Project: Sokobones
URL: Sokobones on FreeGamesJungle.com
Type: Flash Game
Roles: Game Design, Game Development (Flash and ActionScript 3), Distribution
Date: June-July 2009
A screenshot of the game menu.
Description: I had been learning to code for some time when I decided to create this game. I had already created some flash games, some with a decent amount of success (gameplays and revenue). I wanted to create a game that got more gameplays and generated more revenue. I also wanted to improve my coding skills.
After thinking about what type of game I should create, I decided to create a puzzle/logic games, for this is a game genre that I really like. The classic sokoban game mechanics seemed interesting to me, so I decided to create something based on it. This is how Sokobones was born. In the game, the player controls a dog that must hide his bones in holes. However, in order to do this, he has to complete the sokoban-style levels. The levels were created by M. Homs and the background song was created by InfinityVas.
When I finished coding the game, I looked for a sponsor for the game. I was especially looking for a primary sponsorship (branding). It ended being sponsored by FreeGamesJungle. I also implemented MochiAds (aff) in-game advertisements. I emailed many portal owners and submitted to some manually. I also used services like MochiAds’ game distribution system and FlashGameDistribution. My aim was to spread my game as much as possible.
Result: The game generated a good amount of revenue from the sponsorship, but also a good amount from the in-game ads. It still generates some passive revenue from the advertisements, although in smaller quantity.
One year after being published, Sokobones had already been played 2 million times and was hosted on more than 1600 websites. Two years later, it had already been played by 2.5 million websites and was hosted on more than 1800 websites. Although the traffic is decreasing, it still gets many gameplays. Updated statistics can be found on its MochiBot link
In my opinion, this project was very successful. It generated more revenue and got more gameplays than I had expected.