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[Bamihap]

Yesterday we released our new game we hope will be successful. Instead of making the game appealing for a huge audience we decided to make it more of a niche game. We choose females 35-55 years old. So not really "old", but more mature than we normally target.

We designed our previous game Castaway Paradise for children, split 50/50 between female and male. After we launched the game we discovered our audience was actually 75% female. Most of which were 25+ years old. So instead of changing the game to fit our target audience we shaped the game more towards the wishes of the real audience.

Our new game Castaway Home Designer goes a step further. We let go of conventional game-y structure that young male competitive gamers like and embraced a more open casual flow. This might alienate gamers. I'd love to know what you think of our little game. Do you like the structure? Or do you think it's too casual for your taste?

Try it out and let me know what you think: www.StolenCouchGames.com

Let me know what you think! I'll be around to answer your questions.

 

[reptilescorpio]

Would love to read a post mortem running through design decisions due to targeting specific markets, especially once you get some player metrics over the next few weeks.

 

[Creepy]

old ladies, 35, wat... you mean ladies...

 

[Dynamite Shikoku]

maybe you'd better not insult your audience by calling them old ladies

 

[NewGame]

Really nice Animal Crossing-like designs but mechanically I'm unsure how older women will be enticed by it, the only games I've ever seen such a demographic play consistently is Candy Crush, Hidden Object Adventures and Solitaire.

Keep us posted though, I'm sure the older female demographic is an untapped goldmine.

 

[Bamihap]

Would love to read a post mortem running through design decisions due to targeting specific markets, especially once you get some player metrics over the next few weeks.

It's always a surprise to see who actually plays your game. You could have worked on a cool leaderboard feature to find out no-one uses it. Or be surprised to see how much people like just decorating in the game instead exploring the core gameplay.

 

[Maximus P]

I'm 35. Will maybe take a look at this after I've picked up my pension and come back from the bingo.

Cheers.

 

[magawolaz]

Definitely don't market it as for "old 35yo ladies" lol

 

[Jack The Nipper]

Old ladies gonna switch up to destiny now and teach you a lesson.


You may need to look into hiring an old man or old woman for pr of you are successful

 

[Bamihap]

35+++ . Sorry people. It's just relatively old compared to our usual audience.

 

[Spaced Harrier]

I'm 35. Will maybe take a look at this after I've picked up my pension and come back from the bingo.

Cheers.

Any chance you could grab a pitchfork and try to kill Leon before hand.

I know time is tight, so just try to get it done in time. No worries if you can't.

 

[neoanarch]

Yeah. Wow. Op.
I'm gonna go listen to Warpaint instead.

 

[120v]

I'm 35. Will maybe take a look at this after I've picked up my pension and come back from the bingo.

Cheers.

you must've seen some shit... ww2, the moon landing. surprised youre still alive tbh

 

[Jack The Nipper]

Should have been called

Retirement home designer.

 

[FUME5]

"Old ladies"? get the fuck out of here.

 

[iMax]

I'm 35. Will maybe take a look at this after I've picked up my pension and come back from the bingo.

Cheers.

Don't forget your bus pass.

 

[Bamihap]

Spoiler

oops

 

[Ban Puncher]

Start at 25 years old and go after that Christmas Cake market just like in my Japanese animes uguu~ ara~ara

 

[Ran rp]

old ladies, 35, wat... you mean ladies...

maybe you'd better not insult your audience by calling them old ladies

I'm 35. Will maybe take a look at this after I've picked up my pension and come back from the bingo.

Cheers.

Definitely don't market it as for "old 35yo ladies" lol

Old ladies gonna switch up to destiny now and teach you a lesson.


You may need to look into hiring an old man or old woman for pr of you are successful

Yeah. Wow. Op.
I'm gonna go listen to Warpaint instead.

Should have been called

Retirement home designer.

"Old ladies"? get the fuck out of here.

 

[ThatStupidLion]

Art direction should be more HGTV and less Nick Jr.

 

[Mephala]

Maybe ask a mod to change the title to mature ladies or just women. I feel like that is going to derail your thread.

I'm hardly your new target audience but it is nice to see people look at their actual target fan's age group and try to match it. Even if it isn't immediately successful I think its worth to keep trying.

 

[LongDongJunon]

"Experienced Ladies"

Lmao at the age backlash

 

[UncleSporky]

Could you describe what helps set this apart from Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer? Not that it needs to be different, just curious.

 

[Luigi87]

Edit: Never mind

 

[Maximus P]

Art direction should be more HGTV and less Nick Jr.

This is the issue.

Although not quite 'old' (lol) , my wife is 34 and she plays a lot of games.Ive showed her this and she instantly said it looks childish.

I'd maybe look at changing the design and colour scheme to match your audience.

 

[Flavius]

Any chance of this coming to Steam like the first game?

Don't know about old ladies, but my nine-year-old enjoyed the home design bits from the first game. Regardless, I'll download this and let her have a look.

Thanks for the heads up, and best of luck!

 

[w3bba]

35 old? lol

my mom is approaching her 50s and i wouldn't call her old

 

[Catdaddy]

Name it the "old lady game"' and see how many 35-55 yr old ladies will buy it..

 

[gaiages]

Spoiler

oops

Look at what you've done

Spoiler

I'll admit I originally came in here to say 'the fuck you mean by old ladies

While I personally like the art style (it's cute!), I do agree with the other posters that say it might look a tad too childish for the age group.

