I have an idea and it is still at an early stage, so I am just sounding you guys (and girls) out. It goes a little something like this.... I have some pretty cool game ideas and although I can create them within our own company, it is going to take time. Already my hands are pretty full, but I have these ideas which I want to get out there. However, at the moment I cannot afford to hire people outright. So I was thinking..... Can I assemble a small team of maybe 5 - 8 people to join us on creating this game. I would need 1 or 2 graphic artists and a couple of coders etc. I would say that each team member gets 10% of the net sales. Now this has many advantages for all of us. 1. We can create the game a lot quicker (many hands make light work). 2. We can all contribute to the marketing and promotion of our amazing game. 3. Collectively we can pool ideas and create an amazing game without such a huge financial risk. 4. Our QA and testing will be spread amongst us so we will be able to achieve a higher standard of quality. 5. My company will organise everything and hand out assignments as well as completing some graphic work/coding in house (so you can be assured that we are pulling our own weight). Let me know what you think and if enough people are interested then I will mention it to my partners. I think the workload spread amongst us will not be too onerous, and if we achieve a fraction of the downloads that we are capable of, then we could all turn a nice little profit.
I am not interested in helping you, but would like to point out that the first question people are likely to ask is "Do you have any commercial experience or completed games in your company's portfolio?" You should explain a little more about exactly who you are and what your company is capable of, listing past examples where possible. It will encourage people to have more faith in your proposition and will attract more interest.
It seems like your asking people to create a game for free, and rely and profit sharing as payment. Correct?
Depends on your point of view. If an artist or coder is sat at home waiting for work, why not contribute some free time into a project with great potential. Do not forget that my company will also be devoting its time and money into this, so it is not like we are just sitting back and letting everyone else work for us for free. The basic idea behind it was that we build a little "collective" utilising our skill sets. As for commercial experience/examples of our work http://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/drug-free-world/id401121361?mt=8 http://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/arkinvade/id387007654?mt=8 http://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/future-warrior/id410031148?mt=8 http://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/astrology/id363765111?mt=8 All in all, don't worry too much about it. It was just an idea at the back of mind. If nobody is interested, we shall just create the game ourselves and keep all the profits too! Can't say I didn't try.....
bummer.. you guys might miss out on the next angry birds top hit.. after ark invade, population counter and india population counter.. come one guys lets do this together.. it will be great.. else he will just create the game by themself and and keep ALL the profits too...!!!!!
Well there is no need to be so mean spirited. Sorry that we create applications for charities and non profits for free (or at cost). Like I said though, don't worry about it. I am not going to lose any sleep over it.
Its not mean spirited.. but playing the imaginary profits card is.. gets old.. Most app dont even break even, so sentences like you keep all profits tipp me off... 50% from zero is still zero.. If your "company" is so busy, i would assume busy with paid work.. bcause a company is win oriented.. at least to the degree to pay your bills. So its wonky to have your own ios developement company but ask others todo your project for free.. weird behaviour... And im sure the approach, that if others are bored and dont have a paid job lets create my idea.. You might get a share of nothing.. sounds great.. And this is not meant mean.. thats just realistic... What you are searching is free workers, nothing less.. Because you cant gurantee any sales. You might want to offer the artists or programmer 200$/day and keep all sales to yourself.. This will be a better deal for the involved persons.. And if it becomes the next angry birds you can gift them a few thousand dollars bonus after you became rich.. Be generous.
Well, it was just an idea, like I said. I agree that most Apps struggle to break even. However the key to being successful is marketing. If you can tell enough people about it, then it has all the potential of being a hit and profitable (well as good a chance as any). The good news (for us anyway) is that we have a contract with one of the largest PR companies in the UK for promoting any future games that we release. Well the next couple of ideas could be a flop or they could be a hit. Nobody really knows, but we have to try.... Hope I can count on your support
Again, stop bragging.. What does that mean having a contract with anyone.. Thats worth nothing because it does not tell anything about the volume.. I can hire any pr company so what.. I let them do a banner for me that cost 1000$ or i let them do a multi million dollar campaign across all media... Uhh makes quite a different.. So having a contract means nothing.. You can have one with me about 500 or 50000.. The result will be different.. So what.. Having a contract means jack. And if all is so glory on your side i still dont understand why you need free labor.. You can apparently afford one of the biggest pr companies of the uk.. But you ask people to work for you for free.. Thats actualy funny
Well the contract is also a profit sharing one, So I guess they saw something worth while supporting. However, I am getting tired of this as it is degenerating into something that was not the point and frankly I cannot be bothered with. If you don't like the idea, don't join in. If you do, contact me. Cannot really get fairer than that.
Unfortunately while Mr.Ugly is a bit harsh, he is also right. You can't just assume that people are going to want to make YOUR game for nothing but the hopes of making a profit. Most contracts don't even translate into other countries' court of laws, so how can you truly give people confidence that they will get money? A beginner programmer or artist also won't have the finances to chase after a contract in court even if it could be upheld. You are asking people to work for you for nothing and trust you that you'll give them the money (which they don't know how much any game makes, only you do) that they deserve. I made a post here awhile ago asking for programmers to send me their information and that I would pay them or let THEM choose if they wanted to share some of the profits for less pay. You have to be willing to put out money to make money, that's the way the world works.
There is some great engines out there, cocos2d and unity3d where you can learn and rapidly prototype a demo. You can then pitch this demo to new developers to gain interest. - Matt
