Asking the right questions will get you the right answer. And that is the basis of Hatchling Games’ design and business decision making process.
Two of my most recent business ventures (Electronic Sports World and Hatchling Games’ Project Card-Chess) rely heavily on the internet, in particular online distribution and marketing. The emphasis is on low marketing, storage and distribution costs. The internet has fundamentally changed the way business works, the way consumers looked at “companies” and the way people looked at value. Companies that fully embraced the Internet and based business models around it thrived massively. Often it was entrepreneurs that created Internet-based companies that went on to become household names globally. These companies include Google.com, Amazon.com, eBay, Audible, Netflix, Neopets, etc. This business model is also known as The Long Tail , first coined by Chris Anderson in a 2004 Wired article. P2P, RSS, Blogging, Bittorent and other similar internet technologies are exhibits features of The Long Tail. Do read the linked article for a brief understanding of this model.
In the digital entertainment industry, Neopets.com is an example of a company with a Long Tail effect. Neopets.com is reported to be one of the most visited web sites in the world. The simple games on their website attracted so many players, mostly non-gamers that they were brought by Cartoon Network and MTV. Neopets avoided heavy competitions such as Electronic Arts, Sony, Nintendo, Square-Enix and Blizzard Entertainment, who have created market dominating games. To defeat the then leader in search engines, Google thought about their business in Internet terms running on Internet time. Neopets.com, arguably the most financially successful game development company in the world did the same.
Let Blizzard dominate the MMORPG market, you simply cannot compete on their ground. If the MMORPG players want to play World of Warcraft, they will – and there is nothing your new game can stop them unless it is really BETTER. Not because you think its better, because you KNOW your customers will think it’s better. How many RPG developers can say that? That is why I look forward to Bioware’s new MMORPG in
I believe to succeed on the Internet is to ask the right questions, rethinking fundamental conscious and subconscious assumptions. Asking these questions will be the basis of Hatchlings Games’ game design, platform choices, financing and other business-critical decisions.
Questions such as, what is an MMOG?
Does MMOG just stand for “Massively Multiplayer Online Game” which mean a world that is massive and online multiplayer and that there is a game in it? Does this online world REALLY exist? If it does, how do you make you know and feel that it exist? Is realism the key? Are there other fundamental human emotions that make you feel that something is real?
Project Card-Chess will be designed with such question in mind.
There are many more questions, such as will people pay to play the game? What is it in it for the player? Why would the player care? Why are Japanese cultures so emphasized in Japanese animations and games? Can the same be done for a Malaysian-made game? What are Malaysian cultures that can be explored in a fictional world?
Questions like these ultimately make a game unique.
I will post about other questions on my next blog entry. Two questions interest me the most, one that is design-related and the other business:
How can Hatchlings Games put
How are we going to make money and are our assumptions flawed?
It really is a lot of balancing work: between time, budget, passion, gameplay, look and feel, platform, marketing, etc. For me, it all has to balance till it’s FUN and MEANINGFUL.
Many have asked me what I will be doing next. For the next year in my life, I will be dedicating my time to two of my start-ups, Hatchlings Games and Electronic Sports World. After everything that I have been through for the past 22 years of life, I am now at the peak of my creative, business and personal life. Although these are trying times, I will try till I am tried.
So first of all, I rejoined Multimedia University (MMU),
I am not feeling very fresh now, should take a shower. There will be a MMU Game Developers Club committee meeting tonight. I just read a post by the Student Representative Council that we have to observe club constitutions. What exactly are they? Does that mean that every member has the right to VOTE for the club’s officers including the President? We could be too new, and our member base too separated to do so. I do believe that with
Electronic Sports World
As mentioned, Electronic Sports World (ESW) is one my newer ventures. Man, I tend to use acronyms a lot. Anyway, ESW (again!) is an online video show that that feature professional gamers in a truly original locale and setting. It is very original and my partner and I believe that it will really change the landscape of gaming.
ESW is the brainchild of my partner, Y.K. Goon. In my opinion, Goon is a brilliant business thinker. He is very up-to-date with the latest in business thoughts and lifestyle. I first met Goon at a university lab test, where he used to teach computer programming as a tutor. Well, my relationship with him has changed almost completely since then. I said “Almost” completely because every time he shares his business thoughts, I am learning from him.
I am still looking for partners for ESW, especially someone with a passion for professional gaming, film production, and internet marketing.
Do send me an e-mail if you are interested in collaborating, investing, sponsoring or if you just want information on this interesting project.
Hatchlings Games and Project Card-Chess
Hatchlings Games, my other and older venture, have been through frequent transformation that reflects on what
Project Card-Chess is a MMO-based card game that is played on a board. It has a unique business model that I have been trying to develop. There are a lot of assumptions that will be changing along that model which will change the design of the game – especially the MMO components of the game. We have to ask ourselves simple and fundamental questions like, is the core gameplay mechanics fun? What really is an MMO? What would make people want to try and lay and eventually pay to play? Really simple questions that we be better have good answers to.
