Hi guys! I'm new to the forums, and possibly might be posting on the wrong channel but here we go. I have an idea for an iPhone game and am really having difficulties deciding on how to go about getting it developed. I won't go into much detail but it's dynamics are along the same lines as Clash of Clans or any multi server game with in game purchase options etc. I posted a job on elance.com and have had a few offers but I am kind of hesitant on working with people who's primary language isn't English. I don't want the headache of losing something in translation. My questions are: What is a reasonable timeline and price to have something like this game developed? What specific things should I ask for (ie. 3 months free tech support to work out bug) How would I get a server (rent?) to link and run the game from? And any other tricks of the trade you might know. Please feel free to email me or post on here. Thanks for your help! MAV
If you are wanting to build an app at the complexity level of clash of clans, with graphics of that sort of standard. You are talking a lot of money, and paying a team of people for at least a year. This is to build all the server systems, app itself, graphics, testing, etc. Then for clash of clans to work they need constant updates to keep people playing the game, so they have to keep people working on it all the time, doing updates, and keeping on top of the databases. So at a guess, it was probably at least 10 people to start it going, on average of $80,000 per year, maybe more. Then office space etc, so my guess is that clash of clans was at least $2 million dollars to make. Then probably over $1 million per year to maintain. If this was outsourced it would be even more. This is why you don't see many clones of games like clash of clans, simply because the development risk is just too high. Candy Crush is simpler, the basic concept with low quality graphics can be bought as source code already for a few hundred dollars. But to get the game to the level that Candy Crush has it, with all the social elements, different mechanics, quality graphics, hundreds of levels, balance, and polish. That is going to again take a team of people, lots of testing, and probably at least 6 months time. If this is your first time having a game developed, I would go for something much more simple. Like clone of flappy birds, or some other popular but simple game. Check our something like chupamobile for ready made source code that you can buy and just change some of the images. Do not trust elance for a project that is as large as clash of clans. We are talking well over 10,000 hours of work to make a game like that. So if some person tells you they can make if for $1000, they are willing to be paid about 10cents an hour. So they are really not going to get it finished for you. Always know how many hours a project will take before you post it on elance, or you don't have any way to judge the different offers. On the other hand, it took me about 8 hours to make a flappy bird clone, so you could probably get something like that made for around $400 on elance, maybe less if you get a totally new developer (but there are risks with that).
If you cheap out on development, you get what you pay for normally! While I think the numbers mentioned in the previous post it could be done for less they are certainly reasonable ball park figures (especially since my understanding is they made a custom engine for it). Then for that type of game they spend a LOT on advertising every day. I wouldn't ever attempt that sort of game by myself and I am a longtime professional developer. The scope would just be too large to be completed to a standard I would be happy with.
