As part of the acquisition, Plug In Digital will also be publishing SanctuaryRPG: Black Edition and Overture, two of Black Shell Media in-house titles. Black Shell Media will no longer be taking on new publishing clients, and is instead encouraging developers to reach out to Plug In Digital if they are seeking a publisher.

Raghav Mathur (Founder, Black Shell Media) has spoken about this acquisition: “I am confident that Black Shell Media’s games will continue to delight players and reach new audiences with the great team at Plug In Digital. Black Shell Media worked with Plug In Digital for the initial launch of SanctuaryRPG almost 7 years ago, and we learned a lot from the way Francis ran his company. It feels almost poetic that Black Shell Media’s journey in the world of indie games started and ended with Plug In Digital. I’m happy to be passing the torch of publishing our catalog to someone I know and trust, whose success speaks for itself.”

“We have a long history with Black Shell Media, one of our very first partners and a perfect example of Plug In Digital values: to make profitable business for everyone while preserving strong loyalty and friendly bounds. Acquiring their catalog when a page is being turned on their side is for us the perfect way to keep this partnership alive and make sure the energy and talent they put into their games are still acknowledged and rewarded.” Said Francis Ingrand, CEO and founder of Plug In Digital.

About Plug In Digital

Plug In Digital is one of the largest independent video game distributors. We help studios and publishers distributing their games worldwide on PC, consoles and mobile. We are a driving force behind indie successes such as Dead Cells, FURI or Ghost of a Tale and a key partner for high-profile companies such as Focus Home Interactive, Paradox Interactive, Konami, Nacon, Bandai Namco, Raw Fury or Curve Digital. Plug In Digital also operates as a video game publisher with two distinct labels: Dear Villagers, built around a restricted editorial line on PC and console, and PID Publishing, calibrated for flexible publishing and co-publishing offers on all platforms.

About Black Shell Media

Black Shell Media is an indie game publishing and marketing consulting agency, working with game developers and tech startups. Initially known as the development studio behind SanctuaryRPG and Overture, Black Shell Media has since grown to over a dozen published titles and hundreds of satisfied clients. In addition to its publishing operations, Black Shell Media has been committed to educating the game development community regarding marketing, development, social media, and business growth, with over 800 blog posts, two published eBooks, the Indie Insider Podcast, a free video series, panels at conventions, and a collection of resources for game developers.

Here’s what I mean. Cleary their objective was to change things from the first game. In the last game, the main protest was season passes. Players felt like the community was divided, and they didn’t appreciate the handling of maps. Understandably, EA removed this from the second game but replaced it with another form of monetization: essentially gambling. So, while they were focused on not repeating mistakes of the past, they failed to note the new mistakes that could arise.

This isn’t exactly something that would have occurred had they paid their respects to what Star Wars really means to so many people out there. They would have understood that it’s probably the most famous and beloved franchise/series in America, well-known around the world, and it’s touched the lives of so many. People name their kids after these characters, freak out at the thought of George Lucas, and line up like crazed, giddy children each time a new movie is released.

So, to taint that with blatant money-grabbing, gambling and what many consider to be malpractice was pretty much the crime of the decade. It blew up, it’s all over the news, and now it will affect the industry moving forward.

But what are the things one should do, and avoid doing, when handling a big name project anyway?

What to Avoid

First and foremost, don’t tackle a big name project with money in mind. Sure, it’s important to pay rent and put food on the table, but anytime you go into game development for money, you’re in for a rude awakening. It’s the exception, not the rule.

More than that, players are similar to the Reddit community: anytime they sense a potential scam or money grabbing self-promotion, they tend to reject it. So when you have money making as an objective, you can’t help but lead with it, hence pushing the players away. It’s counterproductive.

Another thing to avoid doing is rushing to get started. In game development, you only have so much time to get projects completed, or else risk pushing it back, which tends to have a negative stigma. Anytime a game is pushed back, it concerns players who wonder why you feel you need more time. Are you messing up? Are there too many bugs, or is there a bigger issue? Will it keep being pushed back until it’s not really relevant anymore?

It brings up The Last Guardian. The game plays like everyone wanted it to in 2009, and that was enough for many players. It got high enough reviews. But it quickly became overshadowed by other games, suddenly rarely appearing in news pieces by game journalists. Overall, despite being good, it wasn’t a 2016 PS4 game, it was a 2009 dinosaur, something that wouldn’t have happened had they released their game on time.

Logically, when we say “don’t rush to get started,” your instinct is to reject that notion and get to work! The problem with that is that with a big name project, the beginning stages of planning are crucial. If you focus on the planning first, and take the time to understand the audience’s expectations, then you quickly figure out what to do and avoid. You hear it directly from the players, the people who matter. Skipping this part and rushing to create what you think they want is to act upon assumption.

What to Do

But every coin has two sides. Sure, there are things to avoid, but there are also things to focus on that can lead you down the right path. For instance, when tackling a big name project, it’s important to see what has already been done. Going back to Star Wars as an illustration, that is a franchise with animated shows, movies, comic books, merchandise, branching storylines and character arcs, etc. Someone working on a Star Wars games would benefit from examining what’s been done and what’s stood out for people.

In doing so, a game developer could examine successful projects previously done, to better understand what it is the audience appreciates. What they want more of, and what they could do without. This can lead to a map, drawn up by the player base, straight from the horse, helping to instill confidence in the project moving forward.

Most importantly, game developers would be wise to consider all sorts of monetization methods. The most praised option has been and still is the act of ethically doing business, which involves putting out a completed game at base price, and then selling merchandise and aesthetically pleasing items on the side. Nothing that will affect the gameplay.

