New Game or New Levels?

[Carlos Camacho]

I was going to add this question to this thread http://www.idevgames.com/forum/showthread.php?p=87455 but I think it deserves its own discussion.

I see some shareware developers pop out games like rabbits and their offspring. I've often thought that they could continue to have revenue streams simply by releasing bonus packs/new levels, etc rather than jump to the next game. Think "The Sims" for inspiration.

Now, I do understand two things
1) Coders like to implement new ideas and so moving to a new game is natural.
2) You can only "milk" a game for so long.

Still, the message I'd like to put out is to consider expanding the content of your games to gain more sales, rather than jumping from game to game. I believe we have an article on iDG about this topic in fact.

Cheers,

[JustinFic]

It depends on the popularity of the original game. More thoughts:

- With an add-on pack you're just creating new content, which is much easier than creating a whole new game.
- When selling an add-on pack you're selling to customers you've already sold to before, meaning you'll likely have a much higher conversion rate.
- On the flipside, if you're requiring a registered version, you have an upper limit on sales. If you only have 50 registrations, you'll sell at most 50 add-ons. So with an unpopular game you're much better off learning what you can and moving on.

Also, instead of releasing it as an add-on, consider just using the additional levels/weapons/whathaveyou to bulk up the original offering. So say you have a puzzle game with 30 levels. You work on an add-on that has 200 more levels and more obstacles. You can a) release it as an add-on, limited by the 30-level version's crummy sales, or b) Just add the levels into the registered version of the original. Suddenly the value of the game is much higher and will probably generate more sales than a 30-level version with an add-on.

Just some thoughts.

[funkboy]

I am an advocate of keeping a game freeware and adding "new levels" (I'm using that term to describe all new game content, including gameplay improvements) until the game is ready to be commercially successful. This means players get a game to try out (and actually feel like they're helping to shape - which they are, if your lines of contact are open with them, which they should be), you get really good play testing (totally real world), and name recognition.

The "free" game will help attract people to your website, who may then download (and purchase) one of your for-sale games.

What does this have to do with the thread's topic? If you feel like moving on to the "next big idea" you have for a game, do so, but release something for free publicly, and don't charge anything for it. Come back to it later, when you feel like exploring it again (you probably will feel like it, even as much as you hate to look at it now), and then you'll have a code base and can add to it.

I am big advocate of having "New Levels" that you can add to a game, yes - make sure your games support it. My golf game has gotten popular in part because players can make their own courses and can download new courses from other people. I don't charge for "New Levels," but I do post them occasionally on my web site. It interests people, that's for sure.