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The impossibility of finding good mobile games is why I develop desktop and console games. I have no idea how to get discovered in the soup of the mobile app st

The impossibility of finding good mobile games is why I develop desktop and console games. I have no idea how to get discovered in the soup of the mobile app stores and I don't want to build the kind of skinner's box it would take to compete alongside most of those games. There are great mobile games out there, but I have no idea to find them except by accident. It's so bad that something like 0.01% of mobile apps make back their investment costs[1]. This is, amazingly, far worse than the rate for indie games on desktop and consoles. See: 80 days, Sorcery! (really, anything by Inkle), Universal Paperclips, VVVVVV (better on desktop though), and certain visual novels [1] https://www.startupgrind.com/blog/9999-in-10000-mobile-apps-will-fail-heres-why/#:~:text=According%20to%20Gartner%2C%20less%20than,1%20in%2010%2C000%2C%20so%20low%3F https://www.startupgrind.com/blog/9999-in-10000-mobile-apps-...

moritonal 3y ago
I looked up Sorcerry! and it says I can't play it because my phone is too new. This is absurd that the game is already considered out of date, and kind of highlights your point about the difficult market.
- jkmcf 3y ago
  IIRC, this is part of the 32bit to 64bit switch. It needs to be recompiled. I have an iPhone 4 I keep around to play one essential word game that helps me fall asleep.
yyyk 3y ago
I'd like 80 days except for one impossibly annoying thing (on desktop at least): It doesn't let me skip the overly long opening intro/credits/animation which plays on every game start.
pbronez 3y ago
Do you think that could be addressed by certification or curation? For example, an org that reviews mobile games and gives them a stamp if they’re not exploitative. Maybe somebody will start a “real games” App Store on the other side of all this anti trust stuff.
- auxym 3y ago
  Found on HNva while ago: https://nobsgames.stavros.io/android/ https://nobsgames.stavros.io/android/
antifa 3y ago
> I have no idea how to get discovered in the soup of the mobile app stores If a mobile version isn't too much work, some fans or prospective fans may stumble upon your desktop game and check if there is an android/iOS version.
pipes 3y ago
What games have you developed? Genuinely interested!

moritonal 3y ago

I looked up Sorcerry! and it says I can't play it because my phone is too new. This is absurd that the game is already considered out of date, and kind of highlights your point about the difficult market.

jkmcf 3y ago
IIRC, this is part of the 32bit to 64bit switch. It needs to be recompiled. I have an iPhone 4 I keep around to play one essential word game that helps me fall asleep.

yyyk 3y ago

I'd like 80 days except for one impossibly annoying thing (on desktop at least): It doesn't let me skip the overly long opening intro/credits/animation which plays on every game start.

pbronez 3y ago

Do you think that could be addressed by certification or curation? For example, an org that reviews mobile games and gives them a stamp if they’re not exploitative. Maybe somebody will start a “real games” App Store on the other side of all this anti trust stuff.

auxym 3y ago
Found on HNva while ago: https://nobsgames.stavros.io/android/ https://nobsgames.stavros.io/android/

antifa 3y ago

> I have no idea how to get discovered in the soup of the mobile app stores If a mobile version isn't too much work, some fans or prospective fans may stumble upon your desktop game and check if there is an android/iOS version.

pipes 3y ago

What games have you developed? Genuinely interested!