Thanks I used a game engine tho (Corona) - mostly because I wanted to target Android and iOS. I can code lots of languages - and most assembly for embedded devices, but this is my first game. I had a look at native coding, and xcode doesn't look too bad - especially if you use some game frameworks out there. Java (for android) on the other hand i hate with a passion - just not a big java fan If you're making you're first app, an engine is probably a good idea. It decreases the coding time significantly. They all have some limitations, so if you're serious about making games etc long term you should go native eventually - but to test the water an engine is a great idea. I'd like to recommend Corona, but i don't think I can anymore! It was a bargain when i got it for $99 both platforms, but now its $199 for one platform (iOS or android) and $349 for both. It also has some issues with android (see section 7): http://www.base2solutions.com/walkabout/Corona%20Tips.html They dropped arm6 and android < 2.1, so its almost useless for android right now. You can use a previous version (as per my doc), but would you really want to pay $149 extra to support android and have to use an old version :/ So if you're left with only iOS there are better engines out there for a lot less money. Some are totally free in fact. Anyway feel free to hit me up for any advice or info about how I made and marketed my game. I"m happy to share my experiences.
He didn't have to draw all the graphics, that's a huge time savings. All those came from http://www.lostgarden.com/2007/05/dancs-miraculously-flexible-game.html Still, his sales figures highlight the big issue of Android development nicely: there are simply less paying customers on Android. For this game you see iOS users bought at nearly a 2:1 ratio. If Kam187's game had been more successful you would have seen an even wider gap, 5:1 or 10:1 in favor of the iPhone paid figures. Good for Kam187 and his decision to stay low-budget on time and expense, it makes the effort he put in worthwhile. The averages here point to roughly 10 sales per day on iOS, and 5 on Android. Which is the type of info I point out to everyone looking to "get rich quick" in the App Store: the reality is most developers sell between 0-10 copies per day. Forsaken_Media points out there is still money to be made in the "top 1000". That is definitely true. I loitered in that area for a while in the past. It's not "get rich quick" money... but enough to sustain yourself and make a modest living. Problem now is with 350,000 apps in the store you better have a damn nice app/game to beat out the other 349,000 and get into a chart somewhere. That takes a great idea, a ton of polish, and either A) good marketing or B) good luck
Those are some nice and [potentially] sobering figures that should be written in bold on the Apple Developer's site.
CommanderData : Yep i said I used 100% free resources You're totally right, other developers I have spoken to (mostly corona) are seeing the same sort of figures. You can make maybe $200 to $500 a month I think with a half decent game. You could also make 0, so don't do the 'if i make 5 games thats 5*500 = $2,500 a month yay!' kind of math. If you're _lucky_ you may hit it big. I know one dev who used FAAD and was able to boast 'we just hit 500,000 downloads!' to the media. It gave him a small push for a few days and then his figures dropped back to around the 10 to 20 mark as before. His game was quite nice and extremely polished. Visibility is of course the key, but this illustrates even if you get visibility, and have a nice game you still don't guarantee a success. If possible your game in a short timescale, and try to do it as cheaply as possible - while sustaining quality. I know these are opposing things but it _is_ possible. Good luck, and don't quit your day job until you have a large portfolio so the return balances out over the month to a livable salary
We plan to use MonoTouch and MonoDroid for iOS and Android cross platform, we are both highly skilled C++ and C# developers. This will also allow us to port (with a little more difficulty) to Windows phone, which I'm keeping an eye on (mainly due to the Nokia deal). Too late for offering advice on not leaving your job but if it all goes through I'm getting a big cheque to keep me fed for the first year
The problem for most developers is not completely understanding what constitutes the "damn nice app" that Commander Data rightfully cites. A "damn nice app" gets attention: from Apple, from Touch Arcade (which Apple pays attention to, BTW, in deciding what to feature), and then from users, and once you reach a critical mass of users, they show the game to friends and word of mouth pushes sales. But the "damn nice app" is not dependent on the kinds of features that avid gamers may attribute. This market is a world that bears only slight resemblance to the game store of yore. You have to be charming, good to look at, really nice to listen to. I've done a lot of audio work for MikaMobile (a smaller fish would be hard to find in this massive pond), and I believe their unqualified success is based on their background as game animators, where they had a concept hammered into their skulls that all animators are taught: the abstract concept of "appeal." Mike Mobile writes about it on their blog, and it's worth reading.
