Pimp My Game Update: Mind the Mindjolt Jolt
It’s been a few short days since friendly neighbourhood Bob Ippolito from MochiAds clued me in to the rev share service’s opt-in distribution tactic. This offering sees developers uploading their games to the site, which are then offered to portal owners so that their games are automagically distributed to anyone who wants them. It’s a lot like putting a plate of muffins stuffed with lit cherry bombs in the park, and listening for the sounds of exploding squirrels.
Proviso: that’s not something i’ve ever actually done.
Curiously, you can’t upload the same MochiAds-enabled file to participate. You have to embed a different piece of code into a “clean” version of your game, otherwise you find this message in your inbox:
Dear Ryan Henson Creighton,
The MochiAds Quality Assurance team has reviewed “Two by Two” for distribution and found aspects of the game which do not meet the MochiAds Program Policies.
Reason:
Stuck at “Loading” screen. Loader apparently not compatible with version control (and not necessary, version control guarantees the content is fully loaded when it begins). See https://www.mochiads.com/community/forum/topic/old-news-but___/47191#47191 for the latest tips for using version control
Please visit the link below to review the reasoning from our QA team.
https://www.mochiads.com/dev/game_hosting/two-by-two
Kind regards,
The MochiAds Team
support THE_AT_SYMBOL mochiads.com
Drat. i understand the problem - i just don’t have time to fuss with it at the moment, because we are closing up shop for vacation next week.
HOWEVER …
There IS some breaking news in the Pimp My Game saga that’s just too good to ignore:
WE BROKE THE ONE DOLLAR MARK!!!
That’s right - one more brick in the million-mile road to fabulous self-publishing riches has been laid as Two By Two - a game created in a single weekend and used for this experiment because i can’t stand giving up something of actual value for free to portal owners - has not only broken the one dollar mark, but has smashed past the ten dollar mark, becoming the highest-earning game that this company has ever produced. Except for -well, except for every other game this company has produced.
How did we do it? Simple. MindJolt.
PLEASE Take My Game For Free
MindJolt is a Flash game portal that will only post your game if its moderators decide the game is good enough to be given to them with a limitless, free license and no strings attached. This is not unlike “accepting” Jesus as your personal saviour.
“Eternal life with the Almighty and salvation from second death and everlasting suffering in the lake of fire? Alright, i guess i’ll accept. But don’t say i never did anything for you, Jesus.”
News flash: Jesus ain’t the one getting the deal here
So MindJolt, deigned to accept Two By Two into their stable of games. Pomposity aside, however, successful portals that handle new releases this way are actually better for self-publishing game developers. Unlike the typical fustercluck Flash portal where anyone can submit a game at any time, and your title gets lost in the morass of “Punch the Monkey” and “Touch Me Durrty” virtual girl simulators, MindJolt predictably metes one new game every day. Your game appears in their prominent “Newest Games” section at the top of the site, where each day it drops further and further down until it’s kicked out into the prison yard and left to fend for itself against the other games, where it’s likely to get shanked in the ribs by a FancyPants Adventure sequel, or forced to become Peggle’s bitch.
Day One: Two By Two enjoys its place in the sun as the newest daily game
Day Three: Two By Two is dethroned by ferocious newcomers “Starballz” and “Super Cow Copter”
The MindJolt Bump
The effect is subtle, but see if you can spot the where the gameplays jumped four hundred thousand percent from a high estimate of five plays per day, to a spike of just over twenty thousand plays. (If you can’t spot it, get a friend to help you.)
Are We Rich Yet?
So what effect did this peak have on our MochiAds rev share split? Peep the digits:
A significant increase. An insignificant dollar amount.
In one fell swoop, MochiAds trounces Kongregate as an infinitely more viable monetization method
i’ve decided to add a new graphic to the Pimp My Game series that i like to call the “McWage Infographic”. Although Two By Two was built in the TOJam pressure cooker over a single weekend, a good 40 hours of work went into the game (along with a large bag of BBQ Fritos and 4 litres of Pepsi). From now on, i’ll be dividing the money we’ve amassed by 40 development hours to determine the hourly wage i’ve earned on the game. i’ll use this metric to determine whether or not it’s feasible to stick with this method of game monetization, or whether one should instead find a job bulldozing chicken guano from under enormous industrial coops.
