
The End of Indie Game Development on Android - tzm
http://polyclefsoftware.blogspot.com/2012/07/end-of-indie-game-development-on.html?m=1
======
angrycoder
Whenever you see an article like this, it is always useful to check out what
they've made:

[https://play.google.com/store/apps/developer?id=Polyclef+Sof...](https://play.google.com/store/apps/developer?id=Polyclef+Software)

Speaks for itself.

~~~
geofft
I'm not sure that's an interesting argument. The author's claim is that
_their_ sales have gone down. And of course there will be some customers
interested in those sorts of things.

Unless you're arguing that there are better direct equivalents of those apps
on the market these days and there's more competition from good apps, I don't
see how "your products have always been poor and have not recently gotten
worse" answers "our sales have gone down".

~~~
CrazedGeek
That's the thing, though -- nearly every app they release is fairly generic.
Not bad in a vacuum, but the apps got a ton of competitors and they didn't
differentiate themselves.

It also doesn't help that the exact functionality of their most famous app
(EasyTether) has been baked into the OS since ICS (and similar functionality
has been in since Froyo), and their second most famous app (WordFeud) relies
somewhat on network effects and has been mostly supplanted by Words With
Friends.

~~~
ZoFreX
/Their/ most famous app?!

This is "their" app:
[https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.mstream.et...](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.mstream.etpc#?t=W251bGwsMSwxLDIxMiwiY29tLm1zdHJlYW0uZXRwYyJd)

This is the /actual/ Easy Tether app:
[https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.mstream.ea...](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.mstream.easytether_polyclef&feature=search_result#?t=W251bGwsMSwxLDEsImNvbS5tc3RyZWFtLmVhc3l0ZXRoZXJfcG9seWNsZWYiXQ.).

So not only is this developer a hack, they're also a thief.

~~~
barrkel
I wouldn't leap to the thief accusation. The "actual" Easy Tether app you link
to says "Mobile Stream" is the publisher in the app store, but the app id is
com.mstream.easytether_polyclef. If Polyclef was a thief, why would Mobile
Stream use the thief's name in the id?

I think it's the way it is because EasyTether was developed by someone living
in Russia (look at the whois for mobile-stream.com), but they had no way of
charging for it on the app store in the early days - there used to be a very
restricted set of countries. So they got Polyclef to publish it (whois
polyclefsoftware.com points to Louisiana). And that's what the description on
the first link says - "EasyTether is developed by Mobile Stream and published
by Polyclef Software".

~~~
ZoFreX
Whoops, thanks for the correction!

------
CrazedGeek
App stores will never remove the need for other advertising. Why not send
review copies to the major Android, tech, and gaming websites, and see if they
put something up? Why not put something up on AdMob? Why not do giveaways of
the game? Why not put it on a competing app store? There are many legitimate
answers to these, but relying on the Google Gods to sell your product for you
is just silly. (Whether Google's cut is then justified is a different matter
entirely.)

~~~
mwd_
I'd love to give away free copies of my Android game but I don't think Google
Play supports promo codes. You also can't start out with a free app and then
convert to a paid app later. Of course, a common approach is to have a free
version and a paid version (or make your game ad-supported, or add in-game
purchases).

"Just In", if it worked, would be great.

~~~
fpgeek
Last I heard, Google supported completely discretionary developer-initiated
refunds. IIRC, at least a couple of the high-profile apps that left the Amazon
Appstore took advantage of that to ease the transition for their paying (i.e.
not FAOTD) customers. With that capability, implementing a reasonable
functional equivalent of a free promo code seems straightforward enough.

~~~
kalleboo
How about e-mail?

------
ISeemToBeAVerb
It may be the end for you, but not for me. I see tons of potential for mobile
app developers, especially independents.

I hear so many developers complaining about their apps not getting exposure on
the app stores, but guess how many of them have put any serious sweat equity
into building their business outside of the app stores? Hardly any is the
correct answer to that question.

The whole world of internet marketing is open to you. Build a brand for
yourself, cultivate a community. You think the only way to get people to
download your app is through the app store? The only time I go the app store
is when I want something specific. I find ALL the apps I use through search
and social.

You need to think bigger to survive. Yes, competition is increasing- nobody
gets a free ride in this world. But there are advantages to being small and
nimble in this market. You just gotta think outside the store.

------
mirsadm
If there is anything I've learnt by releasing many "unsuccessful" apps is that
"release and wait to get rich" strategy does NOT work. This time round we are
spending A LOT of time networking/promoting/pestering reviews etc etc.

