If you follow reporting from the tech media over an extended period, you’ll start to notice how a simple press release can spark a wide range of debate across the tech world. Such was the case in the early spring when a press release highlighting Ludocene – an upcoming game discovery platform – caught the attention of tech publications and the wider mainstream media.
Ludocene is a classic example of a “there’s an app for that” approach to fixing a problem. In fact, it also has a classic “hook” that makes it stand out (it’s not the first concept for a game discovery engine). That hook is quite simple, yet clever: It promises to be a dating app for games, i.e., matching you with your perfect game based on your likes and dislikes.
An Oversaturation On Game Storefronts
We won’t spend too much time talking about Ludocene – it is only available in a prototype mode right now, so judgment should be reserved until the full release in September – but it is enough to say that it does address an issue: too many good games remain undiscovered, and too many bad ones are placed at the forefront. Saturation is a real problem, not just for gamers but for developers who want to make their mark on the industry.
On paper, none of Ludocene’s ideas are unfamiliar. The concept of matching players up with elements that they enjoy – problem-solving, turned-based strategy, and so on – is quite straightforward. You can see this executed on social casino sites, which may list online slot features, allowing players to choose titles based on what they like – free spins, bonus games, Megaways, and so on. It is all about smart compartmentalization, allowing players to not be overwhelmed by 1000s of titles.
Of course, this can be a little difficult on platforms like the Google Play Store, where you will find several hundred thousand games. Steam’s game count is in the tens of thousands, but looking at the revenue statistics for developers shows how top-heavy it is. About 70% of games don’t generate over $10K in revenues in their lifetime, never mind a profit. The top 8% of games take home about 80% of the revenue overall.
Trust Is An Important Commodity
Another interesting aspect of Ludocene’s application is that it will – at least, it is promising to do so – connect players with expert recommendations. Again, it’s not really doing something mind-blowing here, as we all have our favorite reviewers. Yet, this is arguably going to be an important vertical as we work our way through the era of artificial intelligence. With AI, games will likely become cheaper to develop, potentially leading to floods of new titles on gaming platforms. With AI bots, too, there is always the threat of fake reviews, gaming the system, as such. Trust is an important commodity in reviewing, and if Ludocene can guarantee it, players will embrace it.
In saying all of the above, some gamers will shrug and point out that discoverability is not a factor that bothers them. Indeed, so many of us have a long list of games we want to play and simply not enough time to do it. Yet, while there is more choice than ever, it remains important to have filters. We aren’t saying Ludocene will fix everything, but going by the groundswell of support on its Kickstarter campaign, there is an appetite for what it is intending to do in the gaming space.
