I recently received a pitch from a Singapore-based startup. The first press release hailed it as “an app with a million dollar cash prize, available soon on both iOS and Android devices.” The game in question is called SnakeItUp, a multiplayer reimagining of the classic Nokia phone game Snake, with 26 levels of obstacles. It’s already available on Android and iOS.
The startup behind SnakeItUp is called HouApp, and its founder is Hou De Jin. He wrote in the email that the game would have a challenge mode where players would be matched up against each other. The winner of each would progress to the next level, while the loser would start from level one again. Once two players reached level 26, they would qualify for a live “final showdown,” which would be held at an event in Singapore and streamed online. This showdown would see both players either splitting US$1 million in prize money or trying to steal one half from each other. Should both players fail to steal the prize money, the cash would snowball to the next live showdown.
Hou said to Tech in Asia that since “humans are greedy in nature,” spectators would be in for some entertainment.
Players from all over the world would be able to participate in this challenge. Hou named both Marina Bay Sands and Singapore Airlines as potential sponsors he wanted to approach, but neither are confirmed sponsors (and their legal teams may be annoyed at being dragged into this). Hou added that he was confident he would be able to get another hotel or airline onboard if both declined.
How can someone earn US$1 million from a mobile game?
HouApp was set up this year, and it’s unfathomable that a self-funded company in Singapore, headed by a 20-year-old who has just enlisted in National Service (the country’s mandatory conscription), and with no history of shipping a game, can provide US$1 million as a cash prize on top of convincing two big brands to sponsor a competition. My disbelief was compounded when I actually tried the SnakeItUp game.
SnakeItUp does not look like a million-dollar game in the making. Visually, the app has not progressed much from Snake’s golden days. Its user interface is simple and its multiplayer unworkable, because no one else was trying to play the game. Hou said that he had outsourced the app’s development to a team in India and did not have a figure for how much it had cost.
Hou explained that he thought a multiplayer Snake game would be “too normal” and “not be a hit” on its own. “The app was built […] to allow users to be a millionaire simply by doubling their one cent 28 times. There are many ’28 Steps to a Million’ challenges that you can find online. It’s easy to double your money at the start, but it is hard to double your money when you reach a high amount, like US$100,000.”
That’s reasonable, but where was the one million cash prize going to come from? HouApp has not reported any investment rounds, nor does it have an existing lucrative game portfolio. It took a bit more digging before Hou explained: the US$1 million in cash will be raised through in-app purchases in the game, and HouApp does not have the US$1 million in hand right now. In-app purchases for game credits – used to participate in the challenge mode – start at US$5.99.
Starting each challenge round requires users to pay US$0.01 out of their game credits. Failing at any point in the game, no matter the level you achieve, would see the user bounced back to level one, and needing to pay US$0.01 to play again. Hou said that based on his calculations, he was confident in raising the US$1 million needed for the advertised cash prize.
Too good to be true?
I asked Hou if he felt his deal sounded too good to be true. He acknowledged that while people might feel like it’s a scam, he also felt it to be fair advertising for the following reasons:
- HouApp has stated players can win a million dollars by playing its challenge mode.
- HouApp has also done a blog post on how the “28 levels to a million” school of thought works.
- The app is free and users can choose if they want to participate in the challenge mode.
With many indie game developers starting out on their own simply for the opportunity – luxury, even – of developing their own games, I found it curious that Hou had not even coded the game himself. He pointed out that he simply outsourced the coding, and had personally conceptualized the app, set up the website, and overseen the project.
Hou told me that it has taken one year and seven months to have the app ready. In true startup fashion, he has had two failed business ventures before this one.
Ultimately, while Hou expressed great pride in his app, we get the feeling this is more of a get-rich-quick scheme (for him) than a serious gaming startup. Gamers beware: don’t give your money to this game banking on winning the cash prize.
There’s a chance this could take off, of course. Just look at what Flappy Bird managed to do. Perhaps we’ll see that sort of crazy, one-off success replicated by this Singaporean.
See: First Flappy Bird, then Swing Copters, what’s next for Vietnam’s most important indie game studio?
This post Snake charmer or snake oil? Beware this game that offers a $1 million cash prize appeared first on Tech in Asia.
Snake charmer or snake oil? Beware this game that offers a $1 million cash prize
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