5 ms·

Quitting your day job to make video games.

30 points by mparent61 17y ago

I recently quit my day job working for a major search engine company, in order to pursue my passion for making video games full-time (http://monkeywrenchgames.com). We're targeting the iPhone, and hoping that we didn't miss the gold rush. Has anyone else taken a similar plunge? What have your experiences been? I'd also be happy to answer ANY questions you might have about getting started on the iPhone.

lacker 17y ago
Good luck!
e1ven 17y ago
Good luck, games are fun, but it's a very tough business since it's so hit-based. I'd recommend working on your marketing strategy, particularly if you're working on iPhone games. Repeat after me: The App store is NOT a marketing strategy. Create a webpage, do advertisements, etc. Good luck, and keep us informed!
bendotc 17y ago
I presume you're asking about quitting your day job in order to become an indie game developer. As it is, making videogames is my day job, as it is with a number of other people who post here, but in my case, I'm currently not working for a small independent company. Having not done the indie game entrepreneurship thing myself, I can't speak with any certainty, but I know enough about the business to know that some of what works for web startups won't work for game companies, and yet this industry has a lot to learn from the cutting edge of how software gets made in other sectors. I'd be interested to hear if you've got any thoughts about all this that might be interesting to the HN crowd. I'm happy to say I've heard of Kids vs. Zombies, though I don't remember in what context (I don't own an iPhone, so I don't keep up much with games there). Given that indie games seem to be a growing segment of the industry (or at least an increasingly coherent cultural force and identifiable subsection within the industry), I hope you're doing your best to get indie and casual game press on your side. A lot of free publicity can be gained that way, and can really help word-of-mouth advertising. Best of luck!
mrbgty 17y ago
Just downloaded your lite version. Well done.
mparent61 17y ago
Thanks all! Yeah, we're learning that the App Store alone is not enough marketing -- I'm amazed at how many games are released every day. We've reached out to app review sites (avoiding sites that charge $$ for reviews), which seem to be the lowest hanging fruit (if your game gets good reviews!). Facebook and Twitter are all the rage these days, and we're trying these as well. However, by far, the most important thing that we did was release a free "Lite" version. Our best single-day sales had been about 75 copies, until our demo version was released yesterday and had over 1300 downloads in a single day, and drove up our sales. I highly recommend this approach. Funny story about trial versions -- don't call your free version a "DEMO" -- we were rejected by the Apple store last week ("DEMO" phrase is bad, "Lite/Free" is good), and had to wait 7 days for our renamed "Lite" version to be approved and put up for sale.
ido 17y ago
I'm also interested in doing that, but with windows/mac/linux & possibly browser games. The problem is that people seem to be somewhat averse to paying for a browser based game (like a Java applet or webstart app), even when they'd have no problem paying for the same game as a standalone program (literally simply using a JPanel instead of a JApplet, or providing an installer to a local version instead of a webstart link). Of course browser games still get a lot more hits than locally installed ones.
- mparent61 17y ago
  Yeah, I noticed that as well. Originally I was working on a Flash game, but decided that it was almost impossible to make any money (unless you are Desktop Tower Defense).
  - ido 17y ago
    How about Android? Seems to be a less saturated market than the iPhone.
    - mparent61 17y ago
      I'd be curious as what people thought about this. From what I've read, Android's market share is still very low. However, I suppose that means there are less games/competition. http://seekingalpha.com/article/132665-mobile-ad-market-share-android-catches-up-to-palm-iphone-still-king http://seekingalpha.com/article/132665-mobile-ad-market-shar...
      - mtinkerhess 17y ago
        I'm not sure the Android market is any less saturated. The rough numbers I found show fewer apps per device and a higher attach rate for iPod / iTouch: iPhone + iPod touch sales: 37,000,000 iTunes Apps: 25,000-35,000 Apps downloaded: 1,000,000,000 Device to App ratio 1,480:1 - 1,057:1 Attach rate: 27 G1 sales: 1,000,000 Android Apps: 2,300 Device to App ratio 434:1 Attach rate: 10-15? (hard to find good data) http://www.leaderpost.com/Technology/store+BlackBerry+Google+hold/1523234/story.html http://www.leaderpost.com/Technology/store+BlackBerry+Google... http://www.pcworld.com/article/163671/ipod_touch_iphone_sales_total_37_million_units.html http://www.pcworld.com/article/163671/ipod_touch_iphone_sale... http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/04/24/most-g1-owners-love-apps-but-not-all/ http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/04/24/most-g1-owners-love-app...
hboon 17y ago
I left my day job at a major search engine company a few months back. I was wondering if we are colleagues? :) Drop me a mail?

