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My Year as an Amateur Android Game Developer

171 points by wallflower 16y ago

statictype 16y ago
Great article. Hits close to home because I'm also in the same boat - writing an iOS game on the side for fun as someone with no prior gamedev experience.
keyle 16y ago
Pretty sure a lot of developers would have got similar stories. It's just the wild wild west and they couldn't find gold. In the meanwhile, whoever is selling the pic axes, the app stores, are making money. It's all a fad. Create value or sell pic axes.
- cmurdock 16y ago
  It's spelled "pick", and it's all one word "pickaxe".
  - keyle 16y ago
    Sorry, french native here! thank you.
leon_ 16y ago
> I knew I had a marketing problem but instead I preferred to refractor my code Heh, I know this too well. I suck HUGE at marketing. I've got 4 games in the iPhone app store and made since October 2010 whooping $780 ... Actually I would be very happy if I got 20 sales a day :) I guess my adventure in indie gamedev will end by the end of this year when my funds are used up and I'll have to get an office coding job blehrgs
- ryandvm 16y ago
  Agreed. As a hobbyist Android app developer, I know all to well the thought "I will start the marketing blitz as soon as I finish feature X..."
  - eob 16y ago
    I'm in exactly that spot right now. So the question is, does it make sense to front the money and start advertising early, when the product is still not as featureful as you want it to be?
    - jotr99 16y ago
      For what it's worth, I shelled out $10 for a Minecraft "alpha" release. You make the call. :-)
    - wallflower 16y ago
      There is always Kickstarter http://www.kickstarter.com/discover/categories/video%20games?ref=live http://www.kickstarter.com/discover/categories/video%20games...
- jamesu 16y ago
  I'm getting 20 downloads a day without marketing with my iPhone app. Trouble is, it's free.
  - mohsen 16y ago
    no money from adds?
  - vijayr 16y ago
    Make a paid version. Also, what is your app?
- saidulislam 16y ago
  this is for all of you guys. when you mention you have an app in the market, mention the name or at least give your blog link or app link. in a way it would be your free marketing and for readers it would be a reference to see what type of app is getting what kind of downloads.
  - dminor 16y ago
    This seriously drives me nuts. I know as web people we're sensitive to comment spam, but if you're commenting on topic then for the love of god promote yourself a little. At the very least, put your game/webapp in your profile.
- yome42 16y ago
  I would also like to know which games you've made. I'm starting as an indie game dev myself but I have a good amount of experience on the App Store (and 5+ years of writing games for mobile devices as an employee). I can give constructive criticism too if you're willing to get some.
- ymir 16y ago
  It is nice to know that we are not alone in this, so let me tell you our story. Background: we are following the HN community for good 4 years now and it inspired us even more to start our own business. We are loving it and it is a dream come true. To the topic: yesterday we launched our first own product, iOS game Tap4Two. That made us very proud - we shipped! But what would make our day is - if it sold. You can see the screenshots here: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/tap4two/id424411131?mt=8 http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/tap4two/id424411131?mt=8 Landing page: http://www.tap4two.com/ http://www.tap4two.com/ We found a niche - there are very few games for 2 players to play on one device. Real gaming has always been about few friends coming over to play on a console/pc. And that's exactly what we were missing on the App Store. We made a game, in which two players compete simultaneously in a series of challenges - who will be first to spot the right solution. If you get it right - you get +1 point, if you tap your button when the wrong solution is shown - you lose 1 point. We hired an art student to draw a nice logo for Tap4Two, but we have drawn and polished the graphics and the landing page ourselves. We are happy with them. When the first version was ready to ship - we launched the landing page, pitched it everywhere we could, made a gameplay video (homemade tripod for iPhone 4 - great fun, take a look: http://tumblr.com/x1a1pmizw9 http://tumblr.com/x1a1pmizw9), submitted the app to review. Then it went a bit downhill: we set the availability date to 24th March, but the game has gone "Ready for Sale" on 21st. As it seems, this "feature" of App Store has not been changed, even though lots of people are saying otherwise - game has gone live on 24th with the release date of 21st, which made it debut on the new releases at 81st position in puzzle category. Not a very good start. As expected - it has not been found by almost anyone - it was bought by all of our friends and just a few real customers. It made 30. position on the Polish App Store (as it's our home country) - but Poles are not buying much. Actually the only review we've got comes from a real customer, and it's very heartlifting. We've pitched the reviewers, posted on forums, facebook, twitter, everywhere - without luck so far. Any suggestions guys? Do you think the graphics could be more polished? Any tips with marketing strategies? Today: zero sales so far. TL;DR: Made, pitched, shipped, did not sell all that well. Here are some promo codes, if you would like to try it out: Y4YK743NXXNX YXH3X7FXARF4 4JYKM7AKWWHR APK74H36NETW YNYPAFJ66HXA
