Game Dev Price

Team6Labs

How much would you charge if you had to develop games for a client?

Thanks

patapple

depends on the difficult of the game

IsabelleK

And if you also have to make graphics, and music, or the client gives you them, and you just have to "write the code".

Team6Labs

Let's say a not that difficult game. Whatever you would consider your standard game. And you have to make the graphics. Music is provided.

The_Gamesalad_Guru

Figure the hours involved and multiply it be a hourly wage. This is how you estimate work and value. So you think $1000 is good but you work 200 hours on the project...that's only $5 per hour you could work at McDonald's and make twice that. You Have to determine your worth and figure how long it takes you to do the work.

conrad74

Figure the hours involved and multiply it be a hourly wage. This is how you estimate work and value. So you think $1000 is good but you work 200 hours on the project...that's only $5 per hour you could work at McDonald's and make twice that. You Have to determine your worth and figure how long it takes you to do the work.

You could work at McDonald's and make twice that but...then you would have to work at McDonald's : )

tenrdrmer

Figure the hours involved and multiply it be a hourly wage. This is how you estimate work and value. So you think $1000 is good but you work 200 hours on the project...that's only $5 per hour you could work at McDonald's and make twice that. You Have to determine your worth and figure how long it takes you to do the work.

You could work at McDonald's and make twice that but...then you would have to work at McDonald's : )

And its better to make less to do harder work?

Pro developers usually don't charge Less than $20-$50 an hour. Are you a pro? can your work stand up against other $20-$50/hour devs. You have to decide what your time and skill is worth.

tatiang

If you've made a game with GameSalad, then you know how long it takes to make a game. If you've made ten games with GameSalad, then you know how long it takes to make different types of games. I agree with others that you need to estimate how long it will take to make the game that the client is requesting and then multiply that by your hourly rate.

It took me somewhere in the neighborhood of 40-60 hours to make my first game, and I used public domain graphics and sounds for it. To make the exact same game again would probably take me a quarter of that time at most. So I'd multiply some hourly rate, say $30 times the estimated time, say 15 hours, and get $450.

LeonardDeveloper

My estimate would be $500 thats what most people charge, I think @mynameisace does full game development at a standard charge of $500

JustMe74

Wow - those are some cheap rates. When I do consulting (for project management), I charge $85-$100/hr. $500 for a full game seems ridiculously low, unless its a very simple game.

The_Gamesalad_Guru

Coming from a family contracting business I spend years estimating project costs for bids. The process I described didn't include such things as electricity usage, computer, software you purchased, Internet et... These are associated costs of conducting business. What makes game development so special that you would work for less of a wage than flipping burgers? If you take that attitude you'll never make a living doing games. It seems many people don't get the business side of things. Also by working for nearly nothing you trample on the other who depend on this type of work to make a living. It's like when I see people ask where to get art or sound and people on this,forum direct them to some third party site and ignore the folkes who have quality stuff of the marketplace there by screwing your fellow developers trying to accomplish their dreams. Yet those same people help you for free, everyday on the forums make your games. What kind of thanks is that? It's more like a screw you, I only care about me. Yet those same people who do that complain about not getting the answer they want or some other such nonsense. Then we wonder why so many of the business minded developers avoid the forums all together. I know many quality people including myself who have high quality work on the market place and we get slapped in the face every time someone doesn't support us by recommending the marketplace. I don't want to hear how GS screwed up the marketplace layout, forget about GS for once and support us you're fellow developers who help this community every damn day!

tatiang

Wow - those are some cheap rates. When I do consulting (for project management), I charge $85-$100/hr. $500 for a full game seems ridiculously low, unless its a very simple game.

While I agree with you, my assumption (could be wrong) is that someone asking a question about what to charge is very new to the client relationship (possibly a first project) and probably either isn't comfortable charging $100/hr or isn't skilled enough to charge that.

I know when I started doing IT consulting, I hesitated to charge even $30/hr. But after doing it for a year, I realized I was charging way too little. The competition was at $60-$80/hr, so I gradually raised my rates until they met that. It's not about matching other people but rather about charging what you deserve ($30/hr is very little for a tech service) and what people are willing to pay or feel they can pay.

mynameisace

Nope, I definitely don't do a standard charge of $500 for a game

I usually work on an hour by hour basis, and discount my hourly rate for bigger projects.

Ace

LeonardDeveloper

@mynameisace
Ah, My mistake; I saw a thread somewhere titled with "Full game development for 500"

EatingMyHat

I know many quality people including myself who have high quality work on the market place and we get slapped in the face every time someone doesn't support us by recommending the marketplace.

I think you meant 'by NOT recommending the marketplace'.

I actually not sure that many of the new comers even know the marketplace. Other than the small text tab on the top of the page, there is NOTHING that directs you there for the great content that it includes. Even hinting on a thread that there is something on the marketplace seems to borderline with a violation of the rules, which is frustrating.

As for the rates discussion... its a free market, everyone have the right to decide how he positions himself; a high value resource, junior or competitive pricing based on his own logic (McDonald's rate or other). At the end of the day, evaluate the portfolio, experience, reviews and professionalism of each developer/artist/composer and decide - in most cases, you'll get what you paid for. For me, the forum is one of the key tools for such evaluation.

