Chapter 29: Has the Potential to Be a Blockbuster Game!
The official app store is different from other game channels. Four hundred downloads in twenty-four hours might seem very, very low, but in reality, this data is actually considered decent.
For other game channels, like the Dychao game platform or the brand app stores of various phone manufacturers, their recommendation slots can be directly purchased with money. If you want to manipulate the rankings, as long as you've coordinated with the platform, you can quietly do some behind-the-scenes boosting.
So, on other game channels, as long as you're willing to spend money, it's not at all strange to get the first-day download count directly boosted to several thousand or even tens of thousands.
However, the official app store refuses any form of ranking manipulation. When a new game goes online, it can only wait in an inconspicuous corner to be discovered by players. For a game like "Storm Knight Adventure," even if it makes it onto the new game list or new game recommendations, only a small number of people will download it.
But the official app store automatically adjusts recommendation slots based on the various data of new games. For a game with data like "Storm Knight Adventure," the next recommendation will probably be "New Game Highlights" or "Category Game Recommendation," and the download count will suddenly shoot up.
If, with the next recommendation, "Storm Knight Adventure" maintains a decent download count and rating, then the recommendation slot will get even better. If this positive cycle continues, the download count could go from a few hundred to tens of thousands within a week or two.
Of course, this kind of "positive cycle" can only be achieved by a very small number of high-quality games. Most ordinary games get their recommendations cut off midway due to declining data.
The official app store is different from other platforms; its revenue share is very low, taking only twenty percent of the game's income.
As for taxes, it's relatively more troublesome. The tax deduction method is somewhat different from Chen Mo's previous life, but it's not hard to calculate. After deducting various miscellaneous taxes like transaction tax and income tax, it's roughly around thirty percent.
Of course, the main tax deductions are on pure profit. But since game designers' research and development costs aren't as high as those of traditional companies, their profits are high, so the tax deductions are also quite heavy.
If there were 100,000 downloads, without any discounts, Lin Mao's income would be 2 million. After deducting the platform's share and various taxes, he would still get 1.12 million.
Although only half ends up in hand, it's already a huge profit.
Of course, sales are also affected by the game's price. For a game like Lin Mao's, priced at 20 yuan, reaching 100,000 downloads is relatively difficult.
However, even if the price is lowered to 10 yuan, there aren't many games in the entire app store that break 100,000 downloads.
These games are basically regulars on various charts, and they can only achieve this by getting recommendation slots handed to them on a silver platter.
The games of many small, unknown designers typically only have a few thousand downloads. After working hard for half a year or a year, they earn around one or two hundred thousand, but they still have to cover various expenses, barely scraping by.
Chen Mo said, "In another hour or two, the recommendation slots will refresh, right? Let's see where it can climb to by then."
Lin Mao nodded. "Yeah, looking at the data for other games in the same period, my game's situation is still pretty optimistic. But it's hard to say, since we don't know the app store's recommendation algorithm."
It was clear that Lin Mao was still a bit nervous. This recommendation would largely determine the future fate of this game. For Lin Mao, this game had plenty of effort, sincerity, and creativity. Now it all depended on player acceptance.
Chen Mo patted him on the shoulder. "Don't worry. The game's quality is right here. What's there to be afraid of?"
Lin Mao said, "Yeah, I hope so. By the way, is your game playable yet? Let me see if I can give you some advice from a different angle."
Chen Mo nodded. "Sure. You can use a computer or your phone; either works."
Lin Mao was taken aback. "It's dual-platform? You've got some serious ambition, kid! I'll use my phone then. I'm used to it."
After installing the game, Lin Mao tapped the icon on the screen and opened "Plants vs. Zombies."
Lin Mao played for ten minutes and was quickly captivated by the game.
"This game... has a very high level of completion!"
After all, Lin Mao was a game designer, so he looked at games from a different perspective than other players. He was astonished to find that the game's graphics, music, interface, gameplay, and everything else were incredibly well-integrated. He couldn't find a single flaw!
The newbie tutorial was simple and clear, easy to pick up. The difficulty of the levels was set reasonably, and the combat system was rich...
If someone told Lin Mao right now that this was a high-quality game on the bestseller charts, he wouldn't doubt it for a second!
"This... you made this in three months?" Lin Mao looked at Chen Mo, his face full of disbelief.
Chen Mo nodded. "Yeah, I've actually been thinking about the concept for a long time. What do you think?"
Lin Mao nodded repeatedly. "Awesome. I think it has the potential to be a blockbuster game! At this quality, it's already crushing many games on the charts. When are you planning to launch it?"
Chen Mo said, "Tomorrow. I've been collecting player feedback for the past couple of days. It's generally been pretty good. I've also fixed some unreasonable parts. There aren't any major issues. After it goes online and I get more player data, I'll do subsequent updates."
Lin Mao said, "I think that's a good plan. Your game is way better than mine. I really didn't expect this. You've really woken up! How did you suddenly become so good?"
Chen Mo smiled. "It's nothing. Besides, whether a game succeeds or not doesn't just depend on quality; it also depends on luck. I hope both our games sell well."
Lin Mao said, "Yeah, I hope they both sell well. Then we can keep each other company on the new game charts."
In the past three days, nearly a hundred people had played "Plants vs. Zombies." A few of them were random wild players who stumbled upon the experience store, but most were brought in by Wen Lingwei, Jia Peng, and their group.
After they left, these people spontaneously introduced the game to their roommates, which brought another wave of players to Chen Mo's experience store.
Now, Chen Mo's experience store had over a dozen people every day. It was much livelier.
Chen Mo and Lin Mao chatted for a while longer.
"Huh? The recommendation slot has refreshed!" Lin Mao exclaimed in surprise.
Chen Mo leaned in. "Quick, let's see where the new recommendation is."
Lin Mao excitedly searched through the app store. "Category Game Recommendation! New Game Highlights! Both recommendations are up!"
"That's awesome," Chen Mo said with a smile. "Looks like you're about to blow up."
These two recommendations were both pretty good for a new game. The Category Game Recommendation could bring in a lot of players who liked that specific game type, while the New Game Highlights recommendation would attract players who liked to find new games.
Getting both recommendations at the same time meant that in the system's evaluation, "Storm Knight Adventure" had been classified as a key recommended game. In the short term, it would inevitably see a surge in sales.
If it could continue to maintain its high rating, then this game would almost certainly get even better recommendations, and it might even make it onto the homepage recommendations.
Lin Mao patted his chest. "I can finally relax. The second recommendation was too crucial."
Chen Mo reminded him, "Don't let your guard down. You still need to keep a close eye on player reviews. There might also be some competitors trying to badmouth you. You have to be careful."
Lin Mao nodded. "Yeah, I know. This is only the second recommendation. It's still a long way from the game really taking off."
The two chatted for a few more hours, and also took the time to study the new games of the same period, keeping an eye on the data of various games. In the evening, after the experience store closed, they went out for a late-night snack together, and then Lin Mao left.
After all, he now needed to constantly monitor all the game data and player feedback. It was a critical time. And Chen Mo also had to prepare for his game's launch. Neither of them had much time to spare.