4 ms·

> 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 iP

by 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.

by leon_ 16y ago

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.