We’re back with another Featured Games spotlight article!
This week, we’re talking to the current Featured Game developers about what they’ve learned from the Featured Games process, where they found inspiration for making their game, and any additional advice they have for aspiring developers looking to get their game on the Featured list. So read on for insight into the Featured Games Program, tips and tricks on what it takes to get your game to the front page!
Finding Inspiration
As you’ve likely gathered from previous spotlights or from speaking with other developers, people draw inspiration for their work from almost any part of life. Some center their creations on things they’re passionate about outside of developing, such as ships or airplanes. Others find inspiration from conversations with other developers or their experience on Roblox.
The developers behind this week’s sort present a mix of game-sourced inspiration and life-sourced inspiration.
SteadyOn, the developer behind Clueless , discussed the inspiration behind the game; quizzes! Noting his love of quizzes and trivia, SteadyOn noticed an opportunity on the Roblox platform- to gamify quizzes and trivia and wrap in a learning experience as the cherry on top. Ensuring that players get a wide range of facts and topics was a key consideration in building the game.
Other developers, such as Patrickblox and Turpichu4321, decided to build their games because of a passion or affinity they have towards certain kinds of games. For example, Patrickblox has played a lot of 2D platformers but thought Roblox lacked these, so he built his own. Turpichu4321 and his partner particularly love magic games, such as Arc of the Elements and Elemental Battlegrounds, and they decided to try their hand at creating their own magic game!
Roblox Features
As we chatted with the current Featured Game developers, we asked them what Roblox features they added to their game to improve it to Featuring standards. Here’s what they said:
Patrickblox credits the PhysicsService for allowing him to make a multiplayer game where players were unable to collide with each other.
Turpichu4321 cites Ordered Datastores as his added feature, which he says added an additional level of competition to the game because it allowed him to include a leaderboard. SteadyOn also touched on a few additional features he added to Clueless to increase competition. He leverages VIP servers as a place where players can create groups of friends and compete against each other. SteadyOn also discusses how localising his game has helped expand his reach to global markets, though, for this type of game where questions are being added all the time, localizing the new content can be challenging.
Take Aways from the Featured Games Program
The Featured Games program is just that, a program , aimed at helping games with good potential get to the front page with guidance and feedback from members of the Developer Relations team. Each game receives unique feedback, but there are a few themes that everyone can learn from.
Patrickblox referenced the importance of testing across multiple platforms: a requirement for the Featured Games program. Turpichu4321 also alludes to the importance of a smooth, bug-less player experience, and testing game updates in a place other than your main place.
SteadyOn expands on the point of player-experience, and gives some thought to the way that players learn your game. He points out that players will know very little about how your game works when they first join, so creating an experience that either guides a player through a player training, such as a tutorial, while keeping them in the game, is a balance that requires some particular attention. Alternatively, allowing returning players to skip the tutorial is going to help retain these returning players.
That’s it for this group of Featured Games! Check back on October 2nd for the new list of games, and be sure to check out the current Featured Games to find your new favorite:
Roblox Run @HenryDev, @ErickThePresident, @FierceByte
Acceleration Rush @AhsanVII, @JacksonAHewitt
Temple of Memories @As8D @Crykee
Blox Surfers @InactiveWizard, @Explod_e, @OfficiallyPixel
Disaster Dome @BuildIntoGames
Clueless @SteadyOn
Dedoxed @Stratiz
Vibrant Venture @Patrickblox (Contributors: @Nick682, @Partcline, @Jurloo, @Masteralan, @Polyhex, @As8D, @Inigo18, @HolidayPwner and @Phoqus)
REDSHIFT @TheRings0fSaturn
Wolves Life 3 @Shyfoox