Free Collaboration Tools for Remote Teams

I've just finished my first full-scale game development project, from design all the way through post-launch marketing, and I've learned a great deal in the process. My development partner and I started from scratch to develop a new Hangman app for Android and the Web called Classic Hangman Game (very original name, I know, but it's necessary for discoverability on Google Play until genres and descriptive terms can be searched for).

One of the things we had to tackle right away was to put together a viable workflow and a suite of tools that would allow us to work together, even though we live on different sides of the country. After a few hours of trial and error, we found a group of tools that allowed us to work efficiently throughout the project, whether we were working independently or at the same time.

Dropbox

The first challenge we faced was figuring out how to share and concurrently access project files and resources. We both needed continually up-to-date access to source files, images, sounds and all of the supporting files that Unity produces on its own. We found Dropbox to be an excellent solution, and we've since used it at the Global Game Jam 2013 in Denver.

Dropbox is a free cloud file-storage system with options for premium upgrades. The service allows users to synch folders on any PC or mobile device to any other, while also being able to access the folders and their contents on the web. After a quick download, we both had Dropbox folders on our machines, and we could both access the same files at will. As an added bonus, we regularly received notifications when files in Dropbox folders had been changed, so we always knew when the other person had worked on something.

Google Drive

Google Drive works in much the same way as Dropbox, but with the added bonus of having Google Docs built in. Dropbox takes a bit of time to synch files, whereas shared Google Docs are updated almost instantly for all users. We used Google Drive and Docs to share text files -- mainly our design document. We found that we could both have the design doc open, and changes made by one of us would immediately be reflected on the other's screen. We revisited the design doc frequently, and usually designated one of us to make changes to the doc while we spoke over Google Talk.

Google Hangouts

Google Hangouts is an excellent tool for remote collaboration and communication. The things we found most useful were the speed and ease of setting up a conference, and the ability to share our screens with each other. Using Hangouts, one of us could view the other's screen, if needed, while we worked. This proved invaluable for solving engineering problems together, or walking through administrative processes such as setting up various developer accounts online. The one drawback to Hangouts is that it tends to be processor intensive compared to other voice chat services. To solve that problem, we turned to Google Talk.

Google Talk

Talk is a much more lightweight and simple voice chat program than Hangouts. Whenever we needed to free up resources, such as during play tests or project building, we would switch from Hangouts to Talk for a smoother experience. This is also our go-to program for Starcraft 2 breaks, again to free up system resources.

With this suite of tools in hand, we were able to successfully see our project through to completion, from design to publishing and post-launch support. If you've found this article helpful, please take a moment to check out the fruit of our labor: our first game, Hangman for Android! If you would rather play on the web, come on over to my portfolio website at www.davesingram.com.

Play Classic Hangman Game (Free) Now on Android!
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.Volume.Hangman.Free

Motivate Gamers to Buy Your Products Using the Fogg Behavior Model

The Fogg Behavior Model is one of many models designed to understand exactly what motivates specific behaviors in individuals and groups. This simple yet powerful model can reveal strategies for motivating behavior in almost any context, whether it be changing behavior within a workplace, working with your kids, or motivating consumers to buy products. Of course, we are chiefly interested in how this model can apply to motivating video-game consumers to try a product or service, which can include games, peripherals, platforms or virtually any other product in our industry.

Stated simply, the model presents behavior as the result of a combination of ability, motivation and triggers:

Behavior = Ability + Motivation + Triggers

This simple model can reveal tactics for:

- Increasing the number of microtransactions in a f2p game
- Influencing people to try product demos
- Gaining and maintaining subscriptions
- Increasing retail purchases
- Influencing platform decsions (hardware or software)
- Motivating employees in gaming companies (developers, publishers, retail, etc.)
- Motivating potential investors (traditional or crowdfunded)

Let's go through the three components of the model one at a time, and explore ways that your company can gain leverage in each area.

Ability
The ability component relates to the ease (or possibility) of performing a desired behavior. The key to leveraging this component is to make your products as easy as possible to find, try, and purchase. Using the traditional example of retail, if your game is not on the shelf, customers have no ability to buy it.

