Casual Games SIG/Casual Games List FAQ

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This page will serve as a general FAQ to document the answers to many common questions asked on the Casual_Games mailing list.

In addition to looking at this FAQ, you can browse the list archives, or you can use our custom Google list archive search. Where possible we have also tried to reference existing content from the Casual Games White Paper or other resources on the web.

Please keep in mind that while we've tried to make these answers as accurate and informative as possible, in most cases there are no absolutes. Everything listed here is simply the opinions, views, and best knowledge contributed from our volunteers and the community.

Contents

General

What is a casual game?

There is no single answer to this. Wikipedia has a definition while the Casual Games White Paper has another.

Where can I learn more about casual games?

Business

How much does it cost to create a casual game?

Hit games have been made for as little as little as $5-$10,000 while some reports indicate that Travelogue 360:Paris cost $300k and Bookworm Adventures was nearly $700k. The prevailing wisdom at Casuality Seattle 2006 was that typical budgets were $150-$200k and rising for AAA casual games.

How can I distribute my game?

There are almost as many methods to distribute a game as there are games to be distributed. You can try to work directly with portals, you can partner with a publisher to reach portals, you can license to an aggregator, and you can even sell the game on your own site. There are advantages and disadvantages to all methods, and the final choice will depend on the expectations and requirements you have in terms of time spent trying to gain distribution, revenue necessary to achieve "success" and how much effort you are willing to trade in exchange for revenue share.

How much revenue will my game generate?

There really is no right answer to this question. Some of the most important differentiators are: What type of game is it? Is it a unique game, or an iteration on existing mechanics? What is the sell-point? Does it have good production values? How fun is the game?

That said a well-produced game (which is being purposefully undefined), that iterates on existing gameplay and gets onto the top 10 for a couple weeks will generate about $100,000 - $200,000 in total sales. That revenue will then be split across all the portal and distribution partners with 10-35% coming back to the developer.

What is a good royalty rate for a game if I work with a publisher?

Publishers can offer a wide range of benefits to a title, beyond just a revenue share. That said, revenue shares from publishers can vary from as low as 10-15% for publishers fully funding the entire process from idea inception to release. Developer shares can start at 20-30% when publishers funding a significant amount of the title, and can go as high as 40-70% for less publisher risk and investment.

As a developer the key things to pay attention to are what amount is the revenue share coming from. Typically the royalty rates from a publisher are from the publisher's gross or net and not from the original sale price.

What is a good revenue share rate from a portal?

When working directly with a portal, revenue shares will typically be lower than with a publisher, but the percentage comes off earlier in the value chain. Royalty rates are generally between 25% and 40% with a few smaller portals offer 50% or more. Just as when working with a publisher, you should pay attention to what deductions are taken off before the royalty share is calculated, as it will often be much less than the $20 the consumer typically pays.

Will I receive a royalty on ad revenue too?

Both Real and Microsoft have indicated they will begin sharing ad revenue with developers at Casuality Seattle 2006. However as of November 2006 Shockwave.com is the only portal that will regularly share ad revenue with developers. In the coming months this will become a much more important issue as more portals integrate ads into their downloads, and build up their web-based portals thus increasing their web advertising amounts. While no hard figures are known several rumors have indicated that nearly 50% of revenue for portals comes from advertising.

Distribution

Where can I distribute my games?

Should I work with a publisher or approach portals on my own?

How easy is it to get on a portal? What are the advantages to working with a publisher?

Development

What resources exist to contact developers of casual games?

What technology can I use to develop a game?

The best source of information for this is an article by James C. Smith of Reflexive Entertainment that appeared in the Fall 2006 Casual Games Quarterly. The article outlines the technology used in 50 best-selling games along with a survey to help expand this level of knowledge.

Do casual games use writers?

Any game that wants to create a compelling story will generally make use of a writer. More information about game writing can be found at the Game Writer's SIG

What do I need to do to support Windows Vista?

This post on the mailing list outlines the basic things needed, and also recommends developers to look at the information in the latest DirectX SDK

External References and Articles

Casual computer games go upscale 11/26/2006
Contains references to budgets for Travelogue 360:Paris and Bookworm Adventures
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