Game Academy App Guide

7/27/2019 Game Academy App Guide

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Hi,

Thanks forcheckingoutthe AppBusinessGuidefrom

GameAcademy.com. Ourpassionistheappand game business and

wereextremely excitedtohelp outnewand veteranapp business

ownersfrom acrosstheworld.

Sofarover5,389people havereceivedourappand game business

trainingfromover 24countries. Our customers and clientshave a

combinedtotal ofover100,000,000downloadsandwhatsin these

pages willshow youhowtheygotstarted.

The main thingweteachour clients istofocusonthethreemost

important aspectsoftheappbusiness:

1.Creatingan appthatpeoplewant

2.Gettingitdevelopedatacompetitiveprice

3. Monetizingtheapp correctlysoit makesmoney

Thisguideisbroken downintothesethreesectionstohelppushyouin

therightdirection. Wehopeyouenjoy reading itasmuchaswedid

puttingittogether!

Thanks,

TreySmith

Founder, GameAcademy.com
http://www.gameacademy.com/http://www.gameacademy.com/http://www.gameacademy.com/http://www.gameacademy.com/http://www.gameacademy.com/http://www.gameacademy.com/


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Thisisthemostcommonmistakeweseenewappdevelopersmake.

Firstoff,dontreinv

entthewheel...


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Goingwithamadscientistapproachisaveryriskybusinessmodel

Weareallforinnovation,butyourbasisofyourideashouldbebaseduponsomethingyouknowpeoplealreadyenjoy


6/72

Eventhebiggesthitonmob

ileapps,Angry

Birds,wasbaseduponapro

venmechanic

thatmillionshadprovenwo

rked

Roviowasverysmart. Theyimprovedthegameplaymechanics,graphicsandmadetheoverallthemeappealtoawideraudience.


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Youshouldntevercopysom

eoneorclone

theirapp,butitsgoodtoba

seyourideaoff

ofsolidpastresultsifpossibl

e


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Findinggoodappideasispr

ettyeasy,rst

youwanttocheckoutwhati

sworkingright

nowintheappstores

Theeasiestwayistoseewhatisdoingweinthetoplists


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Nowafteryoupickanappthatseemstobedoingwell,checkoutthereviewsandhowlongitsbeeninthestore

Ifithasthousandsofreviews,then

most

likelyitsbeenoutforawhile.This

isagood

signthatpeoplelikethebasicstr

uctureof

theapp.


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Nowthinkabouthowyo

ucanimprovethis

appandmakeitbetter.

Whatdoyoufeel

likeismissing?

Mostbigcompaniesmodelandimproveuponprovenconcepts. Seewhatuniquefeaturesetoroptionsyoucanaddtomake

yourappstandoutabovetherest.


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Whendevelopinganappthatwill be asuccess,therearetwothingsyoushould

focuson...


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Ifyoumakeanuglyapp,

thenpeoplewillnotdow

nloadit. Focus

onanamazingiconand

greatscreenshots.Thisi

swhatpeoplewill

focusonmuchmoretha

ndescriptionsorevenn

ame.

Great Average

Tryandmaketheiconsimple,uniqueandaesthiticallypleasing. Remember,thatifyoumakeanaveragelookingapp,youllgetaverageresults.


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Lookattopfeaturedappsintheappstoreto

seehowsimplistic

theyaretouse. Forexample,bothInstagram

andMailboxhave

verysimple(anduseful)interfaces.

Asageneralrule,thelessbuttonsthebetter. Makeuseofgesturesandnaturalmotionstouchscreenusersareoftenusingwithoutthought. Ifyouarecreatingagame,thenfocusoncreatingsimpleuserinterfacesthatgetthemintothegamequicklyandeasily.


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Afteryouhavearmgraspofwhatyouwant

tocreate,youneedto

ndagreatprogrammeranddesignertobui

lditforyou. Most

peoplespendwaytomuchonthis,thesecret

istouse.

Belowaresomeofthemorepopularoutsourcesitesthathavesectionsdedicatedtondinggoodmobiledevelopers


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The Ad

1. I write ads quickly(Youre about to see a very common thread in all of this. To movequickly. This starts with the ad. I keep my ads short and sweet. I rarely discuss project

details and put a focus on the fact that the project is unique and discuss the core details.

