Living off your GS game sales?

TouchTiltGames

I just wondered if any of the GS creators have been successful enough in profit with their game(s) where they could create games full time?

I read the whole Alpine Crawler thread and the "you can't make successful games with GS" comment stood out for me.

BarkBarkCo

I know that FMG and tshirt have openly discussed being able to make 10k+ over several months.

UtopianGames

I hope to add my name to the 2 above when Bumps is released:)

Its very hard to make it even with a great game there's still a chance you wont make a lot of cash.

We made Jungle Bug (2 months) and Bloody Fingers (2 days) guess which one has sold more?

Crazy place the app store but if you do make it high into the charts you will make a lot and i mean a lot of cash.

Darren.

reddotinc

Shizane said:
I read the whole Alpine Crawler thread and the "you can't make successful games with GS" comment stood out for me.

Personally.. I think that is BS.. Of course it depends on what you deem "successful" to be, but I can think of some games that have been

firemaplegames

I have made over 20K with my first two apps. And they quickies - I made both of them in under two weeks each. I also make Desktop games that sell much better than the iPhone stuff. Plus I also manage to squeeze a fulltime job in there somewhere...

The games actually make more than the job so that is nice!

My current game is taking two months - so it will probably flop!

scitunes

Joe, where do you sell your desktop games?

VoidedSky

They are on his site.

scitunes

ahh, of course. looks cool!

scorelessmusic

Can't say that I am making a living just off GS apps, but I hope I am making a difference for those exploring music, and I know some of my students appreciate them.

goliath

Firemaple, what are your 2 games.. Stunt squirrels is yours right?

Shpint

@goliath
I think it's Danger Cats! and Stunt Squirrels (What about Stunt Squirrels HD)?

My first 2 games sold for $50 in 5 days Which is good considering the fact that I'm only 16. I don't need to ask my parents for money anymore!!! (maybe not)

firemaplegames

Yes, Danger Cats! and Stunt Squirrels!. I also made an iPad version of Stunt Squirrels!.

FranzKeller

I will soon! ;-)

iDeveloperz

How do you sell desktop games on your website?

TouchTiltGames

firemaplegames said:
I have made over 20K with my first two apps. And they quickies - I made both of them in under two weeks each. I also make Desktop games that sell much better than the iPhone stuff. Plus I also manage to squeeze a fulltime job in there somewhere...

The games actually make more than the job so that is nice!

My current game is taking two months - so it will probably flop!

Well thanks really..it's nice to hear this encouraging news. Firemaple - You must work a full-time job on a computer too? I'm a work at home Graphic Designer.

TouchTiltGames

iDeveloperz said:
How do you sell desktop games on your website?

There's a lot of ways - even simply a pay pal account or through a download vehicle like Steam.

firemaplegames

@iDeveloperz: My Desktop games are written in Flash. I then use another piece of software called mProjector to 'wrap' my Flash file and turn it into a proper Mac .app or Windows .exe

This allows me to save data to the file system.

I wrote my own DRM system in Flash and use a company called Plimus to handle credit card transactions.

JamesZeppelin

10 -20k would be awesome. I get excited when i see figures like that.
Only problem is i guess it depends on what a person considers "living off of"
That would have been amazing 15 years ago when i lived with buddies in an apartment in the city but, unfortunately 20k isn't gonna pay the mortgage and the power bill now. specially with a couple kids in teh mix.

Eastbound

Looks like I'll exceed the $10,000 profit mark tomorrow!

I would love to do this full time, and I honestly think I could, but I'm in college still and would like to get my degree and get some actual work experience with a company (until I realize I want to work from home all the time ).

Rob2

where did the music from the asplosion vid come from, is it in the game?

Devils

I have been trying to do this for a while now. I don't use GS because I found out about it about 2 -3 months ago. But I had been trying for a year in half and I now have a chance. I hope I can make enough to start a small business/studio in game designing that will eventually make it big in the Apple Store.

quantumsheep

Eastbound said:
Looks like I'll exceed the $10,000 profit mark tomorrow!

I would love to do this full time, and I honestly think I could, but I'm in college still and would like to get my degree and get some actual work experience with a company (until I realize I want to work from home all the time ).

Just wanted to say I think this is amazingly brilliant!

GOOD FOR YOU!

When I was at college/uni all I did was PLAY games and write about them - I couldn't even *dream* of making my own - let alone financing my wanton exploits 'on campus' by making money from them!

Kudos to you, mate! You'll have no trouble getting a job in the games industry, if that's what you want to eventually do

QS

debugdesign

Sadly I am at the other end of the scale, before I discovered GS I invested $2000 in an Xcode based quiz app 'quizicards' and although the game is great I have just about broken the $200 mark so I have a long way before I break even, never mind living off it... I hope my next game will help re-address the balance as it is getting better every day.

quantumsheep

@Debugdesign

I've seen your video of it, and it is looking very nice

As an aside, despite having not broken even on quizicards, I'm sure you've made some money from helping out this community that you otherwise wouldn't have if you'd not started on GS?

QS

debugdesign

Too true, this community has been brilliant and I owe them a lot. Not only did I get hope in a dire situation but also realised I could get paid for doing what I love... Sure it's not much, but the clients are top notch and I get to see my creations come to life.

I hope to evolve with GS and eventually get some great titles out there of my own... Dragon fire is so close now, 14 levels, 3 mini games, power ups, the lot... Now it's just tweaking and testing, but there is SO much more I could add...

beefy_clyro

Glad its all helped out Ian and cant wait to see your own creation, sounds great

quantumsheep

beefy_clyro said:
Glad its all helped out Ian and cant wait to see your own creation, sounds great

It looks like a lot of fun - I saw a sneak peek

TouchTiltGames

tshirtbooth said:
i dont live off it but i almost could. Im pulling in just over 4000.00 a month. It was better but its going down as i have not uploaded any new games or updates in a few months.

cheers

Wow that is inspiring. What games are yours on the Store?

chosenonestudios

Shizane said:
Wow that is inspiring. What games are yours on the Store?

search for stacey bennet.. All of those are his!

harshhsrah

@firemaple
We are using the same model (flash + mprojector) for our new game. How has your experience been with your releases on mprojector. Any issues with buyers/portals?
I understand from your comments that you have not approached portals like Big Fish but have chosen to sell your games yourself...do you do that through your website only or use any other distribution channel?
What kind of advertisement/promotion do you do for your games.
These surely are a lot of questions but any pointers/download stats/conversion rates etc. from a experienced developer like you will be great for indies like us.
Thanks

Fetaboy

Shizane said:
I just wondered if any of the GS creators have been successful enough in profit with their game(s) where they could create games full time?

I read the whole Alpine Crawler thread and the "you can't make successful games with GS" comment stood out for me.

I just look at 0.03 seconds Pro and how successful that's been, and see no reason it couldn't have been made with GS.

As for me, I could've made a living off of my (non gamesalad) apps the past two years, but chose not to as too much of the app income was based off of two apps. It wasn't diverse enough with a mortgage and family to take care of.