PART 2: Design. Evaluate. Repeat.
WRITTEN BY ALLISON WAY, SENIOR COPYWRITER & CHIEF EDITOR
A few weeks ago,
we introduced you to Chris Puglisi and Kyle McGetrick, founders of MellowMilitia (a successful mobile application company based out of Kansas City,
Missouri). As a part of our blog series
about mobile applications, we have been following Chris and Kyle on their road to
creating The Next Social Word Game.
In Part 1, we
covered the first 8 steps to creating a successful mobile gaming app. These steps included finding the idea,
deciding on game type, storyboarding, determining mobility, monetizing, coding
and using social media to market. Read
Part 1 of the blog series here: Part 1:The Evolution of a Mobile Gaming App.
So what's
next? We caught up with Chris Puglisi to
see how The Next Social Word Game is progressing and what stage of the process
the new application is in. Chris and Kyle filled us
in:
Currently,
Mellow Militia is finalizing design. But
as many developers know, this phase can involve several iterations, as new
research is performed and feedback solicited.
In the last three weeks, Mellow Militia took a step back and took
another look at the competition, researched mobile gaming usage, evaluated
mobile gamer styles and reviewed feedback provided by potential investors. After careful review and consideration, they
decided to embark on another round of design to further optimize, enhance and
ultimately appeal to a larger audience.
The Mellow
Militia team decided to add two new game modes, each targeting a specific “style”
of mobile gamer.
“Initially, we
had a single style of gameplay which was based on the original premise of this nostalgic
game, though as we dug deeper, we realized that although this game style would
appeal to a large percentage of mobile app users, there were other styles of users that we weren’t focused
on,” says Chris Puglisi.
The “classic”
game mode (the original and only planned game style) required a player to spend
20-30 minutes playing the game. But
there’s an entire (and sizable) mobile audience out there that exists that
doesn’t have that amount of time to commit to a game. Chris & Kyle realized
that, like themselves, they were frequently fielding text messages and phone
calls while playing a game.
“We grouped mobile
gamers into three categories,” explains the Mellow Militia team. “The first being those that can commit the 20
or so minutes to playing a few ‘rounds’ of the game, the second being those
that typically only have a few minutes here and there throughout the day to
play, and the third are those gamers that like to play at their leisure, in
small increments of time (akin to Words With Friends).”
With the three
types of mobile gamers identified, Chris & Kyle were able to rearchitect
and redesign the game to include the two additional game modes. Now there’s a game mode that suits every
player’s lifestyle and gaming style. In
addition, social status, points and achievements can still be accumulated
within any game mode. This change is adding several weeks to the design and
development schedule (and additional costs), and a few long nights and weekends
putting it all together.
"Going back
and tweaking is worth the pain," says Chris Puglisi. "Now we have the gameplay fine tuned. The game now appeals to several ‘styles’ of
players."
The game is now
more focused on continued play and high DAU (or Daily Active Users). When Mellow Militia first presented The Next
Social Word Game to investors, it appealed to the player who could dedicate 15,
20 or even 30 minutes to the game.
Investors scratched their heads and one asked, "What about the
people who don't have time to play for that long?" After the question was asked, Chris and Kyle
went back to the drawing board and determined two different styles of users
(rapid play and less rapid play) for The Next Social Word Game.
“We’re even more
excited about the Next Social Word Game now that we’ve added the additional
game modes,” says Kyle of the change. “We
truly believe that we have a game mode that suits a variety of gaming styles
and fits several lifestyles.”
But Mellow
Militia has done more than just reevaluated its audience and gameplay. The Next Social Word Game is also well into
the design phase as. The one piece of
advice that Chris has for apps in the design phase? "It’s easy to get caught up in design,
and trying to create an app that appeals to absolutely everyone. Don't
overdesign and overbuild, instead determine which feedback is most critical,
scope the effort and determine the value added by that change.
Mellow Militia
has proven that it's worth it to reevaluate your game early on. According to Chris, "It is less costly
to go back to the drawing board early, before you start coding. It's worth taking the extra time. You may be excited to push an app out to
market, but first impressions are critical!"
“This is very
exciting opportunity that has the key elements of success great product, great
marketing and perfect timing,” says Kyle.
“We’re looking for key investors who want to be involved in the exciting
app market and be part of a major title.”
Be sure to stay
tuned for Part 3 of building a mobile gaming app!
Want to go behind
the scenes of ‘Creating the Next Social
Word Game’, including tips & strategies to creating great mobile apps and
games? Visit Chris’s Blog.
Follow me! @AllisonThinkBig
Now a days everything is going to be micro and games is also this way... People like to play more mobile gambling apps
ReplyDeleteThanks for nice blog.........