  - TillE 16y ago
    > We found a niche OK. But who's your target market? How do you envision people using your game? In a game that is strictly multiplayer, I think you really have to understand the social context. While I quite enjoy playing board games like Carcassonne or Arkham Horror with friends, or even stuff like air hockey on the iPad, I don't really see much lasting appeal in a game like this which is quite simple and so directly competitive. In short, I think you need more interesting game modes.
misio 16y ago
I love this guys writing style, it reminds me of David Thorne from 27bslash6.com a little.
Bvalmont 16y ago
This needs a lot more polish. Why not contact some (student) animators or illustrators who are willing to work for a small percentage of the profit ?
- neebz 16y ago
  Well after giving 'small' percentages to a)Yan b)Robert c) US Govt d) Finnish Govt and e) Google ..I am sure he won't be interested in another shareholder :P
- jsnell 16y ago
  I think it's got an appropriate level of polish. The original version with the marbles was rather ugly, but the updated graphics look super-cute while still remaining functional.
- sachinag 16y ago
  Braid wouldn't be Braid without the art. Dirt cheap illustrators won't help him; he needs someone good.
  - sbisker 16y ago
    That's why you hire a student - students who are really good will often take on a project just because it, say, hones a skill they're looking to improve, or because it fits in nicely with a class assignment they need to do anyway. Or maybe your game project is part of how they'll get that full-time job they're seeking out at Blizzard? They say in tech recruiting that "the best people will almost never be looking for jobs" - it's true in creative fields too. In terms of trading off cost and talent, I can't think of a resource as undertapped as art and design students.
neebz 16y ago
I think the next most obvious step should be to go for Amazon Appstore. They are serious and if your app gets selected for a free app of the day ..I am sure you'll be flying.
- ashbrahma 16y ago
  Do you have any stats on what a featuring on Amazon Appstore does for an app?
  - chaosprophet 16y ago
    Well the featured app of the day is sold for free, which means a lot of people will be downloading it. And when the app is sold for free according to Amazon TOS, the developer gets 20% of the list price. So if the volume of downloads is immense then you should be able to pocket a decent amount of cash from the sale. Will have to wait a while for the stats though.
  - MatthewPhillips 16y ago
    The appstore was launched a few days ago...
- metageek 16y ago
  It costs $99 just to register to sell through Amazon. He'd have to make a lot more sales to be worth it.
MrVitaliy 16y ago
If the game has been around on the web (under various names), why did he have to get a license from iPhone developer? It's not like iPhone developer "invented" the game.
- dagw 16y ago
  He got a license from the guy who invented the game originally, not the guy who wrote the iPhone app. I'm not sure if he really needed that as such, but it sure seems like a nice gesture.
  - statictype 16y ago
    I think he wanted to use the same name. So probably he had to get some sort of blessing from the original author. He also ended up using all the levels - 79 of them - which would have been a huge time saver.
- deleted 16y ago
  [deleted]
jonnycat 16y ago
Gaming is a cruel mistress for developers. It's so hit-driven that it can be hard to really predict what will do well and what won't. Something that is a smashing success on one platform might just be completely overlooked on another.
MatthewPhillips 16y ago
Couple of things from someone who has been in a similar situation: 1) You don't have to be a good marketer to set up a twitter account and tweet when you add new levels and new features. Retweet them from your personal twitter account and it will at least hit your followers. Don't feel ashamed of asking a few friends to also retweet to their followers. The effect might be small, but it's a minimal effort. 2) Focusing on one app is a bad idea. It's like having a stock portfolio of 1 company. Make several games, even if they're smaller and less polished. You might see that one is more successful and can then concentrate on making it more polished. 3) Most important: do what you love. Don't make your platform, language, or design decisions based on what your google analytics says will make you a few bucks more. If you do that you might as well go back to working secure corporate jobs.
