How can i prevent a game from flopping

Help and Feedback Game Design Support
#1

Hello! Im kibbet5, im new around here so i felt like i had to introduce myself, anyways, lets get into the topic:

So one of the questions that ive been questioning for a long time (and probably other starting developers are questioning) is, how can i prevent a game from flopping.

So lets say you spend 50k into advertising but your game fails, thats just 50k robux down the drain (none of us want to be in a situation like this)

i would like some of you experienced developers to list down some main elements to prevent the failure of a game this could be based off of your personal previous experiences or just things you noticed succesful games do that prevent them from failing

4 Likes
#2

my best advice is to have frequent updates, have a discord server, and have events every weekend so people will still play

honestly I’m not an experienced dev so I don’t really know…

1 Like
#3

Make sure you test it before you launch it.

Testing gives you the opportunity to collect feedback from people who may not necessarily be developers - they’ll have insight you or your colleagues won’t have because they will be from the outside looking in. You can use their feedback to identify strengths and weaknesses in your game, allowing you to make improvements before you launch and start spending money.

2 Likes
#4

Thats a pretty good point, ill make sure to keep that in mind

1 Like
#5

Thats something that i think alot of new developers (like me) should be doing, ill keep that in mind aswell, thanks for the tip

#6

A good way to avoid this is to do several trial runs with lower amounts of robux. Start off with a 2500 robux ad; if you’re able to make that money back (aka break even) or make less then means you either need to make your game more captivating or find more ways to monetize. If you make more money than you put in off of that one run, then keep incrementing how much you put in ads

3 Likes
#7

So advertising is a gamble afterall, i do think its a good choice to have a shot at it though, thanks for the tip!

1 Like
#8

Try to hire game testers, and do free advertising on the group wall of the Group Recruiting Plaza, that is how I do it, you can also advertise for free on the group Spamvertise.

1 Like
#9

I think you’re in the right, ill try free advertising, if it works ill go for paid advertising, thanks for the tip!

#10

Sure thing, it works for me, so it should work for you.

1 Like
#11

A good tutorial for advertising is this one: Game Advertising 101

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#12

Thanks for linking me that topic, ill be sure to check it out!

#13

I’d suggest sponsoring your game for a week with a small amount of R$ per day. This would let you know quite a lot of important info for what your next choice should be. (do players come back after playing? how long do they play for? what age group plays my game the most? have i made a profit?)

If you get positive results, it’d be a good idea to keep sponsoring your game & release a few user ads. If the results are negative, then maybe you should try something else.

2 Likes
#14

That seems like something i should do, ill be sure to keep that noted, thanks for the tip!

1 Like
#15

Already-used content for an advertisement. E.g a prison-like game ad, when Jailbreak and Mad City already exists. Then, advertisements that may be deemed questionable by mods, mostly clickbait. Lastly, the horrid color scheme where you can never find the right one for your UI. Too dark might make it hard to see and make the player unhappy, while a light one can blind the player’s eyesight, and make it look too childish for the community.