http://digg.com/software/iPhone_game..._family_s_homeQuote:
The 30-year-old computer programmer hoped to sell enough copies of the game that the couple wouldn't have to put their home on the market. That was more than $700,000 ago.
Well, I'll be damned.
Hmmm, you know the recent "Flash is a gold mine, just look!" articles, the ones where people earn $40k + from their indie sponsored game ?
You know the majority of us have enough experience to take that with a pinch of salt, that those people really are the 0.01% breaking through and doing good, that real life is a slog without the rewards you possibly deserve.
I'm guessing iPhone dev is no different, everywhere seems to be full of stories of people who just wrote a game in a couple of weeks ( and put "i" infront of it of course ) and made a zillion dollars in 15 mins.
Good luck to the guy, it's always nice to read someone working hard and doing well from it.
I don't think we should all start thinking the grass is greener in iPhone land though. Working as a dev. for some company on iPhone games, yeah dirty money, you'll be on pop star wages, doing it on your own, well think of the big pay day being a gamble of 15,000:1 :)
Squize.
That one?
Its a very polished one with nice pre rendered graphics, i would say very few flash games could match it
It would take 1/2 day to do that in flash ( some of us already have tanks and crap like that from other games, it's just a matter of re-rendering for this particular game, and coding itself is less than a couple of hours ).
i will give you 3 trillion dollars and 72 virgins if you post a video of you coding this in "less than a couple of hours." and i'll double it if you can refrain from replying with either a list of excuses or an explanation of gross exaggeration for the sake of making a (ridiculous) point.Quote:
Originally Posted by MikeMD
What's there to code?
I've lost count of games and 1/2 finished games I have laying around with some kind of projectile firing, in 2d or 3d. Just drag and drop one of those cannons/tanks into a new game ( with accompanying code, of course ), same with graphics, just render slightly different versions of what's already there. Most of the coding would be for menus, transitions and some missing game logic.
Heck, I already have half of that stuff lying around.
Destructible, navigable terrain (click ground):
http://birchlabs.co.uk/Micro%20Warriors.swf
Projectiles:
http://birchlabs.co.uk/Cannon.swf
Really wouldn't take more than a couple of hours to slap those two together. 3 trillion dollars, 72 virgins please.
i know the most expensive iphone ipod touch http://cmu.edu
Could I have one of those virgins then please ? I mean 71 is still a lot, and it's not as if you're dying for them ( So to speak ).
You can have her back afterwards, albeit I imagine slightly soiled.
I so wish making a game was just throwing existing things together, it'd make life easier.
Both of you should do it, if it'll only take a few hours, in terms of sponsorship, even if it doesn't get that great a deal it should still be a min. of $150 an hour ( Going on recent articles ), and God doesn't even earn that much.
Squize.
This type of game ( one tank here, another there, get the angle and power and shoot ) is definitely like that. Why code from scratch when you've done the same thing about 60 times over the past 10 years? Even companies like EA with 10 million dollar budgets throw existing things ( engine, libraries ) together with some new graphics in almost all of their games.Quote:
I so wish making a game was just throwing existing things together, it'd make life easier.
That looks good for an iPhone game and for what it is, but seems like it's an exact copy of the same thing we've seen done in flash about 34576 times.
Only he actually bothered to do decent graphics, while most people using flash just stick to poorly drawn tanks in flash, stick some mochi ads in there and off they go.
I'm a generous man; have two. :) although didn't you say you had a girlfriend?Quote:
Originally Posted by Squize
Is it really that easy to find a paying sponsor? I might actually try that one weekend; make something neat with BitmapData, polish it and flog it on some site. Any recommendations?
When i say very few flash games could match it, its not about just code, it would take some time to make such a nice graphics, i can count on the finger of one hand the flash games that has good pre renderer graphicsQuote:
Originally Posted by MikeMD
But thats only after you have the first modelQuote:
same with graphics, just render slightly different versions
I'm not saying it's not that hard to code, or it's not been done a million times before, or that his version is that great... it just feels like everywhere people are acting like making a game in Flash is just so easy.
It's like Sean Coopers "$400,000 in a year" quote.
If it's so easy to cobble together existing routines to make a new game, then why not do it and get some easy money.
Personally speaking after over 50 or so commercial titles and all the code I've got written to drop into a new game, I still find it a difficult process to make a good game, and I honestly think I'd struggle to make anything of any real creative worth in under a week.
If I could make a complete tanks game in a day, even using existing routines, and get $500 for it then I'd be more than happy as at the current exchange rate that's more than I get doing client work where I break my back doing amends and project management.
See, I really don't think it's so simple, so glib posts where people say that they can just pull a game out of there arse bugs me slightly.
When it's a throw away comment to justify a point, fair enough, but to stick with it like it's a valid fact, well, it's like the $400k comment, do it then.
V, flashgamelicence is the place to look / join. If you get cracking now the game should be done ready for them Monday morning ;)
"although didn't you say you had a girlfriend?"
Yeah, get the virgins first, then I'll think of a lie to get me out of trouble.
Squize.
I wish I was that talented! If I could make a game in 2 hours then I could quite easily churn out 4 in a working day, thats 260 in a year with weekends off, lets say I sell each one for $2000, thats $520,000 a year. Sweet :).
I envy you guys!
Ali
My game has sold about 20 copies within 2 months in iphone app store. So I have to agree with Hanford Lemoore, dont bother unless you can make sure your game will be on top10 list.
Those stories about getting rich with iphone game always remind me stories about people winning the lottery (just because one guy won the jackpot does not mean everyone will). And I am pretty sure lottery tickets are cheaper then developing iphone game.
What is it? I'll try it if it's not too expensiveQuote:
Originally Posted by tonypa
How did you market your game?Quote:
Originally Posted by tonypa
@Mike, I think this guy is slightly more than a good coder, he's also a very good game designer, and interface desginer also. There's much more things in a game than the engine ^_^.
@tony, I didn't know you had made it! Tell us we'll double your sell statistics.
I did not program it. Its based on my game but its ported for iPhone by Arend Hintze:
http://www.alproductions.us/flash_ga.../8_TBAMFH.html
This has to be the best post I've read to date about iPhone apps,
http://www.appcubby.com/blog/files/t...que-entry-id-8
It's refreshing to read something about the iPhone where a game hasn't "started off slowly, then took off, now I earn $30k a month and have left my day job".
Sorry, I'm not trying to poo on iPhone development, just playing devils advocate.
Squize.