Distributing 3000+ copies of an iOS game
One of the most common questions we get about the Zombies, Run! Kickstarter campaign is, “How did you distribute over 3000 copies of Zombies, Run! to backers when you only get 50 promo codes per version and 100 devices for internal testing?” It’s a crucial question because Kickstarter campaigns usually involve backers pre-ordering the product, and while that’s perfectly easy on platforms like Steam or Android, it’s more complicated – but not impossible – on iOS. But still pretty...
read moreWe’re looking for a Summer Intern!
We’re looking for someone who can help us make Zombies, Run!, our best-selling running game and audio adventure, into an even better game than it is right now – and to help Six to Start run more smoothly. Your responsibilities: Office upkeep and organisation Answering the phone Research and copywriting Game testing Assisting with audio production, live event organisation, and customer support You need to be: A fast, accurate, grammatically correct and clear writer (if we find any spelling mistakes in your application –...
read moreWhy $7.99 beats $0.99
One of the hardest decisions we had in making Zombies, Run! was the pricing. For newcomers: Zombies, Run! is a running game and audio adventure for the iPhone, iPod Touch, and Android (coming May/June) co-created by Six to Start and Naomi Alderman, in which you run in the real world while getting a story and zombie chases through your headphones. Should we follow the lead of almost every other successful game on the App Store and make it freemium or $0.99 – or… well, it didn’t seem like there was any alternative. So, how did...
read moreMighty-fine Friday afternoon BBC fun
This morning, we received an email from a low-traffic but high-subscriber BBC mailing list about a software update. Half an hour later, with “please remove me!” and “stop emailing me!” replies mounting up, it was threatening to balloon into a genuine Friday crisis with frustrated BBC workers getting buried under a mountain of mail. But where some might see the word ‘crisis’, we see the word ‘opportunity’ – a prime opportunity for some Friday afternoon fun: “Hi guys – so I found...
read moreiOS Developer? We Need You!
Six to Start – developers and co-creators of Zombies, Run! – are looking for a full-time iOS developer. We’re not going to provide a long list of requirements because we realise talent can come from anywhere, but absolute requirements include: Show us something you have made, ideally in iOS. It doesn’t need to be a game, it doesn’t need to have graphics, it doesn’t need to have zombies, it just needs to be interesting. You’re able to work from our office in South London at least 4 days a...
read moreThe Route to Zombies, Run!
Zombies, Run! is an augmented audio* running game for the iPhone and iPod Touch. You put your trainers on, your headphones in, and when you start running, you hear the game and story all round you, coming straight to your ears. It’s a game for everyone who loves or wants to love running, jogging, and walking. We’ve written a lot about Zombies, Run! on our Kickstarter page and official website, so in this blog we want to talk about how this game became about and why we’re making it. *We just made that term up. The Dream: An...
read moreThe Code: What’s New?
In just a few weeks, we’ll be launching an ambitious new project with the BBC called The Code. The Code is a 3-part TV show presented by Prof. Marcus du Sautoy about how we can explain the world through numbers, shapes and equations – but it’s also a next-generation treasure hunt with a very real and very cool treasure. It’s not as if The Code is the first TV show to innovate online; The Million Pound Drop, Misfits, Virtual Revolution, Push Nevada, and more have all done very cool things mixing the web and TV. But what...
read moreTransmedia Storytelling podcast
We’re great admirers of the BBC’s College of Production which provides really high quality teaching resources about TV, radio, and online production for free, so it was a pleasure to be invited on to their podcast to talk about transmedia storytelling. It’s a 21 minute podcast and the guests included Chris Sizemore, Executive Editor of BBC’s Learning & Knowledge Online, and Meg Jayanth, a BBC multiplatform producer (and former Six to Start intern!). You can listen to (or download) the podcast from the site, and...
read moreCreating Four Codes and Keys
Last month we finished a really fun and energetic puzzle hunt we made for Death Cab for Cutie called Four Codes and Keys. We’re big fans of DCFC at Six to Start, so it was a pleasure to work with them, along with Atlantic Records and eBay on this – in the space of just a few weeks we created four unique games that used Twitter, Foursquare, our Wanderlust platform, and photos in new ways. But of course, it’s not really the tech that’s important, it’s the experience, so do check out the games and read our brief case...
read morePutting the ‘Game’ back in ARGs
At this year’s SXSW conference, I gave a solo session about putting the ‘game’ back in ARGs. The talk was basically a very frank look at the state of Alternate Reality Games now, where they sit on the hype curve (spoiler: right at the nadir), why they’ve failed to live up to our expectations, and what they need to do to become more popular and successful. The session itself wasn’t recorded, but I’ve done a screencast of the talk which you can watch below: As an ‘Intermediate’ level talk, it...
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