------
bryanlarsen
The problem isn't Google the problem is this:
[http://www.androidpolice.com/2012/08/02/34-best-new-
android-...](http://www.androidpolice.com/2012/08/02/34-best-new-android-
games-from-the-last-2-weeks-71912-8212)

They found 34 games worthy of review in a 2 week period. That implies that
there are hundreds of others that didn't make the cut. That's a lot of
competition.

~~~
AnthonyMouse
"Nobody goes there anymore. It's too crowded." -Yogi Berra

------
richcollins
No offense to the op but it sounds like he doesn't hustle. The app stores
aren't the only place that people learn about games.

~~~
goostavos
Agreed about using other channels. But I think his main point remains, finding
something other than top 100 on Google play is near impossible. I mean, I've
pretty much given up completely. Separating the wheat from the chaff is quite
difficult.

I rely on places like /r/gamedev, and /r/android for finding new apps. If
someone could aggregate all of that data into something that actually usually
it be freaking awesome. As it stands now, the playstore is horrendous. Google
is doing a pretty overwhelming job in my opinion.

~~~
ricardobeat
underwhelming?

~~~
goostavos
heh.. Yeah, That's what I meant. I typed that on my phone.. The autocorrect
seems to have gotten the better of me.

------
moultano
<http://www.reddit.com/r/indiegaming/> <http://www.reddit.com/r/games/>
<http://www.reddit.com/r/android/>

If you've made something great, it doesn't take much hustling to get your
stuff in front of a lot of interested people.

------
shimfish
Somewhat related to this is how staggeringly awful the Google Play search is.

My app is called "My PlayHome" (the wisdom of that branding decision is
another matter). Let's see what happens if a potential buyer (quite
reasonably), adds an extra space and searches for "My Play Home"...

[https://play.google.com/store/search?q=my+play+home&c=ap...](https://play.google.com/store/search?q=my+play+home&c=apps)

To save you time, my app is at the bottom of page 3 of the results. To make
matters worse, Google autosuggests "My Play Home" as you type. "My Play House"
does rather better, appearing in the bottom half of the first stage, even
though that's not the name of the app.

Compare, a normal Google search:
<https://www.google.com/search?q=my+play+home> \- right first time ..or Amazon
\- [http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-
alias%3Dmo...](http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-
alias%3Dmobile-apps&field-keywords=my+play+home) \-
[http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-
alias%3Dmo...](http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-
alias%3Dmobile-apps&field-keywords=my+play+house)

Add to that Google Play doesn't have keywords or indeed a Kids section.

Now, I should probably mess around and add some spammy keywords to my app
title on Google Play but my point is that Google hasn't even bothered to get
search right on its app store. That's some hardcore irony.

[EDIT] I just changed the title on Google Play to "My Play Home" - that
_immediately_ drastically improved the search results for the incorrect name
even before the name is being shown as changed on the search results or the
actual app page. This is not exactly optimal, as the app has 10s of thousands
of paid downloads on iOS as "My PlayHome" (iOS app search also compensates for
extra spaces...) as well as all the reviews on the web using my original
spelling.

------
glennos
I don't understand the negativity towards this article. I don't think Derek's
message hung solely on the removal of the 'What's New' section, but it being
the final straw in series of issues for indie devs. Yes, there are other
channels for promotions, but this was (or had the potential to be) and
important one.

I'm an Android user, so I hope that if this experience is indicative of many,
that there will be new tools for indie devs, to help them get that initial bit
of momentum.

I'm very interested to see if the OUYA can deliver on promise. It looks like a
fantastic machine and at its price point, there will be no reason not to have
one on every tv in the house. That will be an exciting new frontier in game
development.

------
pacomerh
But don't tell me that if your game was super awesome it would still do bad.
Good work always floats to surface, yes it's more difficult but why would you
do a mediocre game anyways.

------
jwwest
Because as we all know, there are no independent games on the apple app store.

Sheesh, all consumer software is hit based.

~~~
briandear
Explain Tiny Wings. One dev, no marketing, massive hit.

~~~
programminggeek
Tiny Wings is a brilliant, fun game. It is one of those near perfect mobile
"pick up and play quick" experiences. It all has good graphics and sound. It
also is slightly derivative of Angry Birds without being a ripoff.

