What do you suggest I do?

BackUpAndDownBackUpAndDown Member Posts: 685
edited November -1 in Tech Support
BACKSTORY:
My town currently has very few job openings so for the past couple months i've been trying to start an online alternative. I've always been a bit of a game addict so when I came across gamesalad I knew this was the perfect solution. After downloading Gs I decided I should spend some time learning the program before I spend any money to upgrade to express or pro, so thats what i did. But on the day I choose to quite my job and upgrade my account the option was taken down...

QUESTION:
What should I do? I'll need to start making money pretty soon. Should I take the gamble and wait for Direct and risk going bankrupt? Should I just go back to looking for other solutions? I really need help. =/

thanks,
«1

Comments

  • AfterBurnettAfterBurnett Member Posts: 3,474
    Being Direct, Express or Pro won't make a difference to you going bankrupt... it's all up to you and your games ;-)

    Not many people here earn enough to live off but that doesn't mean you can't! Pretty bold move and I admire you for it! I did the same thing to finish off my first feature film... my film went on to become the least successful Kiwi film of all time! Hahaha, I still don't regret it and I can claim "cult status" anyway, HAHAHA.

    I suggest using the GS tool, getting your games up to scratch and being ready to go when GS Direct launches. Or you could use another SDK, which would require coding.... something that a lot of people seem to forget takes a LOT of time to master. Even GS is very complicated, you can do amazing things when delving into math etc...

    Whatever you do, GOOD LUCK!
  • scitunesscitunes Member, Sous Chef Posts: 4,047
    You may want to look for a part time job to help the transition. Most people's first game/games do not sell as well as the games they make when they are more experienced. If you can find part time work that leaves you enough time to work on your games that would be ideal. Then if you don't need the money from the part time job because your games are selling you quit.
  • AfterBurnettAfterBurnett Member Posts: 3,474
    scitunes said:
    You may want to look for a part time job to help the transition. Most people's first game/games do not sell as well as the games they make when they are more experienced. If you can find part time work that leaves you enough time to work on your games that would be ideal. Then if you don't need the money from the part time job because your games are selling you quit.

    Exactly right.
  • BackUpAndDownBackUpAndDown Member Posts: 685
    @POLYGAMe

    The living expenses are extremely low in my town. As long as i'm making some kind of income i don't have to worry, thats why i decided to make apps in the first place... The only problem in making an income. -_-'

    Learning a whole new programming language isn't really an option, that will defiantly take to long... I've already finished a few mid tier games that should bring in enough to pay the bills, unless Gs decides to take a high %. But the way Gendai has been acting I kinda get the feeling it could still be a few weeks before Direct is ready...

    Thanks for the support,
  • peachpellenpeachpellen Member Posts: 977
    If you seriously can't get a job for some reason and GS isn't/doesn't work out for you, there are other online alternatives - you aren't likely to get rich but depending on how much you can live on, you can usually get by with almost no investment. (You need at least a domain and hosting.)

    I'm not saying it's a good way to live, it's not - but there's always SOMETHING you can do to get by.
  • BackUpAndDownBackUpAndDown Member Posts: 685
    scitunes said:
    You may want to look for a part time job to help the transition. Most people's first game/games do not sell as well as the games they make when they are more experienced. If you can find part time work that leaves you enough time to work on your games that would be ideal. Then if you don't need the money from the part time job because your games are selling you quit.

    Thats what i was doing before I quit my last job. If i knew Gs was going to stop selling express/pro account I wouldn't have, but i can't go back now. Jobs are reeeeeeally hard to find here and they already replaced me. >.<
  • BackUpAndDownBackUpAndDown Member Posts: 685
    peachpellen said:
    If you seriously can't get a job for some reason and GS isn't/doesn't work out for you, there are other online alternatives - you aren't likely to get rich but depending on how much you can live on, you can usually get by with almost no investment. (You need at least a domain and hosting.)

    I'm not saying it's a good way to live, it's not - but there's always SOMETHING you can do to get by.

    I probably have a better chance making a 1mil dollar app then anyone finding a jobs here.