Usually I write an ad in one pass and it takes about 5-6 minutes)

2. I never search for someone, I only hire people that respond to an ad. (This reasonis simple people that respond to your ad are hungry for work and interested in what youare doing. Random people you contact are probably not.)

3. I post ads like CRAZY(I post on multiple sites and post multiple times. Sometimes I willpost an ad even when Im not actively looking, just to see whose out there. Last week I

posted 3 ads and had some amazing people reply. I didnt hire any of them as they were

great, but not PERFECT. Often Ill post 10 ads before hiring someone. Seriously, Im psycho

about this. Whenever I talk to someone who is having problems, 99% of the time theyve

posted just a few ads and havent found someone. Think about it this way, if every time I

hire someone I go through 200 people and someone else goes through 20, who do you thinkwill end up with the best guy?)

4. I ALWAYS go with my gut(Why didnt I hire anyone from last weeks posting even thoughsome seemed really good? Different reasons. Some seemed good not great. Others didnt

reply to me quick enough when I messaged them. Some I talked to on skype but they kept

me waiting for a few minutes between interview questions. If its not perfect, I move on.)

5. I move quickly(I dont spend much time on each one, I am quick to hide someone if theydont look like the perfect match. Its better to scan 200 people quickly than review 20 peopleslowly)

6. I dont get bogged down(Ok, this is basically the same thing as moving quickly, but this isthe biggest issue I see people having so its worth repeating. You have to cover a lot of

ground fast and look for diamonds in the rough. This requires you to not focus on any one

area too long.)

HeressometipsfromTreyonhowhepostsadsanddoestheinterview....


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The Interview

1. If they dont respond quickly during an interview, I close the interview

immediately(I dont wait around for 3 minutes every time they are responding. If thathappens I just tell them its not working out and move on.)

2. If they are sarcastic, I close it immediately(This one baffles me. Id say about 1 out of7 programmers I interview ends up being sarcastic or shows a bit of attitude. I will never

understand it but if that happens I immediately tell them its not working out and move on.

Dont be scared to turn someone down. I always just say Look, its not personal but I dont

think this is working out. Thanks though. Rarely will they even ask why. If they do, I just say

that Im talking with another guy that is better suited.)

3. I dive deep into their answers(This is huge. First offI always question people about theirtalent. I ask them point blank how good are they. Could they make a game like this or thatwhat is the extent of their ability. I might not know all the programming lingo, but I know

how to ask them Could you make a 3D shooter game? or Would you know how to create

the server part of a turn based game?. I let them know its OK to answer no, that I am just

trying tofind out what all they are comfortable with. If they say yes, I dont just end it. I say

Ok cool, how would you do it?. Then if they say I would use python I say Is python hard, I

dont know it. Is it common to use? Is it scalable?. I dig and dig and dig and dig until I can

tell they are either very competent or they are BSing. The secret is the word HOW no

matter what they say you can always ask HOW that is done)

4. I actually PLAY their previous apps(I have never hired someone withoutfirst trying outone of their apps and making sure its not a buggy mess)

5. I only hire people that I bond with (If we dont get along, I dont hire them. I want

someone with a similar personality. This is someone you will spend a LOT of time with so it

really helps if both of you bond during the interview.Again, go with your gut, if you get ANY

weird feelings then dont hire them)

6. If I am unsure of either price or their ability, I just offer a SMALL PORTION of the

project(If you are really unsure about someone but think it might be YOUR lack ofknowledge and not them, then hire them to do 1/4 of the project at a set price. If you are

making a jumping game, get them to make a rough prototype with nothing but a bouncing

circle jumping on rectangles. If its a running game get them to make a circle that runs and

jumps over squares.Anything super simple like this should take a matter of 2-3 days max

for a rough demo. My good guys do it in an afternoon. Pay them for that if they deliver on

time and then work out a deal for the rest of the project. If you are scared to jump in with

someone this tip works really well.)


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Thebestwaytomakemoneyfromyourapp

sistorst

chooseanapptypethatmonetizeswell

ThebestplacetoseethisdataisontheAppleandAndroidTopGrossingLists


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ThoughwerecommendmakingAndroidand

iOS(iPad/iPhone/iPod)apps,typicallyApp

BusinessOwnersmakemoremoneyoniOS.

Currently,iOSisdominatedbygamesinthetopgrossingcharts. Mostofourstudentshavehad

themostsuccessinthegamemarket.


