You could add a long play mode, a story mode, a local multiplayer mode for the iPad, a local wifi mode, an infinite mode, a 3D graphics mode, and a speed run mode. Clearly not all these are applicable for every game and your game may indeed not need any more modes but trying to apply that as an overarching rule for all word apps in unimaginative.
i agree with k?! here.. the only limit is your imagination.. there is tons of different thing one can do... but i just checked letter slide.. and then i would agree with you meh.. if glow just adds a new theme and gc mp then this one is better of "done". but we slide offtopic..
Here's how I've looked at every app I've ever shipped: I fully expect to only make enough money to pay for the cost of the Apple Developer program for one year, $100. Anything higher than that, and you're setting your expectations too high. I'd be willing to bet that less than 5% of the indie devs on this forum make enough to make a living off of. For most of us, what we do here is something we do because we love doing it, and the cash we make helps fund our Apple hardware addiction. Take that into consideration before you dump a whole bunch of money into this thing. Consider starting small to test the waters. At least then, you'll come out of your first project with more knowledge of how software engineering works, in addition to the tricks of the trade when it comes to the App Store. You'll probably save five figures in development cost for your next dream project that you take more seriously.
The problem with some developers (those aren't making enough to pay living expenses, as you've mentioned.) is that they don't look at the AppStore as a business. If you want to run a successful business here, you need to treat it as a business. We launched Trenches as a brand new 'brand/franchise' on the AppStore and treated it like launching a new product. We took cost, marketing, outreach, art, etc. into consideration to make it successful, but we are still an indie company with only a few people doing stuff but still have over 2,000,000 downloads from our games.
Yeah, I agree to treat it like a business and take it seriously. Put your best foot forward and make sure you're shipping a quality product. It's just that there's a cost associated with that. The point I was trying to make, as the original poster seemed to lack some awareness of App Store idiosyncrasies that seem like second nature to many of us, was to start by taking a smaller risk. You can save a lot of money by learning how to facilitate much of the app submission process on your own compared to paying your developer $100 an hour to do it, for example. I think that if I hadn't spent a year doing app development independently and for clients that our game wouldn't have turned out as well as it did, partly because I took smaller risks that didn't have larger financial implications.
Wwf I cannot see Words with Friends doing many game upgrades! Yet they have been raking in cash, apparently However I can do a few upgrades to a premium version.
Words with Friends doesn't need to do upgrades to make money. They're free Scrabble. It sells itself.
That's why I said Letter Slide Glow was complete feature wise earlier. Its got everything it needs right now. - Matt
WWF paid I dont have an Iphone rght now. I cannot understand Words with Friends free and paid? http://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/words-with-friends/id322852954?mt=8 Only thing I can think of is the ads disappear into a little box with the paid version? Anyone can help me on that? As I want to follow that exact model and also use my couple of premium game upgrades costing a dollar each upgrade.
You don't own the device you're planning to spend a lot of money developing for? There are two apps. The free one shows an ad after each move. The paid one doesn't show an ad.
Sales? Are ads that bad people pay? How many paid sales to now anyone know? Another dilemma I have is use British English or American English?
Okay, hold on a sec. You want to spend a large amount of money to develop a game for a platform you haven't even used before? And you haven't even played the game you keep mentioning as your role model for success?
English Very nice man but, How will the game work when USA people are playing UK people? For instance! Do you mean the app converts to the countries language automatically?
That's up to you to figure out what you include in the dictionary for your game. Whatever you include will be what the game recognises as a valid word, so if you want American and British English in there, you'll need to include 'color' and 'colour', whether you'll accept slang words or colloquialisms etc.
My only advice would be, however much you spend making the game, have 2X that amount spare for marketing it... I took £10k of Venture Capital investment recentally and it's making things FAR easier in terms of getting to the point of generating quality revenue... If that means using some money from your house sale then I'd say use it, but use it with some caution... Dont spend it all at once, spend $200 in each of the various possible marketing methods, see what works, then invest more heavily into that area... Don't spend $10,000 developing the product and release it in the vain hope Apple feature it, or it magically takes off... Far better spending $3000 on development and marketing with $7000...
How do you market an App then? Let's say I do have 10k for marketing (BTW I don't ) where do you spend it? JC
