Top 4 Important Facts to Know When Developing a Game For Your Brand

At Weyrdworks, we’ve worked with a variety of global brands in building engaging interactive experiences. These are often unique user journeys that help a brand develop a relationship with its customers and drive sales. Along the way, we’ve built up a solid foundation of knowledge on some of the key caveats to look out for when setting up similar campaigns. Developing a game in Malaysia can be a challenge. Here are 5 important facts to know when building an experience for your brand.

Accessibility

When building a game to engage as many people as possible, we typically want to target the most widely available platform - mobile phones. On mobile, there are two options available; Develop a game app or host it online as a web game. The ideal option would be to present the least amount of friction possible for customers to engage with the game, hence the typical option would be a web game. Web applications have the extra benefit of being playable on a desktop computer. As web game developers, the additional benefit is that our clients are also able to play-test the game live on the site as we develop it.

While people nowadays are used to playing games on the computer in landscape mode with wide-screen monitors, most mobile phone users aren’t familiar with this screen orientation although the option is available. We find that non-gamers are especially comfortable holding their phones in portrait mode. Games designed for portrait screens are generally more welcoming and intuitive to mobile phone users. This reduces the friction of learning how to play the games as well. Additionally, certain mobile browsers don’t support full-screen gameplay, thus limiting the amount of usable screen space available to the game.

Data Privacy & Security

We take privacy and security seriously at Weyrdworks when it comes to building games for marketing due to the fact that the information we typically collect involves the user’s personal details such as phone numbers and email addresses. This information is then stored on a server with a secured, password-protected database. Quite often, the marketing campaigns we work with are targeted to customers within the country, hence there is no need for a global cloud server setup. Any sensitive data sent through the network, such as passwords, are properly treated with one-way encryptions before being stored in the database.

The point at which data collection happens is also important. The most common collection method is through registration on the game’s front page. Doing so allows early identification of the customer. This is helpful if the game only allows limited plays per customer.

Identity Validation

For the purpose of following up with sales efforts, the data we collect would be worthless if they were falsified. In the age of the internet, anyone can sign up for a service anonymously. If the customer were to give us a fake email or phone number, then the game would have been all for nothing. To counter these inputs, we send a code via email or SMS to the user to validate the authenticity of their contact details before allowing them to participate. This is optional to prevent spam. If the campaign is a contest, the chances of users submitting their actual details are far higher although not always foolproof.

Privacy Policy

As Malaysian game developers, It is critical that we and all parties adhere to the Personal Data Protection Act (https://www.pdp.gov.my/jpdpv2/laws-of-malaysia-pdpa/personal-data-protection-act-2010/?lang=en). A privacy policy page should be made available to customers with the option to agree or decline data collection and handling. You can refer to our very own Weyrdworks privacy policy page for an example of how this can be done.

Making a game for the modern age can be challenging with the ever-changing landscape of devices, evolving technology and shifting policies. As one of the top game developers in Malaysia, Weyrdworks can help you navigate through this complex development with over 10 years of experience building games on some of the world’s largest gaming platforms. Reach out to us now to start collaborating on your next game with our web and mobile game development services.