Text/Lin Zhi

Recently, Grape Jun noticed a meat pigeon game with a cute painting style and a magical experience.

The game, called "Cat God Ranch", was launched on Steam on September 13 and sold 100,000 copies in the first month, with a positive rating of 93%.

The game is not large, but there are many players in the comment area who have been addicted for more than dozens of hours. Wang Laoju, the well-known big anchor on platforms such as Station B and Douyu, and the cave owner Kai Ge, and Asaki have all spontaneously broadcast live, and there are also many genre strategies and game live situations shared by players in the community.

Why is the experience of this game so magical?

Because players can have the same cool feeling as capitalists, the cattle and horse team is set up and waits for the gold coins to arrive; You can also have the experience of animal stewards, and the checkout page is often a hundred beasts in unison, and even a bit of a ghost animal.

The core gameplay of the game is to choose different animals to build their own ranch, and every day the animals will appear in random locations, and with the right match, you can trigger special effects to burst gold coins. Players need to earn more gold coins to pay tribute to the cat god within a limited time.

Each animal has a base contribution and a special ability: the Tiger eats nearby hoofed animals, and the Shepherd Dog guards the lamb - all of which bring gold.

At the same time, different families of animals will have different characteristics, for example, the pika family is a "superborn guerrilla", which increases through rapid reproduction. Carnivorous families become more expensive and can increase their contribution by eating other animals.

In addition, there are terrain, props, and cat gods in the game to bring more benefits to players. For example, the nest terrain has a chance to spawn eggs, and the cave terrain can accommodate more rodents.

When the build is formed, players will have the thrill of lying down and making money. The horror bird, which sells all the other animals on the field as soon as it appears, can easily reach four figures in its own contribution. If there are still many nests that lay eggs on the field at this time, you will reap the happiness of popping gold coins on the screen.

In addition to the sense of accomplishment brought by the arrival of gold coins, the overall tone of the game is also the reason why players are happy to spread it.

The images of hundreds of animals are very stupid and cute, and the sound effects when paying tribute to the cat god are quite magical: the sheep "bleat" unhurriedly, the capybara will "poof" fart when pooping, the tiger will roar every time it eats, and the checkout page is always full of beasts.

In the past few days, I chatted with Tudou, the producer of "Cat God Ranch", and found that their entrepreneurial story is also a little unusual.

They are the Iron Triangle team: planning, programming, and art, and the three of them have their own game dreams, and they have left Tencent NetEase one after another, and decided to get together to make games at the beginning of this year.

No salary, pure remote, no investment, first - every label can be said to be dangerous, but not only did they make the game in 9 months as scheduled, but they also sold 100,000 copies in the first month of launch.

A chat log between Grape Jun and a senior practitioner

For small teams, many of their practices may be worth emulating.

01

I left Tencent and didn't want to do it again

The project "Follow the Machine".

Grape: What games or projects have you been exposed to before?

Tudou: I spent some time at NetEase, and in my last year of graduate school, I participated in a multi-hero MOBA combined with chicken eating project.

After joining Tencent, I mainly worked in the "League of Legends Mobile Game" team for four years, mainly doing work related to heroes and combat gameplay, such as the hero Seraphine who synchronized with the hand. I've also worked on innovative projects and open-world games, where I learn how to develop a game "formally" from 0 to 1.

Grape: Have you ever done Seraphine? If it's done so well, why go?

Tudou: At that time, I felt that after so many years of playing games, the work at hand was not difficult anymore, and my growth was relatively limited, so I wanted to change the environment or simply work on my own project.

In large factories, it is more likely to be implemented according to a huge operating system. Everyone prefers to find mature gameplay, form a top team, push resources up, and then grab the market. We have relatively few things under our control, and it will be more difficult to set up projects.

In addition, I always wanted to do innovative projects from 0 to 1, and I felt that there would be more growth in all aspects, so I finally chose to start my own business.

Grape: How did you get started?

Tudou: Both the program and the art are my colleagues at NetEase and Tencent, for example, the art was the art of the mini game when I first joined Tencent. Because we all wanted to pursue the game we wanted to make, we hit it off.

We decided to make meat pigeon from the beginning, firstly, because the small team is easier to control, and secondly, everyone likes this gameplay, such as "Potato Brothers", "Killing the Spire" and other meat pigeon games we have played for a long time.

The gameplay is mainly based on "Lucky Landlord", and the underlying design of the game is quite similar to it. But it also has a lot of problems, such as the continuous addition of new elements in the later stage, which reduces the refresh probability of some cards in disguise, affects the balance of the game, and the understanding cost of many element BD is also relatively high.

