Confuse about Game Developing

albert988 · January 2014

After a year of game developing as an indie game developer. I start feeling confused.
As a matter of fact, the game I developed earn less than my expect. Is it because I am an indie developer? Is it because the game lack of good art? Is it because I don't know how to promote the game? I really confused and don't know exactly how to do next.

So I want to ask you guys for some advice. Thanks a lot.

Mells · January 2014

@albert988 yes, yes, yes could be answers but there are solutions to fix it.
There are indies that are sustainable.
There are games with bad art that are sustainable (but they are an exception).
There are games with little to no marketing that made money (but they are exception).

There are indies with good games / good art / good marketing that don't make money (because running a business is 1 million other things).

I think that :
- you should work on solving both bad art and no marketing skills issues (invest to learn it, bring a partner who can take care of that, or hire someone)
- now is the period where a lot of indies give up : they were excited by "the app rush" and the mirage of "being the first on the market" disappears. They are now looking at other new shiny things.
The big players have a good understanding on how the market works and how to dominate it. Indies have to level up their game to find their way. Some will invest for it, some others will give up.

If you know what you want, and if you think that making games for a living can bring you there, you should definitely keep on working on it (but do it differently than what took you there).
If you think doing something else would make you happier, I believe it's time to quit (quit selling, not making games) and earn money with something else. Just be careful that you are not looking at another shiny object.

albert988 · January 2014

@Mells, thanks for you reply.

I know exactly what you said. And I think I looking at the wrong way. Making game should be a fun job, not a tool to making for living. But life is cold, it keep pushing me toward the living side.

Sometime I am just jealous of those who have found the way to making game for living. I want to be one of them and keep investing for a year but still can't get there. I poured out my complaints and hope some one will show me the way to get what I want. But I think there is no other way but keep leveling up the game.

Besides, I really don't know how to invest more~-~

Scouser · January 2014

@albert988: Don't allow jealousy or fear of failure stop you having fun developing indie games. If your first game doesn't make it then learn from it, try a different approach.

As @Mells said there are a few different things to try.

I notice that English isn't your first language so that is one of the first things to tackle. You need a better description on your Google Play page. This is the first thing your customers will see. If they see that not much effort has been made on the presentation of the app then they will assume the same of the game's content.
The screenshots don't actually show me anything of the gameplay, that with the minimal description can be off putting.
During gameplay when a player collects an object maybe show a sparkle or score to give some feedback that they are doing something right.
Place your app on multiple stores to get wider coverage.
Remember perseverance is the watchword, Rovio had many flops before they came up with Angry Birds. Very, very few devs achieve success with their first few ideas or indeed within the first few years (I started my own games company in 1986 and am still trying to find the next big thing). Don't give up but don't expect overnight success.
Keep a note of all of your ideas and maybe you will find a way to incorporate them together into the killer app (although this may not be the case, we all have to dream).

Having said all of that, I currently have 40+ game ideas 5 of which are nearing completion (apart from graphics) which may or may not be successful and I still have to work at a regular job to pay my mortgage every month

ar2rsawseen · January 2014

@albert988 best way to know how good your game is, or what problem it has is to pitch to publishers, like Chillingo, GamEvil, etc (even if you don't want the publishing deal, you want their feedback). They always respond with the reasons why they can't make you a deal, so you would know what you need to work on to achieve more

john26 · January 2014

First, I've discovered that putting an app on famous app store like Google Play or Apple's app store gives NO discoverability at all. If you just upload an app and walk away you are basically guaranteed zero downloads, even if its the best game ever written. You need to get out there and let people know about the app by submitting to review sites, social media and other publicity efforts. It's hard work, as hard as writing the app itself.

My belief is that, while publishers used to be the custodians of what the public sees, now it is review websites, the app store curators (Apple, Google), and top bloggers, twitterers. (also physical magazines and even newspapers are worth a try). If none of these guys take an interest in your game no one will ever find out about it. If you have contacts at Apple, they may feature your app and it is pretty much guaranteed to be a success. Many successful developers have come right out and said "I was successful because I had contacts in Apple and they featured my app".

If you just send an email to Touch Arcade and other top websites asking for review 95% chance they will ignore you. They are doubtless inundated with review requests from indies. But you can bet they do NOT ignore emails from EA and Gameloft. Why not? Because the editors of these sites have personal relationships with folks at these companies.

In short its about WHO you know as much as WHAT you know. How to build up these relationships? IMO try attending trade fairs, press the flesh with real human beings. I think it would be useful for Gideros to arrange meetups so we can discuss these things in person...

If your first language is not English, I think this is actually an advantage. Submit to review sites in your home country. They are probably less overwhelmed by apps and will welcome a rare app in your language. Angry Birds only became successful in the US AFTER it was top of the charts in Finland and became a story.

albert988 · January 2014

Thanks @Scouser, @ar2rsawseen,@john26
What you said inspired me a lot. And please forgive my awkward English.

And I invest the marketing these day and think a lot about how to do the right thing.

I think I should work hard on two ways. One is develop a really fun game, the other is keep investing promotion and marketing. Em... One more thing, my English too, haha..

Again, thanks you guys. I'm better now and move on for the game developing.