But I'll give it a try when I can! I like decorating and stuff.

 

[Bamihap]

Could you describe what helps set this apart from Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer? Not that it needs to be different, just curious.

Good question! We played Happy Home Designer and universally didn't like it. The main reason why we didn't like it was the total lack of any sort of objective or fail condition. You can literally place any object in a house and call it a day. Creativity isn't rewarded at all in our opinion.

We wanted to challenge the player a bit more. We have specific goals that fit the theme of a house. Also we have a rating system that is based on the likes and dislikes of the owner. Sometime a owner doesn't like a specific color or theme, by avoiding dislikes and placing items the owner does like you gain more rating points. These ratings points are converted into gems, which can be used to buy more houses.

 

[thetrin]

Anyone over 30 is old. (I'm 34, bald and grey)

Good question! We played Happy Home Designer and universally didn't like it. The main reason why we didn't like it was the total lack of any sort of objective or fail condition. You can literally place any object in a house and call it a day. Creativity isn't rewarded at all in our opinion.

We wanted to challenge the player a bit more. We have specific goals that fit the theme of a house. Also we have a rating system that is based on the likes and dislikes of the owner. Sometime a owner doesn't like a specific color or theme, by avoiding dislikes and placing items the owner does like you gain more rating points. These ratings points are converted into gems, which can be used to buy more houses.

This targets what I don't like about Happy Home Designer. A rating system gives the player something to work towards. I like that. Looks like owners have preferences too, which makes each "encounter" original. I really like the idea. TBH, I'm curious to check this out.

 

[Bamihap]

This is the issue.

Although not quite 'old' (lol) , my wife is 34 and she plays a lot of games.Ive showed her this and she instantly said it looks childish.

I'd maybe look at changing the design and colour scheme to match your audience.

Thank you for the feedback. It is something we do. We chose this art style because it sets itself apart from the other decorating games. Most go for a sims-like style, or orthographic sprite based graphics.

Any chance of this coming to Steam like the first game?

Don't know about old ladies, but my nine-year-old enjoyed the home design bits from the first game. Regardless, I'll download this and let her have a look.

Thanks for the heads up, and best of luck!

We are bringing this to steam, for sure. No eta yet.

 

[pigeon interrupted]

Name it the "old lady game"' and see how many 35-55 yr old ladies will buy it..

I love being called an old lady. Makes me feel like i have my whole life ahead of me and leaves me in a positive frame of mind. You should definitely name it the "old lady game" op.

Spoiler

😈huehuehue😈

 

[Fantastapotamus]

Most 35 year olds spend their day playing Bingo and watching Columbo so I doubt they will have much interest in games.

 

[Santiako]

How can 35 year old women play this with their arthritis and poor eyesight?

 

[Aiii]

I was really hoping for some good insights into designing a video game for a generation of people who either can't operate a computer at all, or at least have never played anything more than a game of Freecell or Patience on a computer. What a wasted opportunity.

 

[daviyoung]

My old lady would love this

 

[Bamihap]

I was really hoping for some good insights into designing a video game for a generation of people who either can't operate a computer at all, or at least have never played anything more than a game of Freecell or Patience on a computer. What a wasted opportunity.

Are you saying 35yo women only play freecell?

 

[HotHamBoy]

Old Lady Crossing: Happy Home Designer

 

[SomedayTheFire]

Actually cannot get over the thread title lol

 

[Dude Abides]

Why would I want to play a game made by children?

 

[Media]

I'm a 35 year old lady.

Dude my generation grew up on the internet. I mastered mother fucking Doom before most of you were even a twinkle. I've played MMOS and MUDDS and everything in between. I pissed my big Brothers off with street fighter and later Halo.

Women want games like men want games: we all have different tastes

 

[ZOONAMI]

For something you are targeting it 35+ year olds this looks like something straight off of a pbs tv show for kids.

 

[Ray Wonder]

Ya'll need to chiiiiiill.

Looks cool OP, I'd try it out.

 

[Media]

For something you are targeting it 35+ year olds this looks like something straight off of a pbs tv show for kids.

Yeah, I agree. I even have played some mobile games (clash of clans, angry birds, Farmville ugh) and this looks more like sometime I'd get my kids.

I'm sorry OP, and I'm sorry us ladies are taking offense at being called old at 35. If you didn't want actual women in the age group responding, you shouldn't have asked
My experience? Older women like less cartoony looking games. Want a designing housed game that women will like? Make the damn thing more realistic. There's a reason Sims is popular with us chicks.

 

[Gordon Shumway]

LOL..Oh, shit. 35 is killing me 😂

How can 35 year old women play this with their arthritis and poor eyesight?

 

[MsKrisp]

I'm 35. Will maybe take a look at this after I've picked up my pension and come back from the bingo.

Cheers.

I'm 35 too. Going to have my son download this on that newfangled "phone" he got me. This world is so crazy I tell you

Spoiler

35 year old women grew up during the rise of gaming, please don't insult us like this

 

[dankir]

I'm turning 35 next week am I an old man now?

 

[YoungFa]

When i played the hello kitty online beta most players seemed to be stay at home moms. You could also decorate your own house.

 

[gaiages]

Christ OP I really hope you'll get someone to fix the title for you, you're never going to get any feedback at this rate.