    I'm not sure if Gs works for me yet, i never had the pleasure of trying it on a business side yet. Until they give me the option of publishing apps i won't know for sure.

    Could you explain a little more about these "other online alternatives"?
  • AfterBurnettAfterBurnett Member Posts: 3,474
    image
  • TymeMasterTymeMaster Member Posts: 527
    BackUpAndDown said:
    @POLYGAMe

    The living expenses are extremely low in my town. As long as i'm making some kind of income i don't have to worry, thats why i decided to make apps in the first place... The only problem in making an income. -_-'

    Learning a whole new programming language isn't really an option, that will defiantly take to long... I've already finished a few mid tier games that should bring in enough to pay the bills, unless Gs decides to take a high %. But the way Gendai has been acting I kinda get the feeling it could still be a few weeks before Direct is ready...

    Thanks for the support,

    If you can live off $5 a week, go for it cause thats all most people make.
  • AfterBurnettAfterBurnett Member Posts: 3,474
    And some, like FMG, make over $5000.
  • WeswogWeswog Member Posts: 1,171
    You can make at least $1-$3 a day and maybe $35 at release with an average app so If thats all you need then work enough to get to that point then invest some money into games or apps and hope they sell really well :)

    Cheers, Weswog
  • TymeMasterTymeMaster Member Posts: 527
    I said MOST people, and thats a fact.
  • TymeMasterTymeMaster Member Posts: 527
    Weswog said:
    You can make at least $1-$3 a day and maybe $35 at release with an average app so If thats all you need then work enough to get to that point then invest some money into games or apps and hope they sell really well :)

    Cheers, Weswog

    The average app dies in 30 days, so when you average it out, its maybe 30 bucks in a month. Nobody lives off $1 a day unless you are in your mom's basement :)
  • TymeMasterTymeMaster Member Posts: 527
    POLYGAMe said:
    And some, like FMG, make over $5000.

    And he has 20 years art experience, he is no noob wanting to get rich overnight.

    The fact is most people will not make more than a buck or two a day.
  • WeswogWeswog Member Posts: 1,171
    TymeMaster said:
    The average app dies in 30 days, so when you average it out, its maybe 30 bucks in a month. Nobody lives off $1 a day unless you are in your mom's basement :)

    True but, if he tries really hard on an app it will pay off most of the time trust me :)

    Cheers, Weswog
  • TymeMasterTymeMaster Member Posts: 527
    Weswog said:
    True but, if he tries really hard on an app it will pay off most of the time trust me :)

    Cheers, Weswog

    It doesn't work that way, the fact is very few people will ever make anything at it. Its like anything else, you have to invest YEARS to be a success. Look at FMG, 20+ years background in the industry as an artist. Sure once in a while some noob might get lucky, but that is a very VERY small number. I don't make this stuff up, its well known that the majority of people will fail. They see the iPhone as get rich quick, then when they find out it takes work and skill, they fall over and drown :D
  • AfterBurnettAfterBurnett Member Posts: 3,474
    TymeMaster said:
    It doesn't work that way, the fact is very few people will ever make anything at it. Its like anything else, you have to invest YEARS to be a success. Look at FMG, 20+ years background in the industry as an artist. Sure once in a while some noob might get lucky, but that is a very VERY small number. I don't make this stuff up, its well known that the majority of people will fail. They see the iPhone as get rich quick, then when they find out it takes work and skill, they fall over and drown :D

    Are they standing in water?
  • BackUpAndDownBackUpAndDown Member Posts: 685
    @POLYGAMe

    I've heard to many bad reviews about those types of sites... Thanks for the suggestion though.

    After seeing FMG's recent success I've actually decided to make a few games with a similar style. The only difference is that I have experience building 3D architecture models so the graphics will look a little more like the earlier Myst games... as long as I can get the textures looking right. Hopefully that will double the sales!