The_Gamesalad_Guru

Yes this has been talked about before. As it seems strange to be not able to say I have stuff in the marketplace on the forums of the company who hosts that marketplace. Yet I saw a GS employee in a video singing the praises of their marketplace yet they fail to address the functionality of it. Seems like more talk than walk to me.

Other than the small text tab on the top of the page, there is NOTHING that directs you there for the great content that it includes. Even hinting on a thread that there is something on the marketplace seems to borderline with a violation of the rules, which is frustrating.

LeonardDeveloper

We should be allowed mention products on the marketplace - don't see why not , as long as we don't make threads it won't spam the place, I agree with @fryingbaconstudios

RP

I was going to chime in about the marketplace and the policies/thinking that regulate the marketplace topics in the forums, but I think that what needed to be said has already been done. Never the less I still have 2 cents to spend. I tried to bring this marketplace topic up directly and was unanswered. Until this gets addressed in functionality, evenly and fairly spread (not just okay for a select few and the shameless self promotion), I'm going to cease creating new marketplace assets. I got shot down day one when I posted an announcement of bringing assets to the marketplace and asked users what kinds of assets they would like to see added (following the official advertising conditions to the T). People were not on the same procedural page then, but even now there is murkiness and uneven balance.

To GS management (those whom legally represent GameSalad), let's get this fixed please. The marketplace could be so much more and backing announcements made by the content creators would show confidence in your partnerships and the products you/we are selling. Create a guideline/template for posting these announcements and customer inquires if need be. As it stands next to no one knows of the content we are offering and releasing (with the exceptions being mentioned above).

I'd like to see the marketplace tied a bit better into the forums where inquiries and needs are ignited. Both GameSalad and content creators are missing out on opportunities as each day passes under the current situations and functionality.

Stamu

@RP @LeonardDeveloper @FryingBaconStudios @EatingMyHat Marketplace? what marketplace?

EatingMyHat

I can tell you why.

The forums is a place to get help.

And in the past people would ask for help on an issue and rather then get a helpful response they would get "go buy my template"

So this rule helps keep the forums the helpful place they are.

cheers

I agree that there have to be rules, but it cannot be an all or nothing type of thing.

What I suggested in the past is to have a closed sticky that lists weekly additions and updates to the marketplace, this way people see when stuff comes in or get updated. I don't want to see the spamfest/bumpfest that existed before, but the Marketplace need to have a minimal forum presence.

andrewm2211

Why not just bring back the marketplace forum, and restrict all template discussion to that?

EatingMyHat

Why not just bring back the marketplace forum, and restrict all template discussion to that?

Because this is where everybody just kept bumping their stuff and it became a useless bump war.

EatingMyHat

@EatingMyHat if people can click on a sticky to see whats new why can't they just click on the marketplace to see whats new

If you click on Marketplace you see popular assets not what's new. In addition, as far as I know there is no way to see if something got updated (I asked on the forum if there is a way to see updates, but someone didn't like the question so it got demoted).

Why announce new GS releases? just go to the release notes...

(we are soooo off topic )

The_Gamesalad_Guru

Yeah it too bad the people who can't resist the urge for shameless self promotion ruined it.

Team6Labs

Back to the topic lol I don't want to charge or pay people on an hour basis. People can waste time, or if I really get into a project I can spend much more time on it. If its not as fun I don't do as much work.

What do you think about paying or getting paid a little bit and then bartering other skills (graphic design/marketing)

JustMe74

Back to the topic lol I don't want to charge or pay people on an hour basis.

If you don't pay on an hourly basis, you're going to end up grossly overpaying.
IMHO.

Team6Labs

What's a normal hourly rate?

JamieOneil

I done $5.95/hr for a client.

JustMe74

What's a normal hourly rate?

That depends entirely on the skill & experience of the person doing the work.

JohnPapiomitis

I done $5.95/hr for a client.

Whats a normal hourly rate?

NOT THIS...

To each his own i guess, but to be honest a rate like that kinda makes devs seem worthless. You can work at Mcdonalds and get more. And always remember you get what you pay for.

As for me i charge anywhere between 20-40 an hour. What you have to realize is the rate a person gives you is based off his experience, how much his/her time is worth, ect.

So someone might give you 20 a hour, and a more experienced guy might say 40. But then the more experienced guy gets it done in hour, and the other guy takes 3. You end up paying more with a lower rate.

JamieOneil

I done $5.95/hr for a client.

Whats a normal hourly rate?

NOT THIS...

To each his own i guess, but to be honest a rate like that kinda makes devs seem worthless. You can work at Mcdonalds and get more. And always remember you get what you pay for.

As for me i charge anywhere between 20-40 an hour. What you have to realize is the rate a person gives you is based off his experience, how much his/her time is worth, ect.

So someone might give you 20 a hour, and a more experienced guy might say 40. But then the more experienced guy gets it done in hour, and the other guy takes 3. You end up paying more with a lower rate.

It was simple small jobs he was asking me to do, id say it was a fair rate for what i had to do.

In the end i only worked 13 hours for him but he paid me for 20.