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Butwevealsohadsuccesswithstudents

makingUtility,Entertainment,Business,Mus

ic,

Fitness, Photo,Sports,Travelappsandmore.

..

Regardlessoftheappyoumake,youwanttousemonetizationtechniquesthatwork.

Onthefollowingpagesyoullnd47different

tacticswerecommend.Picksomeoftheseand

trytheminyournextapp...


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Youdontseethisdone often,butI always

thoughtitwasasmartmove onAngry

Birdsparttodoit...when youpausetheir

games,theyhaveaslidingmore screenthatencouragesyoutodownloadtheir

otherapps. Prettysmart,becauseifyou

thinkaboutit peopleareoftenpausing

becausetheyarelosinginterest.


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When weoriginally releasedSteam Rush, wedidnt havethisfeature in. Weaddedit later and itdenitely increased revenue. Before auserstarts,

showthemitems they can buy... especiallypowerups. Thisincreasesthespend ofingame

currency.


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Freetoplayisdominatingtheappstore,butacommonrookiemistakeIseedevelopersmake,isnotaddingenoughtimestounlock. Inourgame,Maze,youcanseewehavethreecategoriesofunlocksthat

areallinterchangeable. Thisgivesthousandsofdifferentoptionsonhowtheycanusetheseitems.


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TopGrossingphenomenon,RageofBahamut,hasnumeroussalesandspecialoffers.Tryputtingapop-upafteranupdatethat

givesaspecialdiscount.Salesworkinthevirtual

worldtoo.


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ThisonefromPocketGemsblewmeawayandtakesthespecialoffertothenextlevel. Ithasa

greatspecialofferthatgoesawayafterXhours...withatimercounting

down!


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Thiswasasupersimpleonethataddedalottothebottomline. Whensomeonetriestobuysomethingandtheyareoutofmoney,insteadofsayingYoudonthaveanycoinssimplyask

themiftheywanttobuymore,andlinktothecoin

storeiftheysayYes.


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AnothergeniusonefromPocketGems. InTapPetHotelyourfoodexpiresifyoudontcollectitquickenough,y

oucanthenspendmoneytorestoreitorjustthrowitaway.


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WhenwereleasedAnimalMall,Imadeabigmistake. Originallywhenyoucamebacktothegame,youhadtoRESTOCKallyourstores. So

immediatelyuponreturningtothegame,youwereputtowork! Nowuserscollectcoinsuponreturn

andtheaveragetimepersessionwentupdramatically.


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Thisisasubtleonethatmakesab

igdifference. Youwanttokeepdistractions

whileingameplayataminimumsopeopleenjoyactuallyplayingthegame.Youneverwanttogive

peopleareasonnottoget

immersedintoyourgame.Themoreimmersiveitis,themoremoneyyouwillmake.


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Thisisaneasyonethatmanypeoplemiss. MostgameoverscreensjustsayRestartandMenu,butthisisagreattimetobringthembacktothe

storesotheycanspendtheirnewlyearnedmoney.


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Oneoftheoldesttricksinthebookanditsagoodone. Haveabuttononyourhomescreen

thatsaysmoregamesandwhentheyclickit,showthemyourothergames. Itsaneasyway

toturnonedownloadintotwo.


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GeniusmoveherebyImangStudios. Theyscoredover4.7millionFacebooklikesbygivingaway250coinsto

peoplewholikedtheirTempleRunfanpage.


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This isagreat techniqueandone thatworksonany type ofgamewith currency. Reward players

forcoming backonconsecutivedaysby

increasingtheamount offreecurrencyyougivethem. Playhaven.comhasan easy wayto

integrate this intoyourapps.


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ThiswasatestwedidinJumpPackthatblewmeaway. Wehadcreatedarobotthatwas5000gemstounlock. We

createdagoldenversionandmadeit20,000gemstogaugereactionandnowitsoneofthemostsoughtafteritemsinthe

game.

Creatinghighlevelcontentwillalwaysyieldbettermonetization.


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YoucanseeinAnimalMallweaddedrealsocialconnectivity. Youcanvisitfriends,addthemfromFacebookandbookmarkthemtorevisitlater.Allowinguserstoconnectandshowoff

newitemstotheirfriendsincreasesrevenueandinteractionwiththegame.


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InourgameSteam Rush,you can seewe have theMore Coinsbuttonright on thehome screen. Aconstant reminder they can unlockmoreitemsat

anytime buypurchasing currency. Youwant torespectfully make it easyfor users topurchase in

your game.