Terraria, the breakout indie game of 2011 has sold well over 20 million copies. For $9.99, players get a complete game that there is no additionally paid DLC for. No season passes of any kind. Play with a friend or two, modify the world as you see fit, and get rewarded for pretty much everything you do in the game.

What did Re-Logic do to further monetize the game? Merchandising. And lots of it. Think about it: players who love the game want to display that love in their homes, they want to collect things from the game in real life, and in doing so, they want to support the game. It’s a win-win. Just like Pokemon fans want to purchase Pikachu plushies, Terraria fans want to purchase wall decals to recreate their favorite biomes in their rooms.

Additional Tips

Here are some additional tips to take into consideration:

1. Don’t ignore the player requests and demands. If there is a giant group that consistently ask for something, at least listen to it all. They might be onto something.
2. Don’t assume you know everything there is to know about the big name. No matter how much of an expert you are on pop culture, there is always someone else who has extra knowledge. Use your resources, and admit when someone else might be better at a task than you.
3. Focus on community building. Again, the players are your audience. Without them on your side, your game fails, especially if they feel you’ve ruined their favorite stories and characters. So, while working on your game, focus on connecting with the fans, answering questions, and doing AMA’s. The more connected you are, the more they can sense your good intentions.

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The only difference is that in the gaming industry, it’s less about opponents and more about obstacles. Everyone should have the right to succeed, but you also don’t want to be left behind.

That’s why trends are so interesting, such as the remake trend. When you see so many development studios putting out remakes of older games, it makes you wonder if you should follow suit.

So. Should you?

Evaluate Your Reasons

First and foremost, think about why you want to jump on the bandwagon. On one hand, it could just be as a way to feel included, or capitalize on something trendy. But on the other hand, it could be that you’ve had an idea to remake something for a while now, and it seems like the best time to do it.

What’s important here is that you’re seeing the bigger picture. Making a game takes time, effort, and money. If you’re looking to capitalize on a trend, the time is now (or rather, yesterday), or else you run the risk of being too late to the party. On the other hand, if you’re looking to remake a game you launched before, and it made good sales at the time—it’s one of your favorites—then you might have more time on your hands. You’re not pressed for time as much, because you’re not trying to do something for the sake of a trend.

Consider Your Brand

If you’ve never remade a game, and frankly, your oldest game isn’t even that dated, then do you really need to remake it? Remakes are perfect for the studios that have been around for a decade or more, because everything changes in that span of time. Suddenly, the graphics are worth it. We’re at a point where graphics can’t really get… that much better. We have 4k, we have powerful consoles, but all in all, it takes a special kind of talent to put out a game that looks terrible.

So, unless you’re looking to remake a dated game, it won’t have that shocking, visual difference that makes it truly shine.

More than that, it makes you bring into question what you’ve created already. If lately, you’ve been putting out compilations or bundles of previously released games, it might make sense to put out a remake. If the last game you created reminds you of the early days of your studio, it might be nice to tap into that nostalgia.

Be Honest About ROI

Here’s the thing, not every game idea is guaranteed to give you a nice return on investment. There are projects where developers barely break even. Other projects where they lose money.

The trick to making sure that you make smart choices is to just think things through carefully. Logically, you shouldn’t remake a game that didn’t sell well back in the day. You should remake the game that is beloved, even now, with older generations of gamers exposing younger generations to it. A game that… will always remind someone of better times. Times when things were simpler and easier.

If you’re an unknown studio that just started out five years ago and you don’t have a game that really . . . would make players excited to play a remake of, it’s probably best to sit on this decision for another few years.

Seek to Improve

Finally, it’s crucial to be honest about your skill set as a studio. Chances are your studio has changed a lot over the years, and you’ve honed your skills along the way. In that light, check out if you have any games that you might be able to improve upon now that you’re more skilled.

For instance, consider Bethesda Softworks. They started off as generalists, working on hockey games, the Terminator series, and then finally launched The Elder Scrolls about 6 years into their careers. With the exception of IHRA Drag Racing in the early 2000’s, they essentially left sports games behind. These days, they’re known for being avid storytellers that create mesmerizing fictional worlds, intricate lore, and memorable adventures.

In other words, they’ve come a long way since Wayne Gretzky Hockey. When players think of Bethesda Softworks, they now think of The Elder Scrolls, Dishonored, and Fallout. They’ve improved over the years, and if they went back to remake an older game, they’d show their improvements.

This is, of course, highlighted by Prey. It’s a reimagining of the original game, developed by Human Head Studios, and it got a 9/10 on Steam, and an 8/10 from IGN.

In other words, as a developer, you’d be smart to remake a game that can showcase how far you’ve come in the last few years. You want to really improve on the game that’s already been made, and to do that, you need to improve yourself.

Play the Chess Game

So, back to the chess analogy: to truly succeed in video games, it’s important to think about your every move. As a developer, you’re not just creating a game or a few, you’re creating a collection. It has to make sense, it needs to flow and genuinely showcase what you’ve learned from previous projects.

If you decide to remake a game, make sure to think everything through, or else you might wind up making poor decisions that leave you in the dust. You want to win, not delay your failure.

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But there’s a reason why there are far more single-player games out there: making online multiplayer work is more or less rocket science. There are so many factors at work that you have to take into account that it could end up taking as much time to get working multiplayer as it did to code the actual game!

Let’s take a look at each factor to get a better sense for everything.

Understanding The Players

Here’s the thing about players who love online competitive multiplayer: they’re, well, competitive. They like challenge and they appreciate being rewarded for hard work.

