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What constitutes the MVP, When are you ready to release?

Mr. Hurlbz · 2014-09-16T15:33:23

Hey, I'm looking to launch my upcoming game Ninja Gold Rush on the Android play store in the near future and I'm looking to get feedback regarding release strategy. My question is, how mature does a game have to be before you consider releasing it? I realize that the more you put into the game the better the reception, but I want to know if it's worth my time to keep adding features. I've heard stories of some companies performing "small" launches limiting to say Android Canada or something along those lines. They gauge reception and see if it's worth spending more money developing. I'm a single developer working on this game (in my spare time) so I really want to know if people are going to play the game before I continue to log more hours. How do you know when you have the MVP (minimum viable product) that you can launch and gauge reception? In general do you feel this a good idea to launch a game before it is complete (i.e. your full intended scope)? My plan for the game (if reception is promising) is to add more depth: Additional Levels Power Ups More Weapons & Abilities and release on iOS (right now I've only really been testing the Android version and occasionally popping an iOS build on my iPad). Out of the gameplay items, I'm thinking the additional levels is the easiest to hold off on. I see a lot of games release and have the other levels "coming soon" in a future update. However, regarding the power ups and abilities, In a perfect world I'm hoping I get some people play the game, like it and leave a comment stating that it be nice if had some more depth like power ups, etc. Worse case is that they bash it for all it is worth and perhaps taint the game's reputation (though I'm thinking initial release is likely to be so small the repercussions of this are minor)? Obviously, these items are specific to my game but the question about what constitutes a minimum viable product for release is a general one. I'm interested to hear your thoughts on this. Thanks, hurlbz

Production and Management Business

Started by Hurlbz September 14, 2014 10:27 PM

9 comments, last by Orymus3 9 years, 9 months ago

Orymus3

18,866

September 16, 2014 03:33 PM

Unless you know somebody who can give your game a rub to the people picking the new "what's hot" games then it is in fact a lottery to get any love as an free indie game.

Well, you can BE that someone to be fair. It just takes a bit of getting used to it. There's a WAY to talk to the press.

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What constitutes the MVP, When are you ready to release?

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🎉 Celebrating 25 Years of GameDev.net! 🎉

What constitutes the MVP, When are you ready to release?

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