AppCampus

Today we reached our first #1 position in Windows Phone store in the card games category in Brazil. This is a good moment to look back at how we got here.

First concept

Already in 2011 we had an idea of collectible card game Permia - Tournaments. We started working with the title and in March 2012 we hada a working prototype of the game to show in Game Connection - America. (Concept demo) We met with over 20 publishers and most of them liked the idea behind the game. The concept was early stages and we were a brand new team so we did not manage to start co-operation with any of them. We believed in the concept and we continued working towards the closed beta launch. In June 2012 we launched the closed beta mostly because we promised to do so. It really was not in any shape for release, but it was something. At that time we concentrated on selling the idea to the publishers or some funding partners that could help us to continue with the product. For that purpose we produced a new trailer to be shown at Gamescom 2012. (Trailer)

The result was quite similar. People liked the concept but were not ready to take the risk with it. One of our last hopes for the product was AppCampus. They had started the program where they give grants for promising projects with a 6-month exclusivity period. They had an event here in Lappeenranta where they presented the program to us. We sent the application and started waiting for the results. After a couple of weeks they granted 20k€ for our project. That was not enough for us to really deliver the first idea of the concept, but it definitely helped us. It was part of the bigger picture where we managed to get a Tekes project approved as well.

Birth of Permia - Duels

We did not start immediately with the design milestone. The reason was that we really did not have enough resources to continue with the original concept and our hands were full with the other projects. Almost half a year passed before we were ready to continue with the program. One of the close colleagues came up with an new idea for more simple card game that might be more feasible to do with our resources. We created a design plan based on this new concept for AppCampus and they approved it. We were in a hurry because financially it was really tight situation at the time. In 3-4 months we passed the first release candidate to the AppCampus quality team and at the time they were not satisfied with it. There was one big feature missing and the quality of the game was not good enough. That was the first wake up call to really take Windows Phone environment seriously.

AppCademy

We continued to work with the missing feature and decided to apply for the AppCademy (AppCampus acceleration program). We were really sceptical about the acceleration program at first. One month away from home listening to lectures and coaching. Participation means that product would be on hold during that time. However, from the first day we were satisfied with the decision to join the program. We were given top level coaching in all areas from production to branding, marketing and user experience. The time spent there helped us go towards better quality than we would have been able to do without it.

Promotion

We don't have plenty of resources to promote our app. I think it is a same situation with most of the independent teams at start. Today it is crucial to get visibility for your app to have any possibility to really succeed in the market. After we released our game at December 2013 in Windows Phone store we really did not know what to expect. We knew that we have possibility to get some promotion from Microsoft and Nokia if we have good ratings. But the amount of support we have had from AppCampus program has been amazing. First month went almost on our own. It was Christmas time and we were little too late to be part of the Christmas promotions. We used that time well and noticed that downloads from Russia were progressing well without any promotion. We discussed with our Nokia contact about possibility to have local campaign in Russia that we will support by localizing the game. Our Nokia contact was successful and the result was whole week featured in Russia. At the same week we were featured all around the word and it was really good campaign for us. We still have most downloads from the Russia and they are really important market for us. After that we have worked closely with our Nokia contact to plan different campaigns and we have supported those campaigns with game content whenever it has been possible. We have updated the game often and have developed it further.

Final words

If we think about the support from AppCampus. The first thing is the grant. It can be something from 20k€ to 70k€. Money is always welcome and helps. The real difference comes from the other forms of support. They really push for the quality and help us developers to get good ratings with better quality apps. AppCademy is excellent acceleration program and is valued much more than any grant they give. And after those they put so much effort to really help us to promote our apps in store. That is something that is hard to buy with the money. I can imagine that without them Permia - Duels would not have over 260 000 downloads today and our #1 store position in Brazil.

Big thanks to the AppCampus staff. You have been a great asset on our journey to app developer. You have shown the possibilities that are in Windows Phone environment and we are really happy to be part of the program.

AppCademy in retrospect

If you follow us on Twitter, you know that some of us spent the last month in Espoo, Finland with Aalto, Microsoft and Nokia. The AppCampus acceleration program (aptly titled AppCademy) is a four-week training course sponsored by the aforementioned.

I intentionally waited until now before writing this post. Being back at the office is usually good for putting things into perspective. It is easy to get excited about all sorts of things when you are in an an isolated environment focused on one task.

As I have told many people I've talked to, we were rather skeptical about AppCademy at first. Startups are always busy and the idea of spending four weeks away from home, getting very little work done, just seemed off. And um, Helsinki.. not exactly the most interesting and exotic holiday destination for us. 

