🗝️ Bosskey Newsletter 30 - Dreamhaven game Sunderfolk, Competing with Decade old Games, Red 16 indie Studio $800,000
# 🗝️ Bosskey Newsletter #3 Things: 1 🎮 Game news, 1 🔎 Interesting Find, 1 📱Social Post. Written by a Part Time Indie Game Dev
Hi There Gamers and Devs,
Here are 3 things from this week from the Bosskey Newsletter, Sunderfolk the new game by ex Blizzard Devs New company Dreamhaven has been announced on a Bloomberg event. A new game studio AA announced Red Sixteen on Youtube.
#3 Things :
🎮Game news: Sunderfolk, new Co-Op style game from exBlizzard Devs DreamHaven Studios
📱 Social Post: Red Sixteen Game Studio and their Dreams
🔎Interesting Finds: Competing with Old Games advice from Owl Cat Games
Lets Go!
🎮 Game News
Sunderfolk announced from Dreamhaven Games
Dreamhaven the ex-Blizzard folks, announced their new game at the Bloomberg Screentime event. Mike Morhaime ex-Blizzard CEO talked about the new game while being interviewed on stage by
. The topic talked about connections in the new era of multiplayer games.
Their new game Sunderfolk is all about connection and a good multiplayer board game. I am surprised they are doing something like the old Heartstone game and a tactics strategy game.
One interesting concept is using your phone as the controller.
Bloomberg Interview with Dreamhaven Mike Morhaime.
Wishlist on »
Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2414270/Sunderfolk
PlayStation: https://store.playstation.com/en-sg/concept/10010574/
Xbox: https://www.xbox.com/en-US/games/store/sunderfolk/9NKT0W32RM3K
Links:
Dreamhaven News: https://www.dreamhaven.com/news/introducing-sunderfolk
📱Social Post
A new Indie AA studio Red 16 interactive with $800,000 funding
Fantasy and Red Riding Hood. Really surprised this guy came out of nowhere on my Youtube Feed or Related Videos, annoucing his new Game Studio a AA one, with $800,000 in own funding.
He wants to work on fables and folklore stories into games, on the website you have red riding hood on the cover banners and their first game is based on that tale.
We’re creating an action-adventure video game that allows the player to explore an immersive, fairytale land filled with spectacle, awe, and peril. Armed with your wits and cunning, you play as 16-year-old Red Riding Hood, a girl forced to learn how to survive – and, ultimately, thrive – in an unknown, whimsical, and unforgiving world. Fantastical, complex characters and unexpected dangers await around every corner keeping the player constantly driven to continue on and discover more.
The game combines well-known stories and characters from existing folklore, fairytales, and nursery rhymes into a shared, darker, whimsical and dangerous world.
I like his strategy he is doing another business not related to games and funneling some of the profits to the new venture. Kind of like working on Nights and Weekends but at a bigger scale.
Like that he is alluding to a simpler time in gaming focusing on story and gameplay and new IP. Maybe indie games are the way forward.
Link to Website:
https://r16.com/dev-blog/the-game
🔎 Interesting Finds
Competing with Decade Old Games - Owl Cat
Its not easy to make a game now you have to compete with older games on steam that came out decades ago. I do believe now its all about how long you can keep publishing. It will take many swings before a hit.
Think carefully about what makes your game special
Tsvetkov's advice is familiar in some ways—developers need strong creative ideas and a good sense of how they'll bring a game to life to land publishing deals or investors. But his invitation to explore the market share a game is breaking into may help developers spot opportunities in new genres—or see how to thrive in one dominated by beloved classics.
My Thoughts
So the only way is to make it I guess is to niche down and have a strong brand presense and audience.
Some niches / genres are easier to market to, like Survivor, City Builders, Horror maybe a Roguelike on steam
I do think having an audience and email newsletter will still be key to market your indie game.
Personal Update Xbox ID Event
Recently I went to Xbox Discovery day for Devs. I do think its good they are showcasing the platform off here in Asia at the recent Gamescom Asia Event.
May want to try out to develop on this platform someday.
Red Riding Hood, the European answer to Black Myth: Wukong
I like the look of Sunderfolk. I appreciate a good co--op boardgame!