N trends that game developers should pay attention to

Compared with previous years, the game industry has undergone tremendous changes. Many factors are changing the game market, such as the popularity of smartphones, the rise of Facebook, the emergence of new game consoles, changes in the composition of players, etc. These have caused players' attention to games to shift continuously. So how can game developers grasp the future development trend of games and make themselves invincible?

Indie games are becoming more popular

In recent years, independent games have occupied an increasingly large share on both desktops and tablets. These games do not have hundreds of thousands of dollars of investment, but are created by individuals or small studios, such as Minecraft and Orcs Must Die on PC, and World of Goo and League of Evil on tablets. These independent games have strong story backgrounds and excellent production, which makes them unprecedentedly popular.

Consider social factors

There are already a lot of games that incorporate social elements. Take Zynga as an example. All of the company's games are social games. According to common sense, no one would like to receive game invitations from friends all the time, but it succeeds - about 25%-35% of Facebook users play these games.

This model can also be used on tablets. Many tablet games integrate social elements to varying degrees, such as requiring users to log in to the game through social accounts. Although this may cause users to be disgusted, as a game developer, it is necessary to recognize the importance of social factors in future games.

Tablet users

While every tablet user is different, it's important for game developers to understand some of their general circumstances, such as whether they're connected to the internet using T-Mobile's unlimited 4G plan or Starbucks' free Wi-Fi, so that they can play games that require an internet connection.

In addition, many tablet users are often on the move. If there are not enough storage points in a long game, it may cause the loss of active users.

Desktop computer users

On desktop computers, players no longer need to use the same equipment to experience the same games, but can customize their equipment according to their needs. If they need a better gaming experience, they can prepare a more powerful graphics card. Although tablets have attracted many ordinary users, desktop computers are still the weapon of hardcore gamers.

Developers should note that there are many "killer" games on desktop computers, such as World of Warcraft, the best-selling online game in history. PC players are addicted to such blockbusters day and night, and they will not consider mobile games at all.

The paid features of the game

There are three main ways to make money in social games and tablet games: download fees, in-game advertising, and in-game payments.

Each tablet user spends an average of $3.29 to $4.65 on their paid apps, while 23% of iPad apps and 57% of free apps on Google Play mostly use advertising or in-app purchases to generate revenue. In fact, in-game purchases are the fastest growing revenue source on mobile platforms.

Free downloading does not mean that you don't have to spend money in the game. Let's take a look at some characteristics of social games on Facebook: even if ads are annoying to users, they will still appear during the game; the income from these ads is generally unrelated to the developers; although some games are sponsored by manufacturers, there are still in-app payments; each player spends an average of $25.2 per month. Although only some Facebook users play social games, based on the total number of Facebook users, there are as many as 15 million social players on the platform, which is still a huge income.

Different platforms have different possibilities

The emergence of each new platform brings new possibilities for game production. For example, games on touch-screen devices were simply impossible a few years ago, but now they have become the mainstream of the market. Developers should try to develop cross-platform games more often to prepare for changes in new technologies.

What is the future of game development?

The games of the future are constantly changing, but what is certain is that those who love desktop graphics will not turn to tablets; online and social games will continue to be popular because players like to play games with friends.

The above two situations have almost become part of the gaming culture and will not change much in the short term. However, tablet gaming is still in its early stages. With the further popularization of tablets and the expansion of the industry, it is possible to develop into another form of gaming. It is worth the attention of game developers.

Article from:sohu