Think about the World of Warcraft players who have been around since Vanilla. They are a dying breed: people who absolutely love PvP. No, not the modern-day PvP, we’re talking the brutal, world PvP where you got killed by a mob of overleveled jerks while questing, got corpse camped, and had to call your guild to come have a full-on battle in a field.

But every game is different. Star Wars Battlefront II has 6 game modes, but it’s riddled with some pretty heavy controversy. On one hand, there are microtransactions that allow players to essentially pay for heroes and, therefore, high scores. On the other hand, people who want to earn their way by playing are facing hours of grinding, and essentially gambling thanks to the loot crate digital rewards system. Items are random in every crate, so players have no clue what they’re getting.

This reveals two types of players who are currently playing the game: people who are fine paying to get ahead, and those who want to make the best of a bad situation in the name of Star Wars.

And that’s just one game! WoW players, different. Overwatch players or League of Legends players? Different. Each game attracts different types of players, but all of these people are competitive.

To successfully make online multiplayer work, you absolutely need to understand and nurture healthy competition. And more importantly, you need to think about the kind of game you’re designing. A game like Overwatch will be competitive but will draw in a crowd that favors team arena combat. World of Warcraft is ideal for players who love guilds and open world.

It’s Not Cheap, People

Riot Games raised $8 million to create League of Legends. When Destiny was released, the first of the series, Bungie dedicated $500 million to the project. And that was just the low end of their budget. They went over that as time went on.

What we’re trying to say is that it takes money to create a proper online multiplayer game. You have to spend money to make money, you know this!

As such, if you don’t have that kind of budget, you might be in for a major reality check. Even if Kickstarter went well and you raised over a million to just get the bare bones setup, you’re still only launching a mediocre online multiplayer experience.

And that’s a gamble. The entire future of your project will depend on whether or not the players are willing to play it and support it for years to come, enough to help it grow into a very good game.

Dealing with Controversy

This is something EA can tell you all about. In their ongoing battle against Redditors and general players, they’ve gotten some major backlash. Canceled orders, returns, criticism, blatantly being asked to leave the industry, etc.

Blizzard has been the subject of controversy too, despite their success. There are people who hate World of Warcraft‘s changes over the years. There was the time when the Auction House in Diablo 3 was so hated, it actually had to be removed. And there’s been countless of forum rants about Overwatch matchmaking.

How do these studios handle the stress? Well, for one thing, they have several people on their teams. Everyone has their specific role, which means they don’t have the typical indie problem of having a million tasks per person. It’s the higher-ups that get a say on controversial topics, and they have people to help them with that too. PR assistants, community managers, etc.

But perhaps more importantly, these studios always find a way to compromise. When Blizzard got backlash over the Auction House in Diablo 3, they canned it. They could afford to do that, because, well, they’re Blizzard. In a small indie setting, that would be daunting, because it would mean a giant loss in potential profits.

The Verdict

All in all, it’s no easy feat to create a successful online multiplayer game. It involves truly understanding your target players, raising a bunch of money in upfront investment for development, and thick skin in order to handle the inevitable backlash.

There will always be a better online multiplayer game out there. And you will always have to change and improve on your game to keep players happy. Expect community management to become a major aspect.

If this sounds like something you can absolutely stand up to, then you may want to start with the funding. That will be the deciding factor on whether or not you will even be able to develop a game like this.

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Live streams are popular for a single reason: people love to watch others play video games. Think about it, it’s exciting. It provides the opportunity in engaging with a fellow gamer, or developer, and gives you a chance to view the game prior to purchasing it. It’s also nice to hear what other people have to say about games, and perhaps even shed some light on something you might have missed had you been playing it alone in the living room.

But the players aren’t the only ones who benefit from live streams, developers who do this have a great marketing tactic on their hands, as we covered in last week’s article. By showcasing your game, talking about it, answering questions and organizing fun giveaways, you can build an audience. You can get direct person-to-person feedback too!

But then, which platform is best? YouTube is huge for live streams, with a feature that notifies followers the second you start, but Twitch.tv is specialized for streams. YouTube has everything from cat videos and prerecorded videos, but Twitch . . . it’s gaming central. Is there really much of a competition here?

YouTube Pros

YouTube live streams are designed to keep things light and accessible. The white background makes the video pop, the chat on the right-hand side helps to keep you connected to others, and streamers can link to their other channels, or social media accounts in the description.

Live streaming devs can really benefit from drawing in a crowd on YouTube. Describe the game, link to a store page or announce any affiliate/ambassador links and potentially make some passive income while you’re at it.

Obviously, viewers can easily find your channel this way as well, and see what other videos you have. It’s a good platform for combining everything you have to offer across the web and making it easy for others to follow. The sense of community is huge.

YouTube Cons

The main problem is that user-subscriptions on YouTube Gaming are separate from their main account, so it won’t be added to your YouTube subscriptions section. It’s good in terms of organization, but man is it a hassle. Subscribers can miss a lot of your updates simply because of this.

Twitch Pros

First and foremost, Twitch has expanded beyond just games. Music events like concerts and DJ sets get broadcast all the time on Twitch. But the thing is, Twitch is still predominantly gaming, and as such, it’s really become a hub of constant activity for lovers of games. This is by far, the biggest advantage it has over YouTube.

But there are other pros to Twitch. The platform is set up like YouTube, with the live stream dead center on a white background and the chat window on the right. Only this time, the description is completely changed. Streamers can organize it however they want, using headings to draw attention to specific information, hence making it user friendly. It’s easy to skim for the information you want to find, as a viewer.

And there’s no fussing and clicking on a streamer’s name to figure out what their channel looks like. Directly from the live stream, you can see the number of videos a streamer has, click into their collection, view clips or see follower counts.

