So, 2 years ago I set-out to design & build a mobile phone game with fastlane potential (I started reading MJ's books around 3 years ago). I spent the first 18 months learning the technologies, prototyping, and experimenting with different ideas. Although I have released PC games in the past (which didn't do very well), mobile development is new to me. This is my first attempt at applying MJ's principles to game development, and I've been enjoying the process so far.
I used my friends and family to test out different ideas. If they appeared uninterested I dropped the idea completely and pivoted. They might say something like "That's really cool", and then hand the phone back to me. I reasoned that if they really liked it they would have kept playing. I threw away a TON of code this way. I pivoted several times. Eventually, one of my prototypes seemed to grab their attention.
I also studied the mobile games market and I borrowed certain elements from some very successful games, although the core loop of my game is different and I haven't seen anything else quite like it on the market.
AI has been a game-changer. I have been using it for 99% of my artwork and 100% of my music. Without AI this game would never have been possible. I am working on this 100% in my free time - mornings, evenings & weekends.
The game itself is in the 'hyper-casual' genre, so typical hardcore gamers are not the target audience. I am targeting mainly moms who are looking for a fun, non-challenging, brightly coloured distraction, perhaps while they watch Netflix. To many people the game will appear overly simple, but this is by design and is based on my own research. Since I am not here to promote the game I will not mention its name in this thread (although if anyone really wants to know you can DM me).
I now have my first minimum viable product which I plan to use to gather feedback from the market ahead of a version 1.0 release. My planned next steps are as follows:
STEP 1. TARGETED GAMEPLAY VIDEO RELEASE (THIS WEEK)
I'll make a short gameplay video and share it online in places that my target audience hangs out. This might include Twitter, Facebook, Reddit etc.
The goal of this step is to gauge initial market reactions. I am expecting mixed reactions - not everyone will like the game, but I'm hoping for feedback on things like theme, graphical style, tone, gameplay etc. I can hopefully use this feedback to pivot or make changes before moving on to step 2.
I will also use this opportunity to invite people to join my game's mailing list on my website.
STEP 2. TARGETED BETA TEST (EARLY 2025)
I'll release a playable version of the game and attempt to get a sample of my target audience to play it. I am hoping to learn a) if they like the gameplay (and if not, what should I change) b) if there are any technical issues that need to be fixed.
STEP 3. RELEASE VERSION 1.0 (Q2 2025)
After implementing the lessons learned from step 2 I will add more content to the game and prepare it for release. This stage could take several months, depending on how many changes are needed. The game will then be available for the public to download and play, and will (hopefully) be generating some revenue.
At this point I expect one of two things will happen:
1 - The game achieves 'organic growth', meaning that it spreads and grows without marketing. I have designed and built the game with organic growth in-mind, but I have no idea if this will work out.
2 - Not enough people download and share the game with friends to achieve organic growth. In this case, I will need to start thinking about marketing, and whether I can make a net positive revenue from the game (average-spend-per-user - average-user-acquisition-cost).
STEP 4. ACT - ASSESS - ADJUST
I absolutely see version 1.0 as only the beginning of the journey. I will use the AAA method to iterate and improve the game and its performance over time. The game a year after release will likely look quite different from version 1.0.
If you're interested in following my progress I will be posting updates here along with any data and lessons-learned. I'd love to hear any feedback or suggestions along the way!
Cheers,
Chris.
I used my friends and family to test out different ideas. If they appeared uninterested I dropped the idea completely and pivoted. They might say something like "That's really cool", and then hand the phone back to me. I reasoned that if they really liked it they would have kept playing. I threw away a TON of code this way. I pivoted several times. Eventually, one of my prototypes seemed to grab their attention.
I also studied the mobile games market and I borrowed certain elements from some very successful games, although the core loop of my game is different and I haven't seen anything else quite like it on the market.
AI has been a game-changer. I have been using it for 99% of my artwork and 100% of my music. Without AI this game would never have been possible. I am working on this 100% in my free time - mornings, evenings & weekends.
The game itself is in the 'hyper-casual' genre, so typical hardcore gamers are not the target audience. I am targeting mainly moms who are looking for a fun, non-challenging, brightly coloured distraction, perhaps while they watch Netflix. To many people the game will appear overly simple, but this is by design and is based on my own research. Since I am not here to promote the game I will not mention its name in this thread (although if anyone really wants to know you can DM me).
I now have my first minimum viable product which I plan to use to gather feedback from the market ahead of a version 1.0 release. My planned next steps are as follows:
STEP 1. TARGETED GAMEPLAY VIDEO RELEASE (THIS WEEK)
I'll make a short gameplay video and share it online in places that my target audience hangs out. This might include Twitter, Facebook, Reddit etc.
The goal of this step is to gauge initial market reactions. I am expecting mixed reactions - not everyone will like the game, but I'm hoping for feedback on things like theme, graphical style, tone, gameplay etc. I can hopefully use this feedback to pivot or make changes before moving on to step 2.
I will also use this opportunity to invite people to join my game's mailing list on my website.
STEP 2. TARGETED BETA TEST (EARLY 2025)
I'll release a playable version of the game and attempt to get a sample of my target audience to play it. I am hoping to learn a) if they like the gameplay (and if not, what should I change) b) if there are any technical issues that need to be fixed.
STEP 3. RELEASE VERSION 1.0 (Q2 2025)
After implementing the lessons learned from step 2 I will add more content to the game and prepare it for release. This stage could take several months, depending on how many changes are needed. The game will then be available for the public to download and play, and will (hopefully) be generating some revenue.
At this point I expect one of two things will happen:
1 - The game achieves 'organic growth', meaning that it spreads and grows without marketing. I have designed and built the game with organic growth in-mind, but I have no idea if this will work out.
2 - Not enough people download and share the game with friends to achieve organic growth. In this case, I will need to start thinking about marketing, and whether I can make a net positive revenue from the game (average-spend-per-user - average-user-acquisition-cost).
STEP 4. ACT - ASSESS - ADJUST
I absolutely see version 1.0 as only the beginning of the journey. I will use the AAA method to iterate and improve the game and its performance over time. The game a year after release will likely look quite different from version 1.0.
If you're interested in following my progress I will be posting updates here along with any data and lessons-learned. I'd love to hear any feedback or suggestions along the way!
Cheers,
Chris.
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