30 points by mparent61 17y ago

lacker 17y ago

Good luck!

e1ven 17y ago

Good luck, games are fun, but it's a very tough business since it's so hit-based. I'd recommend working on your marketing strategy, particularly if you're working on iPhone games. Repeat after me: The App store is NOT a marketing strategy. Create a webpage, do advertisements, etc. Good luck, and keep us informed!

bendotc 17y ago

I presume you're asking about quitting your day job in order to become an indie game developer. As it is, making videogames is my day job, as it is with a number of other people who post here, but in my case, I'm currently not working for a small independent company. Having not done the indie game entrepreneurship thing myself, I can't speak with any certainty, but I know enough about the business to know that some of what works for web startups won't work for game companies, and yet this industry has a lot to learn from the cutting edge of how software gets made in other sectors. I'd be interested to hear if you've got any thoughts about all this that might be interesting to the HN crowd. I'm happy to say I've heard of Kids vs. Zombies, though I don't remember in what context (I don't own an iPhone, so I don't keep up much with games there). Given that indie games seem to be a growing segment of the industry (or at least an increasingly coherent cultural force and identifiable subsection within the industry), I hope you're doing your best to get indie and casual game press on your side. A lot of free publicity can be gained that way, and can really help word-of-mouth advertising. Best of luck!

mrbgty 17y ago

Just downloaded your lite version. Well done.

mparent61 17y ago

Thanks all! Yeah, we're learning that the App Store alone is not enough marketing -- I'm amazed at how many games are released every day. We've reached out to app review sites (avoiding sites that charge $$ for reviews), which seem to be the lowest hanging fruit (if your game gets good reviews!). Facebook and Twitter are all the rage these days, and we're trying these as well. However, by far, the most important thing that we did was release a free "Lite" version. Our best single-day sales had been about 75 copies, until our demo version was released yesterday and had over 1300 downloads in a single day, and drove up our sales. I highly recommend this approach. Funny story about trial versions -- don't call your free version a "DEMO" -- we were rejected by the Apple store last week ("DEMO" phrase is bad, "Lite/Free" is good), and had to wait 7 days for our renamed "Lite" version to be approved and put up for sale.

ido 17y ago

I'm also interested in doing that, but with windows/mac/linux & possibly browser games. The problem is that people seem to be somewhat averse to paying for a browser based game (like a Java applet or webstart app), even when they'd have no problem paying for the same game as a standalone program (literally simply using a JPanel instead of a JApplet, or providing an installer to a local version instead of a webstart link). Of course browser games still get a lot more hits than locally installed ones.

mparent61 17y ago
Yeah, I noticed that as well. Originally I was working on a Flash game, but decided that it was almost impossible to make any money (unless you are Desktop Tower Defense).
- ido 17y ago
  How about Android? Seems to be a less saturated market than the iPhone.
  - mparent61 17y ago
    I'd be curious as what people thought about this. From what I've read, Android's market share is still very low. However, I suppose that means there are less games/competition. http://seekingalpha.com/article/132665-mobile-ad-market-share-android-catches-up-to-palm-iphone-still-king http://seekingalpha.com/article/132665-mobile-ad-market-shar...
    - mtinkerhess 17y ago
      I'm not sure the Android market is any less saturated. The rough numbers I found show fewer apps per device and a higher attach rate for iPod / iTouch: iPhone + iPod touch sales: 37,000,000 iTunes Apps: 25,000-35,000 Apps downloaded: 1,000,000,000 Device to App ratio 1,480:1 - 1,057:1 Attach rate: 27 G1 sales: 1,000,000 Android Apps: 2,300 Device to App ratio 434:1 Attach rate: 10-15? (hard to find good data) http://www.leaderpost.com/Technology/store+BlackBerry+Google+hold/1523234/story.html http://www.leaderpost.com/Technology/store+BlackBerry+Google... http://www.pcworld.com/article/163671/ipod_touch_iphone_sales_total_37_million_units.html http://www.pcworld.com/article/163671/ipod_touch_iphone_sale... http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/04/24/most-g1-owners-love-apps-but-not-all/ http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/04/24/most-g1-owners-love-app...

hboon 17y ago

I left my day job at a major search engine company a few months back. I was wondering if we are colleagues? :) Drop me a mail?