Hot Five

How to become an eSports dev, and pull 10M downloads using Reddit and Twitch

We round up the top five stories from last week

How to become an eSports dev, and pull 10M downloads using Reddit and Twitch

Last week on Pocket Gamer.biz, we were all about the numbers.

First up, Miniclip told us that it scooped 10 million downloads of Agar.io without spending a single penny on UA. Instead, its secret sauce was a genrous spattering of Twtich and Reddit.

Fallout Shelter was once again in the high figure headlines, this time because analytics firm Superdata suggested it made $5.1 million in the two weeks post-launch.

Following a talk from Hi-Rez co-founder and COO Todd Harris at Develop, we also put together a list of 8 things you need to know to become a successful eSports developer.

Elsewehere, Nordeus shared some top tips on optimising for low-end devices on stage at Unite Europe 2015, while founder and CEO of Shark Punch, Jiri Kupiainen, offered several pointers for building up a community around your game at PGC San Francisco.


Click here to view the list »
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  • 5 Nordeus on the importance of optimising for low-end devices

    Nordeus on the importance of optimising for low-end devices logo

    When Nordeus' Tomislav Rakic and Srdja Stetic-Kozic took the stage at Unite Europe 2015, their talk was on mobile optimisation techniques.

    Given the dev-centric nature of the conference, it was rather technical.

    However, it touched upon some interesting points for the lay journalist, including the importance of optimising for low-end devices and some issues faced during the development of its latest - a 3D game - and a significant departure for the Top Eleven developer.

    We caught up with them after, where they elaborated that "If they're [users are] engaged, if they are payers - we make spreadsheets to sort everything out, and if the device is not really that important to us then we [let it go],” he says.


  • 4 Did Fallout Shelter really only make $5.1 million during its peak weeks?

    Did Fallout Shelter really only make $5.1 million during its peak weeks? logo

    It's not the first time that a story regarding Fallout Shelter has made it into our Hot Five.

    This week, Superdata stated that EA's resource management game made $5.1 million during its first two weeks.

    Four weeks on, Fallout Shelter has slowly been slipping down the top grossing charts, leading .Biz editor Jon Jordan to predict that it won't hit $10 million.

    "As we argued in the case of Flappy Bird," he wrote, "compared to the hype and downloads, Fallout Shelter hasn't capitalised on its potential.

    "Again, this comes down to a maximum IAP spend of $20, no multiplayer, and not receiving any significant updates."


  • 3 Why you need to build your game's community months before it's released

    Why you need to build your game's community months before it's released logo

    On stage at Pocket Gamer Connects San Francisco, founder and CEO of Shark Punch, Jiri Kupiainen, offered several pointers for building up a community around your game.

    Using his studio's PC strategy game The Masterplan as an example, Kupiainen said that it's important to start with a strong creative concept.

    The Masterplan's pitch, according to Kupiainen, was "tactical action puzzler about stealing shit in the 70s."

    The next step, obviously, is finding the people who "really get the idea" and want to be there from the beginning.

    Committing to honest and open development is a big part of that. Kupiainen admitted that the first public demo of The Masterplan at GDC 2014 revealed a game that was "ugly, hard to play, buggy, and not fun".

    Nevertheless, some of those early players, the ones who "really [fell] in love with the idea," helped form the foundation of the game's budding community.


  • 2 8 things you need to do to become a successful eSports developer

    8 things you need to do to become a successful eSports developer logo

    eSports is a burgeoning industry laced with opportunity, and Smite is one of the most popular MOBA and eSports games on the market.

    At Develop:Brighton 2015, Hi-Rez co-founder and COO Todd Harris laid out several points of advice for developers intending to enter the eSports space, based upon his personal experience of developing and growing Smite.

    We put together a list of his eight best tips, covering everything from implementing a steep skill curve, building an audience organically, and creating online video to drive viewership and engagement.

    To read the full list in detail, click the link to the right.


  • 1 Twitch and Reddit can be a UA goldmine, says Miniclip following 10M downloads of Agar.io

    Twitch and Reddit can be a UA goldmine, says Miniclip following 10M downloads of Agar.io logo

    Miniclip whipped the cloak off a mobile version of Agar.io on 7 July, and last week it had already enjoyed well over 10 million downloads having snaffled the number one free app spot on iOS in the US and 28 other countries.

    7 million of those downloads were raked in during its first weekend alone.

    Chief commercial officer Saad Choudri claims that the game's success lies in Twitch and Reddit.

    Having already built up an online following for the web-based version of Agar.io, Miniclip used Reddit and Twitch to drum up interest in the launch of a new mobile version. 


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