Rubbing hot spots VS making hot spots, who is stronger?
While domestic mini games are running wild, a similar situation has also emerged in overseas markets.
In the United States, a casual product called "Twisted Tangle" once ranked among the top 60 best-selling products, and according to Sensor Tower statistics, the game's double-ended revenue last month was about 3.4 million US dollars (about 24.63 million yuan).
In the UK, a casual product called "Screw Jam" has also performed well, and since the end of March, the best-selling ranking has soared, climbing from outside the top 200 to the top 60.
In the overseas leisure track, the market performance of these two products can only be said to be mediocre, but interestingly, they are both from the same company, which is the Turkish hyper-casual manufacturer Rollic Games.
All along, hyper-casual has been in a relatively awkward position. It has requirements for product creativity, but the creativity is easy to be copied, it needs to be quickly updated, and there are obvious limitations in the profit model, and its gameplay is simple and easy to use, but it is also difficult to retain users for a long time. These contradictory traits have dissuaded many wait-and-see manufacturers, and how to transform hyper-casual manufacturers in the early years was once a hot topic.
But Rollic Games has figured out a breakthrough idea for hyper-casual through two products in succession, at least the market results are here, and they must be the right thing.
Interestingly, Rollic Games seems to have taken a diametrically opposed path to domestic mini-game manufacturers. If the direction of domestic manufacturers is to make small games heavy to solve the problems of retention and revenue, then Rollic Games has taken another lightweight route, that is, TikTokable, that is, "Douyin".
The so-called "Douyin" is more like the adjustment of product design ideas by manufacturers, and it is no longer enough to solve the problem by doing hyper-casual, Rollic Games tries to "translate" the idea of creating short videos and operating accounts to game design, product operation and other processes. This different number of ways to solve problems may bring new inspiration to domestic small game manufacturers.
Highlight the pre-emptive mini-game, and strive to catch the player within three seconds
Since you want to use the idea of "Douyin" to make a small game, you must first understand the characteristics of short videos. In the era of information explosion, the short videos that are pushed to users are often only three or four seconds of "interview" time. If you can't catch the user at the very beginning, you can only be swept away.
The same is true for mini-games, manufacturers need to ensure that the gameplay is simple and easy to play, and it is best for players to understand the rules of the game within three or four seconds.
In the case of Twisted Tangle, the core mechanics of the game are actually very simple: untying the knots that are tangled together. The player can flexibly move the snaps at both ends of the rope and unlock them before the countdown ends.
Of course, there are also obvious levels of difficulty in the levels, for example, the rope winding in some levels is obviously more complicated, and sometimes the snaps of some of the knots are locked to limit the player's operating space. In addition, events such as limited-time contests have been added to the game to give players more variety in the short term, so as to extend the online time of players. Although the overall structure of the game is relatively simple, from the perspective of market performance, players are quite buying.
The gameplay of Screw Jam is a bit more complex, with core gameplay similar to stacked match-3, while incorporating urban construction gameplay such as Coin Master and Monopoly Go!.
In the game, players need to re-unscrew the screws installed on the overlapping acrylic plates and retract them into the corresponding boxes according to the color and pattern. The collected screws will be used as a source of materials for urban construction. The urban construction side line gameplay is also differentiated by the city, and after completing the construction of classic landmarks, the player will move on to the next level.
Screw Jam has a somewhat complex structure, but it's still hyper-casual when it comes to guiding players. Recycling screws as the core gameplay has been the key to the player experience from the beginning, and the urban construction element appears in the relatively late process as another game goal.
It is not difficult to find that the key word of these two products is "finishing", considering that the number of overseas leisure products depends more on creative materials. Given that the decompression video of the collation and induction category has a considerable audience within the platform, it is natural for Rollic Games to design games. The theme communication has advantages, and the simple gameplay lowers the threshold, and it seems that the first step of the product is very stable.
Whether it's the IAA or the IAP, player pay-as-you-go is a good model
The gameplay design of the game is pure and simple enough, and it can attract users in a relatively short period of time like short videos, but this is only the beginning, and the subsequent conversion and monetization are the main play.
In this session, Rollic Games' thinking once again took on the characteristics of "Douyin". Their focus is not on the vitality of the product, nor does it seem that players are expected to stay in a short and fast game for a long time, but they emphasize the full exploitation of the value of users in the short term.
As long as players enter the game, whether it is advertising monetization or in-app purchase, Rollic Games will not refuse to come. Rather than how to convert players into paying users, they are more willing to conform to players' spending habits and maximize this part of the value. For example, in the above two mini-games, Rollic Games did the same thing, that is, to improve the cost performance of ads and in-app purchases, or they wanted to ensure that players have enough choice and enough sense of acquisition.
The so-called choice refers to the fact that although the player has watched the in-game advertisem*nt, he is essentially attracted by the reward, rather than having to click on the ad after interrupting the level. In the case of Twisted Tangle, for example, the in-game ads do not appear at the point where the official level is deliberately designed, and players will not have the frustrating experience of having to fail due to the sudden increase in the difficulty of the level. Instead, it appears in a relatively backward process in the form of a game-like reward, which is more like the "icing on the cake".
Enough sense of acquisition means that the reward received after watching the ad should make the player feel worthwhile. Twisted Tangle rewards players with relatively generous rewards, not the usual items such as restoring health and reopening the game, but rather the appearance of direct sales in the game store as a reward.