Twitch Cons

Twitch’s large gaming audience means it’s easy to grow a following while streaming from Xbox One, PS4, and mobile, but it can be easy to get lost as a new streamer, and there’s no real-time DVR.

So if viewers get there late and you’re ending the stream, oh well.

Furthermore, you really have to bring it on Twitch. It’s largely gaming, and there’s a ton of competition. It isn’t difficult to find big names, or something interesting to catch your eye. That means for viewers to really watch your stream, it needs to be good, or else they’ll be distracted away. Even on your stream page, the left hand side lists other channels for people to view. The temptation to run off and watch something else is always there.

The Best Platform?

Honestly, we’re in a day and age where traditional cable TV is always declining, and streaming services like Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Video, Twitch and YouTube are ever increasing in use. It’s a shift in the system, where people suddenly have access to almost all the information (entertainment) they could ever want on demand, on their time, in their style.

So, technically speaking, you can’t really go wrong with either Twitch or YouTube. Either way, you have the potential to land a large audience, a stable following and some enormous rewards (market your game enough and it will sell copies).

That being said, Twitch is much more gaming oriented than YouTube. Despite both platforms having other videos and streams, in other categories, gaming was the whole starting point for Twitch, and it shows. The gaming community there is large and expectant of quality streamers.

That’s not to say that YouTube means you can sacrifice quality. After all, despite its disorganization with YouTube Gaming, it’s still YouTube, the granddaddy of all streaming services.

Wherever you choose to live stream, just focus on what’s important:

1. Quality content
2. Frequency of content (weekly streams)
3. Useful description content
4. Polite engagement
5. Efficient chat moderation

Good luck!

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But the thing is, it’s not enough to conduct a live stream. It needs to be a successful experience, meaning, it needs to meet your company goals, as well as the player goals. You want positive exposure, and they want a game they can look forward to.

So what are some ways in which you can guarantee success?

1) Don’t Be Stuffy

Think about it: you’re a professional game developer. You spend your days rendering things, looking over the dialogue or writing it yourself, maybe even programming. You’re used to being in front of your computer, knocking things off your to-do list, and handling team meetings.

Well, you can’t be that person during a live stream. While being professional is surely appreciated, it’s not necessary to be stuffy. Don’t forget to smile, laugh, crack a few easy jokes here and there, and genuinely have fun. This is your game after all. You get to play it and enjoy it, without having to worry about that neverending to-do list. Embrace the moment.

2) Prioritize Engagement

You know how you spend countless of hours in front of the computer each day? Well, chances are that with the exception of team meetings, you’re used to being alone. You’re accustomed to doing whatever it is you need to do, without having to actually dedicate any of your time to others.

To have a successful live stream, you can’t do this. Engagement is key, more than anything.

That means you need to monitor chat and answer any questions, explain the game concept, and showcase the different classes, weapons, mechanics, etc.. You are the middle man—or woman—between the players and the game itself during a live stream. And depending on whether they like what they see and hear, they will decide if it’s a game they want to support.

The more you engage the audience and make them a priority, the better you’ll answer questions. You might even get some new fans.

3) Use the Buddy System

Not to be a buzzkill, but not everyone has what it takes to lead a successful live stream. Some people just do better behind the scenes, you know, doing the work.

And that’s just fine. Variety is the spice of life, after all.

But to lead a successful live stream, you need to provide a more dynamic experience. And if you’re not the person to do that, then you need a buddy.

Cue the buddy system: the act of live streaming with someone else who is also on your team. Preferably someone who can be more dynamic and engaging, to sort of offset your seriousness.

You might be wondering why you shouldn’t just send in that person and stay out of the equation. Frankly, you could, but if you’re the one in charge of the project, then you might want to consider being there even just a few times. People will surely have questions and comments for you that they might not share with the other person on your team.

4) Best Face Forward

In the same vein as not being stuffy, successful live streamers are those who know when to call a spade a spade, meaning, you should only stream on a good day. If you had a few too many the night before, and you’re looking awful, don’t do it. If you’re exhausted from a long week and just need some quiet time, don’t do it. When something awful happens, like a breakup, don’t live stream.

Use common sense.

It might come off as rude to just outright cancel a live stream that you promised before, but it’s better than streaming and having the audience call you out for being painful to watch.

Instead, try to get a few of these things done before:

1. Wash your face, pat it dry and ensure you don’t resemble death incarnate
2. Groom (beard, hair, brush your teeth)
3. Don’t dress like a bum: put on a button down shirt, or at least a nicer t-shirt
4. Make sure it’s a good time (you won’t be interrupted)
5. Never live stream on an off day (you’re depressed, tired, angry, etc.)

5) Practice, Practice, Practice

Finally, and we hate to say this, but not every developer is a master at his/her own game. A lot of the time, people get tacked onto game projects and they spend so much time working on it that they never sit down to actually play and enjoy it.

The unfortunate side of that is that when you don’t play your game, you wind up not being too great at it. And that’s not exactly something you want to showcase in a live stream. Suddenly, the focus is driven away from the game itself, because the audience is too busy pointing out what you’re doing wrong in your own game.

This can also fuel a fire. If your game launches and leaves much to be desired, players will refer back to the live stream to highlight just how little you knew about your own game. Can you hear it now? “Of course the game was awful, they had no idea what they were doing!”

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And while all these games take a certain level of skill (hello, you’re making a game, it takes some talent), everyone can agree that they are . . . essentially ripoffs. Demakes are meant to be a different take on a preexisting game, a lighthearted, retro-styled homage of sorts. But the word “homage” is just a nice way of saying the game is relying on the success of its inspiration.

