Professional developers making a living from their apps - please read

Hi,

just out of curiosity, I would really like to know if some developers in the forums do game development for a living and would you be willing to share some of your strategies (here or by email at :
contact #atmark# tikiko (dot) com
So you don’t have to leave your own email address on a public forum.).

I am always interested in learning from successful people.
Please share something about you and your business, how could you achieve what you’ve done until now?

I am not asking if it’s possible to make a living (I know it is). Nor if some forum members are trying hard to success.

Share your knowledge

I’m interested in the knowledge you have to share, and I am interested in making a short interview by email on your strategies, your wise business decisions, the things that you would have made differently, etc…
I would like to share those insights with others, later.
How does that sound?

Please answer here or contact me directly for more informations

Please introduce yourself briefly (so that your answers appear here) or you can also contact me directly at : contact #atmark# tikiko (dot) com


You can skip any question if you don’t feel comfortable with it.
If you don’t feel comfortable to share your revenues, that’s alright I understand.
A “Yes” would be enough, then.

  • Who are you (your name, company name)?

  • Do you make a decent living from this activity? (Yes, No)

  • Is that your only stream of revenues? (Yes, No)

  • What would be the two main other streams of revenues? (Specific)

  • Can you give us an approximation of your yearly benefits (monthly if you started less than one year ago)? (How much?)

  • why don’t you come more often to talk “business” on the forums? (because you are busy building some profitable products yeah I know :wink:

If you are willing to answer a few questions by email, please contact me email.


Why am I asking?

I am interested in having a better insight of the game dev community.
The voice of people thinking about this activity as a business is missing in proportion to hobbyists.

Don’t misunderstand me, I have nothing against that.
But I think some people are just burning resources instead of trying hard with a purpose.

If you are not making a living, if you have no plan about your perspective of revenue, if you don’t measure each of your resources and invest on purpose, if you started several months ago and still have made less than 100$, then you are not a professional (attitude) but a hobbyist who is spending time doing the things that he loves instead of building a business and contributing to the market with products that solve a need.
If that’s the case, it’s always good to acknowledge that fact and build from there.

No plan?

I sometimes have the feeling that some of the members love the idea of “trying hard to make games” but are a bit blinded by their passion.

I am a bit surprised that people “start a business” in the game development field without having actually a plan. It’s like climbing a mountain and wondering when approaching the hardest part “what tools should I need to climb? Should I protect myself from the wind?”.

Note

If you are not a pro but tempted to answer, I am not asking if you are trying hard to success and finish/sell/market your games (because you probably are, and have been doing it for months).
It’s just that, again, trying hard and “doing the right things at the right time with the right amount of resources” is not the same.

Disclaimer

Please understand that I’m not being sarcastic, but it’s not the first time that I feel that people jumping in the game development field really have no plan, no clue about what they are doing -from a business perspective, not talking about skills and will to work hard.

I come from another field where it’s proved that :

  • you don’t become successful by trying harder, but smarter

  • you have to manage your resources (time & money)

  • you can not invest as much time at your disposal without having a clue of what you are doing -> trading a sum of efforts with an expected income

I am interested in investing time building apps.
But I am more interested in building relationships (and maybe do some business later) with people doing the right things the right way.
Knowledge is invaluable. My concern is that it’s a bit hard to find the people that worked hard to get where they are today.

Again

Please don’t reply telling me that “you are not a pro but willing to become one and you will try very hard” because I know you are, and I have already heard your voice on the forums.
I am expecting some insights from professionals.

So don’t misunderstand my tone, I am not judging anybody.
Really. There is money and fun for all of us and that’s great.
I am just searching informations that would help me, on my way, so I can share the right informations later.
Thank you! [import]uid: 95346 topic_id: 19379 reply_id: 319379[/import]

Interesting start :wink: [import]uid: 70114 topic_id: 19379 reply_id: 74918[/import]