Solo Indie Gamer Developers Developing games

Solar2D General Questions/Discussion
#21

I don’t like to say so, because I don’t want to discourage people, but I agree fully with Carlos Costa.

The vast, vast, vast majority of indie games have low-quality art, low-quality sound and low-quality game design. All this while “consumers” are getting more and more used to high quality and high production value content everywhere they look, even in friend’s social media feeds.

99% of the games I see posted here on the forum, created by hobby programmers, are pretty bad. But that’s perfectly okay, because it’s a hobby for most, and people enjoy making them. But when it comes to making money with the games created by Corona developers, I think even less than 1% are viable candidates, and in my opinion almost always because the quality is too low for graphics, sound ànd game design.

Yes, that’s harsh, but I stand by it.

#22

Well, as you say while less than 1% of indie developers will make any money (probably nearer 0.01%), if you make a unique, quality product, your chances increase hugely. So your chance of success is mostly dependent on your skill and determination, not a roll of a 100-sided dice.

If you made the next Minecraft, Prison Architect, Stardew Valley or Designer City (made in Corona), you will attract publishers and are highly likely to make money.

Whether or not you have the ability, time, desire, and crucially, the million dollar idea, is another matter!

#23

I am not discouraged by this. I will have fun learning corona sdk and even if there is one download I will be happy at this point.

The next thing I need to look into is how to upload game to android store.

#24

Learning from this discussion :

  • Have small scope and complete a project however it maybe
  • Publish a small number of apps
  • Learn the skills
  • No expectation to make money
  • Learn to create something unique
  • Design, sound, creativity matters
#25

Although graphics and sound are important, nothing is more important than good ideas and good game design.

Many games are quite successful with rather simple graphics, simply because they are fun and often bring something fresh to the market.

2048 (if thats what its called) comes to mind.

I would not use “number of apps” as a target. Quality matters over quantity.

garbage will always be garbage, be it a single piece or a bucket load   :stuck_out_tongue:

What I’d add instead is “get familiar with and study the documentation”. It is well made and you will find the answers to most of your questions right there.

Don’t forget to kiss your other hobbies and interests goodbye! :slight_smile:

Happy coding!

#26

@anaqim : What game are you developing now?

#27

Not a game but a support app for people that use spotify :slight_smile:

#28

My biggest tip for non-artist coders:

  • create a unique experience, instead of duplicating existing stuff. You will always be the copy with worse art if you duplicate.

  • look for art styles that are really simplistic but good looking. Try to understand what makes it work. Pixel art is easier than lush 3D environments, in other words. Coloured abstract blocks is even easier. Look at “Thomas Was Alone” for the best example, and an AWESOME game.

  • learn what colour grading is, and apply it. This is a very simple trick to tie your graphics together and add atmosphere.

  • be really critical of the things you do master. There are excuses for not having killer art. There are no excuses for having game mechanics that don’t really work well.

  • just have fun. If you have a day job, you don’t need to make money with your apps.

#29

I am alone, as a graphic designer and looking for programmers that do not cost me 800 dollars a day I decided to program. And I believe that little by little I am acquiring knowledge.

I have always thought that the most experienced developers in this forum could make a small team, understand 2 or 3 (3…mmm think to much) people no more, discuss the ideas and decide if they want to work as a team or not. Here there are talent, good programmers who have no talent or time for design, good designers who also have no talent and time to program and programmers and designers who know more about marketing than what they do.

That said, “Corona SDK” has the potential to reach Google and Apple store any idea. There are plenty of ideas, what is missing is the spirit and the desicion that want to unite to reach far and trust a person who has vision.

And believe me I made a thorough study in the stores and I realized that there are good mechanics with poor graphics, good graphics with bad mechanics, but let’s talk clearly, you may wonder if Angry Birds would have been so famous if it had not been for the characters , some annoying birds that look funny flying … I always said that the first impression is the one that counts, perhaps you go in t shirt and flip flops to a job interview? Well how are you going to enter Google and Apple with bad graphics or bad programming …

Thanks
DoDi

#30

In this whole discussion, let’s not forget that one of the ugliest games made in recent history is Candy Crush! But the mechanics of that game were true perfection.

#31

…but on the other hand no better than loads of match 3 games that came before it. It helps to be able to spend millions on user acquisition. :frowning:

#32

Very true. There seems to be something new around as well, with video ads starring Ryan Reynolds (from Deadpool). Can’t remember the name, but with marketing budgets like that, you can bet it’s going to become massive as well.

And of course, as indie devs, there’s no match for this scale of exposure.

#33

Now I am really curious to hear about money making stories from Indies, who could make money with corona games? I want to hear about their struggles and light at the end of the tunnel.

#34

From my point of view it was a lot easier to make money from mobile games 5-6 years ago, before the big boys moved in and click-per-install advertising became a thing.

The market became really saturated with clones alongside games with big advertising budgets, and new games weren’t getting any traction, so I sold my portfolio and moved into desktop games.

It’s still possible to be successful though if you stand out from the crowd, for example SGS on here has done really well with Designer City.

#35

Desktop games with corona?

#36

Let’s not forget Apple’s totally d*ck move of refactoring the App Store, from easily scrollable top-100 lists (showing lots of indie stuff) to the current “swipe for 3 minutes to see the first Indie offering appear”. That change alone caused a lot of us to see download figures drop.

#37

Yes I forgot to mention that. The took away the ‘new releases’ tab which always gave you a nice number of downloads on day one, from there you had a chance if the app was good.

#38

Yes, you can build for PC and Mac with Corona, so there’s no reason why something like Prison Architect couldn’t be made with it.

#39
  1. Well, I am a self-taught artist and a programmer, on top of which I have several business degrees. I’ve worked solo on several projects, but more usually I’ve worked with a couple of other programmers in my company, but so far I’ve always been in charge of the graphics and designs.

Working solo has the benefits that you can work when you want and on what you want, but it also means that you are not responsible to anyone else, which can reduce the sense of responsibility and slow down the development.

 

  1. I am personally not interested in partnerships, especially if they are split evenly among the partners. If there are any disagreements, such as what should the monetisation strategy be, who is in charge of what, what about the general look and feel of the game, then you are likely to run into deadlocks that may sour the partnerships and even entire projects. Being employed by someone else or signing a contract alleviates most such problems.

If you do opt for a partnership, then you should prepare sufficient legal paperwork and have a lawyer look it over to ensure that it is what both parties want and actually legally enforceable. I’ve worked with people who’ve walked out on a project half-way and in cases without proper contracts, such acts can be (and have been) devastating.

I’d recommend finding developer friends with whom you can talk about your project. Discussing each others projects and throwing ideas around not only helps the creative process, it also makes you more invested in your own project as you don’t want to tell your friend that “I haven’t worked on the game for a month.” It’s the positive kind of social pressure that you want.

 

  1. I’ve worked with some publishers and the partnerships have varied from useful to disastrous. First and foremost, the publishers are looking to make money, which is good for a business, but it might not fit your values. As others have already mentioned, publishers offer financial leverage, connections and expertise that solo developers are unlike to have by themselves. But the more you get, the more you have to give them. Finding a reputable publisher take on a part-time project may be difficult because it is a risky investment. Also, always read the fine print. I got burnt by one contract because I paid attention to the publisher’s words instead of the fine print.
#40

Learned quite a lot from this discussion. Thanks guys for your feedback.

I will not risk my day job with making games. Corona is an awesome platform to make games quickly, but you have to be creative to win something out there.