Script for Blade and Sparks
Introduction:
Hello and welcome, Today we are going to talk about mobile gaming and it’s potential growth in the text five years to come. The predicted growth for mobile gaming from 2020 to 2025 is around 14%, that being said the amount of time people spend playing games and being on their phone is expected to rise by at least 10%. This is where my mobile game Blade and Sparks comes in. Blade and Sparks will be an arena genre mobile game on the app store for IOS and Android. In this presentation, I will be bringing you through the issue with the mobile game industry and why blade and spark is the solution.
The problem:
Paywalls, paywalls are a huge issue when It comes to mobile applications and games in general. Most if not all games you see on the app store are in it for the short term, the objective is to get users to use and spend as much as they can within a small- and short-time frame as possible. This is appealing to audiences who face real life success and that success transfers into the game via a paywall. This is a huge issue because companies get users to spend through creating artificial currency that is translated through real life currency. This can be spent on things like cosmetics that help the user surpass another user, or things like loot boxes and virtual gambling. Loot boxes are huge issue facing the market, completely randomized, and not guaranteed you will get your moneys worth when you open them. But the more the user spends the better their odds, which is very predatory, feeding off ones addictions to gambling and possibly funneling thousands from a user.
The Solution:
This is where Blade and Sparks comes in seeking to break this trend, my goal is to create a game with simplistic enough controls to be played on mobile, and have rewards found through time spent versus one’s ability to breach the progression with real life success. Blade and Sparks will be a top-down arena based fantasy game, with a verity of maps, characters and levels of progression. The overall theme of the game will be to traverse the arena, collecting and combining materials to make your individual character stronger while eliminating the opposing player or AI. The story will revolve around the characters and classes that will exist in the game. This will all be achievable through steady progression, rewards that are maximized through users time spent. The only method of pay will be for items that are purely for looks, not for in game advantage. That and game passes that hold exclusive rewards but no affects otherwise. This will eliminate the aspect of pay to win.
The finished product:
The finished product would be a mobile game with a log in screen, player hub which is the profile, and prebuilt character set with eight different characters and classes to start off with. Four maps upon release and an additional one to two new maps released every other month on major updates to keep players interested. Items that are unique to classes along with abilities that are unique to those items and classes, cosmetic skins unique to characters and classes, which can be unlocked through play and some through passes and cash shop. Again, these items are all cosmetic and hold no benefit in game. The modes will range from 1v1, 2v2,3v3,5v5, and for special events 10v10 which will be for larger maps and game modes. The game modes themselves will be pure survival, only those who prove better or maybe even luckier will come out on top. We will also have a faster paced mode such as death match, free for all and capturing the point which will be for larger 10v10 modes. For people looking for a more casual approach, we have a little bit of everything a single player story and wave survival, and more to be added in the future.
The time frame and cost:
The game itself should take around six months for self-development, this time is spent researching, designing, and writing character, designing maps, items, ability names, and lore. Then once satisfied with the overall theme of the game, I will be discussing and getting approval with the client. After creating the code for the game and implementing the design and mechanics for blade and spark, I would run self-test. Once I feel that the game is ready, the game would be marketed for an Alpha release date, this is to test for bugs, see things that people like and do not like about the game and what can be added. Take consumer suggestions, fix game, announce beta, have the beta, and implement last changes for release.
Now we can go into cost.
- Cost of a singular developer and designer is around $87569 at over a six month period.
- Cost of testing $5000
- Cost of marketing for beta and alpha is around $3000
- Marketing and outreach is $100 and hour
- Publishing the game is around $99 for IOS and $25 for android
Conclusion: Blade and Sparks is and will be a top down fantasy based arena game, with multiplayer and single player gameplay. The game will have no aspect of a paywall but will have a source of revenue in terms of a game pass and cosmetic skins, but will be completely free if the user desires it to be. The point of Blade and Sparks is to set the standard for mobile gaming, and not be a breeding ground for predatory marketing and income for triple A companies.
