Last updated on September 17th, 2024 at 05:54 pm
As the gaming industry expands and emerging technologies evolve, independent game developers face both opportunities and formidable challenges. The rising development costs, increasing number of participants, and the monopolization by AAA developers create significant barriers. However, some studios excel in this competitive environment through unique management approaches. Today, we explore how the independent game company, Top Games, Inc., has continued to attract a large player base after more than nine years of development. We also delve into insights from CEO Yaoqi Guo, offering inspiration for game design and team management.
Games as Life’s Extension
Yaoqi Guo, who goes by David Guo, said in a TechBullion interview: “We create games with players in mind. We saw that players build friendships and spend time in games so we set out to give them the top gaming experience. Our goal is to build lasting gaming communities that enhance this experience. He introduced the concept that “games are a part of people’s lives.” This idea is the core philosophy and driving force behind his team’s game development. Good games naturally become part of players’ lives, providing emotional pleasure and the satisfaction of overcoming challenges. Most games with high engagement and retention rates share a common feature: social interaction. TGI is no exception. One of the key features of their popular mobile strategy game, Evony: The King’s Return, is its social mechanics, particularly the alliance system. The game supports over 25 languages through an automatic translation system, allowing players to join alliances, build friendships, and cooperate. The design of the alliance system is also one of the Strategies for Retaining Audiences in Evony, serving as a bridge for global player communication and promoting inclusivity, diversity, cultural exchange, and integration.
Yaoqi Guo emphasizes speed in execution. He noted, “To achieve success in each respective role, I strongly believe every TGI employee should testify quickly and implement even faster. There’s no specific method for achieving success right away. This is why we test our products or services over and over again to implement the best option and to scale up as quickly as possible.”
Speed and Efficiency
As an independent game development company, TGI primarily relies on self-funding. Unlike mainstream AAA game development companies with larger budgets, independent developers need to carefully manage their budgets and evaluate the return on investment. Most indie developers focus on mobile games (which are quicker to develop and more profitable). For mobile games, the development cycle is shorter, typically around one year. If a project does not perform well, the team quickly shifts to the next project. Fast iterations and the MVP (Minimum Viable Product) development approach are ideal for enhancing the responsiveness of game developers.
Yaoqi Guo advocates data-driven decision-making and exploratory thinking among team members. He highly values the role of data in team management, especially in game development, where data-driven decisions are a powerful tool for overcoming personal biases. Additionally, the exploratory approach encourages team members to focus on diverse problem-solving methods after setting clear stage goals, exploring more possibilities. These approaches foster a systematic and positive synergy within TGI’s project teams, significantly enhancing development speed and efficiency. This allows better budget control and risk management for future projects.
Yaoqi Guo’s Career Overview
Yaoqi Guo is a gamer himself. In 1998, he graduated from Sun Yat-sen University with a degree in Physics. He then began developing software and online applications, including firewalls, social platforms, virtual currencies, and later, gaming applications.
While studying at university, Yaoqi Guo showed remarkable skills in creating software and used his spare time to check out different games. He saw that many companies making games didn’t put much focus on how players felt about their games. This pushed him to start TGI later on where he stressed how crucial it is to make games enjoyable for players.
Top Games in 2024
This year, TGI plans to roll out captivating mobile game projects and look into new tech to boost user experience. Evony stays their main product, but TGI is checking out other game types to expand our lineup and meet changing market needs. “We want to build a mix of games that appeal to both serious and casual players covering different genres,” Yaoqi Guo said.
