Ludum Dare October 2013 Challenge

Nenad

So, is anybody actually taking part in the Ludum Dare October challenge? It seems like a nice idea, and seems to fit in with the thinking around here.

http://www.ludumdare.com/compo/2013/09/27/october-challenge-2013/

Tuism

The challenge is this:

Finish a game — Take it to market — Earn $1

This sounds like such an awesome idea. I think I'm gonna do something here. We all have wondered how the whole going to market thing works, and often it's too soon to even think about it, but I do want to just walk it once to see how it works and how I can do it.

There are different ways of doing it that I know of:
1. Self-publish, on your own website, using payment portals like Humble Bundle, etc. I don't know anything about it, is it easy peasy?
2. Getting it onto Steam (lol never in a month). So that's Greenlight.
3. iOS App Store, which to me seems like not too difficult in terms of hoops and logistics. Anyone with experience on this would be greatly appreciated!
4. Consoles - Not feasible for most people at this moment, but includes XBLIG, XBLA, PS3, Ouya?

I do really feel it would be great if everyone could give this a try :)

WelshPixie

Tuism said:

1. Self-publish, on your own website, using payment portals like Humble Bundle, etc. I don't know anything about it, is it easy peasy?

Snippet of something I wrote earlier about setting up pre-orders for The Maker's Eden via the Humble widget:

We’ve seen other games selling via the Humble widget and it looked great, allowing people to buy directly from our site via three large merchant services - Amazon, Google and PayPal - and only take 5% of the cut, compared to, say, Gamer’s Gate, who take 30%. Of course, Humble don’t have a storefront where people can browse games for sale, and Gamer’s Gate do - meaning that for that extra 30% cut, you get a little more visibility (though that shouldn’t mean that you do less marketing!). I feel I should also point out that a lawyer friend, who takes particular interest in videogame lawyering, managed to negotiate the Gamer’s Gate cut from 30% to 25% for someone else’s game, so it’s worth having someone ‘in the know’ look over any contracts to see if things can be changed in your favour.

I could find absolutely ZERO information online anywhere about how to sign up for the widget other than that the system is still in beta, so ended up just emailing Humble about it. They responded pretty quickly and linked us the Widget form. The form ‘builds’ your widget; you enter company details, game name, price description, and then submit it. Meanwhile, you also have to fill in a Tax form and a form with your bank details. They only send payment to a bank account, and NOT to PayPal accounts, so for swiftness’ sake it’s worth having all that set up before you begin. It’s ALSO worth having a separate bank account that’s solely for game sales; makes it much easier to track everything from a tax perspective. We don’t have that set up yet, but Humble have said they’re more than happy to change bank details later on so you’re not bound to whatever you enter first. :)

Nenad

There are a couple of other options

- Other app stores (Chrome/Google Play)
- Put the app up on a portal, such as Kongregate or GameJolt that shares advertising revenue
- Ask for donations
- Create physical versions of the game and find a place to sell them
- Use in-app payments in the game

I am sure we can come up with more

I will now have to actually start making a game to actually get to the deadline.

EvanGreenwood

Hey... I really like this challenge.

@Dislekcia organized basically this exact challenge for the game.dev forums a few years back. It's a really great way to get certain kinds of experience.

The whole getting any amount of actual money for a game you've made from strangers is fairly non-trivial. Especially if it is a small game and there is no promise of future updates/improvement.

If I make a game in the next two weeks then I'm definitely going for this.

Tuism

If I make a game in the next two weeks then I'm definitely going for this.

This reminds me of an important question: what is a realistic timeframe to get your game complete to get it to market by end of the month? Let's say for these examples:
1. Humble Widget
2. iOS App Store
3. Google Play
4. Actually there's not that many realistic ones. The consoles are just impossible.

Anyone has specific experience? I'm interested in walking the path of iOS App Store once to see.

WelshPixie

Humble widget: I sent them the form Sunday evening, they had our widget set up Monday evening, before 24h had passed. I've heard from other people that they can take from a week to a month, though.