The Hot Game
There were limits to the deliberately crafted viral marketing.
“Games are no fun? Then you get double, no, triple the anger.”
I remembered a senior at Next who left behind the Korean game industry’s immortal line, “It’s a storm before dawn.”
That senior had been so confident in his game that he posted it all over SNS. The users waiting for the release saw the over-the-top hype and said, “Hmm… it’s that good? I guess I’ll check it out.”
And the result was the same senior, swept away by the storm.
“Yihan-ah. Did I… did I really make such a bad game? Do you think so too?”
“Senior, I think the players’ expectations were just too high. You set the bar way too high.”
“Ha… was the viral the problem? The business department made me do it because they said it would help with marketing.”
“Um… Senior, keep your chin up.”
Personally, I judged that the game had flopped because the direction of the planning was wrong and it went in the opposite direction from what the original fans expected. But I still gave him kind words.
But if you truly believe in a game?
That’s pretty solid marketing.
“Hey, Yihan! You were right. Users are spreading the word without us even promoting. ‘Real’ fans!”
Excited, I shoved the laptop at him and read it once.
[Dot Hero. It really does look promising.]
Honestly? I thought this game was just a bubble.
Mobile games are inherently inferior to console or PC games—that’s common sense, right? (Stop arguing. I’m not here to debate.)
But this game?
It’s an incredibly well-crafted ‘killing time’ game.
First, the controls?
So simple that our family’s malamute, Scott, could play it too. LOL.
Hardcore gamers might find it childish. There were even people who said it’s something only kids would play. But do you know the difference between failing because you can’t do it and intentionally ‘stripping it down’?
It’s mobile! Mobile!
Can complex controls even work on mobile? No way. Ten years ago?
In that sense, the developers of Dot Hero made a very smart choice. They created a game you can play with one hand.
I’ll say it straight: there’s a difference between not being able to do something and something that was deliberately removed.
And the progression system?
This is the heart of the game. How did they plan that insane random box growth? I can only imagine that the planner, Joy, must have worked at a company that paid you in random gift cards.
Those random gift cards drive people crazy.
Same difficulty stage, but if you’re unlucky you can’t even beat it. Fucking impossible.
If I say that, there’ll probably be someone who goes, “Yeah, I get why they call it luck-based.” But that friend probably can’t play games well.
Why? Even if cards are terrible, you can still beat it if you’re lucky. It’s just hard. The developers clearly poured a lot of effort into balancing.
Finally, the playable characters.
This crazy developer stole my money.
After playing the three free characters, I was staring at the seventeen locked ones.
So I read the character descriptions. Hmm. Reading them in text didn’t hit me. So I bought one. Two ninety-nine dollars? Cheap. Played it, bought another. Then bought another.
Eventually there were no more playable characters left to buy. (My favorite hero is Nine-Tails, by the way.)
I’ll swear it. Every hero has its own unique fun. They weren’t just made to earn money. (Some two-ninety-nine-dollar heroes are a little expensive.)
The trend of pay-to-win is increasing, but this game isn’t P2W. I would never recommend it if every hero had different grades and performance.
But it’s not about performance—it’s about intended difficulty. It’s never P2W. (The harder the character, the better the items and cards you get in the later stages.)
If you haven’t played Dot Hero yet?
Try it. I’m serious.
*Only downside: you can’t play unless you have an Android phone. The app isn’t even on the App Store yet. But I bet it will be soon.
The review was flooded with praise from strangers.
Goosebumps all over my body. I shivered.
“Heh… this guy nailed my planning intent perfectly. Is he from the industry?”
“What? The comments are over-the-top praising, but I was getting insulted for free.”
“Prophets always have short lifespans. You go to church, right?”
“Oh. Jesus. Forgive this sinner who sins with his mouth.”
I kept looking through the reviews. There were quite a few saying “meh” or “not bad,” but the positive ones outnumbered them. I was confident in my victory.
“Daniel. How many downloads right now?”
“About twelve thousand five minutes ago when I checked.”
“It’s still climbing fast.”
It hadn’t even been released on Apple’s App Store yet and it was already at this level.
“Yihan, why isn’t it on Nokia’s Over Store? Nokia phones are the most used worldwide.”
“I don’t have time.”
I had considered releasing it there too to milk one last cash, but I gave up. Making apps that work with their OS was too much work.
‘And Nokia was going to die anyway.’
Because of that, good apps on Nokia gradually disappeared and it eventually got crushed by Google Android and Apple iOS.
‘Number one market share is about to be taken.’
Instead of betting on a sinking ship, I chose to focus on the aircraft carriers that would soar.
“It’s about time….”
I kept refreshing the Apple developer site.
Knowing how long App Store reviews take, I followed the guidelines perfectly and fixed every bug.
‘It’s normal to wait at least two weeks, maybe a month.’
