Sexy anime characters increase downloads

Welcome to the development log for Sorceress Survivor Squad. Today, I want to share my experiences with marketing this game. This project represents a personal challenge: to create as many games as possible. In the past, I’ve developed numerous games, but their success has always been unpredictable. Unfortunately, most of them did not achieve the success I hoped for.

Previously, I focused on improving the quality of my games by adding more characters, enhancing the user experience (UX), and refining the sound effects. While these improvements were valuable, they didn’t directly lead to a larger player base. Ultimately, the more people who are exposed to the game, the more potential there is to sell my products.

With this in mind, I decided to explore various marketing strategies. On my profile, Gameplays Productions, you’ll find two of my similar games: Spellcaster Survivors and Sorceress Survivor Squad. I admit that the gameplay draws from  popular game Vampire Survivors. This was intentional, as I aimed to capitalize on its popularity and enhance the visibility of my game.

I experienced some success with Spellcaster Survivors, but the numbers were still low. After a two-month period, it had around 55 views and only four downloads. Given these statistics, it’s clear that no matter how polished the game is or how engaging the gameplay loop, having only four downloads means a significant portion of my time was wasted. As a father of two, I can’t afford to waste time on unproductive endeavors. Game development is my hobby, but I want it to be rewarding.

Therefore, I took a different approach. I rebranded Spellcaster Survivors into a new game: Sorceress Survivor Squad. My idea was to use attractive and sexy anime characters to increase the click-through rate and engagement. My hypothesis proved correct; while it took Spellcaster Survivors two months to reach 55 views, Sorceress Survivor Squad achieved the same number of views in just two days.

This data indicates that appealing characters, especially in an anime style, significantly boost interest and clicks. Although I’ve seen an improvement in views and discoverability, I’m still not satisfied. There are several other strategies I plan to explore:

1. Dev Logs: Adding regular development logs might help with the itch.io algorithm, increasing my game’s visibility.
2. Tags: Properly tagging the game could enhance discoverability.
3. Supplementary Content: Creating supplementary content on platforms like Instagram or YouTube, with links directing back to the game, could drive more traffic.

I’m excited to explore these strategies further. If you’re interested in following my journey and discovering practical marketing insights, please subscribe to our game development page.

Thank you for reading, and I’ll see you next time.