What are some places that pay independent game developers for their games?
If you're not restricting yourself to a specific platform, there are a variety of content-delivery services like Steam (PC), PlayStation Network (PS3/PSP) and XNA Creators Club (PC/Xbox 360). These have various mechanisms in place to host independent games via their services.
If you are, then some of the other users here may have some good suggestions for other options for you :)
What about XNA Creators Club for XNA games?
Kongregate is nice because they do revenue sharing and have contests with prize-money.
What's your game written in?
Coming from a cell phone game background there's sites like http://www.didmo.com/community/ that will host your games for you, they add an ad wrapper around it to make money, and you split the profit.
I'm guessing your looking at developing flash games seeing as you mentioned Kongregate, I looked into this a few months ago and the other site which looked promising was crazy monkey games. Hope this helps and good luck!
Don't forget that you can also port your game to the iPhone and put it up there, as well as porting it over to the Android platform and put it up on the Google storefront with little to no trouble.
You should look into XNA Creators Club though for the 360. Also, if you do it in XNA there's no licensing fees or anything, you can sale your program as is for windows machines. GoDaddy, a shopping cart with paypal integration isn't that hard to do, you could host it yourself.
Kongregate is very popular however; Their payment plan may not be what you're looking for and if your game doesn't become very popular then I don't think you'll be paid very well.
With that said there are other options you can consider. Have you looked at advertisement inside of your game? Many popular flash-based games have advertisements that display while the game is loading and/or for a fixed period of time. Every time someone looks at and/or clicks on and ad, you'll get a small amount of money they eventually will add up for some decent cash.
Unless your game is extremely popular (i.e. Desktop Defense), then I don't think you'll be able to make very much money off of it.
Have you considered hosting the games yourself, and merely placing ads on the pages?
I'm not trying to be flippant, I'm curious if you have gone down that path and what, if anything, you learned.
Related
Some years ago I bought a brand new iPod Video (now known as iPod Classic) with a hard drive of 30GB. Now, after it has been unused for ages, I decided to replace its built-in battery and do something good with it.
Unfortunately, although there are some games for it in the iTunes Store, some of which really good, I can't find any documentation on how to develop for it. Together with the iPod Nano, it falls under the common name of "iPods with Clicking Wheel", but as far as I know there are no SDKs for them. I suspect that the solution is more trivial than I'm thinking.
Any suggestions?
From what I can remember, the SDK for those iPods were closed to public development.
Only selected games houses could make games for them by working directly with Apple. They were usually "name brands" like Tetris, Peggle, Solitaire, etc.
Here's an article that describes it.
You could put Rockbox on the iPod (very easy to do) and then write games for Rockbox.
A good starting point (after installing Rockbox and playing with it) would be to look at the For Developers articles in the wiki.
Good luck!
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I have a client that wants audio to play while the user is browsing the website. Besides the fact that audio is annoying when it starts automatically and plays when you are browsing, I thought of the following technical struggles.
Having to use frames to allow audio to play uninterrupted.
SEO issues with using frames
Having to use ajax to allow audio to play uninterrupted.
SEO issues with all ajax site
Pop-up to allow audio to play in another window
JS pop-up blockers won't allow this
Does anyone else have other technical hurdles that I can use in my defense?
Music on your website is a terrible idea
All who are against music vote for this answer
All who are for music vote for the other answer
It doesn't matter what you or s/he thinks. All that matters is how the customer reacts.
Easy way: see if they'll agree to asking 10 random strangers (who are representative of the visitors you get) and playing music in the background (you can just mock this up) and abiding by their opinion.
Hard way:
If the client won't agree to #1, try the one below (and once they realize #1 costs $30 and #2 costs $300 to do they'll then opt for #1)
How about some objective metrics with an A/B split test: Randomly assign half the visitors to hear music, the other half not to. Then compare conversion rates (or abandonment rates).
Losing customers in the effort to prove a point isn't going to win any brownie points with the client, so I would avoid putting music on without the ability to turn it off. Furthermore, you risk frustrating your user base by defaulting the music to on/loud.
However, in this scenario, you will probably find that most people never turn on the music because they don't realise it's there.
You could ask your users what they prefer the first time they load the page up:
Do you mind if we play music during
your visit to our site?
Sure, go ahead, I love music
Actually, I'd rather you didn't
[X]Never ask me this again
You'll likely find that most of the users say no, and they'll appreciate you not harassing them on every visit to your site. Likewise, those that want to listen to the music can appreciate it without your whole user base being irritated by it.
If the client is unwilling to see how bad of an idea that playing music can be, try to meet in the middle. Maybe add a music player options so users can choose to toggle between on or off. That's the best attempt and what my strategy would be.
