Game Analysis: Frozen City | Pocket Gamer.biz

By Oleg Lomakov, Lead Sport Designer, AppQuantum

Frozen Metropolis is a cell tycoon sport impressed by the PC and console hit Frostpunk, which additionally just lately got here to the cell platform.

As of March 16, 2023, Frozen Metropolis had earned $11.3 million on in-apps and had been downloaded 10.8 million occasions. The RPD of the iOS and Android variations is round $1.05. The sport has achieved all this since December 2022.

So, what’s the secret of Frozen Metropolis’s success? On this article, Oleg Lomakov, lead sport designer at AppQuantum explains its gameplay, monetization, and different sport elements.

Let’s discuss just a little concerning the “muse”

Frostpunk is a harsh technique sport about survival in an limitless winter. The participant must construct a brand new metropolis round a big coal furnace and lead the struggle for a snug life in heat.

This sport isn’t about pleasure and vibrant adventures. Frostpunk presents conditions during which gamers should make severe selections and sacrifices for the brand new society to operate. Are wards freezing chilly exterior? Construct tents! Yeah, then there will not be sufficient assets for enhancements to get extra meals. Do you want assets earlier than everybody starves to demise? Signal an ordinance for prolonged work shifts or begin utilizing little one labour. By the best way, 1 / 4 of the residents are already sick within the chilly and might’t work, and one employee must have his leg amputated. I forgot to let you know! The forecast is extraordinarily chilly immediately. And now, you are about to be hoisted on pitchforks for little one labour and lack of tents! Reside with that! Oh, wait, not the pitchforks.

Within the case of Frozen Metropolis, you haven’t any motive to fret as a result of the cell world of informal video games is way kinder. Or is it?

Frozen Metropolis gameplay options

The primary session could seem to be a traditional, informal tycoon sport. It takes about half an hour to finish the beginning map with out speeding, and the duties are fairly normal: construct and enhance buildings. There are a few elective (and already acquainted) style problems. Working time mode and distribution of human assets on jobs. An apocalypse is an apocalypse, however you have to respect the work-life steadiness.

On the first stage, the participant will get sufficient managers to play with none issues. They multiply the manufacturing of assets in factories and open entry to extra jobs. There may be loads of evolve foreign money to improve them at this stage too.

There are two varieties of evolve foreign money. One for levelling up the character and one other for elevating the upgrading restrict. Unusually, there isn’t a mushy foreign money. It’s changed by assets, amongst which there isn’t a most useful, and the gradation of their necessity varies from map to map. Some require different assets to supply them, which builds up a manufacturing chain. When the participant learns methods to deal with every kind of currencies and discover a steadiness, the sport will give them a brand new, extra severe problem.

The standard factor for different tycoon video games is to pump up the factories to a snug stage and watch every part work, sipping your sizzling cup of espresso. However on this sport, snowstorms hit the camp often, noticeably decreasing the setting’s temperature. The extra play time passes, the harsher the storms get. What we perceive shortly about Frozen Metropolis is that it’s fairly life like to enter the unfavourable, and there is no approach to loosen up.

Some issues of individuals administration in Frozen Metropolis

1. If you happen to exhaust the employees with lengthy evening shifts (which is feasible) or don’t create snug situations to allow them to relaxation within the homes, they may run away from the camp.
2. In the event that they don’t have sufficient meals (it nonetheless must be cooked!), they may starve to demise
3. If you happen to don’t be concerned about upgrading the furnace or do not accumulate sufficient gasoline to maintain it heat, they will get sick and keep within the infirmary.
4. If there aren’t any locations within the infirmary and, as a consequence, no therapy, they can even die.
5. If public dissatisfaction accumulates, the employees will go on strike.

We already know methods to remedy the foreign money disaster in video games like this. Stop the sport, wait till there may be sufficient revenue offline, decide it up, and improve the constructing for higher manufacturing. However in Frozen Metropolis, the participant pays for every part with assets, not gold or different acquainted foreign money. Furthermore, because the constructing is levelling up, the required useful resource for upgrading could out of the blue change to completely one other one.

As an expertise for the informal participant, it’s harsh however rewarding. As a product that monetizes by way of “bottlenecks,” it’s unbelievable.

