Publisher wanted: S Media Link from Krasnodar is looking for support for Rocket X
We are opening a regular series of articles "The publisher is wanted". As part of the cycle, development teams can talk about themselves, their project, and why they need a publisher.
The first material is dedicated to the Krasnodar studio S Media Link. The team released its first mobile game, Rocket X, this summer. She plans to find a publisher or investor for the project.
Dmitry Grigorenko, co-founder of S Media Link and head of the gaming department, spoke about the project.
Dmitry Grigorenko
About the team
S Media Link is an international outsourcing company engaged in mobile, desktop and web development. The company's strengths are the development of native mobile applications on iOS and Android platforms.
The company was founded in 2014. Over the past four years, we have increased our staff to 120 people, opened offices in Krasnodar and Houston, and made more than a hundred excellent projects for companies from the USA, Canada, Australia, Russia, Europe and Asia.
Specifically, five people worked on Rocket X — Galactic Shooter: a game designer, a developer, two illustrators, and I am the project manager.
Art for “Rocket X — Galactic Shooter”
About the project
Background of the development
Two years ago, we decided to develop a gaming direction within the company. I have previously had the experience of creating and promoting a mobile game through a publisherKing of Bugs (in Russia, the game is known as "Carl the King of Bugs").
The game was reviewed several times on the main page of the App Store and received a very good response at the DevGAMM conference.
We generally love games, so we wanted to do something else. Plus, there was an idea to open a gaming division in the company. So, as a result of the search for ideas for our starting point, the concept of the project was born.
King of Bugs
Development tasks
Initially, we set out to complete five tasks during development.
- Learn how to create your own products and bring them to release.
- To teach and prepare a team of developers, artists and other specialists for game development.
- Independently go through all the stages related to the promotion of mobile products in the CIS and foreign markets.
- Learn how to promote mobile games.
- Return the invested investments and bring the project to a plus.
Since we connected the publisher in the case of King of Bugs, a number of aspects of development and publishing remained a dark forest for us. In Rocket X, you had to do everything yourself.
We coped with the first two tasks, but the last three turned into a complete collapse. We tried to promote the game ourselves, but the metrics leave much to be desired, and the budget for advertising campaigns and PR has long been over.
Now our space arcade is at the stage of testing, as well as testing game mechanics and hypotheses.
The game was released on the App Store on July 19, 2018, and on Google Play on August 9, 2018. In the App Store, we immediately got into the collections by Arcade and Adventure categories in all CIS and European countries.
Rocket X: from concept to finale
About the mechanics of the project
It was important for us to properly assess our strength and budget. Therefore, at the very beginning, the "one-step" casual mobile game Color Switch was chosen as a guideline.
Single—stage games are quite popular. The genre has grown a lot lately. The developers feel that players like very simple games where you just have to tap on the screen in time and get bonuses from it. You don't need to make an effort, look for where to poke, you can even play on the go, for example, on a tram or bus.
We didn't want to do mechanics with complex controls. It was necessary to make the management as simple and intuitive as possible. The chosen concept was perfect for this. From a technical point of view, it also simplified development. There was no need to make up and link any additional elements.
In Rocket X, when you tap on the screen, the spaceship slows down. On the one hand, this makes it easier for the player to pass obstacles that arise on the way, on the other hand, it reduces the speed of scoring points. When the player does not tap the screen, the scoring rate increases depending on how long the ship is at maximum speed.
Rocket X Gameplay
Simple mechanics allow the player to think about the game, rather than memorize combinations of buttons and actions.
We have created a unique mechanic that permeates the entire game. It is simple and intuitive, does not require much time for training and works perfectly without creating unnecessary stress for the user. Gradually, new ideas about new modes appeared. As a result, we have three modes in the final build, which are based on one-step mechanics in different variations (story mode, endless game mode, shooter).
Especially for Rocket X, we have created a GameLink cloud storage system that allows users to continue playing on any linked devices without losing progress. Moreover, GameLink is linked to Facebook, which allows users to compete with friends on points, and we better understand how users look like.
Rocket X Interface
About the target audience of the project
In preparation for the soft lunch, we have identified three targets:
- Middle managers. They have money, but no free time. They are ready to accelerate progress for a donation and play in the morning, at lunch or before going to bed.
- Children under 14 years old. They don't have money, but they have access to their parents' card and a strong desire to prove themselves through ship customization and high results.
- Teenagers 14-18 years old. They are just starting to earn their first money, they are just forming an understanding of the principles of economics. They have less and less free time, they are looking for a balance between the grind and the donation, they watch a lot of advertising and pay little.
Art for Rocket X
About the business model of the project
Now it's a standard freeplay with in-game purchases and viewing ads.
About metrics
Metrics are private information.
About the place in the market
Our main competitors are Infinity Shooting: Galaxy War, HAWK: Freedom Squadron Shooter and Sky Force. Our game stands out favorably in that it combines three different modes at once.
- Intense scrolling shooter mode.
- Infinity mode, in which the player must accelerate the ship to overcome obstacles.
- A story mode that combines the previous two and adds a reverse infinity mode when the player slows down his ship by tapping on the screen.
Due to this, the game can occupy a niche of both a high-quality scrolling shooter and a casual puzzle with unique mechanics.
Rocket X
About who they are looking for
We are looking for a publisher willing to invest in a project that will help us successfully launch a product on the global market.
How do I get in touch?
You can write to this address: playrocket@smedialink.com
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Editor's note: if you also want to appear in the category, write to alexander.semenov@app2top.ru . But we warn you right away, not all projects will be able to get into it. We will look at the readiness and quality of the project.
