New to GameSalad: Tips/advice inc. monetization?
airgamer
Member Posts: 10
So I'm thinking of buying a used (refurbished/almost new) macbook soon and start learning how to make iOS games and monetizing them. I specialize in ASO and monetization but I've never actually made my own game. I've herd a lot of good comments about GameSalad being the best cheap engine for making iOS games for people who have no knowledge of coding iOS games. But is there an engine that is free and is still as friendly as GameSalad? I need a place where I can get free graphics, free animations, free source codes (even just a few decent source codes would be fine), and a free engine that supports IAP and publisher support. Yea, I know I'm asking for a lot but I just need a little boost. I have no idea how to create a game and I don't know where I can get good graphics or animations at. GameSalad offers a free version but it doesn't support monetization, which I need to earn revenue.
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Braydon
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Hello @airgamer You specialize in monetization? Well, what can I say…. (other than I haven't the faintest idea what you mean).
There are monetization options in GameSalad, including the use of In-App Purchase, which could be considered a monetization option, though you have to buy Pro to use that.
I'm not going to suggest any alternative to GameSalad, "free and as friendly" or otherwise… take it or leave it, quite frankly… you're mindset seems totally off-kilter when it comes to the consideration of making and selling games anyhow, it seems to me.
There's nothing wrong with earning money with your games of course, if that's fairly done, but if that's the top of your mind and the expense of everything else, and you don't know even how to use GameSalad or similar, you are going to be in for a lot of disappointments, believe me. There is no "get rich quick scheme" with GameSalad, or any other game engine, utilising monetization systems or not…. it takes time, effort, money if you have it, dedication, skill, talent, patience, willingness to learn, open-mindedness, etc, etc, etc.
Edit: paragraph below refers to the thread title which was originally different:
And one last thing: why should anyone - being the vast majority of GameSalad users who's opinion of the software ranges from like to love - recommend something else, on the GameSalad Forums of all places? Do you phone up a Ford Dealer and ask them to recommend an Audi model for you?
""You are in a maze of twisty passages, all alike." - Zork temp domain http://spidergriffin.wix.com/alphaghostapps
@gyroscope - I have no idea what you mean by "off-kilter". I don't have the money at the moment to invest in the pro version of GameSalad. I need an engine that supports monetization. When I say "monetization", I mean ads and IAP, not just IAP. I also have no idea how to code or create graphics for a game so I need to find an easy way to actually create any game I want to (a simple 2D game for starters) with good graphics and animation. Just something simple and easy for a guy with a limited budget. I do a lot of work in marketing iOS games and doing optimization, but I'm very curious to see how far I can get with making my own games and earning money from them. If the pro version of the game was on sale, I *could* consider investing in it but I have to figure out how can I create my first game. You can't just invest money into something and then have no idea what to do. Well, technically you can but you would have to surround yourself with people who can help you (in this case, that would be you guys).
Hi @airgamer OK, I'm a bit tired and grumpy and perhaps misunderstood you post a bit although I would mention that monetization would be a supplement to your income, in the vast majority of cases, the selling of the app itself would earn more.
Either way, it's no use churning out low-quality apps just as a vehicle for ads, so the emphasis should be on learning how to use GameSalad to its best… even a free game needs to be of good quality to attract a buzz so more people will download it… if it's not up to scratch, even free apps don't get downloaded….
Pay per clicks on ads…to be honest, I'm not sure of the percentage per click, I would guess it's in the region of 1c? Even 5c, let's say, let's be generous… you need 20 people to click on an ad to make $1… you want $50 a day from ad clicks? You have to attract 1000 people a day and somehow get them to click… I could go on…
Personally, as you're just starting out, I'd forget monetization and concentrate on learning GameSalad to get a good game out… if you earn enough, you could maybe afford to buy Pro, and use IAP on your next game… you have to be in this game for the long-haul to make any mark…
P.S Despite my grumpiness, welcome to the GameSalad Forums… I hope you try out the free GameSalad Creator and check out the Cookbook as well as the Manual and the many video tutorials, and get stuck in to making a really fun game (that'll earn you some money)… but you've got to start learning first…. ;-)
""You are in a maze of twisty passages, all alike." - Zork temp domain http://spidergriffin.wix.com/alphaghostapps
exciting monetizing options such as Revmob.