We should always pay tribute to the builders as a result of when designing a stage, they instantly plan which useful resource might be briefly provide. On the similar time, the correct manufacturing facility will want an “elite” supervisor, which could be very tough to get from the standard chests. A stage ends when the participant completes all of the quests on the present map. The participant additionally receives an “elite” chest with the suitable supervisor and units of evolve currencies as a reward.

Meta

As for the meta, Frozen Metropolis combines parts from gacha, battler, and journey mechanics.

1. Managers. Discovering a cell tycoon sport with out this mechanic is tough. Nonetheless, Frozen Metropolis may be handed solely with managers you want, not utilizing all of them directly. Spoiler, it gained’t be straightforward as a result of managers assist in manufacturing and take part in battles (about that just a little later). Every of them has their very own position in factories and fight, so sending a medic someplace apart from the infirmary will not work. Additionally, the supervisor’s stage determines the manufacturing facility’s effectivity and the accessible workstations.
2. Battler was a logical continuation of the gacha system. You will have characters from gathered playing cards with their very own stage, position, and faction for battle. By accumulating 4 characters of 1 faction in a squad, the participant will get a bonus within the type of plenty of minion-helpers. Why struggle in any respect? Every accomplished battle will increase the passive evolve foreign money revenue.
3. Journey. Not a battle, in fact, however you must struggle! An journey consists of a long-distance raid the place your squad encounters enemies. For profitable, you will get assets and add a brand new ally to the group. Every such journey has 20 phases, for which you obtain a prize. After finishing 50 phases from totally different raids, the participant can open a chest with any character card. Nonetheless, you’ll be able to solely take part in an journey as soon as per day.

Affect of meta-activity on the sport and customers

• First, the participant has one thing to occupy themself with whereas ready.
  
• The participant turns into extra acquainted with the stats of the characters and their benefits, studying extra about their worth.
• Along with creating bottle-necks for monetization, gacha playing cards permit the developer so as to add variation to ranges and management the rise in problem.

LTE

Frozen Metropolis has totally different time occasions. Why are they wanted right here and the way do they have an effect on the gamers? First, let’s take a look at some LTEs and their options.

For the Grampa’s Farm occasion, the builders did not simply do a reskin, they reassembled the sport circulation. This manner, the sport grew to become extra much like the acquainted tycoons. One common mushy foreign money (cash), and the method is constructed round multiplying earnings, with meals all the time in abundance and you haven’t any likelihood of freezing.

For finishing quests, the participant receives particular tokens for the slot machine, the place you’ll be able to win numerous bonuses, together with ability factors. These factors are spent to extend the price of promoting items, the quantity of truck shipments, cheaper constructing upgrades, and many others. LTE has rewards for passing the cash milestones and a leaderboard with extra rewards for top rankings. The rivalry right here isn’t any small factor.

For one more LTE, Fish Farming, the builders selected a circulation much like Grampa’s Farm, however right here the ability factors are changed by playing cards obtained from chests (like with the managers’ mechanics).

The Final Autumn occasion’s core has the least distinction in visuals and gameplay from the bottom occasion: assets as a substitute of currencies, a furnace, and a chilly setting. The main focus is totally on individuals administration: solely 16 staff may be on the map, with the assistance of which you could construct a multi-threaded manufacturing in 3 days. Rewards for passing milestones will not be centered on chests and playing cards however on foreign money to extend the utmost stage of the characters.

How do these LTEs have an effect on the sport and the participant?

1. The participant will get a authorized alternative to select up many rewards totally free that must have been paid for within the retailer.
   
2. The participant challenges himself. Can he achieve success with acquainted entities however in numerous circumstances?
3. The developer will get an viewers that’s extra more likely to play the sport throughout the LTE emergence interval (by the best way, they’ve a minimal break). The leaderboard affords extra rewards and fuels aggressive pleasure. Even when the participant wasn’t planning on shopping for any additional bonuses from the LTE retailer, the sensation of “I used to be good, however not sufficient. Others had been higher” is conducive to changing to a paying participant.

Visible / UI

The sport’s visuals deserve particular person consideration. The sport is gratifying visually, because the builders spared no effort on its belongings. It is simpler for the participant to really feel their progress when it is seen. Frozen Metropolis has applied this strategy in two methods.