This obviously gives players a stronger sense of satisfaction, which in turn leads to the idea that "it's worth watching ads, you can watch more". Compared with the starting point of some manufacturers to interrupt the player experience with "advertising", or to convert players, this design obviously gives players plenty of choice.
While allowing those who are willing to watch ads to see more ads, Twisted Tangle also offers valuable commercial packages for those who are willing to pay. Interestingly, the in-app packages are designed with a strong focus on balance, ensuring that the difference between paying and non-paying users is visible to the naked eye, while also taking into account the gaming experience for players who are unwilling to pay. Appearance is the best choice at this time, as small as the pattern of the rope, the style of the snaps, and even the background plate that unties the knots, all of which are the source of design elements.
In addition to paying for appearance, the experience is also an important source of gift pack design, and it focuses on "eliminating ads". What's special is that the in-game ad removal service is not "permanent" as the time benchmark, but instead players can get a 24-hour ad free service at a relatively low price. The service of eliminating ads within the time limit is obviously more in line with the idea of "Douyin", and it is also a reflection of fully tapping the value of players in the short term.
If the player is only retained for a short time, then the conversion has been achieved in the short-term retention, and if it can be retained for a long time, this item still has the value of repurchase. data.ai data shows that this is also the best-selling in-app purchase for Twisted Tangle.
Similar to the complexity of the gameplay framework, the commercial placement of "Screw Jam" is a bit more complex. For example, in-game interstitial ads, as well as relatively rich item gift packs, etc., including stamina, health, clearance items, and in-game currency, etc. Compared with the purity of "Twisted Tangle", the monetization idea of this product is closer to the traditional perception of casual products, which may be the reason why its revenue is slightly lower.
It is not difficult to find that whether it is advertising monetization or in-app purchases, Rollic Games has a very open attitude, just like the operation strategy of a short video platform, which can not only accept the advertising monetization brought by exposure, but also do not exclude users' consumption behavior on the platform. They fully respect the payment habits of players, because the official will find ways to design commercial content for different groups of people to maximize the commercial value of each type of user.
Don't rely on social networking, let the mini game spread like a short video
In addition to the core game design and commercial implantation, product promotion is also the focus of manufacturers. When it comes to the domestic mini game market, WeChat's help in the communication process is a key factor that cannot be bypassed. The design of mechanisms such as friends playing and game circles is an invisible push assistant.
However, in overseas markets, there is a natural lack of relatively private social platforms, even so, Rollic Games still summed up a set of methods to get the product in front of users, which has some overlap points with the promotion of short videos.
For example, the highlight is pre-positioned. Whether it is video content or a mini-game that needs to rely on the materials placed on the platform for dissemination, the core content needs to be delivered to the user in front of the screen in the shortest possible time. Compared with pure short video content, mini games also need to clearly convey the gameplay, which requires that the gameplay of mini games should not be too complicated.
In addition, considering the communication effect, manufacturers often supplement the materials of the small window real experience game, and there is no shortage of users competing to see who clears the customs faster.
Another example is the result-oriented operation idea. In the short video platform, of course, some users will comment on the video content, but more people choose to leave after watching it. As a content creator, you need to make adjustments to your next content creation based on your users' data. For example, how long the video is higher than the completion rate, where users tend to swipe away the video, and so on. To some extent, the creator's video content is the result of the user's vote with data.
In the same way, for Rollic Games, they already have a considerable accumulation in the hyper-casual track, with a large number of products and an amazing number of downloads accumulating a considerable amount of user data for them. The player's performance will be an important reference for them to design the next product level. Their mini-games do have creative packaging, but the core levels are the result of vote-by-vote. Rollic Games understands where players choose to continue playing and at what point they exit.
Based on the above result-oriented concept, the concept of Douyin emphasized by Rollic Games also has the characteristic of not presetting target users. It's like when a short video is released, the platform will naturally push the video to all audiences, and the creator will adjust the content based on the audience's performance. The same goes for Rollic Games, which has chosen to push the mini-game to everyone and let the game find its own players.
It is with the in-depth insight and application of the short video operation mechanism that Rollic Games has not only jumped out of the limitations of private domain social communication, but also successfully made the mini game show good revenue ability. To a certain extent, they have become "head creators" and have realized the transformation from "making content with platform hotspots" to "creating hot spots".
In contrast, domestic small game and casual game manufacturers pay more attention to heavyweight. In this way, they try to filter out players who are more willing to pay and find users who are more willing to stay for a long time. In addition, domestic manufacturers are also very keen on hot spots, and when the "open the box" game became popular, it once became a frequent visitor on the best-selling list. After "Seeking the Way", "national style" once became the focus of everyone's attention.
However, it is clear that Rollic Games has adopted a set of playing methods that are very different from those of domestic manufacturers, and the author firmly believes that this methodology still has reference value. Not only because the market has tested the feasibility, but more importantly, the direction that Rollic Games adheres to has a certain inspiration for domestic manufacturers, who try to "create hot spots".
This not only means that the company can maintain its long-term advantage in industries that require creativity, but also that they are not willing to parasitize the platform, nor are they willing to take the risk of being pinned down by algorithms and constrained by information cocoons.
Especially at the moment when the two major platforms of WeChat and Douyin are hot, if more manufacturers can get inspiration from it, turn to become a "hot spot maker", and successfully break through the shackles of the user circle, it may bring more variables to this battle without gunpowder.
At that time, the mini game track may bring more surprises to the industry.
