Game development is an expensive and time-consuming business. Currently, he has 2,000 people working in 18 studios around the world on the next installment of Ubisoft’s blockbuster Assassin’s Creed series, a project that will take two to three years. Last year, the self-taught programmer learned that he earned nearly £280,000 for a series of games he made sitting in his two-bedroom flat in Harlesden, pants on, on a hot day. Imagine how people would feel. And each one took about 30 minutes.

“The first one probably took seven to eight hours, to be honest,” TJ Gardner says. “But later pieces, like ‘Stroke the Beaver,’ would take about 30 minutes.”

Gardner is the author of the “Stroke” video game, which can be downloaded from the PlayStation Store for £3.29 each. Each features different animals such as cats, dogs, and hamsters, as well as less cute creatures such as snakes and fish, and all follow the same blueprint.

When you start the game, you will see images of animals on a plain blue background. In the upper left corner of the screen you will see the words “Stroke 0”. Press X to pet the animal. The animal blinks briefly. The number in the corner increases by one. After 25 strokes, you will be awarded a bronze trophy. If you keep going until you reach 2,000 strokes, you’ll earn the Platinum award.

That’s all. There are no animations. There are no sound effects. Just pictures of animals under Wikipedia’s Creative Commons license and his lo-fi acoustic beats looping endlessly in the background. No running, no jumping, no guns, no bad guys, no special moves, no power-ups, no puzzles. Is Stroke Game a video game at all?

“It depends on how you define ‘game,'” Gardner says. “There is interaction. Sure, that interaction is very limited, but it’s there and there is a goal. I’m willing to admit that it’s not difficult and it’s not complicated, but it’s still video It’s a game.”

Looking at the numbers Mr. Gardner provided, perhaps that might not be a problem, at least for his bank managers. Since its launch in September 2022, the Stroke game has been downloaded over 120,000 times and generated sales of over £275,000. He will receive a 30% cut from Sony hosting the game on his PlayStation Store, leaving Mr Gardner with his pre-tax profit of more than £190,000.

People don’t buy these titles for addictive gameplay, engaging stories, or dizzying visuals. So what’s its appeal?

It all started in the mid-2000s, when console manufacturers started awarding virtual accolades to players who completed additional in-game goals. These are called achievements on Xbox and trophies on PlayStation. A new subculture was born, established by a community of gamers who played for the prize rather than the fun. They are known as trophy hunters. In pursuit of glory, some people will stop at nothing to play Hannah Montana: The Movie: The Game.

The PlayStation Store now has dozens of games aimed at these players. It’s a low-cost, laughably simple title that offers easy trophies in exchange for a few pounds. Gardner, who had a partner and young children to support, had recently taught himself to code (mainly from his YouTube videos and his tutorials online) and saw an opportunity.

“It was kind of tough for a young family to go paycheck to paycheck,” he says. According to Gardner, at the time anyone could apply for a game to be sold on his PlayStation Store and submit a design document outlining how it would work. “When we looked into Sony’s backend, we found that it’s actually very easy to get through quality assurance,” he says. In 2022, his first game, his Stroke the Dog, appeared on the store without any problems. “So we tried a few more, obviously using slightly different animals.”

Stroke the Hamster is a bestseller with over 11,000 downloads. Cats are his second most popular pet animal, followed – perhaps surprisingly – by turtles. But what was the inspiration behind Gardner’s epic Stroke the Beaver?

“To be honest, at one point it was like a joke to me,” he says. “I decided to see how far I could go.'' It seems quite far away. Gardner then released Stroke the Dik-Dik. “It’s an animal, right?”

Not everyone found the game interesting. Internet forums are full of posts criticizing the Trophy Hunter titles, their creators, and Sony for even allowing them to be listed on his PlayStation Store. Gardner acknowledged that Strokes’ game was shovelware, gained some defenders among his critics, and attempted to address the criticisms.

“He saw a gap and took advantage of it,” forum user the1andonly654 wrote. “Give him more power. What company wouldn’t do that?” Call of Duty, FIFA, and Assassin’s Creed are all essentially not that different. ”

Of course, there are big differences in how much time, money, and creative effort goes into those games, and the richness of the experience they provide. But there are similarities in the business models. New installments are frequently created with the aim of exploiting existing markets. The focus is on reskinning the visuals rather than developing new ideas.

There’s an argument to be made that Gardner’s Stroke game represents a more honest trade than, say, a randomized loot box with in-game rewards. At least when he buys a Stroke game, Gardner says, “you know exactly what you’re buying.” There is nothing there to take advantage of you. Or nothing to suggest you need to buy anything else. You don’t have to buy it if you don’t want to. He didn’t have many complaints. Of the 11,105 people who bought Stroke the Hamster, he asked only 10 people to buy it. Refund.

But the critics remain, and it appears Sony is listening. Platform holder in November 2022
It is said that it started The Shovelware crackdown is threatening developers with emails sent to them to delist Trophy Hunter games and suspend their creators’ publisher accounts.

However, it’s hard to see evidence of this policy in action on the PlayStation Store, which is still full of such titles. When Gardner released Stroke the Animals, a gorgeous piece featuring 10 creatures, last December, Sony didn’t seem to mind. (“Do you like Aminares?” [sic], Read game information. “Great!” Well, there’s a lot you can stroke, so start stroking. ) Perhaps it’s not so much a mystery why Sony didn’t crack down. Thanks to his 30% cut, the company made more profits. More than £80,000 for a stroke game.

The first thing Mr. Gardner did with some of his profits was pay off his debts. Then he decided it was time to take his eyes off shovelware. “I’ve reached a stage where I’m willing to try something a little different, because even though it’s making money, it’s not money.” As you can probably imagine, it’s the most rewarding thing. ” One of his new projects is a new website.
Game achievements.net. Launching in the coming months, players will be able to track their in-game awards across multiple platforms.

So does Gardner have any regrets?

“Honestly, no,” he says. “I will never regret anything I did to help my family because I did it for them.”