Has anyone made over $100 in a month selling GS templates?

adelissa

I was just curious as to what kind of money I could be making selling GS templates. I know that it all depends on the developer and the quality of the template. I just wanted to learn about the experience of other members.

gingagaming

I dont think your going to get the answers you want with questions like this. You can make money by selling snow to eskimos but if the snow isnt better than the snow they have, they wont buy it. All your questions you ask are way to personal (in all the threads you've started) There is a reason why your not getting the answers. People dont disclose this information. Its private.

My peronal advice is that if you dont want to sell templates is, first learn the software throughout. Only when you are good at making a game, should you make a template for someone to buy. There are many templates on the market that dont work or are incomplete. People dont like this.

Secondly, buy yourself a a MAC. I see your using a PC, the software your using is dated and limited. I would say that 90% of GS users are MAC users.

Lastly, you will need to go PRO. Not going pro will limit your features and the things you can build in the template. In turn limit your sales.

To finish off, stop asking us how much we earn. We wont tell you this!

Lovejoy

@gingagaming said:
I dont think your going to get the answers you want with questions like this. You can make money by selling snow to eskimos but if the snow isnt better than the snow they have, they wont buy it. All your questions you ask are way to personal (in all the threads you've started) There is a reason why your not getting the answers. People dont disclose this information. Its private.

My peronal advice is that if you dont want to sell templates is, first learn the software throughout. Only when you are good at making a game, should you make a template for someone to buy. There are many templates on the market that dont work or are incomplete. People dont like this.

Secondly, buy yourself a a MAC. I see your using a PC, the software your using is dated and limited. I would say that 90% of GS users are MAC users.

Lastly, you will need to go PRO. Not going pro will limit your features and the things you can build in the template. In turn limit your sales.

To finish off, stop asking us how much we earn. We wont tell you this!

I don't want to write down the same thing so I'm just gonna quote ya!

adelissa

@gingagaming said:
I dont think your going to get the answers you want with questions like this. You can make money by selling snow to eskimos but if the snow isnt better than the snow they have, they wont buy it. All your questions you ask are way to personal (in all the threads you've started) There is a reason why your not getting the answers. People dont disclose this information. Its private.

My peronal advice is that if you dont want to sell templates is, first learn the software throughout. Only when you are good at making a game, should you make a template for someone to buy. There are many templates on the market that dont work or are incomplete. People dont like this.

Secondly, buy yourself a a MAC. I see your using a PC, the software your using is dated and limited. I would say that 90% of GS users are MAC users.

Lastly, you will need to go PRO. Not going pro will limit your features and the things you can build in the template. In turn limit your sales.

To finish off, stop asking us how much we earn. We wont tell you this!

That's what I'm trying to do though! I thought that a very simple and non-specific question like that is not as personal as demanding the exact figures! You need to understand that before I work my *** off, I need to know what I can be making. I have a slightly off topic question though, what features does the paid creator have that the free one doesn't?

Braydon_SFX

@adelissa said:
That's what I'm trying to do though! I thought that a very simple and non-specific question like that is not as personal as demanding the exact figures! You need to understand that before I work my *** off, I need to know what I can be making.

It's possible to make a living off of using GameSalad, I'll say that.

have a slightly off topic question though, what features does the paid creator have that the free one doesn't?

http://gamesalad.com/creator/pro#pricing

Thunder_Child

I have to agree...however vague you try to make this question...its personal/private info. I woukd suggest working your *** off and sell one anyways...regardless of wether you know how much people have oreviously made.

Theres are a large degree of skill level templates and assets in the GS market place...just like the App Store. You cann see this just looking at the preview or video provided...if they even have one.

Think about it for a moment as you browse the market place. How may times do you think an animated flower moving back and forth has been sold vs how many times the stick ninja has been sold?

i believe it has a lot to do with WHAT your selling. Like said above. If you want to sell an animated flower...it better be higher quality than what can already be purchased...more unique...maybe even cheaper.

Personally I buy a few things on the marketplace now and then. Havent sold anything yet...mainly because I havent made anything better or as unique than what available. I would NEVER buy a template that had white boxes as the actors and just the game mechanics...even if I planned on changing the art entirely. What draws me to a template is a highly polished template with working mechanics and art. Something that looks like a complete game.

Some may disagree with me on this and thats ok. Ulitmately what Im saying is if you believe you can provide something as good, better or unique...you probably can sell. But for how long would it sell? If it sits on the marketplace for more than 3 months with no sales...it probably wont sell. If it sells right off....it wont just keep selling...quality AND quantity...adding more and more.

Sony doesnt make one TV and hope it sells a ton and sell that same TV for 3 years. They make 10 new ones each year.

Armelline

I made $100 this month from my drawing/art template, and I haven't even released it. So it's definitely possible. However, it's unlikely it'll make me $100 a month in the future, there will be a few sales when I release it and a few more over time as people stumble upon it.

I have no doubt that some of the Flappy Bird/2048 etc. rip-off templates have made that much money and more. But you have to ask yourself if that's really want you want to do, or if you want to actually create new things.

