Designing a 100 million
player racing game
Vladimir Funtikov
Co-founder, Creative Mobile
Decisions, decisions…
Platform
Game
Business model
Technology: client
Technology: server
Retention
Marketing
Which platform? in 2011:
New market, weak
competition
Familiar technology
Android ftw!
in 2012:
Lots of opportunities
everywhere!
Android + iOS + WP +
Browser/FB + ?
What game? in 2011:
Lightweight, simple tech
Short sessions
Catchy name
Short time to market
in 2012:
High-end, sophisticated
Long lifecycle
Brand building
“When it’s done”
What business model? in 2011:
Premium not an option
No IAP support until May
Billing issues
Limited advertising options:
banners, some interstitials
Ad-supported game
in 2012:
Premium somewhat viable
IAP revenue can be huge
Carrier billing
Tons of available ad formats:
banners of all sizes, videos,
incentivized, etc
Freemium with non-intrusive
advertising
Technology: client in 2011:
A handful of low-end devices
(<1GHz single-core, 480x320)
Build size is an issue
Few high-end games
struggling
Single target platform
Custom lightweight engine +
DIY physics model
in 2012:
Devices are awesome (2-4
cores + GPU + Full HD)
<50 Mb (GP), <100 Mb (iTunes)
Plenty of high-end games doing
well
Cross-platform is a must
Unity Pro + dedicated vehicle
physics engine
Technology: client
Technology: server in 2011:
Expected players: <1M
Simplest multiplayer
Data on client
A few PHP scripts +
MySQL database
in 2012:
100M players
MMO gameplay
Data on server
Retention in 2011:
Let’s get some players, and
then we’ll see
Gear ratio tuning
Fan forum
Facebook page
in 2012:
We need user-generated
content!
Better upgrades, better tuning,
awesome customization,
teams in multiplayer, in-game
messaging, …
Social media campaign months
before launch
Marketing in 2011:
No money
No brand
No connections
Guerrilla marketing
Icon & keyword optimization
Attention-grabbing name
Free reviews
in 2012:
We need to build a brand
Console-like approach
Trademarkable name
Review on top sites
Featuring
Social media
Presentation at Gamescom
Marketing
The end!
are hiring!! www.creative-mobile.com/careers
Vladimir FuntikovCo-founder
@creativemCEO
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