Interview with HandyGames: "A game is a living being"

Last January, the German HandyGames released three games on iOS at once. After getting acquainted with the projects, we decided to contact the company’s management and talk to them about f2p and cartoon style.

Dossier:

HandyGames is a small company that develops and publishes games on mobile platforms. Based in Giebelstadt, Germany. Founded by brothers Christopher and Markus Kassulke (Christopher and Markus Kassulke) and Udo Bausewein (Udo Bausewein) in 2000.

Since then, the company has released more than 150 projects on mobile phones and smartphones. At the moment, she focuses primarily on creating and publishing games for iOS and Android. 

HandyGames is primarily known for Guns’n’Glory and Farm Invasion. 

Recent projects:

Rocket Island is a simple match–3 in a paropunk style and with an original plot

Guns’n’Glory Heroes – tower defense, where instead of turrets there are heroes that can be shuffled around the map

Epic Battle Dude is a role–playing runner with someone like a crusader in the title role

Answers questions:

Markus Kassulke, Executive Director of HandyGames, answered our questions.

Interview:

You release both paid and free games. For example, Rocket Island is distributed according to the classic paid model, but Guns’n’Glory Heroes and Epic Battle Dude are f2p projects. In what direction will you develop further? HandyGames develops games with different mechanics and monetization, but our main strategy is still to distribute free projects.

We have been using a similar approach since 2010. This, by the way, was a turning point for our company. For those who do not like advertising in our games, we offer premium versions without it.

Has the approach to development itself changed when you decided to start creating f2p games? Do marketers take part in the process?Of course, all game mechanics should be optimized for f2p.

Moreover, work on optimization should be carried out from the very beginning, from the start of development. Everything from gameplay, in-game currency, UI, design, advertising integration solutions should work on f2p. 

As a developer, you should think in advance about future updates, new content or special extensions. The game is a living being, for which the release is just the beginning, as well as for the baby – the birth. 

What do you think about monetization in single-player games? What should developers offer in games for free, and what for money? How do you find the balance yourself? Almost all of our games are made so that the player can win or just play without paying a dollar.

Of course, we have old games in which you need to pay for access to additional levels, but now we work differently.

Each developer must independently decide which feature to offer for money, which one is free. There is no secret recipe or formula in this case, because it ultimately depends on the character of a particular user, on the genre and the chosen game mechanics. 

HandyGames games, as a rule, have a bright, cartoon style. Why? Was it chosen after the market assessment or, for example, because of the preferences of your leading artist? We chose this style because we like it!

Our policy is to make cool games with high–quality two-dimensional graphics. Although, of course, here we are talking not only about us, but also about our users. They like 2D, and I think there are only a couple of genres that really need 3D. 

By the way, not all of our projects are so cartoon. Now we are working on a realistic two-dimensional game about the Second World War. Its announcement is just around the corner. Follow the news.

You can follow the HandyGames announcements here.