At just over 40 cents an hour, child labourers in Chinese textile sweatshops could hire me to file down their painful sewing callouses
Follow the rest of our Pimp My Game shenanigans from the main article section here.
[...] Introduction Part 1: Armor Games Part 2: Kongregate Part 3: MochiAds Update: MindJolt [...]
[...] Introduction Part 1: Armor Games Part 2: Kongregate Part 3: MochiAds ………./……….Update: MindJolt [...]
This is a bit misleading:
“Curiously, you can’t upload the same MochiAds-enabled file to participate. You have to embed a different piece of code into a “clean” version of your game, otherwise you find this message in your inbox”
If you had uploaded your game and NOT chosen the version control and encryption, then you could’ve used the same exact file with no changes.
Humphrey: Will those of you who are playing in the match this afternoon move your clothes down onto the lower peg immediately after lunch, before you write your letter home, if you’re not getting your hair cut, unless you’ve got a younger brother who is going out this weekend as the guest of another boy, in which case, collect his note before lunch, put it in your letter after you’ve had your hair cut, and make sure he moves your clothes down onto the lower peg for you. Now…
Wymer: Sir?
Humphrey: Yes, Wymer?
Wymer: My younger brother’s going out with Dibble this weekend, sir, but I’m not having my hair cut today, sir. So, do I move my clothes down, or…
Humphrey: I do wish you’d listen, Wymer. It’s perfectly simple. If you’re not getting your hair cut, you don’t have to move your brother’s clothes down to the lower peg. You simply collect his note before lunch, after you’ve done your scripture prep, when you’ve written your letter home, before rest, move your own clothes onto the lower peg, greet the visitors, and report to Mr. Viney that you’ve had your chit signed.
Hi Ryan,
It has been a very rare instance that we have not accepted a game at MindJolt. We like to get as many games up as possible (currently two new games a day), and let the players decide which games they like to play. However, we do ask that games integrate with our high score API (as you did) where appropriate, since our whole social networking model is based on players competing for the high score in games. And, in reality, it’s primarily these integrated games that the players tend to choose to play… because they can compete with their friends for high scores. We also encourage game developers to place ads in their games, so that they can earn ad revenue on all of the game plays they receive on MindJolt.
You are right, though, in that most games “disappear” once they fall off the newest games list. We know this is a problem that needs to be addressed, and we are working on better ways to help players find games they might be interested in. We are also currently redesigning the site to allow for easier browsing of games.
That being said, many games that show up on our Newest Games list become quite popular with the players, and will quickly (and automatically) work their way into the Most Popular Games list. Once that happens, game plays (and therefore in-game ad revenue from services like Mochi Ads) go up dramatically.
Thanks for the insider’s view, Richard.
Throughout this series the issue that’s eating at me is providing work to portals for free on faith that the game will earn its money back. This is my first shot at it, and i haven’t seen this approach pass or fail - but clearly, i’m taking the cynic’s approach. That’s why my articles may trend towards not giving the players in this field the benefit of the doubt.
Two By Two likely won’t end up on your Most Popular Games list, because there are far better games on MindJolt! i believe in the free market system empowering superior products to float to the forefront … except in cases where marketing budgets force people to claim that a product is awesome. (see: summer movie schedule).
i’m happy that we’ve seen in MindJolt distribution that first glimmer of hope vis a vis makin’ teh monays, but i’m still doubtful i’ll be able to pull off minimum wage on this project. i’ve decided to make that bias clear from the get-go. Anyway, time will tell.
- Ryan
You RICH, man. I’m so totally making you buy me a new 42″ flat-screen teevee. ;P
Awating the next update!
[...] Introduction Part 1: Armor Games Part 2: Kongregate Part 3: MochiAds ………./……….Update: MindJolt [...]