@Scouser, I have to work at a regular job to pay my mortgage every month too. I think is the mortgage make me want more money.life is not easy.

chipster123 · January 2014

this thread is AWESOME! thanks to all who responded. it should get pinned. I'm bookmarking it now.

zoolax · January 2014

I think we should open a discussion ,specifically dedicated to marketing tips from each other,and share link ,videos and articles on best practices.
Marketing is as important as development itself,but it goes unnoticed specially by majority of indie developers.

ArtLeeApps · January 2014

@zoolax i try to share to my facebook friends (~80).

Do you think we could all help each other out and share new games our forum is creating on each of our social sites for our friend to try out eg. facebook, twitter, etc ?

albert988 · January 2014

I think we discuss marketing too little
We should share the marketing method more.

Scouser · January 2014

Check out some of these posts on marketing and promotion:

There are lots of other posts but I'll leave them for you to find. Maybe a new category could be created for Marketing & Promotion tips with all of the ideas currently in the forum.

phongtt · January 2014

Just found this interesting series shared in an indie developer Facebook group:

http://gamasutra.com/blogs/DavidGalindo/20100724/87650/How_much_do_indie_PC_devs_make_anyways.php
http://gamasutra.com/blogs/DavidGalindo/20110114/88764/How_much_do_indie_PC_devs_make_anyways_Part_II.php
http://gamasutra.com/blogs/DavidGalindo/20110627/89702/How_much_do_indie_PC_devs_make_anyways_Part_III.php
http://gamasutra.com/blogs/DavidGalindo/20130306/187977/How_much_do_indie_PC_devs_make_anyways_Part_IV.php

mehmetuysal · January 2014

I have almost two years experience on gaming. I am newbie. I have some small experiences and investigation on marketing. My little experience shows you should do the best gameplay that you can do. I do not believe marketing is important that much. If you have already did a good job, marketing just makes something fast. If your game will have 200k downloads without marketing in 4 months. You will have 210K downloads with marketing in 2 month. I believe you will not have more. I have some friends which worked with publishers. They build a game for 1 year and had a good graphics, sounds and marketing. But gameplay was really horrible. Game had tiny downloads.

Biggest mobile gaming companies have lots of failed games. Do you believe that they didn't spend enough time and money for marketing ? Of course not. Nobody knows what mobile game players want. I believe that, mobile gaming industry is amazing, you can create better games than big companies.

As I mentioned before I am newbie, I gave up my daily job and I am making higher than average income. My key is focusing on gameplay, than the others.

I am using admob and using inhouse ads in my other games. Conversion is really very low. Even both publisher and advertiser games are word game. So, don't spend your money to ad companies, if you don't have a lot

Sorry for my English. English is not my first language too. I am sure that most of you are disagree with me. I hope I could tell what I want to say.

albert988 · January 2014

I just want to say, wow....................................
I really like this place and the people here. You guys are so great.
Many thanks to you guys.

@mehmetuysal, I by your point. Making a game that players like is much more important than marketing. Would you share something about gameplay?

john26 · January 2014

BTW, I found some great advice on the Touch Arcade forums (developers section). E.g.:

http://forums.toucharcade.com/showthread.php?t=215420

and many more worth reading.

You might want to sign up and just ask them for feedback. But expect potentially harsh criticism!

Some point coming across for me: Your game needs to be OUTSTANDING. You need to do a lot of publicity and maybe paid advertising.

Here's my favourite quote:

"Coming up with something original is the key, then polish the absolute poo out of it. Then market the poo out of it and pray it gets noticed. Repeat that process for 10 years or so and it could pay off."

:-)

ArtLeeApps · January 2014

...taking notes...ok "polish my poo..." .. check...

jdbc · January 2014

Useful articles:

http://www.deconstructoroffun.com/2012/09/clash-of-clans-winning-formula.html

Mells · January 2014

"Coming up with something original is the key, then polish the absolute poo out of it. Then market the poo out of it and pray it gets noticed. Repeat that process for 10 years or so and it could pay off."

This recipe works so well that 99% of indies don't make money.

- Something original is *not* key
- You don't "pray". You define success and work backward to make it happen, one baby step at a time.
- Repeat 10 years -> nonsense

Please don't listen to advices from people who have no idea what they're talking about.
My advices might not be better, but you have to know that when people give advices 95% of it is based on emotions and not facts. They talk about what they wish would be.

We all want to believe that efforts and perseverance pay off. That if you believe in what you do, that if you are passionate, you will succeed.

But unfortunately that's not true.
The world is not a meritocracy.

Don't fall prey to the myth of the starving artist.

ArtLeeApps · January 2014

A one person got rich sling shotting birds into pigs ... so simple but very effective.
The simple mindless designs work well. i find the complex configuration/setup/planning game i dont play for long.

SinisterSoft · January 2014

Nowadays I think you need at least these (not really game related) things:

A great description (get it read by a few people before you post it) on Google Play/Appstore.

A press release - a single page in word format (again, get your friends to read it first) in a zip file. In the same zip put your screenshots, logo, etc so the reporter doesn't need to do anything to print it. Send it to as many press agencies as you possibly can.

Facebook integration and a social 'hook' - eg, invite friends, show position of friends on levels, this will help spread your game.

Google Play/Game Center leaderboards.

Achievements, and lots of them.

Be free and use IAP as a payment/unlock system (paid apps on Android are too easily copied).

If Android then be on Play, Amazon and Samsung stores.

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