- saidulislam 16y ago
  good points, I agree! I would also say include all social sites in your marketing effort.
- dpcan 16y ago
  I've been in the android market for a year and have done over $100k in sales of my games, and you hit the nail on the head. Create lots of games, and not just for the money. You have to be having fun while creating or it becomes a miserable job. I'm falling into that rut myself, and because I've spent so much time working on my flagship game, I've gotten behind. Competition of that game has increased, sales have slowed down, and I'm scrambling a little now to get my other games polished and selling at a higher rate. All the while, I'm sick that I'm not loving what I'm doing anymore as I chase the dollar. I think it's time for me to reboot and spend my time on a game I've always wanted to play and make. If I love doing this again, my success will sustain itself.
  - MatthewPhillips 16y ago
    Congratulations on your success! And good luck with the reboot.
  - karolist 16y ago
Stormbringer 16y ago
Don't foret that Angry Birds was Rovio's 40th game. Stickability counts. I think to succeed though you need to put out more than 1 per year. I also think there is likely to be a network effect, if someone likes one of your games they may try the rest... this is the equivalent of the McDonalds "you want fries with that?" - that is they know they only get a certain number of people through their door, so they need to extract as much value from each customer as possible. You will only get so many eyeballs, so if you have more than one game you may get people who try one also trying the other - free marketing. :D
- zacharycohn 16y ago
  52nd game.
patio11 16y ago
I have every wish for success of this and every other business, but in the spirit of helping other impressionable developers, making a business is hard enough without making video games. How do I love games and hate games businesses, let me count the ways. User expectations are pegged by AAA games, whose budgets you cannot possibly match. Those AAA products set a price point at $DIRT_CHEAP. (Angry Birds costs what?) Your core users are thieves. When you fail at marketing on day one, which you will because everyone does, in any normal business you get progressively better but in games the obsessive fetishization of the new means your game is virtually sunk. It is virtually impossible to iterate based on user feedback because your users are a) transients and b) not wonderful people to deal with. Gamers are virtually immune to ads, don't search for anything gaming-related, don't pay prices sufficient to justify CPc spends, and if by some miracle they hear sbout you via word of mouth they will search for you on PirateBay/etc first and Google second. Meanwhile, in addition to megacorps staffed by people who have been doing this professionally for years, you are also competing with a virtually inexhaustible supply of hobbyists, because perhaps 3 out of every 4 CS majors got into computers to make video games and the fourth one is lying. Does any of this get better for mobile devs? No, it gets worse, unless you're picked by the platform's kingmakers.
- evo_9 16y ago
  You are assuming people write games strictly to earn a living, and maybe that's the big fallacy of the allure of the app-store. But what if you write a game to learn to code (or code better), or simply to explore some gaming concepts you haven't seen elsewhere? Personally this is no different than the guy that wants to be a band; if that's his passion, go for it. Just keep in mind a) it's for fun, b) it's a hobby. If at some point down the road you are lucky enough to be paid for you hobby, all the better. Earning a living is a whole other level beyond that even.
- statictype 16y ago
  Good summary. I agree with all but the first point. User expectations are not pegged to AAA big-budget titles. At least not on mobile phone platforms. Casual games that can be started and stopped in the time you spend waiting for the bus are increasing in popularity. The fact that Nintendo is at game conferences whining about the state of mobile games would seem to indicate this. An advantage of writing games is that suddenly the pesky and difficult question of 'what problem does this solve for my user' suddenly vanishes. Still, thanks for the candid summary.
saidulislam 16y ago
very good post. enjoyed reading about your experience. I also think you should write more on 1) learning Android development (maybe tutorials for the novice) & 2) more on marketing. Like you, I am new to mobile app development/business. Learned Android development first but then got into iOS. For now, sticking mostly with iPhone. It’s way different but the idea is “fish where the fishes are”. I like Android but to me at this point, it’s good for consumer but kind of harsh for developers. People ask for refunds on Android apps and they can continue to use the app moving it to the SD card. Glad you are trying out different things on marketing. I am doing the same and my first app is no out yet :-) Apple still reviewing it. You are correct on graphics. I think that is mighty important. I am sharing my journey of app development, marketing and overall experience through my blog too. Check it and share your thought. Good luck!