Anybody who wishes to see our business plan to give their opinions should drop me an e-mail at johntanslade@gmail.com.
To get updated with the project, or to see the project from another designer’s point-of-view, check out Zie Aun (no-wing)’s Project Card-Chess development diary.
We are always looking for production managers, programmers, 2D and 3D artists, writers, and new game ideas from anywhere in the world. So if you are would like employment or partnership in a young Malaysian game company that creates original IP creator, don’t hesitate to send me that e-mail.
For this project to work, I am devising a different financing mechanism - one where anybody can invest if they trust us. More on that soon!
Anime and Games
Recently I have been downloading and watching two animes and playing a game. The two animes are The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya (torrent) and Jigoku Shouju (torrent). Both are excellent animes that I will encourage anyone with the time to watch. Already they are inspiring me with story and world building ideas. The game I have been playing is Dreamfall: The Longest Journey, the sequel to the first “The Longest Journey”. It is the 2nd part of the trilogy. So far it is a great game, except for the fact that I am stuck in some really difficult path-finding mind-bogging puzzle. The Longest Journey is written and directed by writer/director/game designer, Ragnar Tornquist.
Note: Do not be disappointed with the first episode of Haruhi Suzumiya, instead continue with the second episode, whether or not you finished the first. The episode was produced by the self-proclaimed ULTRA DIRECTOR Haruhi Suzumiya.
Lastly, I would like to recommend a game subscription service, JumboPlay which is brought to you by Josh Galloway’s Dragonback Media Interactive Sdn. Bhd. Do support the local games industry by buying original games.
It has been work, work and more work lately. So much has changed since the last time I posted. I attended two great game development events, HELP Institute's Video Game Symposium and GDC's Future Game Creators Seminar. Started work on a project, codename: BattleChess which has been relatively fun. It is a great game, perhaps the best thing I have worked on ever.
Game Developers Club
- Future Game Creators Seminar
- Only one day: 29th of May
- The seminar went well, speakers were:
- Kevin Larken, Art Director, GameBrains
- Mike Ooi, Lead Game Designer,
- Hafiz Pon, Chief Technology Officer,
- I had to sponsor the event myself.
- The games the MMU student showcased were pretty impressive.
- My favourite game was Han Sing's
- I owe 11 participants the participant fee which was cancelled. I hope they will be patient.
- I have personally found a successor for GDC.
- Her name is Lim Hui Wen or
- I still need to hold a meeting with the committee to decide if they agree with my decision.
- The GDC committee meeting should be on Monday night.
- Followed by another meeting on Tuesday night with the incoming President.
- It has not been easy to look for the next GDC President. My other choices were Zaki and Kuan. Both are excellent choices.
- Zaki's confidence really went down after the last Business Game Workshop testplay. I hope he regains that confidence. If
- Kuan is a very responsible person, but he said he would be pressured. Granted that
- Although she is younger than the other candidates,
- Although the committee has not agreed yet, I have faith that they will. Do give her your support
Hatchling Games
- Flash Game for GameBrains
- We were going to do a flash game with a soccer theme.
- Moy and Joshua are handling this one. I don't think it is going too well.
- Moy joined an Multi-Level Marketing (MLM) company, so I hope that Moy will still believe and will contribute to Hatchlings Games.
- Business Game Workshop
- We have to continue our testplay sessions next MMU trimester.
- I will meet up with Lewis Lim, my co-game designer for this edutainment game.
- I will be handling the project to Mary who is very eager about edutainment.
- Since she just started, she still has alot to learn about entrepreneurship.
- She sould be assisted by Hoi Lee and Zaki.
- Project BattleChess
- Zie Aun's brainchild.
- A combination of board strategy and collectible card game.
- We will make it an MMO.
- This is a very exciting project. Most people who have heard it are excited about it.
- The biggest project that Hatchlings Games have ever done.
- I have yet to tell the whole of Hatchlings Games about this project yet as we are still in conceptual stage.
- We will announce it before next week-end when we are scheduled to testplay the game.
- Revamped Management
- It has been 10 months since the founding of Hatchlings Games.
- So far we have been doing research while testing out some ideas and doing some outsourcing working.
- But now is the time to really start moving forward towards our goals.
- After the Video Game Symposium,
Electronic Sports World
- WarCraft III: DOTA Reality Show
- My internet was down for a month, and during that month I didn't do much about this.
- I really need to spend more time on this.
- It is a project that I believed in.
- Perhaps its time for me to recruit a few helpers here.
- The main thing to do now is to research and put everything into a coherent business plan.
- To kick things off, I think I will contact someone at TMNet.
- OH, I am REALLY sorry to Goon.
