Average number of levels per game for publication

nporima

Hi All,
I'd like some advice from anyone who have published a game in the ITunes app store. My question is how does one determine how many levels to develop for a game before publishing it to the iTunes app store? I'm working on my first game which is a physics game and have so far created 14 levels. Is there a criteria that experienced game developers follow or is it dependent on the complexity of the game? Also when does one publish free games and when does one begin charging for games?

Thanks
samabiong

Wingmanapps

You cant really compare amount of levels. Cause every game has different mechanics, so I would rather compare time to complete a game. Which I think should be no less then 1 hour pr 0,99$ but thats just my personal opinion.

DanielDoe

Which I think should be no less then 1 hour pr 0,99$ but thats just my personal opinion.

It's also my opinion, but unfortunetly players want hours of gameplay for free...

nporima

Thanks guys and come to think of it, I do enjoy spending hours of gameplay on addictive and fun games.

BoomshackBarry

Yeah there's no measurable level really it's down to however you personally want to build the game. In some games you can blast through one level in seconds, in other games one level might keep you playing for an hour. It's just down to you as a developer to make sure that your game offers as much value as you can manage.

Content-wise it's hard to compete with a game like angry birds that can keep people playing for months on end for only 69p, so make sure that your game offers value in as many other areas as possible.

Regarding free and paid games, that all depends on what strategy you're planning to use. It's easier to get lots of downloads on free games, so it's popular now to release free games with ads and in app purchases, but if your game is good enough then it might do well as a paid app. Either way nobody can really tell you, it's down to you to come up with a suitable plan, with a bit of trial and error thrown in. Hope that helps

nporima

Thanks very much for the useful information BoomshackBarry. It sounds like it's not just a matter of developing a game and uploading it to iTunes or whatever and hope for the best like some of the new developers appear to be doing. So really, if one wants to make a successful career in game app development, one should have a road map or a business plan of some sort. For me, this is just a hobby and I'm learning quickly and so far I'm enjoying it.

Cheers

BoomshackBarry

That's exactly it. A while back there were much fewer apps on the store so it was easier to just release an app in to the wild and get it noticed. Today we're all competing on a level playing field with the likes of EA games, Zynga, Gameloft. Unless you're really lucky you generally have to think like a business to try and get a foothold against these guys.

Miracles do happen though, I'm pretty sure the Tiny Wings guy didn't think much about the business side of things and he did really well, so it is possible Good luck!

nporima

Thanks Boomshackbarry and no doubt I'll be posting more questions in the forum in future and also try and share knowledge as well.