Hmm, this is a tough issue because there really is no clear, definitive answer. I like to look at issues like this:
Technical:
If a client wants a feature (in this case sound) perform the due diligence to research if browsers can support that feature, and which ones will not. Come up with numbers to show the client. X feature is only supported in X browser and most people use "this" browser so I would / wouldn't use this feature.
Psychological:
Specifically for sound, study the psychological effects, usability of this feature as it concerns the end user. I will immediacy leave a website if a video or sound starts playing without my permission. I expect a choice, and when that choice is taken away I leave. And at the point where I leave, I'm mad, I hate any user experience where I am left out.
Client is not always right:
So most of us have heard that the client is ALWAYS right. Well to be quite honest, no no they are not ALWAYS right. It does not matter whether your selling websites, or magazines, or working on cars, you have to be there for your client. Obviously if you do good work people will refer you. However sometimes you have to stand your ground with a client. My suggestion is to make sure you do that at the beggining of a project, rather than later. I've turned down projects, or agreed to handle only certain aspects of a site design because I wouldn't be associated with certain features. For example I don't do Flash sites. Not that flash is bad I just don't do it. I give those projects to friends. And they return the favor. If you tell a client upfront that you won't / can't deliver that's a good thing. Don't say yes and then come up with an excusse later in the project, that's where the client will become frustrated with you, and if they complain they are right to do so, and you will loose business.
At the end of the day communication, deciding upfront what you will and will not do will save your lots of headaches.
And as for sound, it has it's time and place. Bands, Flashsites especially those highend national ad campaings for cell phones, or movies can get away with sound. The best option at the beginning of a project is to tell (don't ask) the client that they can have sound, and if it does auto play you will set he volume to low, and have a visable player that the user can control, meaning they can TURN IT OFF, OR LOWER THE VOLUME, these features are not negotiable. If they have a hard time with that, then walk away from the project because they will have a hard time with anything. And don't be afraid to turn down work. For every 3 sites I work on I turn down one.
I recently took on a project that requires sound. I'm kinda in a pickle with my client (he's not mad) but he told me he wanted sound and I offered to use a player, and give control to the end user. He was ok with that. Recently, after checking out the sound player feature he says "No, I wanted a sound to play when you rollover the navigation. The pickle is that he never said that, and I've stood my ground with him about adding that feature. So he's a little upset with me, but we are working it out. He's mostly upset that I want to charge for the extra feature, and I'm not budging. It will all work it. Just an example.
Sorry for the long reply, Good luck!
If someone is viewing your client's web site at work, the music could cause them to click away immediately. That's what happens when audio starts playing on a site I'm browsing at work.
I had this issue with a client. I solved it by doing an Ajax site, but in order to workaround SEO downfalls of Ajax, all the navigation links literally linked to another page. Search engines saw a completely normal site, where navigation links were normal and only the content paragraphs for that one page were loaded in the HTML.
The JavaScript then progressively enhances the page by overriding the link behavior to load the content for the new page. So users with JavaScript got a great Ajax experience, with audio, and only the content div loaded new content.
You can even get around back/forward button issues by marking #pagename in the URL for each page. Upon page load you should check to see if a #pagename is there, and then load the content for that page.
Hope that's clear enough - let me know if you need more details.
See if you can figure out why, from your client's perspective, they want this feature. See if they can give you good reasons. Then you can begin seeing how to meet their goals without necessarily using their methods.
That might help with convincing them, as opposed to resorting to technical concerns. Going technical makes it sound like you don't want to do your job. That's not the case at all -- I'm sure you want their site to be awesome and you will do what it takes to make that happen. It's just that "what it takes" may not be exactly what the client asked for the first time.
There is nothing like a practical demonstration. Find a suitably annoying midi file and loop it endlessly. If the client can stay in the same room for 30 minutes without their head exploding then they have won the right to put music on the site.
Obligatory XKCD.
Myspace
The business stakeholders do not care about your technical worries. So I advice you not to waste time telling them or seek more input.
The business stakeholders do care about money- and that is the major reason why you were hired and a "currency" you can use to "talk" to them. Explain to them things like:
How adding audio can reduce an ability for customers to stumble upon their site via a Google or bing search (SEO)
How audio can be disruptive and make them more likely to go to the competition (which is only a click or two away) (this is your pop-up issues)
The current state of technology and users' expectation will not make this site pretty and give a poor return of investments (Ajax problem you mentioned)
Notice each of these focus on the button-line (profit-$$$) and does not bore the business stakeholders with technical details which is not their problem (but yours.) Speak to them in their language, be frank and realistic and these guys can be wonderful. A demo of an extremely bad site can help if you feel that it helps your cause (but be careful because this can also hurt you.)
Nothing you've listed is a reason to avoid playing audio on their website.
To you and I (and many others I suppose), auto audio is really annoying.
