Why Clash Royale won't kickstart mobile eSports, how to influence influencers, and the ultimate GDC party list

The hottest articles of last week

• 5 Updated: Pocket Gamer's ultimate GDC 2016 party guide

  

  As anyone who's ever met a member of the Pocket Gamer team will know, there's nothing we enjoy more than a good party.

  And with GDC just around the corner, we decided to collate all the parties that are going down throughout the week, some of which you'll probably see us at.

  You can definitely count us in for our own party on Monday 14 March, where we'll be celebrating our tenth anniversary with drinks, bites, and beats, and all you need is a business card to get in.

  

• 4 Flashback Friday: I've played Clash of Clans more than any other game, but now it's time to log off

  

  What with the launch of Clash Royale last week, it's always nice to look back at Supercell's previous efforts and our thoughts on them, and see what this may tell us about how the new game will fare.

  To that end, we revisited Jon's article on why he finally gave up on Clash of Clans after playing it more than any other game during his time on this Earth.

  

  The key problem was the cost of upgrades, which became much too high for this particular player. But for Jon, this was not only a reason to stop playing, but also an important lesson to learn.

  As he puts it, "any journalist worth their salt should not be expensing back their in-app purchases (or receiving free currency from the developer) as it totally destroys your perception of the value of virtual goods."

• 3 From Fable to BattleHand: How Another Place moved from triple-A console to mobile games-as-a-service

  

  It can be nice having the comfort and security of working at a major developer such as Lionhead Studios, but sometimes you want to break free and do your own thing.

  Such was the case for the three co-founders of Another Place, who all met at the aforementioned studio and decided to set up shop on their own.

  

  And to really break free of the triple-A console development world, the three decided to jump into the world of mobile game development.

  We had a chat with the company about why the co-founders broke off, how it got started, and how it got to be where it is today.

• 2 Why Clash Royale won't ignite the mobile eSports market

  

  There's no doubting that Clash Royale is a well-built game, with an already thriving community behind it, and that it is going to make Supercell a lot of money.

  But there's a lot of people still talking it up as the next big eSports game, an opinion that is not necessarily shared by everyone.

  The main bone of contention is the card upgrade system, which allows players to level up their cards with in-app purchases, which may lead to an unbalanced playing field.

  There's also the fact that players have to wait for chests to open, rather than jumping back into the action with an updated deck, which could reduce the competitive edge of the game.

  

• 1 An introduction to influencer marketing for indie mobile game developers

  

  In case you weren't already aware, user acquisition costs are reaching unsustainable levels, and it's time for game developers to start looking for alternative routes to getting people playing their game.

  One such route is influencer marketing, and Sam Dalsimer, Senior PR Manager at Tilting Point, has put together an introductory guide to help you learn all about it.

  

  He covers all the basics, from why you need to start caring about it, how to get started, and how to find long-term success with your campaigns.

  On the first topic, Dalsimer says "the audience you’re targeting with a mobile game has expanded dramatically beyond the old conception of a gamer."