And after all, why should the players be interested? Surely, they would rather go play the original games?

We’ll dig into all this throughout the course of this article, but for now, rest assured, there is a certain appeal to the trend, one that even Gearbox jumped on with their own demake of their own game (Borderlands). If AAA itself is jumping on the bandwagon, and indie is following suit as well, should you be making one?

Is this a trend destined to increase in popularity, or is it going to go out of style before it even begins? Let’s consider all angles.

What Noteworthy Demakes Have Been Created?

Japanese publisher Atlus released a retro demake of Vanillaware’s 2D action platformer, Odin Sphere, to publicize the recent release of a remake—Odin Sphere: Leifthrasir—in Japan.

World of Warcraft: The Molten Core is another fine example, taking what used to be one of Blizzard’s April Fool’s jokes, and making it into a multiplayer title that follows a Warrior and Priest as they fight their way through enemies to collect loot and tackle bosses.

But WoW demakes weren’t the only ones being created circa 2008. Super 3D Portals 6 is a demake of Portal, specifically designed for the Atari 2600. It’s a dated game with simple graphics and mechanics, but it is a great selection for anyone looking for an excuse to pull out the old system.

What Are the Players Saying?

There’s a demake of Breath of the Wild out that certainly sparked a conversation on Destructoid a while back. The general consensus was that demakes “capitalize on both nostalgia and modern in-game physics design.”

Noteworthy complaints include . . .

• “Asking for money for this is stupid, this is why it’ll be shut down even faster.” – ph00p
• “Making it ‘free’ but including a donations window is a sure way to get smacked down.” – fillerbunny9
• “It looks neat but there is a right and a wrong way to make a fan game. Using other companies trademarks and IP is the wrong way. For an example of the right way to make a fan-game, see Retro City Rampage and Axiom Verge among many others.” – Captjc

But not everything was negative. Commentor rxy3 kept it simple:

“Sounds interesting, I’ll have to give it a try when I get the chance.”

As Developers, Are Demakes “On Brand”?

This begs the question, if there is a right and wrong way of going about making demakes, does it reflect on your brand when you create one?

The short answer is yes. For instance, using someone else’s game to draw in some publicity for your work and make money is generally frowned upon. When nothing is changed, and the characters and stories remain seemingly the same, it’s frowned upon.

Only the studios behind the original games can get away with that, because, well, otherwise players tend to call this stuff out harshly.

On the other hand, let’s take one of these complaints and analyze their take on Axiom Verge. This demake is based on Super Metroid, something evident in the game’s design and atmosphere. However the story and main character is entirely different.

In Axiom Verge, a failed scientist dies then reawakens in an alien world. In Super Metroid, Samus travels to Zebes to retrieve the infant Metroid that Ridley, the Space Pirate leader, stole.

Although strikingly similar in its style and mechanics, Axiom Verge does a great job in separating itself enough from Super Metroid by implementing some new design, mechanic, and narrative elements.

What About Homage vs. Originality?

Now comes the common sense part: creating a demake requires less originality than outright creating a new game from your own concept. It’s less brainstorming, and more reworking of established parts and concepts.

Does it still require talent and work? Absolutely.

Will people play it? Surely: people love nostalgic games, movies, clothing, etc.. Things were just better back in the day. Cars were more durable. Music required good vocals, there wasn’t any auto-tune to make it more bearable, for lack of a better word. You could turn on the radio and most songs played would be good, but these days, we all just plug in our phones and listen to our own curated playlists just to avoid all those song skips.

The fact is, someone out there will play it, but it won’t exactly be smooth sailing. At the end of the day, it would have to be a really well done remake, with just enough originality that it doesn’t come off as using another studio’s trademark. And even then, people will draw parallels, and call you out when they think you’re doing something unethical.

The best way to summarize this is you need to provide your own spin to something recognizable, so that there is an incentive to play and keep playing your demake, better known as providing value. Otherwise, if it is too similar to something previous, players will just turn away, badmouth, and play the originals.

How Sustainable Is the Market?

Demakes have been around for a long time, at least the last decade. But notice, even since 2008, demakes are still not outright well-known and popular. You could ask an established, hardcore gamer about demakes, and get a blank look.

“What’s a demake?”

They may know about particularly famous demakes, like Axiom Verge, but they might not know about the Portal, Team Fortress 2, or World of Warcraft ones. They might know when something resembles something else, but not be familiar with the term “demake.”

That is due to one solid reason, and perhaps the most important of this entire article: although demakes can certainly be a grand time, an homage, and a good nostalgic moment, they are not games that most players dedicate hours upon hours to playing. It takes a special kind of demake to do that, and chances are you can only name maybe one or two, tops.

In other words, if a studio were to only create demakes, they’d go downhill very, very fast. It’s just not sustainable. You can’t command a high price, can’t expect players to linger for too long, and certainly can’t market it as 100% original work.

The Verdict

If you’ve been considering creating a demake, go for it. The popularity is there, and players are all for it. However, that being said, make sure you keep your expectations realistic. You won’t get rich off of this project, and you certainly cannot make demakes a regular thing. Just make sure you add your own spin, and enough originality so you don’t pick up a bad rep among players. It’s worth mentioning that demakes can be a good option for portfolio-building, as it showcases a wide variety of skills and industry knowledge.

Now as for falling out of style, demakes will be around for a long time to come. They already have been, pretty consistently, for at least the last decade. That means for the foreseeable future, demakes will keep being created.

