Introducing Greedy Bankers: Bailout!

Today marks the birthday of Greedy Bankers on the iPhone: it went live in the App Store exactly one year ago. It's been an exciting year, with big updates, the iPad sequel, Greedy Bankers vs The World, and the game being exhibited live at Eurogamer Expo, GameCity Nottingham, the Guardian Gamesblog social at BAFTA, and the GEEK Expo in Kent just last week.

Of course, Greedy Bankers is an ongoing project, and I'm certainly not finished with it. There's a brand new entry in the series heading to the iPhone very soon... Greedy Bankers: Bailout!

Indie Exposure: Why's it so hard?

This article was featured as a guest post on Games Brief - the Business of Games

Last Friday I was at the incredible Bit of Alright, David Hayward's smorgasbord of indie delights, giving a talk about Indie Exposure. Self-publishing the Greedy Bankers games has taught me a lot of lessons, not least just how much time, energy and creative thinking I've needed to devote to PR and marketing. The problem I've had, particularly with the original iPhone release, is that while it's had a very positive response from those who have played it, getting into the hands of players has been a massive challenge.

In the next few blog posts I plan to discuss the issues involved: why it's so tough to get exposure for indie and mobile games, and my strategies for getting that coveted exposure. So without further ado, let's look at where these difficulties are coming from.

Growing Competition

There are increasingly many developers launching games into the indie space. The rise of free-to-access marketplaces with limited gatekeeping - the iOS and Android app stores, the web and portals such as Kongregate and Facebook - mean that it's never been easier to release a game. In fact, without this I probably wouldn't have been able to operate as a one-man studio at all.

Greedy Bankers to face prison!?

This turned up on the front page of the Mail on Sunday, and I couldn't resist posting a photo - does this make me a wanted man? I'd always thought addictive puzzle-strategy games would be celebrated by the British public, but it looks like chancellor George Osbourne begs to differ

Interviewed for Forbes.com!

Mover and shaker that I am, I was interviewed by Daniel Nye Griffiths for Forbes.com about running my one-man studio.

I talk about:

• the challenges facing small indie developers
• the benefits of the minimum viable product approach
• redesigning Greedy Bankers for the iPad market
• the advantages of the micro-studio in today's games industry

Read the interview here!

Alistair Aitcheson is a recent graduate, who has so far released two games: ‘Greedy Bankers‘ and ‘Greedy Bankers vs the World‘. His first game was a colour-matching puzzler. It was a minimum viable product, developed and released quickly to create awareness and some revenue, and to test the market’s eagerness for this kind of game.

His second iteration – ‘Greedy Bankers vs The World‘ brought in simultaneous multiplayer and – in line with the kleptocratic theme of the franchise – allowed players to steal gems from their opponent’s side of the iPad screen. This creates an experience somewhere between Bejewelled and ice hockey.

Aitcheson not only codes his games, but also produces the art and every other asset he can, keeping costs to an absolute minimum. That burn management makes it possible to learn on the job, without the high stakes of major game development. I asked Aitcheson about life as a microstudio.

Read the full interview on on Forbes.com

Ludum Dare 22: "Alone"

This weekend I took part in the Ludum Dare 48-hour competition. The competition takes place three times a year, and tasks developers with the challenge of building a game, from scratch, on their own, in 48 hours. This year over 700 people entered, all developing games based on the selected theme: "Alone"

I took part, and made a game which is part match-em-up, and part strategy/RPG, which I called Omega Men. I also made a video diary of my experience, showing how the ideas and game evolved during the time period.

Develop Magazine's 30 Under 30

Exciting news! I was selected for Develop Magazine's 30 Under 30 feature of young up-and-coming games industry figures. A very lovely surprise, and a nice way to round off a year that's been full of excitement: two released games, trade show appearances, conference talks and snazzy Greedy Bankers T-shirts!

Here's what they said about me:

Alistair Aitcheson
Independent Developer

23-year-old Aitcheson has been running his own one-man studio since graduating from University of Warwick with a first class Master's in Mathematics, and has been programming games for over ten years. He handles all the programming, artwork and animation for his games, such as Greedy Bankers, and has already become a regular event speaker. One of 2011’s youngest 30 Under 30 members, he capably rivals the careers of those many years his senior.

Thanks very much, Develop Magazine! It's also a lovely surprise to see so many people I've met at events since starting the studio. There's some really exciting talent out there, and I'm very flattered to find myself listed alongside such ambitious individuals. Congratualtions to all the others on the list, and I hope to meet the rest of you at future industry events!

Finally, I would recommend following Develop Online to anyone in or interested in the industry, as it's a very informative source of news and information. I'd also highly recommend downloading the magazine, which is completely free, and has very valuable games business and development-related articles.

My Favourite Game: Kongai

I contributed to the My Favourite Game blog to talk about my favourite video game of all time: Kongregate's collectible card game Kongai.



A multiplayer strategy game that takes all the best bits from fighting and card games, and a mind-bending twist on JRPG battles, Kongai is my best example of a video game that can make you smarter.

Have a read of my thoughts on the game, and why not contribute to the My Favourite Game blog yourself?

Interview for Play Tribune: Running a One-Man Studio and the Evolution of Greedy Bankers

I did an interview for Play Tribune this weekend, which I hope you all enjoy! We talk about the challenges of running a one-man studio, re-developing Greedy Bankers for the iPad, the motivations behind creating the game, a discussion of propaganda in games, and some of my indie recommendations!

YOUTUBE LINK

Speaking at Develop Liverpool, 24th November

Just a small announcement to say I'll be speaking at Develop Conference Liverpool this month. My talk, Building on Greedy Bankers - Applying App Store Experience will be part of the Indie Dev Day, where I will explain how I built upon the foundations set by Greedy Bankers on iPhone to come up with Greedy Bankers vs The World.

Indie iOS developer Alistair Aitcheson recounts the ongoing tale of Greedy Bankers, his App Store debut, and its semi-sequel on iPad. Despite the original game’s sales slipping below expectations, Alistair chose to expand the franchise, with a bolder USP and fresh marketing strategy. The result, Greedy Bankers vs The World, was selected as a finalist in the Eurogamer Expo Indie Game Arcade.

Was the expanded game more desirable? Were the changes in marketing strategy effective? Did fresh exposure bring the game success? This is the post-mortem with a difference, about using lessons from one project to directly inform the next.

Tickets to the conference can be purchased here, and the Indie Dev Day track can be attended at a reduced rate.

Greedy Bankers at GameCity Nottingham

October 26th to 29th saw Nottingham invaded by games and gamers, for one of the most varied and quirky games events in the UK calendar. There were talks from industry veterans including Naughty Dog's Richard Lemarchand (also a kickass DJ, but more on that later), 100-player laser-pen projector games, stirring breakfast discussions hosted by the Guardian's Keith Stuart, and, of course, a smorgasbord of indie games to try out on the show floor.

And the Greedy Bankers were there to join in!

Greedy Bankers vs the City of Nottingham

I have to say, demoing the game at Eurogamer Expo has really given me a thirst for more public events. The game does really seem to suit it, and battling a friend over a shared iPad can be a memorable shared experience.

The audience was much different to what I was used to from previous demo sessions, as there were a lot of families there, which made a nice change. One kid (pictured) was particularly good at the game and kept on coming back. He wanted to challenge everyone, and usually won! He even gave me a run for my money - I beat him after two very close rounds and only $500 in it in the end. Normally I'd go easy on a new player, but my pride was at stake!