If you’re like most game developers, you want to make a good impression on customers and reviewers of your games. But often, inexperienced developers make common mistakes that can cause their games to suffer in reviews, sales, and future projects.
Serious game developers must learn how to make games that appeal to a mass audience. This can seem impossible, but if done correctly, it can be profitable. But what are the l mistakes novice game developers make that cause their games to suffer?
This blog post will show you the ten most common mistakes game developers make and how to avoid them.
1. Not Knowing Your Target Audience
The first mistake is not knowing your target audience. If you don’t know who you’re making the game for, likely, your game will not be successful.
- Who is your game for?
- What are their interests?
- What are their favorite games?
You need to understand your target audience well before you can even begin to design a game they will enjoy.
2. Not Having a Unique Selling Point
The second mistake is not having a unique selling point. In today’s market, hundreds of thousands of games are available, so you must ensure that your game stands out from the crowd. What makes your game special?
If you don’t have a unique selling point, your game will likely get lost in the sea of other games.
3. Not Knowing Your Competitors
Not knowing who your competitors are is a recipe for disaster. If you don’t know what games are out there that are similar to yours, how can you possibly make a game that is better than theirs?
Competition is fierce in the games industry, so you need to know what your competitors are doing. Keep an eye on their games, marketing, features, etc.
4. Not Having a Marketing Plan
When your game is complete, the hard work doesn’t stop there. You need to have a plan for how you’re going to market your game. Marketing is vital to the success of any game, yet so many developers fail to do it effectively.
You need to figure out your target audience and where you can reach them. Then you need to create a plan for how you will get them. Different marketing channels are available, so you need to figure out which will work best for your game.
5. Relying on Luck
Relying on luck is not a strategy. Most developers think they can just release their game and hope for the best. You must be proactive and ensure that your game is visible to many people.
Don’t rely on luck to get your game noticed. Take the time to create a marketing plan and execute it. Otherwise, your game will likely disappear into the sea of other games with no one ever knowing it existed.
6. Not Asking for Help
If you’re unsure how to do something or feel overwhelmed, don’t be afraid to ask for help. Many resources are available to game developers, so take advantage of them. There are forums, chat rooms, IRC channels, mailing lists, etc.
7. Giving Up Too Soon
Giving up too soon is the biggest mistake that game developers make. Developing a successful game takes time, effort, and perseverance.
So many developers give up soon and never see their game through to completion. They get discouraged when things are going slow or get bored and move on to something else. But the only way to succeed in this industry is to see your game through to the end.
8. Not Learning from Your Mistakes
Mistakes are inevitable. No one is perfect, and everyone makes mistakes. The key is to learn from your mistakes and not repeat them in the future.
When you make a mistake, take the time to figure out what went wrong and how you can prevent it from happening again. You’ll be one step closer to success if you can learn from your mistakes.
9. Not Keeping Your Game Updated
You must keep your game updated with new content and features to keep players coming back. If you don’t, they’ll quickly get bored and move on to something else.
Think of your game as a living, breathing entity that needs to be constantly cared for. The better you care for it, the longer it will stay alive.
10. Not listening to Feedback
Feedback is essential to the success of any game. Without feedback, you cannot know what players like and don’t like about your game. You need to constantly listen to feedback and use it to improve your game.
The best way to get feedback is to put your game out there and let people play it. But you also need to be actively soliciting feedback from players. Don’t be afraid to ask for honest feedback, even negative.
Don’t Make These Mistakes if You Want To Have a Good Game
These are just a few of game developers’ most common mistakes. Avoiding these mistakes will enable you to prosper.