A couple of days ago, Chowdown Games and Joyverter Entertainment released their new game. Collaboration between these two game studios releases a game created for around 5 months called Faunia Rancher for iOS users.
Faunia Rancher is free to play with in app purchase facility inside the game. In this game, you will act as a Rancher who breeds fantasy cattle called the Faunia. You can keep this animal, feed it, taking care of it when it’s sick, cleaning the manure and play with it, just like a real pet.
This animal will produce egg that can be sold and there are mini games provided to store Artifact which can be combined with the egg to create new Faunia.
Ronald Widjaja, the producer of Faunia Rancher, said in an email that the free to play strategy with in app is trying to trick doubtful gamer unsure of the quality of the game they are about to download/purchase. With free to play, gamer can try on the game so the risk from the gamer’s side is smaller. And if they like the game, many facilities are stored to try on.
Faunia Rancher is intended for global market, based on the reason that iOS market overseas is larger than the local market, although it doesn’t close the opportunity for local market. The under development Android version is the one that will cover the local market target.
How about the game launching strategy? Ronald explained that currently, the strategy they undergo is to try exposing this game to many parties, so they can promote the studio and the game they made. They actively introduce the game to the media, communities, events, etc. Faunia Rancher also opened a booth at the Game Developers Gathering at Serpong a couple of days ago, and I see many were interested to take pictures with the Rancher character.
The Faunia Rancher team has also received help from PhaseDev (the company which developed Wayang Force). PhaseDev gives help from technical side where a couple of talent programmers and artists in the Faunia Rancher team come from PhaseDev. In addition, it also helps in giving advices on the online system/social aspect which would be injected in Faunia Rancher. PhaseDev also helps in the marketing.
The Android version will be released after the integration of social/online element in the iOS version, so the upgrade that will be done for this game for the iOS is the online/social feature, and there are also new monster addition and Dungeons mini game as well as new decoration. The focus will be on the online feature and monster addition because these two things are what Faunia Rancher users expect.
Ronald also explained that the Faunia Rancher team is open for cooperation with VC/angel investor, because the team and him are hoping to enlarge the team and creating much better games.
Faunia Rancher is available for iOS users with in app purchase facility. More information can be found in the iTunes Store or in the press release in Wire@DS.
“… trying to trick doubtful gamer…”
“trick” is a verb that pictures its subject negatively. You might want to use “persuade” or similar down toned verbs instead =)
There are no instructions on how to breed in this game! For instance, the game is telling me to breed a “Bandibear” in fire habitat. Problem is, I have a different Faunia in there ( my first fire one, from charcoal) and I have no idea how to do it as there is no breeding icon in the habitat nor any type of help instructions in the game. Can’t even breed any other Faunia in other habitats ( which game is asking me to do)