to develop or not to develop?

[eyalfein]

Hi, I'm a nerdy guy who writes apps in his spare time.

So a while ago I published this demo adventure for a Java game engine that I'm developing.
http://eyalfein.99k.org/index_signed.html
It's a Java Applet, not a very popular browser addon this days.
Lately I have introduced myself to Android, wrote and published a little game.

Currently I'm thinking about porting the first project to android.
That would mean lots of time and effort.
(Another option is to try and make in a GWT app and try it on Facebook)

So I'm looking for opinions.
Will it catch on?
Is it too hardware heavy or technologically outdated in comparison to modern Android RPG games?
Is there any potential profit?

Thanks in advance for your sincere thoughts.

 

[Bohnstedt39]

Do it man!

 

[HeadcaseGames]

hey nerdy guy!

(takes one to know one)

Your app looks good. It's a fair bit raw, but the guts are there. You are right it does need a lot of love though..

It's hard to recommend to go through the effort of porting, depending on what outcome you expect. I can tell you 1sthand, as many will, that unless you have something pretty heavy-duty (production value) then it is going to be hard to get much interest from those who would potentially spend money on apps. For a game like this it will require a lot of nice assets and an engine which can support them; simply look at what is ranking high on the charts to know what your competition is and what is exciting to mobile gamers right now.

On the other hand, going through such a project will certainly teach you much of the trials and tribulations of app development. People need to be aware that it is never a case of "if you build it, they will come" anymore - marketing and selling your app is often way more important than the actual app itself, and in that sense much consideration and forethought must occur even during the early prototyping phase of a project. So if you are keen to do this as a hobby then it will probably be a blast, if you really want to make money on whatever you put out then it might not be for you.

My suggestion - your game is definitely cool, but it needs a ton of work (as you've said). If you are really interested in mobile development, maybe tackle a much smaller type of game with a more limited scope and learn the process that way. It will give you an overall taste of what to expect; how to build, market, sell, and follow-up. After that, you will have a much clearer idea of what to expect from the market, from your own ability, and whether or not you want to go further Good luck!

 

[eyalfein]

My fingers are itching every time I think about starting to write the Android code for this project, but as you said, If I build it, it doesn't mean it becomes popular.

I did look at what is popular among Android games, and that's why I released a bubble shooter spin off to the market, a casual no-brainer, the most popular niche.

 

[HeadcaseGames]

I did look at what is popular among Android games, and that's why I released a bubble shooter spin off to the market, a casual no-brainer, the most popular niche.

got a link?

 

[alostpacket]

hey nerdy guy!

(takes one to know one)

Your app looks good. It's a fair bit raw, but the guts are there. You are right it does need a lot of love though..

It's hard to recommend to go through the effort of porting, depending on what outcome you expect. I can tell you 1sthand, as many will, that unless you have something pretty heavy-duty (production value) then it is going to be hard to get much interest from those who would potentially spend money on apps. For a game like this it will require a lot of nice assets and an engine which can support them; simply look at what is ranking high on the charts to know what your competition is and what is exciting to mobile gamers right now.

On the other hand, going through such a project will certainly teach you much of the trials and tribulations of app development. People need to be aware that it is never a case of "if you build it, they will come" anymore - marketing and selling your app is often way more important than the actual app itself, and in that sense much consideration and forethought must occur even during the early prototyping phase of a project. So if you are keen to do this as a hobby then it will probably be a blast, if you really want to make money on whatever you put out then it might not be for you.

My suggestion - your game is definitely cool, but it needs a ton of work (as you've said). If you are really interested in mobile development, maybe tackle a much smaller type of game with a more limited scope and learn the process that way. It will give you an overall taste of what to expect; how to build, market, sell, and follow-up. After that, you will have a much clearer idea of what to expect from the market, from your own ability, and whether or not you want to go further Good luck!

pretty sound advice imo

 

[eyalfein]

got a link?

https://market.android.com/details?id=nectar.triangleBlast