Also, using free graphics, you get a sense of unjust - in that you will be getting revenue maybe, but it won't be from your own work. It doesn't feel right. Putting, maybe a week into learning GIMP or something, can pay huge dividends if you decide to stick with gamesalad.
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Also, good graphics doesn't necessarily mean a great game and high revenue. There's a bunch of games out there with crappy pixel graphics that make a lot of downloads and revenue. I'm not saying that's the mentality that a person should use, but the point is: high quality graphics sometimes isn't needed. A great addicting gameplay with no bugs can easily hook people in. But of course, great graphics is always preferred and played more often over ok graphics.
I don't mind learning how to code. I'm a fast learner. Question is: once I get the jist of things, how can I start earning? Obviously, I have to maximize GameSalad to its fullest potential but I also want to make my time worth it
I'm not sure if you understood what I said..
+Some 'crappy pixel graphics' isn't necessarily 'crappy' graphics. Some of these type of games take a long time to produce pixel graphics. Of course, without any experience, this wouldn't have been knowledge to you.
Of course, games can be created with bad graphics. But you still need some.
There are other things you need to note however.
MOnetization isn't just 'free' money. Statistically, you need several thousand downloads to make any reasonable money. Moreover, iAP is never good if you don't know how to produce reasonable graphics and if you don't know how to 'code.'
A safe bet for guaranteed revenue, is make a simple game, charging $0.99 or $1.99, that way if teh user buys it, you get guaranteed income. Whereas a free game with iAP, if the user doesn't like it, wheres your income. IF you have ads, the game is s**t, the user will probably stop playing or delete the app, thus no income.
Sydney Swans 2014!!
"Move along, these aren't the monetization programs you're looking for".
The comments in this thread are beginning to go around in circles; also you opened this thread on the wrong foot really by not asking, is GameSalad right for me, but is there an alternative to GameSalad; so all in all I'm going to close this thread now.
""You are in a maze of twisty passages, all alike." - Zork temp domain http://spidergriffin.wix.com/alphaghostapps
I'll be reopening this thread soon now that I've replied and explained to @airgamer via DM that, although it's not wrong to compare other software/want information about programs similar to GameSalad, it was a bit out of order to ask that in his very first post, even before he'd tried out GSC… I could see some trouble brewing in the distance there…
I also explained that the emphasis of his first post seemed to be mainly about earning money rather than making great games for users to buy, so as to earn money… OK, I'm not the thought/attitude police, but again, I could foresee problems looming there too.
Anyhow, as soon as I have confirmation back from @airgamer, I'll change the title of his thread, and re-open it, as I say…
Hopefully we can all start off again on a good step answering his questions about GameSalad…(even about monetization options)... and I'll try not to be so grumpy at 2 in the morning in the future, promise… ;-)
Edit: title changed and thread re-opened.
""You are in a maze of twisty passages, all alike." - Zork temp domain http://spidergriffin.wix.com/alphaghostapps
Here's my advice: make a few apps using the free version of GameSalad and then decide if you want to buy the pro version. That's what I did. Game development isn't a "put in $0, get out thousands" proposition. You have to spend money at some point.
If you can't afford it right now, then save up until you can. Or make some sacrifices and choose GameSalad over your latte or your new leather jacket or whatever. It's all about priorities. You won't find a free tool that does what you want, unfortunately.
If you consider that starting a physical business (e.g. restaurant) costs hundreds of thousands of dollars, the entry fee here is so small as to be almost insignificant. And I understand that it's not always easy to afford. I had to try it out before I made that decision as the cost wasn't easy for me to pay either.