Therefore, we give players the freedom to choose three families to bring into the game, mainly to prevent the card pool from swelling and facilitate subsequent updates. For example, we now have 7 families, and even if we increase to 10 families in the future, it will not affect the spawn probability of a single animal.

In addition, if all the animals are placed in one large pool, the space for playability and free play will be limited. We hope that players can match families according to their own ideas to further improve the playability of the game.

Grape: Your art style is also very special, how did you decide on it?

Tudou: In an art style seminar, the art students posted a picture of a hyena with very wise and cute eyes in the group, and then we all thought it was quite interesting.

At that time, the art drew 4 small animals, and we found that they were all very good when we put them in a scene, and finally the tone of the whole game was set to be wise and stupid, including the sound effects will rely on this style.

Grape: How did you structure the gameplay? How is the core experience determined?

Tudou: We think that the core experience of a game is often in one or two points, and if we can do these key points well, 70% or even 80% of the game experience will come out.

The earliest plans were actually very large, and we wanted to add simulated management and develop a system, but later we found that they were a bit cut off from our core gameplay. Many players play this game for the casual strategy experience of meat pigeon, and the development system will instead divide players into two types, resulting in an unfocused experience. And for our small team, the input cost of simulated operation was also high, so in the end we simply cut it.

At the beginning, we also wanted to add the weather system and the event system, although it can improve the game from 90 points to 95 points, but it is more trivial and time-consuming, we think it is not the core, and it has not been added to the official version for the time being, but it will be considered in the follow-up update.

Grape Gentleman: Is there any special and innovative element added to the gameplay? Are there any special designs that you find feeling fulfilling?

Tudou: We think the most important innovation in the game is the "critter bonding with family choice" design. Players can choose different families to enter the game, and this mechanic solves many problems, such as avoiding card pool bloat, increasing playability, and balancing the intensity of different genres.

The second is extinct animals, which are designed more to enhance the player's coolness. We have a principle when designing, that is, all animal BD gameplay should have "highlight moments" to make players feel a unique experience.

The Terror Bird, for example, was designed to give the player a sense of oppression, so we made it possible to remove all other critters and absorb their contributions. In this way, it becomes a highlight-reel moment that moves the pace of the game and elevates the mood.

Image source watermark

Another example is the saber-toothed tiger, which is a bit like an upgraded version of the tiger, but there will be leftover meat after eating. Although the visual impact is not as strong as that of the horror bird, if it is paired with Jerry, it can ignore the distance and eat all the animals in the audience, which is also a highlight moment for it. And Jerry's own ability is versatile, which also brings a lot of possibilities to players.

Grape: How did you determine the difficulty curve?

Tudou: When designing the difficulty, we will comprehensively calculate a contribution assessment curve based on factors such as the assessment of the player's contribution value at each stage, the card value rules, the income expectation and the refresh probability, which is the first version of our difficulty curve.

Then we'll test it internally, tweak it after the experience, and then give it to players to test and feedback on a small scale. The adjustment of increment and balance is basically done through these three steps.

We didn't deliberately distinguish between the experience of novices and advanced players, but provided assistance to newbies through peripheral unlocking mechanisms, such as unlocking toys and cat gods.

Advanced players may not need too many unlocks to clear the level when playing the high difficulty, but if the beginner fails a few times, he can also unlock stronger toys by gaining experience, and then use these toys to help clear the level.

Cat gods have different special effects

Grape: There are only three people making the game, how do you plan your project nodes?

Tudou: We start with goals, milestones, and key outputs at different timelines. In January, we were working on the feasibility verification of the gameplay. In February, we expect to complete a standardized gameplay slice. The key outputs at this point are test packs and concept art, and game pages are also set up for friends around you to test. Mass production will begin in March and July. The game package (demo in May), promotional materials, and PV are all key outputs.

In July-August, the development of the official version was basically completed, and in the final polishing stage, numerical and performance optimizations were carried out based on the test data, such as the animation details of small animals, such as the action of the ocean family jumping out of the sea.

Internal node planning is usually slightly earlier than the official release to allow room for subsequent iterations, and each node has its own resources to support it.

Grape: This rhythm feels fast, why do you want to finish it in September?

Tudou: The beginning of September is our best time to go live, and all our work revolves around this timeline, and the rest is project management.

When we researched, we found that the end of September was not suitable because there would be a lot of big games and interesting indie games, and not at the beginning of October, we had already participated in the June New Product Festival, and we could no longer participate in the October New Product Festival. In November, there is an autumn promotion and a winter promotion, and the time will overlap.

In order to catch up with the launch at the beginning of September, although the content is planned more, in order to meet the schedule, unnecessary content is not added as much as possible, and basically it is launched after a few rounds of testing and thinking that there is no problem.

02

Game promotion and games

is just as important in itself

Grape Jun: Did you encounter any major difficulties in the production process? What experiences can you share?