The retail model has obviously changed in the last 10 years, as digital distribution continues to gain ground over traditional outlets. Still, making your games available online is not as simple as hosting a download link on your website. How easy is it to actually find your download link? Does the link always work? Is there an annoying registration process or other gateway slowing people down as they look for your game? Is the download fast enough (direct download vs. download client vs. torrent, etc.). All of these considerations come into play for this component.

Motivation
The key question here is, "why should anyone want your product?" What have you done to motivate people to search for your game in the first place? The first, most important, and most often overlooked factor in building motivation is the quality of your product. If you release another genre stereotype, all the marketing in the world won't do much to motivate people to seek out your game. If you've created something unique and compelling, on the other hand, a little marketing spending will go a long way.

Marketing is still very important, even with a game that spawns viral word-of-mouth advertising just by being epic. Carefully craft all of your marketing messages throughout the campaign with the goal of building motivation in mind. Don't just let players know about your

upcoming release; make them want it so bad they need it! What are you doing to drive people crazy over wanting your game?

Triggers
The trigger component can be the most elusive, but it is no less important than the others. A trigger is something that ties motivation and ability together, and acts as the catalyst that puts behavior into motion. Consider, for example, that your pre-launch marketing campaign has people drooling over your game before it comes out, and that you have set up a solid digital distribution platform. What is going to tell your customers that it is time to satiate their desire and make a purchase? The answer to that question is the trigger. A trigger could be an email blast that tells pre-launch subscribers that a new update is ready to play, or it could be one final push in your advertising schedule that lets people know the game is on store shelves.

Whatever you do in this area, just do something! Do not think that your pre-launch announcements of release dates will be enough to move massive amounts of product on day one. Be just as active in the first few weeks after launch as you were in the weeks prior, letting people know that they now have the ability to satisfy their motivation.

Putting It All Together
I've focused on publishers in the above examples, but I hope this quick summary gets you thinking about ways that you can influence motivation, ability and triggers to achieve desired behaviors in whatever industry segment you may operate, and with whatever target groups you may seek to influence.

For more information on the Fogg Behavior Model, see the whitepaper below:

A Behavior Model for Persuasive Design, BJ Fogg

Photo Credit: freedigitalphotos.net: imagerymajestic

Ouya Impresses Kickstarter Backers with Revolutionary New Console

Ouya has burst onto the gaming scene in a big way recently, making headlines equally attractive to gamers and game developers. The company and product of the same name recently blew their Kickstarter funding goals away by over $2 million in the first several days, hooking backers with promises of a new type of console that they hope will change the face of the console-gaming market.


Built on Android 4.0, Ouya is designed as an open-source console with a price point under $100. Ouya encourages and invites indie developers to enter the world of console gaming as legitimate players, rather than as small voices in a crowded market of secondary importance, as is the case with current console's indie marketplaces. Far from a box for gimmick games, Ouya invites AAA developers and publishers to weight in with their best titles, as well.

Much has been said about the impact that Ouya may have when it hits store shelves in 2013, but I am more interested in the game-changing undertones of this project's very existence. The tug-of-war between AAA players and Indies has not seemed to favor either side in recent years. On one side, we see things like Digital Rights Management evolving to a point where sharing games is no longer an option, for example, while on the other side we see indie developers creating more open-source games with unlimited distribution. As another example, we see platforms like the Playstation 3 becoming more difficult for indie developers to break into, while at the same time publishing on mobile platforms becomes increasingly cost effective for indie (and even basement) developers. Ouya represents a merging of these two worlds and a reconcilliation of the two divergent trends. On a mass-market, open-source platform, AAA titles can exist alongside Indie titles with casual gamers unable to tell the difference between the two.

Whether or not Ouya makes the splash that many expect it to, this company has put an idea out into the world, and their success on Kickstarter shows that gamers and developers are not going to let this trend disappear. Ouya proves that the gaming industry as a whole wants to see Indie developers and AAA publishers on more of an even playing field; this can only be good for gamers and the industry.

For more information, visit Ouya's Kickstarter page:
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/ouya/ouya-a-new-kind-of-video-game-console