saidulislam 16y ago
I forgot to gave you some of my marketing ideas. I am executing these for my iPhone app but you can apply the same for your Android app too. Review the list part 1 and 2. Let me know what you think App marketing part 2: http://tukulogics.com/blog/?p=63 http://tukulogics.com/blog/?p=63 App marketing part 1: http://tukulogics.com/blog/?p=50 http://tukulogics.com/blog/?p=50
palguay 16y ago
Here is my experience with the app store , I created a website for toddlers http://microangels.in http://microangels.in , Someone suggested that I make an app, since I had the HTML and Javascript ready I used the android webbview and Jquery mobile to create the Toddler books app https://market.android.com/details?id=in.microangels https://market.android.com/details?id=in.microangels . The app was released on February 10, As of today there have been 7951 installs with 68% active. I have integrated the app with admob and it has made $45 so far, I don't know if this is because kids tend to click on advertisements or its because the list scrolls below the screen and the clicks are accidental My other app Taekwondo forms https://market.android.com/details?id=form.TaekwondoForm https://market.android.com/details?id=form.TaekwondoForm is webview based and released on Feb 25 , it has 532 downloads with 68% active installs and has made .83 cents so far.
bnenning 16y ago
Temporarily de-anonymizing myself because my Android experience is apparently not typical. My main paid app (https://market.android.com/details?id=com.dozingcatsoftware.WireGoggles&feature=search_result https://market.android.com/details?id=com.dozingcatsoftware....) is getting around 25 purchases per day, with no marketing effort whatsoever. It was featured in a few blogs and podcasts, but they came to me. It's had over 10k downloads in a year, and my original goal was 1000. Reasons I think it's done better than average: - It's not a game. As patio11 notes the competition in that area is incredibly intense. In the last few days I've picked up Angry Birds Rio for free, Galcon for $1, and AirAttack for $3. If you aren't an experienced game developer, you're not likely to produce something at that level. - But it is fun. It has unlimited "replay value" and lets users be creative and show off what their phone can do. - The free version converts really well, paid downloads are around 20% of free downloads. It does everything the full version does except for saving pictures and videos. There are no ads, other than a Market link to the full version. - I don't have to spend any time or money on custom artwork. Even the buttons in the latest version I took from the camera app in AOSP. So maybe I'm just lucky, but creating a quality app in a non-saturated field has been enough to produce a decent side income, without having to deal with business or marketing at all.
- metageek 16y ago
  Oh, very cool. I'm going to have to try this out on some place more interesting than my office, and buy the paid model if I like the results.
- jallmann 16y ago
  10k paid downloads of an edge filter? Well played.
TheRevoltingX 16y ago
In a year of Android development I made my own MMORPG for it. However, the technology part was the 'easy' part. But the real adventure is in looking for good artists. Coming up with solid concepts, and turning those concepts into game art and stories. I'm knee deep in the middle of that. It's almost as fun as programming. Screw the money, I'm doing it for the fun of it.
metageek 16y ago
I really need to add sound to my Android game. [1] It's a board game, which means elaborate sound isn't a normal part of the experience; but it could at least click as you move the stones around. I suspect, as the author says, that most people would turn it off; but it'll contribute to the appearance of a polished game. I released the paid version last November, for 99¢; so far I've had 8 sales. A month or two ago I released an ad-supported version; it's up to 123 downloads, and has earned 5¢ in ad revenue--most of it in the first day, which makes me think advertisers were experimenting to see if my users would click through. I never expected vast success--it's a traditional Malagasy game, not a flashy video game--but it'd be nice to get enough to pay back my $25 Market membership. :-) [1] http://fanorona.thibault.org/ http://fanorona.thibault.org/
- rhizome 16y ago
  I would encourage you to implement haptic feedback wherever possible. People still like to know the right thing is happening even if they turn the sound off.
  - metageek 16y ago
    Oh, yeah, that would be good. Thanks!

