep players engaged.

Embrace Data-Driven Design

Always trust the data! Hyper-casual game development is known for its data-driven approach, which involves analyzing player data to identify trends and preferences. Game developers can transfer this approach to their casual games by using analytics tools to track player behaviour, identify pain points, and make data-driven decisions about game design and updates.

Consider Monetization Strategies

Hyper-casual games often generate revenue through ads, while casual games may rely on other monetization strategies such as in-app purchases, premium versions or subscription models. Game developers can transfer from hyper-casual game development knowledge by considering different monetization strategies and finding the one that works best for their game and target audience.

Using or Building a Trend

Hyper-casual games often rely on trends and create a loyal fan base. Game developers can transfer this approach to their casual games by focusing on creating a brand and identity for their game, and building a community of loyal fans through social media and other channels. Never underestimate social media, it is the key point, use it!

Hyper-casual games often rely on trends and create a loyal fan base.

Hyper-casual games are designed to be fun and addictive, but they also need to provide a challenge to keep players engaged. Game developers can learn from this approach and apply it to their casual games by finding the right balance between fun and challenge. This may involve tweaking game mechanics or difficulty levels to ensure players are challenged, but not frustrated.

Balance Fun and Challenge

I tried to sum up what game developers can learn from hyper-casual game development and transfer those skills into their casual games. By embracing simplicity, rapid prototyping, data-driven design, player retention strategies, and monetization strategies, game developers can create engaging and successful casual games that stand out in a crowded market.

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Can a Hyper Casual studio make Games?

fxfx — Wed, 23 Nov 2022 15:42:25 +0000

Can a Hyper Casual studio make Games?

I put this provocative headline on purpose. Because, as a studio with a hyper-casual background, this is the question that we were exposed to, either implicitly or explicitly. There is no need to repeat the question “Is hyper-casual a game or a business model?”. It has already been written, talked about, and discussed thousands of times. Here, perhaps, I can briefly convey my own opinion and continue my writing.

Note: I will mostly refer to Hyper Casual as HC and the rest of the games as Game for the rest of the article.

Is Hyper Casual a game genre?

I actually see the Hyper Casual, as a playable trending content. It is like a trending video on youtube or on TikTok but it is interactive so it gives developer a chance to earn money by ads as long as they keep the player in content. In this sense, it is both a business model and a game. In other words, it consists of content that is consumed fast, such as youtube, TikTok, and Instagram reels. Its basis is mostly based on market trends and its purpose is to keep the user more active and consume more advertisements. But because they are consumed so quickly, they need constant and rapid evolution, new trends, just like their video counterparts.

How did HC become so popular?

The answer is simple; because it is relatively easy to produce and easy to consume. And perhaps from the development side, the other most important reason for this popularity is that publishers started working with PPP, “Payment per prototype” model. While this prototype fee issue did as much harm as good to the market, I think the benefits portion was much greater. A lot of irrelevant people flooded the market (just to make money over PPP, with no interest in making a better game), but at least it created awareness and helped make a concept like game development one of the most popular professions for young people today in many developing countries (like Turkiye).

“So, We are a Hyper Casual Studio and yea..”

Now let’s get to our main issue. You are/were an HC studio. You had your share of the market’s last negative change wind and the publisher cancelled the contract. If you have an investor, he gave you a while, but the number of publishers you can contract is limited, most of them are already just trying to get more free prototypes with ridiculous expectations and promises.

To be frank, the market was already very difficult recently. While it was 1 hit possibility in X games 2 years ago, it turned out 1 hit in 2X games after a year, this figure later exceeded even the estimates.

With the recent Google and Apple ads policy updates, the ad-based games market has already gotten into trouble.

By the way, with the difficult market conditions, nowadays HC market have also changed a lot recently and content turned into idle’ish, hybrid-casual’ish games. The HC I’m talking about here is the traditional HC method.

If you won’t make HC, so what?

If I’m talking about you in the definition above, I think you should gradually start shifting your focus to the Game development. Hybrid-Casual, Casual, Mid-core, whatever the genre, now establish your vision of being a Game development studio. As a Game studio, you will more focus on sustainability and stability. No more 2 weeks to develop, 3rd week to kill it. You will have more time to develop, test and you need to treat your game like a gold bracelet with a neat work while monitoring the metrics.

In the transition from Hyper Casual, you need to make some structural changes in your studio. While you were developing Hyper Casual, if your team had 5 Unity developers, you could develop 5 games at the same time. First of all, this will change, and multiple people will now focus on a single game. Therefore, it will be necessary to build a team and learn to be a team. During HC, you have seen who in the team is better at design and who is on software. In the new structure, it is necessary to place people in the right positions.

We said, team. So now there are some friends that you need to choose from among current or add new people to the team.

"In the transition from Hyper Casual, you need to make some structural changes in your studio."

Structural changes in the studio

Game Designer: :In Hyper Casual, usually the idea comes from you or the publisher. But since it was in the prototype stage, the game design was working on a jointly agreed trial method in order to see if that mechanic works or not. This will change as you develop the Game. You need someone who plans the game from the beginning to the end and this person needs to think carefully to make it more fun and longer playable.

3D Artist: While making Hyper Casual, the game mechanics were in the foreground, so using of assets was intense. Modelling extra assets was rarely necessary, but although you can use assets while making the Game, you will need to model, modify, construct most assets according to the Game. Especially if you want to go with Hybrid-Casual, you will definitely need a good 3D Artist.

2D Game Artist / Graphics Artist: Hyper Casual, although the visual quality was important, it wasn’t exactly one of the key elements. Because of testing the prototype, publishers usually preferred not to touch too much when a good CPI result is achieved and it caused a lot of very primitive looking hit games. But it is a bit different in the Game. Visual quality is very important even in the prototype. So, you need a good artist. If you have the opportunity, you need to find another person to do UI designs or you can try it with Graphics Artist in the beginning.

Level Designer: The game you make must go in a certain linear line, neither too hard nor too easy, without boring the player. A level designer is required at this stage. If you decide to make a puzzle-type game, a game/level designer with experience in puzzle-making is a must.

Project Manager: Unlike Hyper Casual, since multiple people will work on a single project while making the Game, a project manager who monitors the entire team and the progress of the project with an outside eye is one of the sines qua non of the team.

If your game is animation-heavy, you will also need an Animator. (If you are a small studio, at first you can request this from the 3D artist if he is more likely 3D Generalist or use ready-made animations).

Sound is very important. At first, you can go with ready-made sound packages, but set up the people/companies you will receive support from in the future.

As it can be understood, the difference between making a Game from Hyper Casual is that it requires multiple people to work on the same project and it is much more difficult to do alone than HC.

So, can a studio switching from Hyper Casual make a Game? Answer: Yes, as soon as they learn to be a team, they can, and in a very good way.

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