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Agoodgameshouldhavelotsofrepeatusers. Itsessentialtokeeptheentertainedandcomingbacktoyourapp. Tryevolvingthefolkloreofyourtitlewithmorestories.


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Manypeopledomorescreensbuthardlyanyonedoesingamepromotions. NoticehowbigthisoneisinStorm8shitgame,

WorldWar. Ittakesupnearly25%ofthe

screen.


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EverysocialgamehasaCoreLooptheplayermustdo. Thisloopshouldrequirethemtowaitawhilebeforeitsdoneandthenyoucanoffertospeeditupforthematthecos

tofingamecurrency. Strangely,thisisthemostmonetizedtechniqueinSocialGamesbutrarelyusedin

otherapps...Hmmm....;)


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OurgameJumpPackhasdonewellwithover1.5

milliondownloadsnow,butonebigmistakewemadeinthebeginningwasnotutoriaAtrstwegotmanybad

reviewsbecausepeopledidnknowhowtoplaythegame.

ProTip: Ifyoushowthemhowtopurchaseitemswithingamecurrencyinyour

tutorial,peoplewilldoitmoreoften!


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InAnimalMall,weletpeoplehireemployeestodothetappingforthem. Ifthereisashortcutthatcanbehandledbycode,thenthinkabout

lettingpeopleinyourgamepurchasesomethingthatallowsthemtouseit. Forexample,maybea

machinegunforautoresotheydonthavetoconstantlyhittherebutton.


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Ifyoucangureoutwhatareaofyourgameisastickingpoint,thengivesomefreecurrencytothematth

atpoint. Especiallyworksgoodwithanicestoryattached!


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Thistakesfreecurrencytothenextlevel.Insteadofjustgivingthemfreecurrency,let

thempickitupatthesameplacetheycanbuyitlater. Thiswaytheyknowexactlyhowto

purchasecurrencyiftheyeverwantit.


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WhenyouaredonewiththetutorialinAnimalMall,confettifallsfromthesky,balloonsrise

andthecrowdgoeswild. Dontforgettomake

yourgameexcitingwhentheypassmilestones,itgoesalongwayforuserengagement.


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AsupereasywaytoincreaseyournumberofitemstounlockisbyaddingUpgrades. Wedothisinmanygames. Forexample,inSteam

Rushyouhave4levelsforeachpowerup. Eachadditionallevelmakesthepoweruplastlonger.InAnimalMall,eachupgradeaddsmoreclothestotheshops. Manygamessuchas

TempleRundothisaswell.


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InstallRevMobinyourappanditshowspopups

whenpeoplelaunchit.Wetypicallydothisjustoncepergameonstartupanditsincreasedrevenuelikecrazy. Nowtheyhavefancyfullpageimagesthatconvertlikecrazy.

CheckoutRevMobHere.
http://trey.revmob.com/http://trey.revmob.com/http://trey.revmob.com/http://trey.revmob.com/http://trey.revmob.com/http://trey.revmob.com/http://trey.revmob.com/


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DontforgettoaddasmallCoinsbuttononyourgameoverscreen.

Typicallythisisthetime

whenpeoplearegoingtotakeabreakandspend

somemoney.


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Offeritemsforsalethatpeopcanuseoutsideofthegame

LockScreens,backgroundscreens,PCFacebooktimelinpics,musicfromthegame...

Microsofthasmadeakillingbdoingthistypeofthingon

XboxLive.

Youdontseethisofteninmobile,butitsagoodideaanprobablytheeasiestingame

itemsyoucanmake.


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Bringemphasistothingsthatyouwantthemtoclick. Inourgame,Maze,wehaveasparklinglightoncustomizewhereusersspendtheirin

gamecurrency. Wealsohaveaspecialcoinicononthegetcoinsbutton.


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Fromthemonetizationperspective,there

aretwo typesofpeoplewhowillplayyour

game. Peoplethatspend moneyand

peoplethatdonot.Thepeoplethatdonot

makeupabout99%, somakesureto

includesomewaysto monetizethemas

well!Thetwomostpopularchoicesare

FlurryAppCircleandTapJoy.


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When showing itemsthey can buy,default towhat is most popular. The goal isto get them

really intoyour game immediately. In ourgameChase, we start offshowing power ups as

they arethe most popular and pretty easytoattain.