171 points by wallflower 16y ago

Great article. Hits close to home because I'm also in the same boat - writing an iOS game on the side for fun as someone with no prior gamedev experience.

keyle 16y ago

Pretty sure a lot of developers would have got similar stories. It's just the wild wild west and they couldn't find gold. In the meanwhile, whoever is selling the pic axes, the app stores, are making money. It's all a fad. Create value or sell pic axes.

cmurdock 16y ago
It's spelled "pick", and it's all one word "pickaxe".
- keyle 16y ago
  Sorry, french native here! thank you.

leon_ 16y ago

> I knew I had a marketing problem but instead I preferred to refractor my code Heh, I know this too well. I suck HUGE at marketing. I've got 4 games in the iPhone app store and made since October 2010 whooping $780 ... Actually I would be very happy if I got 20 sales a day :) I guess my adventure in indie gamedev will end by the end of this year when my funds are used up and I'll have to get an office coding job blehrgs

ryandvm 16y ago
Agreed. As a hobbyist Android app developer, I know all to well the thought "I will start the marketing blitz as soon as I finish feature X..."
- eob 16y ago
  I'm in exactly that spot right now. So the question is, does it make sense to front the money and start advertising early, when the product is still not as featureful as you want it to be?
  - jotr99 16y ago
    For what it's worth, I shelled out $10 for a Minecraft "alpha" release. You make the call. :-)
  - wallflower 16y ago
    There is always Kickstarter http://www.kickstarter.com/discover/categories/video%20games?ref=live http://www.kickstarter.com/discover/categories/video%20games...
jamesu 16y ago
I'm getting 20 downloads a day without marketing with my iPhone app. Trouble is, it's free.
- mohsen 16y ago
  no money from adds?
- vijayr 16y ago
  Make a paid version. Also, what is your app?
saidulislam 16y ago
this is for all of you guys. when you mention you have an app in the market, mention the name or at least give your blog link or app link. in a way it would be your free marketing and for readers it would be a reference to see what type of app is getting what kind of downloads.
- dminor 16y ago
  This seriously drives me nuts. I know as web people we're sensitive to comment spam, but if you're commenting on topic then for the love of god promote yourself a little. At the very least, put your game/webapp in your profile.
yome42 16y ago
I would also like to know which games you've made. I'm starting as an indie game dev myself but I have a good amount of experience on the App Store (and 5+ years of writing games for mobile devices as an employee). I can give constructive criticism too if you're willing to get some.
ymir 16y ago
It is nice to know that we are not alone in this, so let me tell you our story. Background: we are following the HN community for good 4 years now and it inspired us even more to start our own business. We are loving it and it is a dream come true. To the topic: yesterday we launched our first own product, iOS game Tap4Two. That made us very proud - we shipped! But what would make our day is - if it sold. You can see the screenshots here: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/tap4two/id424411131?mt=8 http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/tap4two/id424411131?mt=8 Landing page: http://www.tap4two.com/ http://www.tap4two.com/ We found a niche - there are very few games for 2 players to play on one device. Real gaming has always been about few friends coming over to play on a console/pc. And that's exactly what we were missing on the App Store. We made a game, in which two players compete simultaneously in a series of challenges - who will be first to spot the right solution. If you get it right - you get +1 point, if you tap your button when the wrong solution is shown - you lose 1 point. We hired an art student to draw a nice logo for Tap4Two, but we have drawn and polished the graphics and the landing page ourselves. We are happy with them. When the first version was ready to ship - we launched the landing page, pitched it everywhere we could, made a gameplay video (homemade tripod for iPhone 4 - great fun, take a look: http://tumblr.com/x1a1pmizw9 http://tumblr.com/x1a1pmizw9), submitted the app to review. Then it went a bit downhill: we set the availability date to 24th March, but the game has gone "Ready for Sale" on 21st. As it seems, this "feature" of App Store has not been changed, even though lots of people are saying otherwise - game has gone live on 24th with the release date of 21st, which made it debut on the new releases at 81st position in puzzle category. Not a very good start. As expected - it has not been found by almost anyone - it was bought by all of our friends and just a few real customers. It made 30. position on the Polish App Store (as it's our home country) - but Poles are not buying much. Actually the only review we've got comes from a real customer, and it's very heartlifting. We've pitched the reviewers, posted on forums, facebook, twitter, everywhere - without luck so far. Any suggestions guys? Do you think the graphics could be more polished? Any tips with marketing strategies? Today: zero sales so far. TL;DR: Made, pitched, shipped, did not sell all that well. Here are some promo codes, if you would like to try it out: Y4YK743NXXNX YXH3X7FXARF4 4JYKM7AKWWHR APK74H36NETW YNYPAFJ66HXA
- TillE 16y ago
  > We found a niche OK. But who's your target market? How do you envision people using your game? In a game that is strictly multiplayer, I think you really have to understand the social context. While I quite enjoy playing board games like Carcassonne or Arkham Horror with friends, or even stuff like air hockey on the iPad, I don't really see much lasting appeal in a game like this which is quite simple and so directly competitive. In short, I think you need more interesting game modes.