But as for increasing in popularity, we can say they will to an extent. They’re not outright original games, so there’s no exhilaration of potentially discovering the next big franchise or notable characters. Demakes are fun to play, fun to discover, but to players, they’re not 100% established games. They’re not the originals. They’re just a nice way to pass a rainy, boring afternoon.

We now live in an era that desperately yearns for times long gone. Teenagers are walking around with ’90s choker necklaces and “discovering” fanny packs. Bands like Depeche Mode are making a reappearance, while stores like Forever 21 are choosing to sell Slayer and Nirvana shirts. Mini retro consoles are being sold like hot cakes.

Demakes, your time is now. Just don’t let it get to your head.

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For game developers hoping to sell their games and utilize smart business practices, this is a goldmine of a resource. Sure, social media can directly connect to potential clients and even allow you to follow people of interest, but email is the more formal, professional manner to let people know what you’re up to. With email, you can send out newsletters and links to your blog or YouTube video. Special coupons or announcements.

So, what are some of the things you should be implementing when email marketing?

Define the Purpose of Each Email

You know how when creating a game, it always starts out small? Maybe it’s just you with a notebook and pen, jotting down ideas and potential concepts. This brainstorming process leads to the discovery of one solid idea that will eventually become the basis of your entire game.

It is the same with email marketing. Each and every email needs to have one solid idea behind it, and it should be made perfectly clear to the reader.

For instance, maybe you want to announce your KickStarter campaign launch. Go ahead and link to the page, add a countdown clock, and give people a rundown of what they can expect. Or maybe you want to let them know your game is in a new bundle for a limited time. Make sure they know that, make sure to link to it, and explain why this is a good thing. Maybe those other games its bundled in are worth looking into as well. Use it to your advantage.

Whatever the message is, make sure you avoid coming off scatterbrained. One message, one mission, one email.

Always, Always Feature a Call to Action

Speaking of one message for each email, don’t forget the call to action. This is a term for what you want readers to do. For instance, if the purpose of your email is to announce a game sale, then you want readers to go buy it. Rather than just letting them know the game is on sale, you want to convince them to click on the button in your email that takes them directly to the listing.

That means you’d want to follow a basic template:

1. The message: the game is on sale.
2. Game description
3. What people have said about the game
4. Reinstate the message with details, like when the sale will be over, and how much money they’ll save
5. A direct link they can click on to go buy it easily and quickly

Create Engaging Subject Lines

Of course, it’s not enough to create a well-written, clear email. You have to get people to click it open first. To do this, it’s important to create engaging subject lines.

To do this, think creatively. Good subject lines do more than state the topic. They may use a little humor (not dark humor), state when there’s savings or something free, or even use capital letters for part of it (game name). Remember, you’re not the only one sending people emails. Most people get a few emails a day, and little time to check them all. Make sure your email stands out from the get-go to increase the chances of improved metrics.

Monitor Metrics for Each Goal

And metrics are important. They can tell you when an email has been opened, when a link has been clicked on, how many people have unsubscribed, and how many emails got lost in the wind, never to be read. This all goes back to your marketing campaign, and individual email goals. Each email should have a clear purpose, but all of your emails should be aiming to make a business goal a reality.

Say you want to improve your game sales. Your email marketing should strive to make that a reality. Each email you send out would have a purpose that aids in that process. Maybe one email would be to announce a game launch, another would be to let people know it’s on sale, another would feature a coupon exclusively for people who open that email, etc. All incentives to increase sales by engaging with readers and giving them some motivation, like discounts. You could even link to a blog post about the game, or an interview that went particularly well.

But what does this have to do with metrics? They’ll tell you if your approach is working or not. If engagement starts to decline, maybe you’re actually not doing too well. Sending out one email per day might be too much for some of your readers, so maybe try a preference center. Maybe you’re being too spammy, or your copy writing is missing the mark. No one likes to feel like they’re perpetually being pandered and sold stuff to. People like to feel like they’re in-the-know about games, like they’re learning something about a game that they eventually want to buy and enjoy with their friends.

Build Your Own Email List, Never Purchase One

Building an email list takes time. It involves having an opt-in option on your official website and putting out enough quality content that gets people talking. Interacting with others and guest posting so other websites vouch for you and your SEO ranking goes up on Google. Only by drawing in that traffic and getting people to opt-in can you really build a solid email list composed of people who genuinely want you to email them.

It’s no surprise some try cutting corners by purchasing email lists from other companies in the industry. This is a terrible ideal, since technically, those people didn’t opt-into your emails. It makes you look spammy and can eventually get you blacklisted. So, remember: hard work or bust.

Keep Design Simple & On Brand

Copy is sure to engage readers, assuming it’s well-written and interesting. But no one likes a wall of text. There’s nothing worse than opening an email that’s too long, and makes you feel tired just looking at it. Unless it’s work related, no one takes that kind of time to read lengthy emails, because, well, most of us don’t have that kind of time.

This is when proper design comes in. Emails should be clean, sleek, and eye-catching. A little color goes a long way, with graphic design and the proper coding, but filling your email to the brim with images and little copy doesn’t work well. You need to balance both, and remember that less really is more.

Furthermore, make sure your emails are on brand. When you open a Medium email, you know it’s a Medium email. It looks gorgeous upon opening. Clearly, they use that same template each time and just write new copy, images and links. And it works.

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But again, as we’ve stated before, getting a degree doesn’t exactly guarantee success either. There are too many variables, like your location, for instance. Some states are known for having fewer job openings than others. And just because there are a lot of jobs, it doesn’t mean your chosen career path is prevalent.

So, it’s no surprise that when opting for advanced degrees in gaming, you second guess it. If there really are no guarantees, even with an Associates or Bachelors, then isn’t it hardcore gambling to strive for a pricey Masters or PhD?