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Somepuzzlegames(andregularapps)monetizewelbyhavingadsonthescreenthewholetime(notjustonthemenuscreens). Thiscanworkifithasadesignated

placefortheadanddoesnteffectgameplay,butwetypicallytrytostayawayfromthisinourhigherend

games.


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This is a one thatwe invented in house. Whenyou collect coinsinagame,we run them

through thecoinizerand theyturn intocoins.

By default wehave1 gem= 1coin, but we canchange this ratio anytimefor the 1.3million

installs ofMaze+bysimply changinga leonour server. This lets us instantlycontrol the

economy ofthegamewith a number tomakethe gameeasier or harder asneeded.


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DirectDealsthroughChartboostaregreat.SometimesyoucangetgreatCPI(costperinstall)

ifyouasknicely.


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Ifsomeonehasntplayedyourgamefor X

number ofdays,givethemaspecialbonus for

comingback.


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When usersgetbored,theyleaveyour

game. Whentheyleave yourgame, its not

goingto monetizeatall.Tokeepusers

happyand monetizationup,add quests

andobjectivestoyourgame! Heck,I hear it

workedprettygoodforWorld ofWarcraft.


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Toengageyouruser,havethemphysically

collectcurrency. Wetested havingcurrency

auto-generatedand bonusesattheend ofa

levelandboth droppedaverageplaytimes.


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InsteadofusingtheboringYes orNowhen

askingaquestion, get creative. HereCSR

Racinghasthe optionMiss OutinsteadofNo.

Prettysmart,I betthatincreasedconversions.


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Ifyourgamehasthemaincharactercollecting

currency,haverareitemsworthalotofmoneytoraiseexcitementandengagementlevels.


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We sharealot ofclothes and itemsin ourgames. For example, ChaseandMaze have

the exact same backpacks. Wemake a

resource onetime anduseit multipletimes,making iteasytoaddinitems and boost the

economy ofthegame.


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Automaticallygiveyourplayersamissionaftertheyvenishedto

increaseengagement.ConsolegameslikeGTAhavebeendoingthissuccessfullyforyears.


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Throwatwitterbuttononthegameoverscreen.ThishasgottentonsofactioninJumpPackandiOSmakesitsupereasy

now.


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Whileyouratit,throwanemailsharebuttontoo.Supereasyandgetscompetitivefriends

ghtingitoutwitheachother...increasingengagementandmonetization.


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Includelotsofpower-upsinyourgame. Wetestedpower-upsvsnopower-upsinourgameMonsterMagic(pictured)anditincreasedaverageplay

timeaton.


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AlsoshowingfullscreenadsafterXamountofturnscanmonetizewell.Thetheoryhereistoshowanadforanewgameoncesomeonemightbesickof

playingyourgame. Justmindthattoomanyadswill

turnoffauser.


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Applewillonlyallowcertaiappstorequiresignup. Ithastobegamesthattrulyhavesocialconnectivity. Ifyourgamedoes,then

considerdoingwhatRageoBahamutdoesandaskthem

tosigninwithfacebookimmediatelyuponbootingupthegame. Greatforviral

growth.


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Pokemonssloganwasmarketinggenius,CollectThemAll. Peoplelovetocollectthingsinthevirtualworldaswell. Throwupguestbookto

givepeopleanotherobjectivetoyourgame.


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Ifyouhave afreetoplaygame youwantto

makeiteasy forpeopleto purchasecoins

fromyou. Makesureyour currency

interfaceis clickable. Alsoaddanindicatortoittoshow itsclickable, likemaking ita

buttonorputtingsparklesaroundit. I

mean,whodoesntlovesparkles?


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Dospecialpromotionsfor holidays. (Imnot

declaringSharkWeekanationalholiday).

Thisworksevenbetterifittsthelook/feel

ofyourapp.


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Youdontseethisoften,butwetestedanditconvertsEXTREMELYwell. Inthisexample,ZyngasgameHangingWithFriendslets

youpurchasenew

backgroundsfor$.99. Noamountofingamecurrencywillunlocktheseitems.


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Thanks for checking out our strategy

guide. Make sure to drop by the blog at

GameAcademy.com for big updates on the

app business and more reports like this.
http://www.gameacademy.com/http://www.gameacademy.com/

Documents

Game Academy App Guide