misio 16y ago

I love this guys writing style, it reminds me of David Thorne from 27bslash6.com a little.

Bvalmont 16y ago

This needs a lot more polish. Why not contact some (student) animators or illustrators who are willing to work for a small percentage of the profit ?

neebz 16y ago
Well after giving 'small' percentages to a)Yan b)Robert c) US Govt d) Finnish Govt and e) Google ..I am sure he won't be interested in another shareholder :P
jsnell 16y ago
I think it's got an appropriate level of polish. The original version with the marbles was rather ugly, but the updated graphics look super-cute while still remaining functional.
sachinag 16y ago
Braid wouldn't be Braid without the art. Dirt cheap illustrators won't help him; he needs someone good.
- sbisker 16y ago
  That's why you hire a student - students who are really good will often take on a project just because it, say, hones a skill they're looking to improve, or because it fits in nicely with a class assignment they need to do anyway. Or maybe your game project is part of how they'll get that full-time job they're seeking out at Blizzard? They say in tech recruiting that "the best people will almost never be looking for jobs" - it's true in creative fields too. In terms of trading off cost and talent, I can't think of a resource as undertapped as art and design students.

neebz 16y ago

I think the next most obvious step should be to go for Amazon Appstore. They are serious and if your app gets selected for a free app of the day ..I am sure you'll be flying.

ashbrahma 16y ago
Do you have any stats on what a featuring on Amazon Appstore does for an app?
- chaosprophet 16y ago
  Well the featured app of the day is sold for free, which means a lot of people will be downloading it. And when the app is sold for free according to Amazon TOS, the developer gets 20% of the list price. So if the volume of downloads is immense then you should be able to pocket a decent amount of cash from the sale. Will have to wait a while for the stats though.
- MatthewPhillips 16y ago
  The appstore was launched a few days ago...
metageek 16y ago
It costs $99 just to register to sell through Amazon. He'd have to make a lot more sales to be worth it.

MrVitaliy 16y ago

If the game has been around on the web (under various names), why did he have to get a license from iPhone developer? It's not like iPhone developer "invented" the game.

dagw 16y ago
He got a license from the guy who invented the game originally, not the guy who wrote the iPhone app. I'm not sure if he really needed that as such, but it sure seems like a nice gesture.
- statictype 16y ago
  I think he wanted to use the same name. So probably he had to get some sort of blessing from the original author. He also ended up using all the levels - 79 of them - which would have been a huge time saver.
deleted 16y ago
[deleted]

jonnycat 16y ago

Gaming is a cruel mistress for developers. It's so hit-driven that it can be hard to really predict what will do well and what won't. Something that is a smashing success on one platform might just be completely overlooked on another.