1. Enhancing the visuals of buildings after upgrading. Every new stage of building is a special mannequin that appears “richer” and “extra strong” than the earlier ones. Even particular person parts can change their look after minor enhancements to constructing parameters.
2. Interface. All sections are terse, with no button litter and no screaming solutions. The participant will not get confused or uncomfortable due to the visible noise.

The visible rewards have a pleasing impact on the sensation of the sport. On the finish of every stage, the participant sees statistics together with his achievements and a small clip displaying which manner of improvement town has overcome.

Monetization

Frozen Metropolis’s monetization consists of in-app, laborious foreign money, and Rewarded Video (RV). Normally, every part is normal. However, as we mentioned in the beginning, the sport earned $11.3 million on in-apps alone. What in-apps of this mission are included?

1. Packs. for rookies, seasonal and some with supervisor playing cards for every stage to get uncommon managers. At greater ranges, particular units include chests as a substitute of particular playing cards.
2. Arduous foreign money. Commonplace laborious foreign money bundles present the extra revenue from their buy.
3. Subscriptions with three units of advantages: Gems+ (a hard and fast quantity of laborious foreign money), Advertisements+ (normal NoAds), and Essential Metropolis+ (ubiquitous enhancements).
4. LTE-VIP. It’s a one-time buy that doubles your revenue and offline time earnings in LTEs. Bought individually for every occasion.

The participant additionally has 4 spots of use for laborious foreign money: chests, additional playing cards and evolve foreign money, setting up acceleration, and time skip. Regardless of the well-balanced gameplay, in the end, you’ll want to enhance your situations, for which the builders are well-prepared.

For instance, you will get a chest with a assured supervisor card as soon as each 8 hours, however the likelihood of getting a uncommon card is tiny. Nonetheless, you should purchase higher crates and enhance the prospect accordingly. If the participant doesn’t have sufficient playing cards or foreign money to lift the extent restrict, they will purchase the lacking gadgets with diamonds. The lengthy building interval of buildings can also be decreased by way of the acquisition of immediate completion. Do you want assets however don’t wish to wait too lengthy? Buying a time skip will remedy the issue!

What concerning the RV? The participant can get a random useful resource and an additional chest utilizing them. Within the first case, a small placement seems, permitting you to select up plenty of assets for constructing enhancements (which could be very helpful!) after watching an advert. As we mentioned earlier than, you will get a free chest as soon as each 8 hours, but it surely’s additionally attainable to get an additional one by watching a business as soon as each 8 hours.

We’ve analysed the gameplay and monetization of the sport intimately. Now it is time to reply the principle query.

What are the participant’s motivations and the explanations for the success of Frozen Metropolis?

Elevated empathic attachment of the participant to the world. They care not solely concerning the consolation of their wards but in addition about their survival. After all, the sport is informal and doesn’t punish the participant a lot for miscalculations, but it surely looks like a problem for this sort of mission.

A well-recognized theme. The sport will certainly curiosity Frostpunk followers and survivalist lovers unfamiliar with this title. Moreover, a freezing post-apocalypse remains to be a contemporary sort of post-apocalypse. There is a motive why we expect that the snowy apocalypse setting performed a major position within the mission’s success. The writer of Frozen Metropolis has one other mission with which it’s normally in contrast, White Out Survival. In line with our info, this mission was initially examined in the marketplace in numerous settings, similar to “survival within the desert,” “sea world,” and “improvement of civilizations,” however the most effective efficiency was proven by, clearly, the identical frozen world.

Simplified logistics. The builders discovered a steadiness between conventional informal tycoons and simulators with complicated financial chains. Doubtlessly, it’s attainable to achieve the viewers of each genres.

Completely different ranges are totally different introductions. Every stage isn’t “status” within the classical sense, neither is it a repetition of beforehand seen, however different challenges throughout the similar theme. What sort of manufacturing will seem at that stage? That is how curiosity is maintained.

There may be all the time one thing to do within the sport. LTE and mini-games complement the core gameplay.

AppQuantum intends to proceed to share particulars on essentially the most attention-grabbing tasks out on the cell market and analyse the explanations behind their success.

Edited by Paige Cook dinner