Anyhow, it sounds like you have a great background that should serve you well as far as selling apps goes.
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Period.
It doesn't take a background in marketing (which I have) to realize this. One simply needs a product or service to offer to the world before any marketing objectives can be layed out, developed into a realistic plan and then executed. Usually making money is almost always predicated on following these steps in order. However, in an age of crowdsourcing, where one tylically needs little more than just a vague idea, this isn't always the case.
But, usually one needs at least the start of a product to run a successful Kickstarter campaign.
How to develop a good product, or even a one for lousy one for that matter, is a different question altogether.
Each aspiring entrepeneur has to decide for him or herself which tools to use to create the product, what the overall development budget and marketing budgets will be, setting realistic goals and timelines, and address and overcome all the challenges which will inevitably come into play along the way. Even then, of course, the individual needs to set reasonable expectations in terms of earnings potential. Most games, even most inventions, rarely make any profit at all. Expecting to make money by throwing together wortless apps with next to no development budget and banking on pay-per-clicks, seems more like a doomed-to-fail, get-rich-quick scheme to me. Yet people try tossing these types of games out there everyday, thinking that out of one-hundred lotto scratch offs, surely one must contain the jackpot prize. Others pour their hearts and souls into their projects hoping they'll at least see a marginal return on their investment.
But at the end of the day, one must have a product. You can't even start thinking about earnings potential without a product (or service) you inventor, artist, novelist, filmmaker, gamemaker, or tugboat driver.
What's the old saying? Build it and they will come.
Some questions:
What are my limits with the free version of GameSalad?
Does the free version give me any example graphics to use?
Do I have to find graphics, sound effects, music, etc. on my own? If so, does anyone know any websites that gives away free graphics and music effects for games?
What does GameSalad offer in the free version to help develop your first game? Does it gives you layouts that you can use? Example: It gives you the framework and layout to build a puzzle game....all you need is the graphics and then tweak the settings. Or does it just give you a blank canvas and you have to fiddle with the functions to make your own game?
Does GameSalad allow you to upload your game into the iTunes store as a binary file and sell it for a price? I have no idea how many people would buy a $0.99 game developed by a noobie developer but....there are thousands of people out there....who knows, maybe I might get a few hundred buyers within a week and raise enough to buy the Pro version *shrugs*
As you can tell, it's obvious that I have NO idea how GameSalad works.
Frameworks and tutorials are easily found with google, and within these forums.
Layouts to build a puzzle game... they have some basic layouts for different games (which you will see as soon as you install it) but these are very basic and the "tweaking" involved will still take a lot of time for it to be original and not just another "reskin". You wouldn't want your own app to be another "crappy reskin", as you worded it, correct?
tl;dr Google is your friend. A lot of questions are answered by simple FAQ. Have a look on YouTube for some tutorials so you get an idea of the interface. Download the program and test it out, because some questions you ask it's quite obvious you haven't touched the program at all.
Edit: LOL.....yea I don't really want to make a crappy reskin. I mean...I can create a game based on a pre-built layout but I'll do as much "plastic surgery" on the code and settings as I can to make it look special haha.
Do you mean free version as in selling your app as free or using Gamesalad without Pro? For the latter, I don't know as I fully committed to Pro prior to releasing my first app, since it's not a big investment and I needed iAP/iAd. For the former, my first project, Doggie Dash! Surprised me with 1001 downloads on the first day, although later projects didn't have as much success. I didn't charge but I earned a considerable amount of money from iAds and other advertising opportunities.
hey airgamer
unfortunately, GS has thought about it already, accounting and all. you can sell your app but then again it will be plagued with ads. and people who bought your game will reklamo because they've already paid then still plagued with ads. GS just got greedy and put us aside man. I know the feeling. Bad business model, I know. But a lot of "followers" will still debunk us. I was wondering if these as** are employees. I hope they learn to search for their CEO before hitting us on.
This thread is over a year old....
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