Advanced Degrees vs. Experience

Our talented editor, Dorian Karahalios is the perfect person to consider first. He has an MFA in Creative Writing, which he considers was worth the investment, because he spent the whole of the program doing what he loved most: editing, writing, teaching, graphic design, etc.. Unlike others who consider an MFA a goal in and of itself, Dorian saw it as a path meant to assist you in achieving a big goal, or simply put, he examined how his degree would help him along his actual career goals.

However, despite his overall satisfaction with his degree, he did clarify that it was one part of the picture:

“Any sort of degree is going to give you as much as you put into it, and that’s especially true with how you spend your time outside of the classroom. My situation is a bit unique in that my day job is basically a culmination of everything I’ve studied (graphic design, video editing, filming, writing, editing, memes [yes that too!], blog work—being a Jack of All Trades finally paid off), so I think it’s safe to say that having the degree on my resume got me the interview but the culmination of my experience is what got me the job.

In other words, landing a job that you can be happy with is difficult, and involves making yourself as hireable as possible. A good resume and portfolio is essential. And a degree and experience certainly can’t hurt. Someone with a college degree is going to fair better than someone without it, but in the end, they will always lose the job to the person with the most experience.

Advanced Degrees in Gaming vs. Other Subjects

Notice, Dorian has an MFA in Creative Writing, so it’s not specifically in gaming. He also doesn’t work on games full-time, he has a normal day job. But easily, he could apply his knowledge to everything from journalism, to authoring books, creating games full-time, or doing regular corporate work. He’s not locked into a niche or industry with his degree: he’s flexible and capable of excellent communication skills, something every company needs.

This begs the question of whether advanced degrees specifically in gaming would be better for someone pursuing it as their full-fledged career. But to answer that question, we need to dig a little deeper.

First off, the industry was essentially founded by hobbyists. Back in the day, game development wasn’t a serious career path, it was a bunch of guys in a basement working on codes and renders for the fun of it. With the boom of the industry, the sales, the commercialism, came a . . . shift. Colleges began offering programs for gaming careers, because, well, they knew they could make money by doing so. At the end of the day, that’s what colleges want: money.

This means, most classic games were created by people without degrees in gaming. And they were perfectly fine.

These days, so many students enroll in gaming programs only to find that it wasn’t actually necessary. They learned a lot, they have a fancy degree, but they didn’t learn in the trenches and therefore, have no hands-on experience working on launched projects.

And to add salt to the wound, they might find that it was a waste of time, effort and money because, as Oli Christie, founder of Neon Play studios, described:

“The reality is that there aren’t as many jobs out there are there are students taking these courses . . . We need to see what a candidate can do. Ultimately I look more at their portfolio of work than their CV.”

The industry is small, the job openings are limited, and the influx of interest to break into the industry has soared. That means you face competition and need to stand out from the crowd, but an advanced degree isn’t the ideal way to go about it. At the end of the day, being a student of the world, and proving you have the experience necessary to get the job done, matters the most.

But What About College Portfolios?

Of course, now that we’ve established that going to college is smart, but that experience reigns king over any advanced degree in gaming, let’s consider portfolios.

Paul Harris, Senior Producer at Firefly Studios in London finds college portfolios to be rather lacking:

“Work created at university is okay, but it’s often quite dry or lacking in imagination. Work created in your spare time will more often than not show more flair, features, and skills not learnt on a course, and will be a lot more interesting for us to look at.”

This means you could have a BA and 5 completed games that you made in your spare time while working a regular day job and you’d be better off than someone with a Masters or PhD in games. This also means that advanced degrees that are not highly specialized in video games offer more of a return on investment, such as Dorian’s MFA in Creative Writing.

(Editor’s Note: I don’t consider studying writing, as opposed to game writing, a special case when it comes to game development. From coding to music to art, a more general degree provides you the tools and foundation to apply yourself to what you want to do. I think the biggest mistake anyone can make is “get degree = job,” especially in the games industry.

In the end, it comes down to how you choose to apply and hone your skills rather than what skills you have. SanctuaryRPG was made by a group of volunteers with diverse backgrounds, none of whom formally studied in a game design program.)

Never Stop Learning

There’s this preconceived notion in society that to be well-educated, you need to have a Bachelors or higher. While certainly true to an extent, there are several people who do not have degrees and prove to be much smarter than those who do.

Consider Steve Jobs as an example. He attended Reed College in 1972 before dropping out and traveling through India in 1974. He sought enlightenment and studied Buddhism. It was actually during an LSD trip that Jobs got the notion for co-founding Apple. After years of trying and failing with it, he achieved enormous success . . . and not without mistreating coworkers along the way.

Look at us all now, most of us have iPhones. All thanks to a man who dropped out of college and saught to learn what truly mattered to him, from unexpected places.

In order to be well-educated, you can certainly go to college. It’s encouraged! But it shouldn’t be your only resource for knowledge. That quest should continue, even past an advanced degree. We should strive to learn from books, from forums, from other people.

Or as Dorian explained:

“Editing for the BSM blog has taught me an absurd amount about both AAA and indie gaming, and that’s where the bulk of my gaming knowledge has come from . . . I read literally every article that goes up on the blog. I think there’s hope for people who want to advance their education without spending a lot of money on school: the main difference is that you’re trailblazing rather than following a beaten path.”

Should I Get an Advanced Degree?

At the end of the day, a Bachelor’s can be enough to build a career in games, or other industries. It is through experience and completed projects that people hone their skills and prove themselves valuable in the work force. That being said, advanced degrees can help to advance careers, depending on the industry.

But gaming is not one of them.

