In this 2019 GDC talk, Monomi Park (Slime Rancher) founder Nick Popovich explains how you can make your game stand out and survive amongst the thousands of games released every year.
Key to Popovich’s strategy is the idea that selling your game is just the starting point: to help it survive and thrive, you need to give it a “pulse” (through updates, etc) that makes players feel engaged with a living game.
He also delves into what makes a game feel like “home”, and why cultivating that sort of appeal is so key to ensuring players keep coming back to your game — and talking it up to their friends.
Popovich’s talk was rich in practical examples and lessons learned from Slime Rancher’s development, and now you can watch it (completely free!) over on the official GDC YouTube channel!
In addition to this presentation, the GDC Vault and its accompanying YouTube channel offers numerous other free videos, audio recordings, and slides from many of the recent Game Developers Conference events, and the service offers even more members-only content for GDC Vault subscribers.
Those who purchased All Access passes to recent events like GDC or VRDC already have full access to GDC Vault, and interested parties can apply for the individual subscription via a GDC Vault subscription page. Group subscriptions are also available: game-related schools and development studios who sign up for GDC Vault Studio Subscriptions can receive access for their entire office or company by contacting staff via the GDC Vault group subscription page. Finally, current subscribers with access issues can contact GDC Vault technical support.