    Why did I have to start using Gs just as they decided to revamp everything... *sigh*
  • BackUpAndDownBackUpAndDown Member Posts: 685
    TymeMaster said:
    It doesn't work that way, the fact is very few people will ever make anything at it. Its like anything else, you have to invest YEARS to be a success. Look at FMG, 20+ years background in the industry as an artist. Sure once in a while some noob might get lucky, but that is a very VERY small number. I don't make this stuff up, its well known that the majority of people will fail. They see the iPhone as get rich quick, then when they find out it takes work and skill, they fall over and drown :D

    You get what you put into it. The reason very few people make it big is because very few try an go above and beyond. After I decided I was going to start designing games I starting reading everything I could find on the subject. I started learning how to use photoshop and how to make 3d models. I even adjusted my life style so that I could live off of only a few hundred dollars a month witch allowed me to quit my job and focus 100% on making this a reality.

    Unfortunately I did all this at a very bad time, when Gendai thought it was a good idea to flip everything upside down. XD
  • peachpellenpeachpellen Member Posts: 977
    I'm off to bed, but with online alternatives, shoot me an email; my username at gmail. I'll help you if I can :)
  • tenrdrmertenrdrmer Member, Sous Chef, Senior Sous-Chef Posts: 9,934
    TymeMaster said:
    It doesn't work that way, the fact is very few people will ever make anything at it. Its like anything else, you have to invest YEARS to be a success. Look at FMG, 20+ years background in the industry as an artist. Sure once in a while some noob might get lucky, but that is a very VERY small number. I don't make this stuff up, its well known that the majority of people will fail. They see the iPhone as get rich quick, then when they find out it takes work and skill, they fall over and drown :D

    I seem to remember you complaining about your posts getting deleted. this may be the reason. every time i see you post a comment it is so negative it's really unhelpful at and then really just hijacks the topic. just one man opinion though. ;)
    Warning There was an error rendering this rich post.
  • joshmiller602joshmiller602 Member Posts: 206
    tenrdrmer said:
    I seem to remember you complaining about your posts getting deleted. this may be the reason. every time i see you post a comment it is so negative it's really unhelpful at and then really just hijacks the topic. just one man opinion though. ;)

    Was thinking the EXACT same thing. A little bit of reality is one thing, out and out cynicism & negativity is quite another.
  • AfterBurnettAfterBurnett Member Posts: 3,474
    It's people like that that drive us forward, though. I don't know about you guys, but when someone tells me I can't do something, it just makes me more determined to go ahead and do it ;-)
  • BackUpAndDownBackUpAndDown Member Posts: 685
    I like how this topic was originally intended to help keep me from going bankrupt and now it's completely off track. XD
  • ORBZORBZ Member Posts: 1,304
    Pleanty of people do quite well. Don't play kitten to the noises of doubt and fear.

    "Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off your goal."

    "Whether you believe you can do a thing or not, you are right."

    -- Henry Ford 
  • ORBZORBZ Member Posts: 1,304
    @backup

    What are your skills? Art, music, design, programming? Etc?
  • StusAppsStusApps Member, PRO Posts: 1,352
    From the perspective of making quick cash then it's not gonna happen fast with the app store. You will be waiting up to 3 months before you receive your first payment from apple.
  • BackUpAndDownBackUpAndDown Member Posts: 685
    ORBZ said:
    @backup

    What are your skills? Art, music, design, programming? Etc?

    I'd probably rate myself as:

    Art
    2d: 7/10
    3d: 6/10

    Music: 1/10

    Design: 9/10

    Programming
    GameSalad: 7/10
    Other Languages: 2/10

    Determination to get better: 10/10
    StusApps said:
    From the perspective of making quick cash then it's not gonna happen fast with the app store. You will be waiting up to 3 months before you receive your first payment from apple.

    I not looking for quick cash or a get rich scheme, just a way to make a "steady" income doing what I enjoy. As long as the next payment is around December I should be fine, they pay according to the business quarters, correct?
  • scitunesscitunes Member, Sous Chef Posts: 4,047
    they pay monthly but you get the previous month's sales and it doesn't usually show up in your back account until the end of the following month. So a sale you make on Nov. 1st doesnt go into your bank account until Dec 20-something
  • ChaserChaser Member Posts: 1,453
    At the rate things are going with GS you're better off starting a foot porn site taking payments through paypal!
    And you'd probably look back when you're porn rich and say thanks Chaser
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