For me, the best GameSalad templates are ones that use an original mechanic, or an old mechanic in an original way, or - ideally - showcase how to do certain things in GameSalad rather than just stealing other people's ideas and copying them as directly as possible. I see templates that literally rip the art from the original game and paste it over a shoddy knock-off of the mechanics.

Additionally, it's important you take the time to make sure the logic you use is clearly labelled and annotated. I've been asked to work on some templates for clients and after I've taken a look at them I've had to tell them that I'm unwilling to work on such a sloppily made template. Some of them should never, ever be put up for sale.

Some templates look great in the previews or videos but are in fact far more limited than implied, or just a mess underneath. Others are packed full of bugs. How some sellers get away with the appalling quality they release is a mystery to me.

So to come back to your question... $100 in a month is entirely possible to make with a template. But you really need to stop fixating on how much you'll make, and just make it and find out for yourself. If you can't afford to spend the time making it without any guarantee of a return on that investment, don't bother.

Thunder_Child

@Armelline‌ said

"Some templates look great in the previews or videos but are in fact far more limited than implied, or just a mess underneath. Others are packed full of bugs. How some sellers get away with the appalling quality they release is a mystery to me."

Speaks da truth he does.

KillerPenguinStudios

Hey @adelissa‌,

I just want to throw this out there that if you are in this just for the money then you should not do it! It needs to be something you are passionate about and you might make some money one month while the next you might not make anything. Don't just do something to make money. Do something because your passionate about it! #realtalk

The_Gamesalad_Guru

Most of the templates I've seen are crap. People use GS for a few months and then think they are an expert and want to make a few bucks and drag some crap together and try to sell it. I never use templates, to me that's not the true spirit of game making. Templates to me are the lazy way out. Learn the software, yes it takes a long time a year or so but anything worth doing takes time. People come here thinking it's a gold rush of sorts and soon find out it's not. There is a huge turnover around here. I would estimate about 15% last more than a year, 10% last more than two and a small handful have been here for three or more.

Armelline

@The_Gamesalad_Guru said:
Most of the templates I've seen are crap. People use GS for a few months and then think they are an expert and want to make a few bucks and drag some crap together and try to sell it. I never use templates, to me that's not the true spirit of game making. Templates to me are the lazy way out. Learn the software, yes it takes a long time a year or so but anything worth doing takes time. People come here thinking it's a gold rush of sorts and soon find out it's not. There is a huge turnover around here. I would estimate about 15% last more than a year, 10% last more than two and a small handful have been here for three or more.

I agree completely about the quality of templates and attitude of many of the makers. This is the one issue you, @Socks and I have always seen eye to eye

I do think though that there is definitely scope for "demonstrator" templates. Templates that show you how to achieve a particular effect or function in GameSalad. Like, for example, your multi-touch template. Not ripping off any existing game, instead giving the buyer the logic to see how such an effect is achieved.

And yes, the turnover is massive. As I'm only a couple of months from 6 years of membership, I've seen a lot of faces pass by over the years!

adelissa

@KillerPenguinStudios said:
Hey adelissa‌,

I just want to throw this out there that if you are in this just for the money then you should not do it! It needs to be something you are passionate about and you might make some money one month while the next you might not make anything. Don't just do something to make money. Do something because your passionate about it! #realtalk

You must be misunderstanding me. I believe that you have to be passionate to make great games (which I am), although all I wanted to really get to with all the questions that I have been asking is that if I could base a full time career based on making games using GS.

dgackey

To answer your question, yes, it is possible. We have a lot of MP sellers who do it every month.

adelissa

@dgackey said:
To answer your question, yes, it is possible. We have a lot of MP sellers who do it every month.

MP?

dgackey

Marketplace.

Thunder_Child

@adelissa‌

As you can see...some will not come to the forums to answer your question directly...but to discourage you...and probably scrowl their eyebrows as they type their responses. If you use GS for a short period of time...less than actual "experts"...for the most part you are not allowed by some to EVER be as good as them...regardless of your contributions to the GS community.

Good luck to you. Since you are allowed, I believe, to promote in the forums/marketplace...please let us know when you have something in the "MP". "I"...non expert like to see new things in the marketplace...and so does GS or there wouldnt be a MP.

jigglybean

I buy a lot of templates to help me understand GS better. I do get annoyed when most dont have any instructions, or are actually set up in another language!

I've become more cautious where I buy templates from and from which authors because selling a template is great but actually putting in the effort to explain where key elements are is better for all. Not everyone is an expert.

I do think ALL template selling sites should set this as a requirement or actually have a traffic light system Red for Hard Green for Beginners etc to help. May actually increase sales too

Armelline

@Thunder_Child said:
If you use GS for a short period of time...less than actual "experts"...for the most part you are not allowed by some to EVER be as good as them...regardless of your contributions to the GS community.

I actually find this rather offensive. I don't think you're aiming it at me particularly, but I feel offended for those you are aiming it at.

