Conduct a Competitive Analysis
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To enhance the likelihood of your game’s success, it is essential to understand your competition. Primarily, you need to identify which games are popular and why. However, your objective is not to replicate these games—players typically have little interest in playing another clone of a well-known title. Your game must incorporate at least some degree of originality. Therefore, select a few comparable games and analyze them in relation to the one you intend to develop.
Gaining insight into your competitors can also help answer critical questions from a market perspective. This will enable you to assess whether your game has the potential to perform well commercially, and whether the timing is right for its development. Allocate time to play competing games while simultaneously analyzing them. Observe what aspects you find enjoyable or lacking, and evaluate which features are effective and which require improvement. Then, compare your impressions with player reviews to gain a broader understanding of what contributes to a game’s success and where you might draw inspiration.
Given the numerous factors that can be analyzed in any game, consider examining at least the following aspects:
Game Developer
Was the game developed by an individual, a small team, or a large studio?
What technical skills were required for the developers to create the game?
What other games have they released? Were these titles successful?
How strong is their brand identity and market presence?
Game Publisher
Who published the game?
Is the publisher well-established in the industry?
Target Audience
What aspects of the game resonated with its target audience?
What was the age range of this audience?
Was the game designed primarily for hardcore gamers, casual players, or both?
What were the general reviews and ratings?
How many players have engaged with the game?
Gameplay
What made the gameplay emotionally compelling or original?
Was it the single-player or multiplayer experience that contributed significantly to the game’s success?
Did the game offer sufficient and meaningful gameplay options, or was it overloaded with content that artificially extended playtime?
Were the rewards satisfying and worth pursuing?
Was the gameplay well-balanced?
Story
Was the story a primary selling point? Did players commend the game for its story?
What was the overall playtime?
Visuals and Audio
How immersive was the overall atmosphere of the game?
What was the quality of the visual and audio design?
Did the visuals significantly contribute to the game’s popularity, or were the story and gameplay more influential?
Level Design
How authentic and immersive were the level designs? To what extent did the world simulate a realistic environment?
Were the levels distinct and original?
How many levels did the game include?
What was the size and scale of the levels?
Accessibility
Were the game mechanics easy to grasp? Did the game provide effective guidance for players to learn them?
Was the artificial intelligence sufficiently advanced?
Were the objectives generally easy or difficult to achieve?
Did the game offer a broad range of accessibility options, particularly for players with impairments?
Control system
- Were the controls intuitive and user-friendly?
Did the game allow players to customize the control scheme?
Output system
- Was the in-game feedback prompt and easy to interpret?
Was the graphical user interface clear and legible?
Did the game communicate objectives and rewards effectively?
Sales figures
What marketing strategies were employed?
Was the pricing model aggressive, conservative, or balanced? Were discounts used effectively?
Through which distribution channels was the game made available?
It is also possible that games similar to yours are still in development. Identify who is working on those projects and review any early gameplay footage. Pay attention to player reactions to determine whether the developers are responsive to community feedback. If your list of similar games becomes too extensive, narrow it down to a few key titles. Remember, while analysis is important, it should not consume excessive time—it is more beneficial to allocate that time to hands-on testing and iterative development of your own game.