Tudou: Remote collaboration is a challenge. From the inception of the project to the launch in September, our team only met once at the fusion event, that is, when the demo was first launched in May.

I was particularly impressed by a kid who came to play our game, sat in his seat and played for almost an hour, then felt embarrassed to sit for too long, and then left, and then came back, and so on three times. The whole thing was a lot of fun and we also took some pictures of him playing the game. In this offline test, the on-site feedback from players made me more confident in the experience of the core gameplay.

In terms of publishing, since our team was mainly responsible for R&D in large factories before, we didn't have much experience in publishing, especially the Steam release process. We learned the distribution process while developing and tried to reach out to some publishing partners, but in the end we couldn't find a good fit, so we decided to release it ourselves.

Grape Jun: Fully remote development? Will efficiency be affected?

Tudou: Offline, you can communicate directly by patting your shoulder on something; Everyone can work at a more free pace and time, so there may be a delay in communication, but there are ways to make it as efficient as possible.

Every Monday, we plan what we want to do during the week and fill in the project management schedule. Wednesday feedback and synchronization of the previous days' work, pointing out the areas that did not go well or need improvement. Friday is a review and acceptance, checking the progress of the tasks set at the beginning of the week, writing down what you didn't do well, and if it affects the experience, you will adjust it at the weekend or save it for the next week.

In addition, if there is a problem, we will send a message directly in the group, or quickly pull a meeting to communicate efficiently. When the team was first established, I told everyone not to care about each other's face, and to point out the problems in the work or development process directly, so as to do the right thing and not the right person. This preventive shot was done in advance, so that everyone can ask questions directly, without going around in circles.

Grape: Is there anything you can do to maintain the mental health of your team if you're working remotely?

Tudou: We think the most effective way is to shorten the development cycle, and we expect the whole project to be half a year to a year, and each node will be completed within one or two months. In this way, everyone has a psychological expectation, and every time a milestone is completed, everyone will have a sense of accomplishment and positive feedback.

We will continue to publicize new content and release it to listen to players' suggestions. For many people who have been engaged in R&D for a long time, if they have not been exposed to external feedback for a long time, it is easy to doubt themselves, and the team morale is also easy to lose, because they are not sure whether what they are doing is the right thing.

To be honest, at a certain stage, the team is actually a little numb, and it is easy to form inertial thinking when playing a fixed genre, and if you continue to play, you may doubt your own gameplay. So we basically do external communication at each node when the ideas are a little exhausted.

For example, in May, we launched an initial demo with three families, and 50,000 players tried the demo, and their feedback was a big incentive for us.

Grape: How did you get 50,000 players willing to play your demo in the early stages of development?

Tudou: We launched the store page on Steam early on, and while we've made a lot of UI improvements since then, we've been involved in several Steam events before the improvements. Our demo ranked first in the number of downloads in the "Farm Management Festival" and the "Infinite Replay Festival" also ranked well.

Around February or March, as soon as the demo was completed, we immediately opened the social platform. In addition to Steam, we have also accumulated some fans on Xiaohongshu.

Grape Jun: Why did you choose Xiaohongshu?

Tudou: Each game has its own publicity platform, and Cat God is mainly popular on Xiaohongshu because of its art style and small animal themes.

Secondly, due to our limited manpower, the production cost of Xiaohongshu's graphic form is relatively low, and we update the video content of station B relatively less.

Grape Jun: Then I feel that your early publicity was very successful, did you realize that publicity is very important at the beginning?

Tudou: When I used to make games, I always felt that the game itself was the most important thing. But after getting some market feedback, we slowly found that the relationship between the distribution and the product is basically 1:1.

We've seen some teams work behind closed doors, and the game has been working on it for more than a year and hasn't been exposed to the public yet, which is actually a waste. Now platforms like Bilibili, Xiaohongshu, and Xiaoheibox are supportive of independent game developers.

If you don't take advantage of these platforms during the year, the exposure to the game itself is a waste, and you can accumulate a lot of fans in the first year.

Moreover, if the game is exposed in advance, you can also know the market feedback faster, and when the game is launched, you will find that there is a problem with the core gameplay, and it will be more expensive to change.

Grape: I've noticed that your player atmosphere is also very good, do you have any measures to encourage players to share?

Tudou: Actually, we didn't take the initiative to promote it, but we later reviewed the reasons.

When we design mechanics or builds, we leave some open-ended mechanics so that players can freely try different routines. For example, the lop-eared rabbit in the pika family, which can allow any animal to reproduce, can have a lot of tricks for the player.

But players also played unexpected routines. For example, the gerbil was originally just a difficulty label in the desert map, and in this map, it was played to cause trouble, but the player played the gerbil as the core lineup, and used this difficulty mechanic to bring positive benefits to themselves.

