Shifting from Hyper to Hybrid Games

How hard it is to shift from hyper-casual to hybrid-casual games?

Hyper-casual games are typically characterized by simple gameplay mechanics and minimalist graphics, designed to be easy to pick up and play for short periods. Hybrid-casual games, on the other hand, typically offer a more engaging and immersive experience with deeper gameplay mechanics and more detailed graphics.

When a game development studio shifts from making hyper-casual games to hybrid-casual games, several changes might occur, Let me explain what we have achieved so far:

• We have increased our focus on gameplay mechanics: To create more engaging and immersive gameplay experiences, the production team needs to spend more time designing and testing gameplay mechanics. This involves prototyping different mechanics and iterating on them until they feel satisfying and engaging.

• More complex graphics and art: Hybrid-casual games often feature more detailed graphics and art than hyper-casual games. This is why we hire or contract additional artists and graphic designers or invest in more advanced tools and software to create more detailed assets.

• Longer development cycles: Creating a more complex and engaging game experience often takes more time than creating a hyper-casual game. As a result, the production cycle for a hybrid-casual game may be longer, with more time spent on design, development, testing, and polishing. We have been developing games in sprints. We used to create 2 weeks of sprints right now we are creating 4 weeks of sprints with detailed documentation and testing phases added to the production cycle.

• Greater emphasis on user retention: While hyper-casual games are often designed to be played in short bursts, hybrid-casual games are typically designed to keep players engaged over a longer period of time. This requires us to involve incorporate features like progression systems, social features, and rewards to encourage players to keep coming back to the game. Retention is much more important than CPI therefore we are mostly focused on gameplay other than lower CPI numbers.

Overall, the shift from making hyper-casual games to hybrid-casual games requires a greater investment of time, resources, and expertise from the development team. However, the potential rewards can be significant in terms of player engagement, revenue, and critical acclaim.

The main difficulty for our team was distributing hyper-casual development teams to hybrid teams.

When distributing hyper-casual development teams for hybrid-casual games, there are several factors to consider:

• Expertise: Hybrid-casual games typically require a broader range of skills and expertise than hyper-casual games. For example, a hybrid-casual game may require designers, artists, programmers, and animators with experience in more complex gameplay mechanics, user interface design, and narrative development. It is important to assess the expertise of your development team and assign roles based on their strengths.

• Size of the team: The size of the development team can also impact how it is distributed for hybrid-casual games. A larger team may be able to handle more complex tasks simultaneously, while a smaller team may need to focus on a narrower set of tasks at a time.

• Budget: Budget is another important consideration when distributing development teams for hybrid-casual games. More complex games may require a larger investment in talent and resources, and it is important to ensure that the budget can support the needs of the team.

• Timeline: The timeline for development is also a critical factor in determining how to distribute the team. More complex games may require longer development cycles, and it is important to allocate the team's time and resources accordingly.

Ultimately, the key to distributing a hyper-casual development team for hybrid-casual games is to assess the needs of the project and determine which team members are best suited to handle those needs. This may involve shifting team members between roles, hiring additional talent, or working with contractors and external partners to supplement the team's skills and resources.