Hi All.
I'm glad to be here and look forward to interacting with you
My name is Chris and I live in the UK. My background is in software including video games, first as an developer and later at a higher level. I have worked as an employee, a contractor, and have occasionally been self-employed over the last 25 years. Slow-lane employment/investing has never been my goal, but although I was previously self-employed making video games, I failed to make it work, twice. I have retreated to employment each time to keep the wolves from the door.
So 2 years ago I started working on yet another video game, but this time using (many of) MJ's principles. This has led to a radically different approach to game development/release than I have used in the past (I can go into more detail about that if anyone is interested).
Admission - I believe I have already broken a couple of MJ's guidelines:
1. I decided to make a video game because it's something I have the skills to do - not because I solved a problem.
2. I do not see a market 'need' for yet another video game (although I have seen demand for these sorts of games and I'm hoping to offer the market something a bit different).
In many other ways I am abiding by the fast lane principles. I have control over the product - the market/genre has a relatively high barrier to entry - post-release the game will be largely independent of my own time - the scaling potential is huge.
After 2 years of working crazy hours on this game in the 'desert of desertion' I will be running my first market beta test in a few weeks time and will hopefully get my first ever market echos. I intend to remain 100% agile and responsive to what the market says. The first version will release sometime next year, but post-release I will use the Act/Assess/Adjust approach to update and refine the game formula based on what users say and do.
I have no background in sales and this is where I believe I failed most in the past. As MJ says in his books, my dream is for the game to attract 'social proof', making advertisements unnecessary. With this in mind, I have designed the game to be as social as possible, with users strongly encouraged to share the game with their friends.
To be clear, I will be surprised if this game takes-off on day 1. I see my job after the first release as learning why it is failing and what I can do to improve it. I will then iterate repeatedly until it does work.
So why am I posting this here? Well, I will soon start introducing this game to the market, and I thought it would be useful for me, and possibly others, to document how it all unfolds. I will talk about the beta test, how the day 1 release goes, and how the AAA iteration works-out after that. I don't know if it will work-out at all, but it will be a fun process. Also, since I'm not here to promote the game or sell anything I will not be specific about the game, but I will share any stats of interest and any lessons I learn.
My second reason for being here is to receive feedback/advice/criticism from others on the forum. If I'm doing something stupid or missing anything I'd love to hear about it.
Cheers,
Chris.
I'm glad to be here and look forward to interacting with you
My name is Chris and I live in the UK. My background is in software including video games, first as an developer and later at a higher level. I have worked as an employee, a contractor, and have occasionally been self-employed over the last 25 years. Slow-lane employment/investing has never been my goal, but although I was previously self-employed making video games, I failed to make it work, twice. I have retreated to employment each time to keep the wolves from the door.
So 2 years ago I started working on yet another video game, but this time using (many of) MJ's principles. This has led to a radically different approach to game development/release than I have used in the past (I can go into more detail about that if anyone is interested).
Admission - I believe I have already broken a couple of MJ's guidelines:
1. I decided to make a video game because it's something I have the skills to do - not because I solved a problem.
2. I do not see a market 'need' for yet another video game (although I have seen demand for these sorts of games and I'm hoping to offer the market something a bit different).
In many other ways I am abiding by the fast lane principles. I have control over the product - the market/genre has a relatively high barrier to entry - post-release the game will be largely independent of my own time - the scaling potential is huge.
After 2 years of working crazy hours on this game in the 'desert of desertion' I will be running my first market beta test in a few weeks time and will hopefully get my first ever market echos. I intend to remain 100% agile and responsive to what the market says. The first version will release sometime next year, but post-release I will use the Act/Assess/Adjust approach to update and refine the game formula based on what users say and do.
I have no background in sales and this is where I believe I failed most in the past. As MJ says in his books, my dream is for the game to attract 'social proof', making advertisements unnecessary. With this in mind, I have designed the game to be as social as possible, with users strongly encouraged to share the game with their friends.
To be clear, I will be surprised if this game takes-off on day 1. I see my job after the first release as learning why it is failing and what I can do to improve it. I will then iterate repeatedly until it does work.
So why am I posting this here? Well, I will soon start introducing this game to the market, and I thought it would be useful for me, and possibly others, to document how it all unfolds. I will talk about the beta test, how the day 1 release goes, and how the AAA iteration works-out after that. I don't know if it will work-out at all, but it will be a fun process. Also, since I'm not here to promote the game or sell anything I will not be specific about the game, but I will share any stats of interest and any lessons I learn.
My second reason for being here is to receive feedback/advice/criticism from others on the forum. If I'm doing something stupid or missing anything I'd love to hear about it.
Cheers,
Chris.
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