No one cares if you have a fancy gaming degree in the industry if you don’t have the projects to back them up. And if you can’t get a gaming job with one, you might find it that much more difficult to branch out into other industries because it’s a highly specialized subject that won’t prove useful in most other lines of work.

But advanced degrees that can help you achieve success in other fields should be considered, especially if your company is willing to foot the bill.

At the end of the day, the choice is yours. It can’t hurt to have more education. Just make sure that you have evaluated everything, taken into account the difficulty of landing work you can be proud of, and established a plan B.

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It’s essentially your hub.

So, then how do you choose a content managing system (CMS)? Clearly, it’s important, since your entire website will be dictated by it. The theme options, the plugins, the usability. Even the pricetag (hosting for a year differs depending on what CMS you choose).

1) Think Needs

Before doing any research, it’s important to understand what you’re going to need in your website. Things like a well-designed landing page, a contact page, a mission/about page, and a blog are obvious. Think bigger too.

For instance, you’ll need a business email, so more like “amy@anystudios.com,” rather than “amyanystudios@gmail.com.” Some website plans offer business emails for free, but others don’t.

Something else to consider is whether or not you want to sell your games on your website. For some developers, Steam and physical stores like GameStop are enough. But others want to feel like they also have the ability to make a sale without a middle man. If you’re looking to sell some games, you’ll need E-Commerce capabilities, and that can make a difference between a $99 website and a $300 one.

Also, will you send out a newsletter? There’s always an email newsletter option, but another option is an online magazine, which means you’d be posting it on your website.

Other things you might want to consider are testimonials, which in gaming would be game reviews, an events calendar, copyright information, etc.

By securing these needs and really outlining what you need for your website, you can then have an easier time figuring out which CMS to select.

2) Think Budget

Not to state the obvious, but the more you need from a website, the bigger the price tag. And each CMS has their own way of pricing things.

Let’s break it down:

1. The most basic of business websites on SquareSpace runs you $18 per month billed annually, or $26 month to month. So, it’s cheaper to pay annually. For that amount of money, you get everything you need to get started, including a free domain, SSL, E-Commerce, a professional email, promotional pop-ups and mobile-optimization. You want mobile-optimization since most web browsing is actually done on mobile. People work and use their phones and tablets to stay connected in between tasks. When they get home, they want to sit by the TV and browse the web on their phones rather than be cooped up in front of another computer screen.
2. On the other hand, if you need inventory, orders, tax and discounts, commerce metrics, customer accounts and integrated accounting, then you need the Basic Online Website option, which is $26 per month billed annually, or $30 month to month.

Now let’s consider another CMS, perhaps the most popular: WordPress.

1. The most basic premium website is $8.25 per month, billed yearly, which is cheaper than SquareSpace. No promotional pop-ups and no free professional email though. That means that it’s cheaper than SquareSpace in terms of the most basic business websites, but it’s not better. It all depends on your needs. If you don’t need the missing features or anything, then you are better off with WordPress.
2. On the other hand, if you want the same features that SquareSpace offers with it’s business website, you’ll need to upgrade to $24.92 on WordPress. That is still cheaper than $26 SquareSpace is charging for their big kahuna business website.

Finally, let’s look at the small details.

1. Upon first glance, WordPress is cheaper than SquareSpace. But if you dig deeper, you realize that the personal website option on SquareSpace is $12 per month, billed annually, or $16 month to month. It also features fully-integrated E-Commerce, up to 20 website pages, 2 contributors, mobile-optimization, SSL and a free domain. All in all, it’s enough to get any small studio off the ground in no time. But it’s a “personal website.” That means SquareSpace gives you bang for your buck.
2. On WordPress, the personal website option is $4 per month, billed annually, and doesn’t have any fancy features at all. It only comes with a custom domain name, 6GB storage space and the option to remove WordPress ads.
3. Also, consider coupon codes. There’s almost always a 10-20% off coupon code somewhere. One coupon can make the difference between a fancy business website on a fancy CMS and a regular website on a CMS you hate.

3) Think Feedback

As of August 2017, the top 10 CMS’s included the following:

WordPress, despite being around for years, is still the leader, raking in 58.8% of the market share. There are over 20 million active sites on WordPress, including The New York Times, Forbes and the Facebook Blog.

That makes you wonder about the reviews and ratings. For WordPress, most people rate it in the 4.5+ out of 5 star range and consider it excellent. The features that get the most praise are customization, the dozens of widgets available, having the best blogging interface, and over 100 free themes. On the other hand, there is a learning curve, and it does require some up-front time investment.

Joomla is another advanced CMS known for its functionality. Getting started is easy, everything is straightforward, and if you’ve ever used Drupal, then it’s not much different. It hosts over 3,200 extensions, so it’s a great option. There are some negatives though. The theme and extension community relies on paid resources.

Whichever CMS you choose, make sure that you read up on it, and see what other people have to say. It can save you some hassle, especially when you’re spending the money to set up a website. You want to know where that money is going, and if it’s worth it.

4) Think Longterm

Say hypothetically that you choose ExpressionEngine as a CMS option. You like how elegant and flexible it is, and you find it easy to modify to meet your needs. It even lets you pack helpful features like having a bunch of websites with one installation of software. The problem is that it’s a paid CMS. That’s a $99.95-249.99 investment.

Think realistically: can you afford this with your current business budget? And will you be able to afford this in the future? If not, it may be better to reconsider your CMS now rather than later.

Ideally, what you want is one CMS that you’ll use for as long as your business is alive, because having to switch everything over is a pain. Avoid the time consumption, and select a CMS you can see yourself using for… decades.

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