How to get contracts to make games/apps for people

Mammoth

I know that some people make games and apps for people. My question is how to start the ball rolling and get some contracts? Obviously networking and having a great portfolio is a great start. Is there anybody here that has done this and has some advice?

JohnPapiomitis

some advice would be make sure you get at least half the money up front.

Mammoth

JohnPapiomitis said:
some advice would be make sure you get at least half the money up front.

Haha, the #1 rule of contracting

micksolo

First step would be to actually have some finished, polished games you can show potential customers. Make a website with samples of your work (screenshots, movies or even html 5 demos) of your work. Make sure everything you do is polished and looks professional, including the website. Have a custom domain for your company and your email address should match the domain, and shouldn't be a gmail, hotmail or other account. (this is about building trust and helping customers believe you're a professional developer)

You'll need to think about all the questions potential customers will want to know and prepare answers (eg how much? how long? who is providing the design?). even though they are tough questions to answer depending on the scope of a game, you should work out an hourly, daily or monthly rate you can give to people right off the bat. then you can quickly give them a quote depending on the length of the project.

It'll also be important to have other contractors available that you use especially artists. You don't want to be going to clients and then saying "um I have to find an artist, let me get back to you." Clients want stability and if you're umming and ahhing and not sure they'll walk away.

Once you've locked down everything its time to start pimping yourself.

You could try listing on freelancer websites like e-lance.com or just cold calling company's who might be interested in having games made. I think there is a big market for adver-games at the moment. Or if you have passion for a niche product (like a book, board game, tv show) you could try contacting the licensors to see if they'd be interested in turning their product into a game.

Hope this helps!

DZTECH

Use a work to hire agreement. If you need one email me at zakdavid@me.com

Mammoth

Thanks guys these are all really helpful. The other questions I have is that I should have another account to publish just the contracted games if they want to give their game away for free. And if They want to charge for it I can help set them up an account.

As well there is price. Im thinking the lowest possible game would be 1000. If I wanted to sell a 10 000 dollar game. What would be some features and selling points and tips to help get a contract like that.

BazookaTime

I have bought full rights to games as well as paid to have ideas turned into games. The big problem is it is really hard to make money in the app store, so I am not sure how many big contracts you are going to find. I have paid to have three games made but will probably only release one due to how they were coming along. My process was to submit a rough idea of the game and then wait for an estimate prior to moving forward.

All of the games were below a thousand (average about $450) and I will be lucky to get much of that back in sales. I guess I would be flexible, if you estimate your costs correctly, you should make money, the person receiving the app is not as likely. As for contracts, they are a good idea but I rarely bother since my projects are inexpensive. I keep all the documentation and make sure I deal with quality people. And yes, it is common practice and a good idea to ask for half the money upfront and the remainder when the job is complete.