10 TIPS ON HOW TO MAKE A CASUAL GAMEOF SUCESS FOR THE IPHONE AND ANDROID.

CONTEXTWe are finally living a moment of democratization of game development. A game no longer needs to be a super production to be profitable and that is why casual games may be a way for those who are already experienced and for those who are only beginners.

Just to clarify, these following tips have been created in a subjective way, without any scientific analysis. They are merely the fruit of my observation of games that have been successful, which does not guarantee, under any circumstances, the success of your game. But it will give a good chance to get there.

Rafael Rodrigues is Executive Producer at Aquiris Game Experience, a studio located in Southern Brazil. He has a large experience with digital entertainment and has produced over 20 casual games for major brands as Cartoon Network, Goodyear, Nestlé, Coca-Cola, Unilever, Colgate and Unity Technologies.

#1 SIMPLE PLOT.In Angry Birds pigs stole the eggs of birds, and now they need to be recovered. In "Cute the Rope" a frog is dropped at your house door and your role is to feed it with sweets. Create an unpretentious cause why the game should be played, without any obligation of a revolutionary concept in the history of gaming.

#2 SIMPLE TO PLAY.With the use of only one finger you can cut a rope, throw a little bird, make a ninja jump. The gameplay is a key point because it has the ability to make the game even more democratic and likely to be sold to thousands. That is the reason games should have a simple logic with no use of complicated controls.

#3 FREE OF FAIL.Every little victory is a celebration. In casual games, the players are always being rewarded with small victories, that motivate them to keep on playing. Think of a gameplay logic that will keep your player always happy.

#4 CONSTANT FEEDBACKS.The games must always be telling his players when they make the right move or not. So abuse of sound effects as shouts and songs of celebration. This keeps the communication between the game and the player, increasing the fun in the game.

#5 LOADS OF LEVELS.If the games should be "simple to play" and "free of fail", you need, somehow, keep the challenge. How? Simple: make a game with loads of fun levels. This combination is what creates that "I will only play one more and I will stop for now" felling.

#6 THINK THE HARDCORE.We are talking about develop a democratic and simple game. But you can’t forget the hardcore gamers. They also must be hooked, since they have great influence over other players. For them you need to create an additional logic to the game itself, an even greater challenge, like ways to evaluate their performance, for example.

#7 LOADS OF ACHIEVEMENTS.A good casual game of success must necessarily have a huge list of achievements to challenge the players. Many should be easy, some not much and others almost impossible. This little "trophy room" makes players connected to the game, looking for an even better performance than the last time they played.

#8 FUN PHYSICSAdd jumps, throws, spins and falls. Why? Just Because. Games are even funner when physics is available. :)

#9 BE CUTE.Cute, cute and cute... That's it. People normally sympathize with cute characters. Just take the most successeful games you can remember. They all make use of this feature.

#10 BE PATIENT.As I said before, just following this list is not a guarantee of success. This is only a guide, and you probably should produce a few games until you hit it big on the taste of the players. So give it a try and maybe, who knows, you become the next millionaire on the game industry. But please remember to thank me on the credits.

GOOD LUCK.

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