In addition to the sense of accomplishment of building and molding, the sounds of the animals are also magical, and it is more interesting to share the video.

Grape: Since there are so many players, how much does player feedback play a role in the gameplay adjustment?

Tudou: Player feedback still has a big impact on our gameplay adjustments, at least 1/3 of the adjustments are based on players' opinions.

Initially, we made a separate endless mode, but players reported that when they played a good lineup in normal mode, the experience was forcibly interrupted at the end of the game, which made the coolness and anticipation of the lineup suddenly disappear, which was a pity.

So we put the endless mode at the end of the normal mode, giving the player the option to continue into the endless mode instead of forcing the end.

Player feedback form

03

"It's never going to be experienced in a big factory

Countless firsts"

Grape Jun: The current entrepreneurial environment is not good, will it affect you?

Tudou: The impact is mainly in terms of financing. Nowadays, a lot of investors are more conservative, you either have a good product in its own right, or you have a very strong team background, such as experience in successful projects, or you are a producer or master planner on a large project. For developers like us who come out of ordinary large manufacturers, the number of investors who can invest in single functions is limited, and the amount will not be particularly high.

And what we are doing is relatively innovative content, which cannot provide a clear market reference. In this case, financing is more dependent on investors who have a deep understanding of the game, but there are very few investors who really understand the game.

Potato experience sharing in Xiaohongshu

Grape: Did you finally get the investment?

Potato: Didn't take it. In fact, in the process, some investors are ready to invest in us, and they are also more optimistic about our game, and they also suggest that we polish it for a while before going online. But due to various reasons, the whole investment process is relatively slow, and when the launch node is approaching, our game has basically been completed, so we didn't take the money in the end.

Grape: When the investors are willing to invest, your project has a relatively high degree of completion, is there no need for them at this time?

Tudou: Most of the game teams we work with are probably faced with a lack of trust in the team when they need it most; When the completion is high and the project is close to going online, there is no longer a special need for investors.

Therefore, in order to get investment, in addition to our own strength, we must also be able to "draw cakes", and we may not be so strong in this regard.

Grape: Since you didn't take any investment in the whole process, how much does it cost to make this game?

Tudou: During the development period, we all generate electricity for love, and we don't get paid, if you don't count the "sunk cost" of our work in a large factory, the cost of the whole project is about 100,000 yuan, mainly focusing on the publicity cost in the early stage of the launch.

Grape-kun: Did you think the game would be successful at first? Have you ever estimated your sales?

Tudou: At the beginning, we conservatively estimated that we could sell 5 to 100,000 copies in the whole life cycle, but it reached 100,000 in the first month after it was launched, which really exceeded our expectations. Of course, there is also some luck in this, such as some big streamers spontaneously streaming our games, which brought a lot of sales.

Grape Jun: What are your plans for the first project to achieve such results?

Tudou: We're going to do it in two phases. The first thing is to improve the cat god project, and we will gradually launch the mobile terminal and the Switch side. While waiting for a version number or a platform to go live, we may start some new projects.

Grape: After all this, what do you think about entrepreneurship?

Tudou: The risk of starting a business is really too high, and there is an element of gambling for us.

If you have a friend who wants to start a business, I suggest you try it out after your job. For example, using the time after work to start your own project, first doing 1/3 or half of your project, and then considering starting a full-time business when you are more certain may be more in line with the current environment.

After all, there is a long way to go from creating a new folder to actually going live, and you may encounter a lot of changes along the way, and even make you re-evaluate your ideas.

Grape: That's not what you did, did you?

Tudou: It also has something to do with my personality. I prefer to do it all in. At that time, when I was working on a new project in the company, I sat at my workstation every day, and my mind was no longer on my main job. I also didn't want to mess up, so I was not responsible for the whole project team, so I just came out.

If I were to go back two years, I would still choose to start a business, and even regret a little bit that I didn't start earlier. If you leave early, say in '21, or even '20, the game environment will be better at that time, and there may be more opportunities.

Grape Jun: I noticed that you said on Xiaohongshu that after starting a business, you have experienced "countless firsts that you will never experience in a big factory". Have you changed anything since you started your business? What are your special feelings?

Tudou: The biggest feeling is that no matter how small a thing is, it is not easy to do it well.

In a large factory, many things are supported by readily available, such as a comfortable office environment, solid teammates, reliable programs, art support, administrative support, and even the support of publishing resources, and there is no need to think about survival.

After starting a business, everything needs to start from scratch and accumulate and learn step by step.

I'm a bit of a person who enjoys these "countless firsts", so overall, I think the whole process of starting a business is still a lot of fun for me.

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