Comments on: No One Said it Would be Easy http://www.streamingcolour.com/blog/2009/02/20/no-one-said-it-would-be-easy-2/ The trials and joys of indie games development Sat, 28 Jan 2012 19:32:30 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: StephenG http://www.streamingcolour.com/blog/2009/02/20/no-one-said-it-would-be-easy-2/comment-page-1/#comment-931 StephenG Mon, 23 Feb 2009 17:35:17 +0000 http://www.streamingcolour.com/blog/?p=418#comment-931 Well, my two cents worth as someone who is purely a consumer, is that people will eventually find the good stuff, its the getting them to find it that seems to be the problem. Having perused the app store, i find it very hard to find the good stuff without being told where to find it by someone else suggesting a product and directly searching it, which is one thing i am happy about from Owen's postings, that i can see other like minded people making interesting/fun products to consider purchasing. Personally, i think Apple's management of the App store leaves a bit to be desired, though it reminds me of other sections of the store early in their lives in terms of needing better organization. Its not nearly well enough organized and some additional categorization/splash space for programs in each section would go a long way to helping developers in the iphone/itouch universe get their products out and noticed. Well, my two cents worth as someone who is purely a consumer, is that people will eventually find the good stuff, its the getting them to find it that seems to be the problem. Having perused the app store, i find it very hard to find the good stuff without being told where to find it by someone else suggesting a product and directly searching it, which is one thing i am happy about from Owen’s postings, that i can see other like minded people making interesting/fun products to consider purchasing.

Personally, i think Apple’s management of the App store leaves a bit to be desired, though it reminds me of other sections of the store early in their lives in terms of needing better organization. Its not nearly well enough organized and some additional categorization/splash space for programs in each section would go a long way to helping developers in the iphone/itouch universe get their products out and noticed.

]]> By: Antair Games » Blog Archive » Weekly Update http://www.streamingcolour.com/blog/2009/02/20/no-one-said-it-would-be-easy-2/comment-page-1/#comment-888 Antair Games » Blog Archive » Weekly Update Sat, 21 Feb 2009 12:27:05 +0000 http://www.streamingcolour.com/blog/?p=418#comment-888 [...] To finish, two similar, but both interesting articles from two guys I enjoy chatting with, and who I hope everything works out for. Mike Kasprzak, whose Smiles games is one of the best things available on the iPhone, wrote his cheerfully blunt road map. In it, he discusses how things are going for Smiles, and tries to figure out where to take it next. As advertised, it’s blunt and honest, and that always makes for a good read. I’ve got a lot of respect for Mike’s position, he’s held strong with the $4.99 price tag on his game, which is clearly worth it, when he could easily have flinched and yo-yo’d the price all over the place. Owen Goss is in a similar situation with his new game, Dapple, and he writes about it in No one said it would be easy. [...] [...] To finish, two similar, but both interesting articles from two guys I enjoy chatting with, and who I hope everything works out for. Mike Kasprzak, whose Smiles games is one of the best things available on the iPhone, wrote his cheerfully blunt road map. In it, he discusses how things are going for Smiles, and tries to figure out where to take it next. As advertised, it’s blunt and honest, and that always makes for a good read. I’ve got a lot of respect for Mike’s position, he’s held strong with the $4.99 price tag on his game, which is clearly worth it, when he could easily have flinched and yo-yo’d the price all over the place. Owen Goss is in a similar situation with his new game, Dapple, and he writes about it in No one said it would be easy. [...]

]]> By: Jay http://www.streamingcolour.com/blog/2009/02/20/no-one-said-it-would-be-easy-2/comment-page-1/#comment-878 Jay Sat, 21 Feb 2009 04:20:17 +0000 http://www.streamingcolour.com/blog/?p=418#comment-878 From what I have seen so far the indie game seen is really tough and takes a lot of work to make it (I'm sure you are more aware of that than me!). I also think that the games market for iPhone/iTouch is VERY different from the DS/PSP or mainstream games market. Apple's approach is very different than any other game system. They let almost ANYTHING through and you pick the price. Think of things like a fart application as a novelty. If Nintendo let you download that on a DS I think that millions of kids would be using their DS' to make fart noises. The majority of people are entertained by simple things. A quality game like yours targets an audience that doesn't want a cheap 5 second thrill. What does that mean for your market with dapple? If at all possible, find your niche audience and make them aware of the product. Anyone know of sites Owen could market dapple on that combine: painting, puzzle games and brain puzzles? I would love to drop some dapple advertisement cards in some Universities or art schools. I wonder if any Canadian art stores would let you put in a coupon or something (no idea how that works!). Overall I think a light version and maybe a web version is the right way to go and I really hope to see some reviews! From what I have seen so far the indie game seen is really tough and takes a lot of work to make it (I’m sure you are more aware of that than me!). I also think that the games market for iPhone/iTouch is VERY different from the DS/PSP or mainstream games market. Apple’s approach is very different than any other game system. They let almost ANYTHING through and you pick the price. Think of things like a fart application as a novelty. If Nintendo let you download that on a DS I think that millions of kids would be using their DS’ to make fart noises. The majority of people are entertained by simple things. A quality game like yours targets an audience that doesn’t want a cheap 5 second thrill. What does that mean for your market with dapple? If at all possible, find your niche audience and make them aware of the product. Anyone know of sites Owen could market dapple on that combine: painting, puzzle games and brain puzzles?
I would love to drop some dapple advertisement cards in some Universities or art schools. I wonder if any Canadian art stores would let you put in a coupon or something (no idea how that works!).
Overall I think a light version and maybe a web version is the right way to go and I really hope to see some reviews!

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