You posted this thread very recently: http://forums.gamesalad.com/discussion/74988/show-score-integer-below-whole-number-1-question#latest

Within two hours you had responses from: @The_Gamesalad_Guru, @jamie_c, @Socks, @tatiang. These are some of the best that the GameSalad community has to offer. They are unquestionably GameSalad experts. You received their help and then hours later disparage them (the "experts" amongst the community) in this thread for failing to do exactly what they just did - helped you to solve a problem and learn something new.

I don't get it. Who is that post aimed at if not for the people who regularly go out of their way to help you?

KillerPenguinStudios

@adelissa said:
You must be misunderstanding me. I believe that you have to be passionate to make great games (which I am), although all I wanted to really get to with all the questions that I have been asking is that if I could base a full time career based on making games using GS.

I posted my post because of the comment you mad in your previous post which is quoted below!

@adelissa said:
! You need to understand that before I work my *** off, I need to know what I can be making.

Just from the above quoted sentence it sounds like that's what you were meaning. I apologize I read it wrong. It's all good! Glad to know you are passionate! It is possible to make a living by developing apps but is extremely difficult now a days!

Thunder_Child

@Armelline‌ yes I did post that. I also thanked each of them...you included...and I can see how the word "expert" was used in that thread. I found it funny.

In this thread I wasnt refering to you...I wasnt refering to @Socks‌ @jamie_c @YOU...
My reference was to @The_Gamesalad_Guru‌. And although he helped and I do appreciate it...as usual (I feel) his very course use of words in this thread are hugely discouraging. He is like that a lot. He is a very discouraging preson in the forums at times...and this is not our first encounter on this. He discouraged me from providing a service to help others with publishing because I didnt have my time in do such a thing. I now have 1500+ views on my publishing tutorials and people drop those tuts in threads without me offering them...so I proved him wrong that someone with less knowledge or time in can do such things...and I will do more. He may have even been talking about me I dont know but I was offended just like you were. He blanketed others that use templates as someone that then thinks they are experts and have some motive to use GS as a gold rush. As I read his reply...I absolutely have an image in my head of him pissed off because someone asked a question that...pissed him off.

I have stated before I learn from templates. So do others. There have been others on occasion that do that too. I shoukd have used his name in my reply. Last time I did the thread got closed by a mod because it ended up in a argument that neither of us would back down.

I dont like what he said. All cleared up now?

Im sorry you were offended. Truly. Same for the others.

RP

Don't draw up images in your head, clearly this thing is going into negative land based on a lot of assumptions.

Armelline

@Thunder_Child said:
In this thread I wasnt refering to you...I wasnt refering to Socks‌ jamie_c YOU...
My reference was to The_Gamesalad_Guru‌.

Perhaps then your condemnation shouldn't have been so broadly worded.

I'm not going to address your comments regarding Guru, that's an issue between you and him. I've always been pretty upfront with him when I've disagreed with him, and him with me, I don't see any need to jump into anyone else's argument with him.

I have stated before I learn from templates. So do others. There have been others on occasion that do that too. I shoukd have used his name in my reply. Last time I did the thread got closed by a mod because it ended up in a argument that neither of us would back down.

Nobody here is saying that templates shouldn't be allowed or are fundamentally a bad thing. I'm a firm, firm believer in the value of templates as educational resources. That's why I called my in-app purchase template a Tutorial Template. It's possible to learn from a template, though, without it having the actual Flappy Bird artwork in it, stolen from the game, justified with the disclaimer that the artwork isn't permitted to be used in the game. It's that kind of thing people like me and Guru get annoyed by, not templates in and of themselves. Hell, we both offer templates! We just don't rip off games in their entirety for our own profit, and disapprove of those who do.

I dont like what he said. All cleared up now?

Sure. I didn't like what you said. Hopefully you'll take care with your words next time just like you want him to. (Something I definitely need to do myself on occasion, also.)

Im sorry you were offended. Truly. Same for the others.

No worries, we all do it sometime or another! I've offended my fair share of people here, I'm sure

The_Gamesalad_Guru

I don't believe I discourage people from doing things. Heck it's a free world and my words shouldn't stop anyone with guts from doing anything. It's just that the crappy stuff way out numbers the good. This is just how it is around here. Blame the people responsible for the bad service and crappy templates that give the community a bad rep. I will always speak my mind and call it as i see it. I'm just one dude and my meager words or anyones words should never deter anyone from doing anything. Any person need to prove to others they can backup what the sell. Aka, prove they know the software and that they can code well. If you have no track record, games released, showing your knowledge by helping on the forum, why should anyone trust your product? We all started somewhere but we proved ourselves and earned the communities trust before trying to sell them anything. We're seen tons of people come here and after a couple months start selling something and before long they are gone leaving disgruntled people behind. I frankly don't buy stuff from others, I don't have the need, but I know others more vulnerable do and it pisses me off when I see people pay for a piece of crap and waste their money, many of them young teenagers.

willkesling

If your going to make an asset of any kind for GameSalad focus on providing value. It helps to actual build and publish games first. then you will have a real feel for what you need asset wise, to make a game.