MatthewPhillips 16y ago

Couple of things from someone who has been in a similar situation: 1) You don't have to be a good marketer to set up a twitter account and tweet when you add new levels and new features. Retweet them from your personal twitter account and it will at least hit your followers. Don't feel ashamed of asking a few friends to also retweet to their followers. The effect might be small, but it's a minimal effort. 2) Focusing on one app is a bad idea. It's like having a stock portfolio of 1 company. Make several games, even if they're smaller and less polished. You might see that one is more successful and can then concentrate on making it more polished. 3) Most important: do what you love. Don't make your platform, language, or design decisions based on what your google analytics says will make you a few bucks more. If you do that you might as well go back to working secure corporate jobs.

saidulislam 16y ago
good points, I agree! I would also say include all social sites in your marketing effort.
dpcan 16y ago
I've been in the android market for a year and have done over $100k in sales of my games, and you hit the nail on the head. Create lots of games, and not just for the money. You have to be having fun while creating or it becomes a miserable job. I'm falling into that rut myself, and because I've spent so much time working on my flagship game, I've gotten behind. Competition of that game has increased, sales have slowed down, and I'm scrambling a little now to get my other games polished and selling at a higher rate. All the while, I'm sick that I'm not loving what I'm doing anymore as I chase the dollar. I think it's time for me to reboot and spend my time on a game I've always wanted to play and make. If I love doing this again, my success will sustain itself.
- MatthewPhillips 16y ago
  Congratulations on your success! And good luck with the reboot.
- karolist 16y ago

Stormbringer 16y ago

Don't foret that Angry Birds was Rovio's 40th game. Stickability counts. I think to succeed though you need to put out more than 1 per year. I also think there is likely to be a network effect, if someone likes one of your games they may try the rest... this is the equivalent of the McDonalds "you want fries with that?" - that is they know they only get a certain number of people through their door, so they need to extract as much value from each customer as possible. You will only get so many eyeballs, so if you have more than one game you may get people who try one also trying the other - free marketing. :D

zacharycohn 16y ago
52nd game.

patio11 16y ago

I have every wish for success of this and every other business, but in the spirit of helping other impressionable developers, making a business is hard enough without making video games. How do I love games and hate games businesses, let me count the ways. User expectations are pegged by AAA games, whose budgets you cannot possibly match. Those AAA products set a price point at $DIRT_CHEAP. (Angry Birds costs what?) Your core users are thieves. When you fail at marketing on day one, which you will because everyone does, in any normal business you get progressively better but in games the obsessive fetishization of the new means your game is virtually sunk. It is virtually impossible to iterate based on user feedback because your users are a) transients and b) not wonderful people to deal with. Gamers are virtually immune to ads, don't search for anything gaming-related, don't pay prices sufficient to justify CPc spends, and if by some miracle they hear sbout you via word of mouth they will search for you on PirateBay/etc first and Google second. Meanwhile, in addition to megacorps staffed by people who have been doing this professionally for years, you are also competing with a virtually inexhaustible supply of hobbyists, because perhaps 3 out of every 4 CS majors got into computers to make video games and the fourth one is lying. Does any of this get better for mobile devs? No, it gets worse, unless you're picked by the platform's kingmakers.

evo_9 16y ago
You are assuming people write games strictly to earn a living, and maybe that's the big fallacy of the allure of the app-store. But what if you write a game to learn to code (or code better), or simply to explore some gaming concepts you haven't seen elsewhere? Personally this is no different than the guy that wants to be a band; if that's his passion, go for it. Just keep in mind a) it's for fun, b) it's a hobby. If at some point down the road you are lucky enough to be paid for you hobby, all the better. Earning a living is a whole other level beyond that even.
statictype 16y ago
Good summary. I agree with all but the first point. User expectations are not pegged to AAA big-budget titles. At least not on mobile phone platforms. Casual games that can be started and stopped in the time you spend waiting for the bus are increasing in popularity. The fact that Nintendo is at game conferences whining about the state of mobile games would seem to indicate this. An advantage of writing games is that suddenly the pesky and difficult question of 'what problem does this solve for my user' suddenly vanishes. Still, thanks for the candid summary.

saidulislam 16y ago

very good post. enjoyed reading about your experience. I also think you should write more on 1) learning Android development (maybe tutorials for the novice) & 2) more on marketing. Like you, I am new to mobile app development/business. Learned Android development first but then got into iOS. For now, sticking mostly with iPhone. It’s way different but the idea is “fish where the fishes are”. I like Android but to me at this point, it’s good for consumer but kind of harsh for developers. People ask for refunds on Android apps and they can continue to use the app moving it to the SD card. Glad you are trying out different things on marketing. I am doing the same and my first app is no out yet :-) Apple still reviewing it. You are correct on graphics. I think that is mighty important. I am sharing my journey of app development, marketing and overall experience through my blog too. Check it and share your thought. Good luck!