My suggestion is that you explain your feeling to your client.
If your client still insists on having audio, then do what they want. The client is your customer, and the customer is always right.
As an aside, many photographers I know have audio, and while many poo-poo this, they all swear that their clients love it. So I guess to each their own.
Put it on the website and wait for complaints to come in.
Store designs, notes, and specs for client's approval on your own web site. Add music to these pages. Make sure it's music he doesn't like.
This comes down to one of the primary rules of usability: do what the user expects.
The only way I'd consider putting auto-playing music on a website is if it's for a band website with an integrated Flash music player. The reason is simply that the user will expect it. Any other time it's just annoying.
Another point - many users open many tabs/windows at once, so if music starts playing, you don't actually know which site is doing it, which is intensely annoying!
I might cite a precedent to make my case. Identify their space or niche on the internet. Look at other site owners who are very successful in the customer's space. Do they play music? Is it working for them?
Suggest against it, because most internet users actively dislike it. Make a comparison to the blink tags of ten years ago, which also made sites seem less professional to the larger audience.
And if they still want it, do it, because it'll make them happy, and happy customers with terrible work beats unhappy customers with the Best Site Ever. Just leave the site out of any portfolio of your work you put together.
Or, as the genius above already added, add a toggle for music on/off.
Every time you call the client, blare music in the background and say you just opened some website that started playing it automatically.
HI All,
I am new to the world of Animation in iPhone, I have a team which has experience of developing CMS apps with little bit of animation in it. I would would like to develop an application like...
link text
I have limitations to put another hyperlink over here but you can search with "Alex Bop Bag" in youtube for other video.
It would be a great help if anybody can suggest how much time i much time it would take for a person who is new to animation world but good in iPhone development.
your feedback would be helpful.
Thanks.
Have you heard the phrase "How long is a piece of string?" before?
There's really so many factors here, how many developers, how well they work as a team, experience and skill levels, project complexity, possible issues/time sinks, project management skills, etc.
It's so dynamic, unless you have an idea from previous attempts at tasks with similar complexity it's very hard to say.
So I guess the answer is the standard "It depends". I would suggest trying something small to get an idea for how well your team performs and to get an idea of what to expect with a more complex project.
I was wondering, how does a web designer/developer start out in his buisness with nothing to show (in the sense of a portfolio,) and only his word to show he does good work? How are those people supposed to get buisness?
If you don't have a portfolio and want business, it is best to make your own site look incredible. Show people what you can do with your own site. Once your site is incredible, network with companies in your area, friends, family and offer your services cheap if they'll let you use their site as a portfolio example.
Once your portfolio is up, referrals should be coming in and folks seeing your site should be even more interested.
EDIT Per Martin's request, when you build your own site, please don't grab a run of the mill template like every other web developer out there. If you do take a template, make it yours, modify the heck out of it.
The best thing you can do for an empty portfolio is personal projects. I was hired for my first job out of college because I had created a website for my personal business. I was able to show that I had talent because I was in charge the entire site. You shouldn't ever rely on "your word" to get you jobs.
If you need ideas for a personal project, you can see if any friends/family need help, but that can be limiting. Still, it's another project to put in your portfolio to help you get more professional work.
I'd also recommend reading up on online articles dealing with starting a business. Some recommended reading:
alistapart.com/articles/startingabusiness/
alistapart.com/articles/business1/
freelanceswitch.com/general/101-essential-freelancing-resources/
Start by doing projects for people you know and work to create a small selection of work that reflects your current skill set. At the beginning, you may find that your talents are evolving so rapidly that your previous work doesn't reflect your current abilities — that's fine. Try to create a narrative on your portfolio site that shows people your progress and how each piece of work has built on the next.
Your portfolio site should demonstrate both technical and aesthetic skills. If you're an artist or industrial designer, you want your site to fade to the background and push your work forwards. Being a web designer means that your actual site is as important as the work featured on it. Your code should be clean and organized (you don't need to be a standardista, but be tidy).
If there's one skill you should really have before you start to work for clients, it's a sense of typography. You don't want to contribute to the ever-expanding world of poorly set websites.
Good luck.
I completely agree with all of the above - if you can demonstrate your capabilities with some sample work, that will count for far more than a resume in the end. Most of my work has come through people seeing my other work, not knowing my employment history.
Get yourself a domain, build a bunch of sample home pages, create a bunch of sub directories on your site. Make one for a small business, then maybe e-commerce, then maybe a blog, make a few different example scenarios of the types of sites that you would likely be asked to do, I have seen some people design mock home pages in Photoshop and just show them all as clickable JPEGS, that can be quick yes, although I recommend using all live pages on your site to show what interactive things you can do. Up to you, depending how quick you want it up and how important it is to you. I was paid $2500 to make this blog by a guy who was just completely web illiterate. I didn't quote that price mind you, he offered it to me out of nowhere after looking at a gallery of WP templates I had up as "possible" themes for a customer's blog. Sometimes, you are just in the right place at the right time. Best of luck to you.
