[Game] App Discovery Upgraded!

Here's a quick gamasutra exclusive idea that jumped out at me mid conversation with Ben Olding (you know, the dev behind Warlords!).

Game developers need App discovery upgraded!  Get your act together Apple... (and Google)

Context:

Ben and I were discussing our plans to launch Warlords Epic Conflict on mobile.  We're in the process of reverse engineering App discovery, which is a unviversal problem for all app game devs.

Searching is ambiguous, who knows what to look for? 

Top charts are cluttered by big spenders, AAA titles, and celebrity driven-- monetized junk.

It has been, and is furthering becoming, a nightmare to get excellent quality games visible in the markets.

iOS 8 promises to tackle App discovery by:

- Adding an "Explore" tab

- Adding related searches to individual search keywords

- Improving search results by bringing back scrollable results, seeing more apps in the viewable area

I believe these will certainly help ease the problem, but don't go far enough.  

App discovery needs to empower influencers, not companies with the largest advertising budgets!

A Better Solution:

In our conversation, we both got sidetracked by music.  Arguably, both of us have quite different musical tastes, but use SoundCloud to discover new music in similar ways

We look to our favorite artists, and check out the songs they like and are listening to.  Most of the time, I'm able to discover a brand new artist that has infintesimally small fanbase... but have produced unbelievably amazing music!

Examples: Nacho Picasso  Ioston  Ariel Gumora

How would this look on the App Store(s)?

When you view a game, instead of promoting related games by default, showcase games that particular developer has specified or is playing.  Then build this into the top charts and ranking algorithms to socially curate results!

An ongoing list of games being played or recommended by a developer already has my attention much more than related titles, categories or keywords.  Being that it's name is similar, doesn't necessarily mean I want to download it!

Apple, please help us indie developers get the visibility our Apps deserve!  Because we can't eat, let alone pay rent with $500 / month. 

It's time for you to reciprocate the love, and we eagerly await iOS8!

@Gamedevs, let's bind together and share this post to promote solutions for App discovery!  We can shape the future, we just need the "right" people to see it!!!