For fun, or profit?

jb15jb15 Member Posts: 602
edited November -1 in iPhone and Android Publishing
Is GameSalad a good way to make a little money on the side? Or is it more just for fun?

To make apps would be a large investment for me (besides the apple dev subscription, I'd need to buy an expensive mac) and I wondered if I could get my money back (and more...)

Any thoughts are appreciated.

Comments

  • tenrdrmertenrdrmer Member, Sous Chef, Senior Sous-Chef Posts: 9,934
    Both. it all depends on your skill and luck
    Warning There was an error rendering this rich post.
  • DreamLabDreamLab Member Posts: 2,127
    skill, luck, passion, creativity, and determination. but yes, fun AND profit.
    DL
  • AsymptoteellAsymptoteell Member Posts: 1,362
    I find it fun, but that by no means means it isn't a professional software option; it is. It also doesn't mean you can't make money off of it; you can.
  • firemaplegamesfiremaplegames Member Posts: 3,211
    The 3 games I made with GameSalad allowed me to quit my day job.
    Plus it was a lot of fun!
  • AsymptoteellAsymptoteell Member Posts: 1,362
    Fire maple games is living proof!
  • SlowboySlowboy Member, PRO Posts: 329
    Congrats FM! Are you finding sales consistent enough to consider them a salary?
  • firemaplegamesfiremaplegames Member Posts: 3,211
    @slowboy: It gets averaged of course, as new releases generally get an added boost. But I have had more than 100,000 downloads of my paid games over the past year.

    That's on top of my regular salary.
    I also sell several Mac/PC Desktop games from my website.

    I just submitted the Desktop games to the Mac App Store, so we will see how that goes!

    Regardless of the financial success though, I simply love making games. I would do this if I wasn't making any money.

    And GameSalad is an amazing piece of software! It's so much fun to use. I definitely recommend taking the plunge! As far as investments go, it's one of the coolest ones you can make!
  • AsymptoteellAsymptoteell Member Posts: 1,362
    glad to hear things are working out well, fm!

    Asymptoteell
  • AquariusAquarius Member Posts: 282
    Did firemaple spend hundreds in advertisements? Just wondering. I know alot of "review" sites will review BUT for a fee. Did fmg do this?
  • firemaplegamesfiremaplegames Member Posts: 3,211
    I didn't spend anything on marketing.

    I would definitely exhaust all possible free avenues before exploring any paid ones!
  • AquariusAquarius Member Posts: 282
    Ah ok
  • jb15jb15 Member Posts: 602
    And, once I got the dev subscription, and the mac, what else would I need? Do I need an ipod touch to test the games?
  • firemaplegamesfiremaplegames Member Posts: 3,211
    Admittedly, game development is an expensive investment!

    You will need a Mac running OS X 10.6
    (you can also try getting a Hackintosh up and running with a PC, but I do not know how to do that)

    You will need to join the Apple iPhone Developer program at 99$/year

    If your game requires Accelerometer support, or multitouch support, you need a device to test on.

    Also, games made for iOS are able to work on every iPhone, iPod, and iPad. Ideally, you would have - or be able to borrow - an example of each type of device. And different versions of each device as well to test the different processors. People have every possible device out there, and you'll want to make sure that your game works appropriately on each one.

    If you want your game to be successful, you need to have all of these as well:

    Fantastic artwork
    Tight, bug-free programming
    Professional music and sound effects
    Excellent game design

    Hopefully you will be able to do at least one of those yourself. The others you will need to either pay for or find someone to do it for you.

    In my opinion, scrimping on any of them will not work out financially for you.

    If you are just doing this for fun, or to learn, than no worries!
  • jb15jb15 Member Posts: 602
    Thank you all for the great help/comments. So, how would I go about finding someone who can make music? Or great art? (I'm good with logic/programming and game design, but not sound effects or artwork).
  • DrGlickertDrGlickert Member Posts: 1,135
    jb15 - I, fortunately, found a website some time ago called MeetUp.com. There was a group called Game Developers and a couple of artists, music guys, and writers were already in the group. I am fortunate to know what my strengths and weaknesses are. I suck at artwork and I suck at music. So, I asked an artist to draw for me (we're meeting next week), and the music guy is going to put a few sound effects together and compose a track or two for the music.

    You could also start with Craigslist. If your in a town of a decent size then I'm SURE there are starving graphic artists and musicians out there. You might be able to negotiate a percentage base if you don't have cash up front to pay them. Just make sure you put something in writing and both of you sign it! ;-)

    Also, every once in a while an artist or sound/music person will poke their head onto the forums and post a few samples of their work. If you like the way they draw/enjoy their tunes then save their contact information or form a relationship with them.

    Good luck!
  • DestructionProductionsDestructionProductions Member Posts: 80
    Ive been making some money and enjoying it at the same time. i happened to own a mac before hand so that was nice.

    Btw it doesnt take a lot of skill to use GS. not insulting GS but its so easy to create a epic/simple game. i re-created Angry Birds once for fun. (:
  • osucowboy18osucowboy18 Member Posts: 1,307
    About two years ago, I started developing software for Windows in Visual Basic, and really loved doing it. I had an iPhone, so I thought I could use it to make a little extra cash. I looked into building a Hackintosh, but it was just to risky. Once I decided to actually buy a Mac, I tried finding a good laptop on eBay, but I never was big on buying USED computers, so I just decided to go to my local Apple Retail Store and buy a Mac Mini. It takes up very little space, and actually just sits on top of my Windows computer. Yet, it works great! The only thing is you have to buy an external monitor, keyboard, and mouse. I already had a spare monitor lying around the house, so after I bought the Mac Mini, I went to Wal-Mart and found a wireless keyboard and mouse with a FREE set of external speakers for around $50.00, which was WAY better than what Apple was charging. So after I got everything hooked up, I downloaded GS and created my first app. After the app was finished, I registered for the Apple Developer Program. I registered in the Apple Developer Program AFTER finishing my first game so I didn't waste any time on the annual subscription. That was back in June of 2010, but there is NO way I would still be doing this if it wasn't a blast! Not only do I really enjoy doing this, but I have been able to almost reimburse myself for the money I have put into the project. If its something you would really enjoy, I strongly recommend investing in it. You will be amazed at what some hard work, patience, skill, and a little luck will bring you. Good luck!

    - Alex
  • FranzKellerFranzKeller Member Posts: 517
    let's hope to have fun, while making some money. ;-)
  • DizkoDizko Member Posts: 498
    Just an fyi, you don't need much to run GameSalad. I run it on a vanilla MacBook (not a pro). It runs fine, slower than I'd like, but fast enough to get the job done.
  • gameviccigamevicci Member, PRO Posts: 306
    Dear jb15, I earned about 6000$ in 2010 by paid games and 4500$ by iAds in free games.

    100000 download by Firemaplegames are the best result ever for GS games, and his TSOGM is the best game ever! (graphics, music and game design)
    So don't think it's so easy to have success, but it's very very important to love what you do.

    and wellcome in GameSalad!
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