By talking in terms of time being such an important factor (which people were), it becomes inevitable that sometimes (not always, I'm not generalising) quality will be sacrificed. It is obvious from looking at the App Store that this happens often. Some apps are poor because the ability of the developers, or the idea, but all too often it is because there was not enough effort put into the quality. I have worked on projects that suffered because they were not given enough time. The budgets varied from tens of thousands to tens of millions. The problem was that speed was considered more important than quality. I'm not saying 1 month projects are wrong. I'm saying it is wrong to consider that more important than choosing the right project from the ideas you have, which is suited the abilities of your team, and then spending the right amount of time on getting it right. And my point was misunderstood about reusable code. If you think longer term than 1 project, having work that can be reused means you can consider part of the development time as being shared with the next project. So not all the 3 months of eggs are in that one basket.
I agree totally. Find a game that fits your skills and so you could code in a reasonable time scale. All I'm saying is that at the initial stages think hard about how to speed up the design, or whether a 6 or 12 month project is really a good idea in your current situation. Sacrificing quality/polish is suicide - especially on the app store. I guess what i'm saying is make it as quick as you can to the quality you are happy with. Get it out there, then add, add, add if people begin to show interest. Walkabout for example, I stopped at 72 levels - who wants to break their back making 200 levels if no one plays it PS: To the android developer.. also check out the Nook developer program (if you're in the US), and target new honeycomb devices like the Xoom. Those devices have a serious shortage of games and apps. There is a big opertunity at the moment. Also there are some operator stores you can try to get on. I have a company hounding me to be on the China Mobile operator store.. I need to translate the game...
OK if your a big company. Individuals got no chance with the little money they worked for and especially when outsourcing programmers pretend to be top coders and level designers. What about game play and mechanics too? These are at the top of the list.
So I just set Walkabout to free for the day (in association with daily app dream - which is free). I'll report back what happens and the downloads i receive during, and after the free period. If anyone wants to download it, its here: http://goo.gl/1KYFK
Another thing that I hardly ever see mentioned is this: Save money. Reduce your expenses. Cancel cable TV. Get cheaper internet. Buy food in bulk. I am so sick of working for other people that I plan to sell my house in a year and buy an RV. Sure it may be uncomfortable while I live in the RV until I've figured out how to make money with my business, but it will give me 16 hours a day to do what I want, build more products, experiment, get good at marketing ... and if I don't make it eventually I can just live with the old folks in the RV park! My case is extreme because I absolutely abhor working for The Man. I'm so sick to death of it I'll do damn near anything to get out. Most people are not going to go to this extreme, but if you look at your budget you will find ways to reduce expenses which means you ultimately need a lot less $$$ to make a "successful" game.
Just throwing money at things never made them better and selling a house to buy an rv to make indie iOS games who will probably fail sounds not like a good deal at all. Hate your dayjob? Find another one. I would not suggest a living soul to make an "all in" with selling apps. If you have 3-4apps out and see that they are selling at an ok rate so you can see that you will get something in return that allows you to live on and most importantly expand, then go for it and quit your day job.. Anything else would be like buying a couple tjousand lottery tickets and hoping for the jackpot.. But it doesnt works that way.
Appreciate your points. This is not a spontaneous decision, it's something I've been planning for a long time. I've worked for no less than 10 major tech companies. I've worked for the U.S. Government. I make a crapload of money. I've been around, and it never gets much better. For me, it's all "shades of brown". For me, I have to make it by myself and the limiting factor is time. I have cut my expenses, saved a ton of money, and I have several ventures in the works - not just indie games. Now I just need the time to build my ideas. I don't have a family so there really is very little risk involved for me. And if it all fails, I will have a place to live and I can still get another dumb job for another dumb company down the road if I need to. I am not recommending this to the average Joe, all I'm saying is that you can earn more by owing less.