Do side projects and see if you can build friends' websites (for free, or if they'll pay you, cool). Do whatever you can to demonstrate your abilities. Building a personal site doesn't hurt either.
I'd recommend making an online portfolio, if not to display past projects at least to post your resume and basically a cover letter. You can get a lot of free css templates if you're not comfortable with designing your own.
I'm building a site for my wife and a friend of mine from high school. If you're not getting work, its just the economy. I've been looking for work since March. It's tough.
Just keep at it, and it'll pay off.
You need to create a professional looking site. If you are a developer I also suggest that you start a small open source project (or a big one if you are so inclinded). It doesn't have to be any thing major...a widget or library. Something useful for people to play with. On your website show examples of your work. If you have no examples then sign up for accounts on getafreelancer.com, elance.com, scriptlance.com, guru.com, rentacoder.com and any of the other freelance style sites. Build up your portfolio by doing cheap work...but not work that is cheap! Create a resume and post it somewhere for google to find. Create a linkedin, facebook, and myspace account. Make it easy for people to find you and for people to find your work. Write about the things that you are interested in either by way of a personal blog or by posting articles to a site that already gets lots of traffic. Speak at small user groups or conferences to get your name out.
There is a lot you can do it is just a matter of how badly you want to succeed. Programming or designing is just as much a business as selling physical products. It is all about how much you saturate a given space with good words about your services. Marketing!
As a software developer, I have done many web page applications and been doing blog for my programming experiences. I would like to use pictures in many cases. Pictures worth thousand words and they are universal language!
You could create your own clip art images or download graphics(actually many are open clip art/image libraries available, Open Clip Art Library as example). However your time and art skill are limited and you can only keep limited library of images.
I wish if there is any open art/image library web sites with permanent references available so that you just add a simple reference in your html page like this just like a way that you could use other people or web site's graphics:
<img src="http://OpenArtLibray.net/icon/work/DoItYourself.png".../>
In this way, there is no need to waste time to download and upload images and no waste on your and other computer's disk spaces(no duplication). Just one place with a huge amount of variety of images available, and open for people to use, or with some reasonable fees. People may vote the popularity of art/images as well.
Is there any such kind of web site available?
Typically sites discourage this. What this really does is shift the bandwidth cost to the hosting site. There have been cases where sites with pictures have analyzed the referrer to determine if images are linked to from other sites, then servering an image with text claiming the image is being 'stolen'.
The point of that, is the idea isn't very well liked.
However, some sites like w3c, allow you to link to their certification images. It all depends on what you are linking to.
It is hard to think of a business doing this, as there doesn't seem to be a revenue aspect.
Even if some were charged fees, there's a lot of work involved in checking/verifying who has paid, via referrer texts. Maybe you have a new business plan.
Update:
Oh, I have a friend who always sends me emails with links to flickr. Maybe their license lets you link to images on their site. Something for you to check out.
Update:
This text, "photo hosting sites", makes for an interesting, relevant google search.
Thanks for Chris explanation. I could accept it as a answer. However, I raised this question because I really don't like to "steal" images. I can see it is hard to charge fees, but there are some many open resources available on the web. Actually, I found one Open Clip Art Library, which allow people to contribute and share images. I found many good pictures there and downloaded. I may contribute some when I create images for my blog so I'll let people to use my.
Flickre is an open social place for people store and sharing pictures. As long as pictures are shared there, specially by people, I think you can use and link images there. Still you have to do the work: creating and uploading. Actually, I tried another open social site called as DropBox. I can create a public folder there and add my pictures for sharing. All those sites have one common problem: personal account and may not be available if inactive for certain period of time (90 days for DropBox?).
That's why I asked this question here in StackOverFlow. I hope some people may know some hosts available or any other alternative options available. Maybe it is just like Chris said, "the idea isn't very well liked".
Actually, I realize that Open Clip Art Library I mentioned in my previous email does provide image hosting-like service. If you click on any one's picture download link, it will open a new tab or window to display the graphic. The display has its URL. I have created a new user name and submitted my picture. It works well. I can include the graphics in my test web page. Not sure how long the URL will be there. It looks like permanent one.
Try searching Creative Commons licensed works. People will often upload and share photos on such places as Flickr under a Creative Commons license which allows you to remix, reference or use on your own projects, blogs or site.
There are different types of licenses under the CC with some asking you to not use their works if you're going to be making money from it or if you're engaging in commercial activity.
You just have to nod back to the original author when using items under CC and if you link back to them, that's just good karma.