4 tips on how to make a successful children's game

A couple of weeks ago, industry veterans from Disney founded the startup Hyper Hippo, which develops games for children. The team started creating projects with an exciting plot.

The founders of the startup: Lance Priebe, former co–founder of the virtual world of the Disney club Penguin, and Pascal Audette, formerly head of Disney Online Studios. On the Gamasutra resource, they gave the developers some tips on how to make a successful game for children.

1. Children don’t read

Even children who can read ignore text in games. They can pay attention to it only knowing that the information will help them when passing the game. Your task as a developer is to make the information in the game useful and understandable.

2.        Plot

Do not forget that children invent their own myths and stories. But to do this, they need to be given a basis containing some secrets. Then the child will be able to develop them and supplement them with his own imagination, and not think within a given framework.

3. Two users in one

When buying a baby game, we actually have two users: a child who plays and a parent who buys. This simple truth speaks to the following fact: it may be obvious to a child that for $ 1 he will be able to get, conditionally, 1000 crystals, which he can then use in the game. Now the child must transfer this purchase value to the parent. And here the main task of the developers is to help the child in this explanation, suggest the right words and make it clear that this $1 is not equal to 1000 crystals, but hours of happy child play.

NB Please note that the child can play in the same room with his parents, not only the art, but also the soundtrack should be liked by both.

4.       Respect children’s time

Children can’t waste their time and do what they want: school, hobbies, homework, friends. The time of the game session will be limited either by these cases or by the instructions of the parents. Maybe it’s 20-30 minutes a day, no more. And then every minute of the game brings them pleasure. Try to minimize the loading time of the game, shorten the dialogues and simplify the payment process.