We make a variety of games for casual gamers, strategy gamers, kids and families.
How do we make games?
Good Games Publishing wants to make the best games we can and then make them succeed globally as well as they can, and Kickstarter is a great tool that can help us do that.
We use Kickstarter to make games as good as they can be by including the best art and components possible. Kickstarter also helps us engage with gamers, and gives our games a head start and an edge in retail. So at least initially these decision gateways will affect many of our choices about which game we publish:
1. Is it a good game? > 2. Will or does it have Kickstarter success? > 3. Will it have retail success?
What is a good game?
Elements of ‘good’ games will vary according to the audience, but things we are looking for include:
- A game that is fun for its audience.
- A unique experience, twist or mechanic in your game’s core engagement.
- Mechanics that fit the theme. Players should rarely say ‘this doesn’t make sense’ or interpret something incorrectly because of thematic signals.
- Easy to learn yet hard to master - how do you ease players into the game? Then how do you keep them wanting more?
- Minimal downtime - how do you scale your engagement to 5+ players?
- Appropriate player interaction - if your game features barbarian hordes it probably wants combat.
- Interesting decisions - how do you fire up player's brains?
- Good catch up / runaway leader solutions - make it work but make it subtle!
- If its a thematic game, does it have a good narrative arc relative to the experience you promise?
- The right amount of play time for the theme and eventual pricepoint.
- A workable prototype that is usable and clear. Eg good card layout, clear fonts etc
Kickstarter viability
We will use Kickstarter to crowdfund many of our games. Our Kickstarter projects are targeted, professional and international in focus. We aim to engage with gamers and fans who want to help make something special every time. Things we believe affect a game’s Kickstarter viability include;
- Uniqueness of the gameplay experience, theme and mechanics.
- Theme - eg Fantasy, sci-fi, steampunk, adventure themes generally do better than abstract or party games on KS. However, occasionaly unusual themes capture people's imagination too. Surprise us.
- Great presentation and art - where is the drama in your game? What are the visual hooks?
- Your core pledge price point, relative to game weight, time and components. How will people compare the price of your thing to what they can buy in the shops today? Cheaper games are easier but expensive games that offer a great experience at good value can work too.
- An achievable funding goal.
- Component quality - art, graphic design, materials, special components.
- Complete quality art and graphic design before the KS begins.
- Complete game for the core goal but potential for expansions or a few stretch goals to make it crazy good.
- An existing crowd of fans of your game. Of course we will have many fans from our previous projects but everything helps.
We are looking for games that have many of these attributes and we can will help you take your game to retail from there. Running a successful Kickstarter campaign requires knowledge of the platform, skill, dedication and time. It is both exhilarating and exhausting. We can work collaboratively with you during a campaign or run the show ourselves and so you can get back to designing games.
Kickstarter without barriers
Our 'no barriers' Kickstarter campaigns:
- Look professional
- Use cutting edge Kickstarter methodologies
- Run in US dollars
- Feature 'free' or reasonable / level international shipping (depending on game weight) to maximise non-US backer numbers
We will also consider publishing games where the Kickstarter campaign has already run succesfully, the game is good, is a good fit for us and has good retail potential. If that is you please submit your game.
Retail viability
Retail sales are vital for games to reach their widest audience. We use our international distribution relationships to take games to global retail market. So we have to consider games that have broad retail appeal. Additional things that affect retail viability include:
- Market niche - who are your audiences? Are there already similar games for them?
- Marketability - how is your game different and awesome? What’s the hook?
- Theme - some culturally specific themes may not sell as well internationally. We tend to like broad and inclusive themes that feature diversity for today's international and multicultural markets. But we're open to games that bring a historical setting to life too.
- Player count - 1 & 2 and 5+ players widens sales potential
- A crossover audience of gamers, families and even kids can help sales.
- Manufacturing cost and price - can this game be manufactured cheaply enough that it is commercially viable via retail at an appropriate price point?
Submit your game to Good Games Publishing
If you like the sound of how we work and have a game you think is a great fit for us then please submit your game to us for consideration.