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Author Topic: Reservwars - looking for game design and marketing advice  (Read 1095 times)
challen
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« on: May 04, 2015, 04:41:12 PM »

Hello,

I'm creating a real time strategy game with single player and LAN multiplayer. It's called Reservwars. http://reservwars.com
Reservwars has different factions of wacky creatures fighting over water.
Different creatures have different stats (speed, attack, health, etc)
Water and energy are the resources at the moment.
We already have a multiplayer prototype, and I'd like to get it as fun to play as possible in the next few months.

I'd like to get feedback from everyone on
1. Do you even like strategy games? Why? Do you like real time strategy games?
2. What do you like about real time strategy games? Could an indie strategy game contain what gameplay you like?
3. What would you want in Reservwars? What multiplayer gametypes?
4. What do you think about LAN multiplayer? What do you think about single player campaigns?
5. How should we market this strategy game? What aspects of the game should we highlight?
6. Send me any thoughts you have on this game. I'm looking for constructive help!

Cheers!
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DanglinBob
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« Reply #1 on: May 08, 2015, 12:07:00 PM »

1. Do you even like strategy games? Why? Do you like real time strategy games?

I love strategy games, but don't consider RTSs strategy games (Whoa, don't lynch me yet, let me explain). Most RTSs really boil down to the meta of understanding what your opponent is building and building a counter to it, and then micromanaging movement of your resources to, on the micro level, counter their individual battle groups. This is certainly strategic, but happens at a pace that becomes closer to muscle memory than it is cerebral strategy. That's not my personal definition of what a strategy game is, so I tend to not enjoy RTSs despite loving dozens of TBSs.

2. What do you like about real time strategy games? Could an indie strategy game contain what gameplay you like?

See above :D

3. What would you want in Reservwars? What multiplayer gametypes?

I do game marketing as the center of my career (12 years now) - I can say this: If you make it only multiplayer you're dooming yourself. So make Single Player your primary focus. BUT if you DO go multiplayer as well, make sure you go full in. Due to budget/time this may mean multiplayer may not be important. Basically no multiplayer is better than half-ass multiplayer, and half-ass is better than ONLY multiplayer (even if its done well). The reason for this is reaching a sustainable population for online play is the most difficult part of any online game. Whereas a single player game can hit middle of the road numbers and be called a success, online play requires absolute success to go anywhere at all. I've worked with several failed RTSs in my time that ran into this problem: They simply never had the population online to convince people the game was excellent (which several were), and therefore received negative reviews focused on the lack of execution of online play rather than the game its self.

4. What do you think about LAN multiplayer? What do you think about single player campaigns?

See above :D Single Player should be your focus... if your product kicks serious ass, a fully fleshed out multiplayer comes next. Nothing inbetween!

5. How should we market this strategy game? What aspects of the game should we highlight?

Sadly your site doesn't give me enough information to even begin to tell you my opinion. So start there! Get some good, meaty, info on your site.

6. Send me any thoughts you have on this game. I'm looking for constructive help!

I hope that this post does indeed help you frame some good questions. My overall dislike of the RTS genre makes me (at times) a poor judge of what makes a good RTS. I believe what I say above is accurate based on my past experience with this genre but I want to be perfectly clear that I am not an absolute expert on marketing RTSs (but do consider myself an expert on overall game marketing).
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challen
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« Reply #2 on: May 16, 2015, 02:33:38 AM »

DanglinBob,

Thank you so much for your feedback! In some ways, I think a person giving feedback for a genre they don't like is more helpful.

I consider LAN multiplayer to be a small subset of multiplayer, and I didn't want to pay for online game servers. :/ I guess I could release a server for free... I just couldn't imagine a RTS game without being able to play with your friends. That said, I take to heart what you were saying about single player. I also understand what you are saying about using muscle memory more than cerebral strategy. I have to think about it more.

Also, more info has been released, as I am doing an indiegogo now. http://igg.me/at/reservwars
I was hesitant to mention game specifics without knowing my funding level. I didn't want to promise anything i couldn't deliver. I'll work on nailing that down in the next week.
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