I stopped refreshing and was about to close the window when.
Ding!
“It’s here!”
“Where? Apple?”
“Eh!”
I hurriedly checked the email.
Just from the subject I knew.
[Congratulations. Your app is ready for sale.]
“It passed review!”
“Finally! So our game is going on the App Store too?”
I read the email carefully and shook my head.
“Um, no.”
“What?! What is the reason this time?!”
“Apple… they didn’t do their market research.”
“What?”
The email didn’t end with the app being approved.
“They’re making an exclusive offer? For a game already on Android Market?”
The game was in the top five on Android Market and I didn’t even know it existed. Unbelievable. Especially now that all the mobile games that blew up on Furibird were out there, a brand-new IP was somehow in fifth place.
‘Ah, I get it now.’
At that time, Apple’s App Store was overwhelmingly dominant. Users who used other stores saw Apple’s users as thinking “you pay for apps.” Games were the same.
That’s why mobile app developers preferred the App Store over other markets. That was common sense. Who knew Apple might offer exclusive deals?
‘So arrogant.’
Other developers might complain, but I wasn’t the least bit sorry. Contract fees or bonuses? Fine. I already checked Android Market. My game would be eaten alive there.
“Yihan, so what happens to our game? Do we have to remove it from Android Market to put it on App Store? According to you, the revenue from the App Store exclusive would be way bigger, right?”
That wasn’t possible.
How many people had already spent money on our game through Android Market?
And more important than profit…
“Daniel.”
I hadn’t had a chance before, but now seemed like the right time to speak up.
“First, profit isn’t my top priority.”
“What?”
“You may not understand, but the number one reason I make games isn’t money.”
The friend who looked confused got a more detailed explanation.
“Money? Good. Where else can you feel the love my game gets as intuitively as with money?”
“R-really?”
“But I like having even one more person enjoying my game more than anything. Money is just a supporting number. It supports download counts and user numbers, and checks ‘how much they love the game I made.’”
“Then why not release it for free?”
I wasn’t digging holes to make games. There should be at least enough capital to make the next game.
And as I said, in this world, where is there more skin-contact love than with the number “money”? You can’t buy or sell people’s emotions with money, but games are different.
‘Time and money clearly show the intensity of love for the game.’
“And this way users will get even more hooked.”
“That doesn’t make sense. People like free games more.”
“No. When you pay for a game, it’s even more fun.”
Appropriate monetization keeps the game healthy.
A pebble you pick up on the street is just a pebble, but a pebble you buy with money looks a little more special and catches the eye.
People are the same.
That’s my business model philosophy. Overly aggressive monetization that drives users away makes the game sick. But if you give in to “for the players” and turn it into nearly free service, users won’t get attached.
The game that will dominate the future, “Regal of League,” is free, but it isn’t.
‘Does anyone not own a champion skin they like?’
They bought the skin because they liked the champ. Buying the skin made the champ even more lovable. It’s a virtuous cycle.
“So remember this. There will be times when I pursue popularity even if I have to give up some profit.”
“Hmm…”
“If you don’t like it, our collaboration ends here. I’m very satisfied with your ability and I’d love to make games with you in the future, but this is my belief.”
After a moment of silence and thought, Daniel smiled.
“Hey, Yihan. My friend.”
“Talk freely. I’ll never resent you.”
“Do I look like a fool to you?”
“What?”
He grinned.
“Did you see that Korean fox? Could I not know your scheme? I thought you were just a mediocre guy who only knows how to play music because my Korean is a little rusty. I have a university degree.”
Daniel pointed at me with his finger like he’d found the truth.
“You devil! You confuse users! Uh? It’s worth buying? Uh? It’s cheap? By setting the price just right so users can open their wallets without hesitation!
When you asked why the playable character unlock was two ninety-nine dollars, I said that’s the perfect amount, right? You already calculated everything in your head! That price is the maximum that will make users’ wallets open like bitches!
You’re sacrificing profit? Popularity is a belief? Bullshit! No! You just want to extract the maximum profit from the maximum number of people! If people like your game a lot and earn a lot of money, that’s your selfish mindset!”
I smiled back and clapped my hands.
Clap. Clap. Clap.
“And I do the same! Wahaha! I want even more people to listen to my songs and earn the maximum amount of money! I do!”
“That’s right. Songwriter.”
After agreeing on each other’s beliefs, we explained the situation to the Apple side and politely rejected the exclusive offer.
‘Actually, there was no way to do exclusive deals anyway.’
We had already sold the game (characters) and how could we take it back?
Daniel and I watched the laptop monitor showing the developer store together and grabbed the mouse.
“Upload it.”
“Let’s go. Yihan. You said the App Store users’ wallets would open like bitches, right? Let’s really suck them dry.”
“Heh. Yeah. Let’s do it.”
One hour later, Dot Hero was on the App Store.