I am happy to say we were wrong. The four weeks we spent in AppCademy were useful, constructive and fun.

Working on the pitch

Let me first address the elephant in the room: Windows Phone. I doubt there are more than a handful of teams in the program who only target WP. The same probably goes for AppCampus awards (i.e. the bag of cash they give you). I do not believe the AppCampus/AppCademy people kid themselves about this. In fact, I am sure they realize that most teams will eventually go for other platforms as well. Obviously, in the program all training is centred around Windows Phone and some of the sessions (namely the technical ones) have very little relevance outside the world of WP. There are very few of those "WP-only" sessions though and most of the knowledge you gain is applicable to any platform.

AppCampus do ask you for 3 months of exclusivity, which I find reasonable. After 90 days (starting from the day you release) you are free to publish your app anywhere you like. For most apps, this is a non-issue. 

The training topics cover a wide range of subjects from branding and marketing to privacy and legal issues. Most of the instructors are established professionals who have actually worked in the industry, which is a huge plus. It only took us a few days to overcome our initial skepticism, mostly thanks to these great speakers. Naturally depending on the state of your startup, you will find some sessions more useful than the others. We found that almost all sessions were useful to us.

1-on-1 sessions are another form of instruction they use and these we found extremely good. The idea is simple, you have short sessions where you showcase your game to a professional (or two) and they give you feedback on your app. We met designers, UX experts, investors, marketing professionals etc. who all gave us valuable advice on how to develop our business or improve our game. We tried to make the most of the 1-on-1s we had. You rarely get this good a chance to get 3rd party professional advice, for free. Useful tip for those taking part in future AppCademy courses: these sessions are short (20-30 mins usually) so make sure you can explain your app and your issues in a couple of minutes so you have time to actually dig into the app.

Final day pitch. Photo: Aydin Mir Mohammadi

It is also very important to keep an open mind. It's a cliché, I know; still, it is very hard to accept criticism of your brainchild you've worked on for months even if you realize it is right on the mark. For us, this was particularly evident during the 1-on-1s with the designers. Some decisions we have made simply do not work. We are still working on making some changes we now feel are necessary for the game to really shine visually and hopefully this will show on the final product.

And the bad parts? There weren't many. After a couple weeks I did feel like ramming random objects down anyone's throat who mentioned the Nokia Imaging API. It's also exhausting. The sessions usually start around 9am and last til 2pm-4pm (some days are more relaxed so you can actually get some work done) but you are still quite removed from your usual routines. Helsinki (the AppSpace is in Espoo but you live in a minuscule hotel room in Helsinki) is a bit on the pricy side when it comes to living. There were a few subpar sessions but by no means did they ruin the whole show. 

The other teams were great and it is always fun to hear what other app developers think about your game (or app). I am sure we will stay in touch with quite a few of the developers we met and got to know during AppCademy.

I am happy we decided to accept the invitation to AppCademy. We now have a pretty good idea where to go from here, what still needs to be done and, also importantly, what are our strengths. As they say, time well spent.

EDIT (5th Oct): fixed the second paragraph, the last sentence was incomplete.

The blog

First of all, welcome! This blog is long overdue. When we founded Seepia Games, one of the goals, a part of our vision really, was to be as open as possible. So far, our openness has only reached so far. With this blog, we will hopefully start edging towards being more open.

Pretty much any startup can start its first blog post along the lines of "it's been a hectic year/month/etc.". I'll spare you from the usual oh-we-are-so-terribly-busy lament. If you're running a new company and you're not busy, you are doing it wrong. Disclaimer: future posts may contain whingeing about deadlines, hecticness and whatnot. Bear with us. :)

Our goal is to have everyone from the team writing posts every now and then, so the topics covered should range from the "joys" of running a games studio to network programming. Each of us will likely focus on our strong areas so do not expect game design articles from me or a visual design masterclass from monsieur Rönkkönen. If there is anything you really think we should write about, just get in contact with us via email, Facebook, Twitter or email.

We will post roughly once a week but you may see more posts around important events such as games exhibitions etc. If you fancy even more regular updates, following @SeepiaGames on Twitter is a good idea.

If you already do follow us on Twitter, you will have noticed that we are currently in AppCademy, a four-week accelerator program kindly sponsored by Aalto University, Nokia and Microsoft. I will be writing a more detailed post about our learnings here later on.

Again, please, please be active and get in touch with us so we can write about the things you are interested in!

Thank you!

 - Pasi / Seepia Games

(My fancy job title is "Creative Director" - in practice, I'm responsible for all things visual in the company.)