saidulislam 16y ago

I forgot to gave you some of my marketing ideas. I am executing these for my iPhone app but you can apply the same for your Android app too. Review the list part 1 and 2. Let me know what you think App marketing part 2: http://tukulogics.com/blog/?p=63 http://tukulogics.com/blog/?p=63 App marketing part 1: http://tukulogics.com/blog/?p=50 http://tukulogics.com/blog/?p=50

palguay 16y ago

Here is my experience with the app store , I created a website for toddlers http://microangels.in http://microangels.in , Someone suggested that I make an app, since I had the HTML and Javascript ready I used the android webbview and Jquery mobile to create the Toddler books app https://market.android.com/details?id=in.microangels https://market.android.com/details?id=in.microangels . The app was released on February 10, As of today there have been 7951 installs with 68% active. I have integrated the app with admob and it has made $45 so far, I don't know if this is because kids tend to click on advertisements or its because the list scrolls below the screen and the clicks are accidental My other app Taekwondo forms https://market.android.com/details?id=form.TaekwondoForm https://market.android.com/details?id=form.TaekwondoForm is webview based and released on Feb 25 , it has 532 downloads with 68% active installs and has made .83 cents so far.

bnenning 16y ago

Temporarily de-anonymizing myself because my Android experience is apparently not typical. My main paid app (https://market.android.com/details?id=com.dozingcatsoftware.WireGoggles&feature=search_result https://market.android.com/details?id=com.dozingcatsoftware....) is getting around 25 purchases per day, with no marketing effort whatsoever. It was featured in a few blogs and podcasts, but they came to me. It's had over 10k downloads in a year, and my original goal was 1000. Reasons I think it's done better than average: - It's not a game. As patio11 notes the competition in that area is incredibly intense. In the last few days I've picked up Angry Birds Rio for free, Galcon for $1, and AirAttack for $3. If you aren't an experienced game developer, you're not likely to produce something at that level. - But it is fun. It has unlimited "replay value" and lets users be creative and show off what their phone can do. - The free version converts really well, paid downloads are around 20% of free downloads. It does everything the full version does except for saving pictures and videos. There are no ads, other than a Market link to the full version. - I don't have to spend any time or money on custom artwork. Even the buttons in the latest version I took from the camera app in AOSP. So maybe I'm just lucky, but creating a quality app in a non-saturated field has been enough to produce a decent side income, without having to deal with business or marketing at all.

metageek 16y ago
Oh, very cool. I'm going to have to try this out on some place more interesting than my office, and buy the paid model if I like the results.
jallmann 16y ago
10k paid downloads of an edge filter? Well played.

TheRevoltingX 16y ago

In a year of Android development I made my own MMORPG for it. However, the technology part was the 'easy' part. But the real adventure is in looking for good artists. Coming up with solid concepts, and turning those concepts into game art and stories. I'm knee deep in the middle of that. It's almost as fun as programming. Screw the money, I'm doing it for the fun of it.

metageek 16y ago

I really need to add sound to my Android game. [1] It's a board game, which means elaborate sound isn't a normal part of the experience; but it could at least click as you move the stones around. I suspect, as the author says, that most people would turn it off; but it'll contribute to the appearance of a polished game. I released the paid version last November, for 99¢; so far I've had 8 sales. A month or two ago I released an ad-supported version; it's up to 123 downloads, and has earned 5¢ in ad revenue--most of it in the first day, which makes me think advertisers were experimenting to see if my users would click through. I never expected vast success--it's a traditional Malagasy game, not a flashy video game--but it'd be nice to get enough to pay back my $25 Market membership. :-) [1] http://fanorona.thibault.org/ http://fanorona.thibault.org/

rhizome 16y ago
I would encourage you to implement haptic feedback wherever possible. People still like to know the right thing is happening even if they turn the sound off.
- metageek 16y ago
  Oh, yeah, that would be good. Thanks!