Mario Party Minigames for the Web

Online mini-games with friends, with Jackbox-like no-install start, sounds pretty fun. But it's very, very difficult.

A few caveats:

-Game development is hard. If this is your first game, switch to something smaller in scope. It's the equivalent of stepping outside and running a marathon. Build yourself up first. Build something smaller and local-only to wrap your head around how hard it is, before giving yourself the additional constraints of performant internet multiplayer, entirely in the browser, and needing to code separate rules for a whole stack of mini-games. Some smaller stepping stones may include learning an engine (such as Unity or Unreal or GameMaker Studio) and participating in a game jam (a hackathon for games).

-Latency is an issue in online multiplayer games. Jackbox neatly sidesteps this by using word games where a 200ms lag doesn't kill your gameplay. Most Mario Party minigames are a bit more twitchy/action-oriented in comparison and a latent connection kills the fun instantly.

-Don't go anywhere near Nintendo IP, and really don't blatantly copy mechanics either. Take inspiration, yes, but you have to provide a twist. For a comparison of what flies, look at kart racers: look at Mario Kart versus Crash Team Racing or Team Sonic Racing. Nintendo routinely sends legal eagles after things that leverage their IP, whether fan sequels or even just fan translations of games that never made it beyond Japan.

Source: day job in games industry, former game blogger, host of both Jackbox and Mario Party game nights

I believe all of those free games are now on Facebook, because that's where the ad revenue went.

I can wholeheartedly recommend the Nordic Game Jam if you want to explore gaming. It's a once a year event where all around the globe people meet up in game companies or universities and lock themselves in to build a game prototype in 72 hours.

People also usually upload the games afterwards for everyone to play:
https://globalgamejam.org/2020/games

Here's a making of from a game I made with friends:
https://vimeo.com/9308539
You can see both the humble beginnings and a fully playable game at the end.

EDIT: And maybe two additions:

1. I know a lot of people that actually play those casual games in between, but all of them have a Nintendo Switch.

Then you just use their instant-network with friends, or you plug it into the TV and split the controllers. So while you have a market here, it is being executed on exceptionally well by Nintendo. Also, there's the shared nostalgia of remembering how I used to play Mario Kart in high school with the same group of friends, and now we still play Mario Kart.

2. If you have a working game in Unity or Unreal Engine 4, I know the right people and the technical tools required to turn it into a online browser game as well as make it work on desktop, mobile and game consoles. But the super expensive part is getting there, and considering that like 75% of all indie games make exactly $0, you should think about monetization before you even think about what kind of game you want to make.

I decided to accept the financial disaster, cross-financed things from my consulting work, and built a game that I wanted myself and put it on Steam. Revenue has been enough to hire a sound guy for some months, but not enough to actually keep one full-time employee around. That puts me at like the 90% percentile of indie Steam releases ^_^
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1103870/Space_Dance/