In short, it's a very well made game that is worth talking about. Marketing
something brilliant is easier than marketing something that is average. Let's
face it, most Android and iOS games are mediocre.

~~~
saulrh
The game also had the advantage of free ideation and fun-testing; Tiny Wings
is a zynga-style copy of the best flash game from a small flash dev's one-
experimental-game-a-week-for-a-year personal project. Tiny Wings' contribution
was mostly brought art and a few extra weeks of development.

[http://nmccoy.net/2011/02/24/on-the-whole-wavespark-tiny-
win...](http://nmccoy.net/2011/02/24/on-the-whole-wavespark-tiny-wings-thing/)
<http://nmccoy.net/2011/02/26/setting-the-record-straight/>

~~~
alanfalcon
Woah! It's flat out wrong to characterize Tiny Wings as a zynga-style copy[1].
1) Wave Spark was relatively well received, but nothing like a hit, 2) Wave
Spark was not available for iOS devices (despite requests that the game be
polished and ported), 3) The art and "a few extra weeks of development" is a
night and day difference in Tiny Wings compared to Wave Spark, 4) Tiny Wings
is also a personal project by a one-man development studio, and 5) Wave Spark
is publicly aknowledged as an inspiration for Tiny Wings.

Compare to Tiny Tower, a hit, polished iPhone game made by a two-brother
development team that is then carbon copied due to its success by mega-
corporate Zynga with exact gameplay systems ripped off wholesale and yet a
claim of originality.

McCoy doesn't begrudge Illiger his success with Tiny Wings... Why do you feel
the need to hurl a vicious, unsubstantiated attack against him?

[1]As far as I'm concerned, that's an incredible insult.

~~~
saulrh
True, there are mitigating factors. I just got annoyed when Tiny Wings was
used as an example of a great game, particularly when the explanation of its
success started off by citing its mechanics, and even more particularly when
McCoy's focus on games is entirely about mechanics. Tiny Wings may not have
copied much, but they copied everything that there was to copy. Tiny Wings
_is_ a better game than Wave Spark, but people keep citing it as an example of
a well-developed game without realizing that Illiger didn't need to do any
playtesting, didn't need to do any focus groups, and didn't need to actually
have the big idea.

I'm sorry if that came off more aggressive than I intended. I don't like
writing long posts. I think that my perception of the situation might also be
skewed by my preference for gameplay over art; I play Dwarf Fortress and
Aurora, for pete's sake. I was also following the game-a-week project while it
was in the process, so there's that.

------
zobzu
as a user its hard to disagree. so here i go looking for "new stuff" in the
google play ... and its always the same tops. in searches or anywhere else.

So i go on the web making random searches for new games & apps but it's
neither convenient neither all that successful either (its mostly spam sites
as in sites made to rank high with crappy content)

------
jamesjguthrie
Personally I don't spend a lot of time browsing the markets on either
platform. I download my apps by necessity or recommendation. I suspect many
others (if not most) are like that. I'm with 'mirsadm' and in future I will
not follow the "release and wait to get rich" strategy. I will properly _sell_
my next product!

------
kizza
I can't understand his whining about the removal of the What's New section.
Google obviously removed it because it disproportionately helped the spammers.
If you released a good app it only got a few minutes on the list anyway before
the spam apps pushed it off.

~~~
nhangen
Then why not fix the spam problem instead of ditching the section? That's like
cutting off your arm to save a finger.

------
EternalFury
There is no miracle. All marketplaces work the same way. If you are going to
make a lot of money, you are going to quack like a duck...huh, I mean you are
going to evolve towards businesses that makes a lot of money.

------
linyu
For people who think there is nothing wrong with the Android Play market, just
think about what's the last "just released" app/game you downloaded in recent
months?

I can't think of anything.

The idea that if your product is good, it will float to the surface is very
true, well for some apps/games. The truth is that the developer need feedback
to improve his product. Before it gets there, not after. The "Develop for a
year and wait to be rich" really just works for big brands, who already know
the market well.

~~~
colomon
I don't believe I've _ever_ bought a "just released" app/game -- certainly
never one I discovered through the Android Marketplace. I don't think I ever
went looking for one, either. Do people really shop for apps this way?

------
eta_carinae
The PC gaming world is filled with huge game companies, yet the indie market
is doing quite well.

What makes Android different?

~~~
timknauf
I know not everyone gets their PC indie games from Steam, but their very pro-
indie store design certainly helps keep the market vibrant. They often feature
games from tiny companies in front-page promo spots, they promote indie packs
in their sales, and their 'you may also like...' suggestions don't seem to shy
away from obscure 'long tail' titles. All in all, discovery is pleasant and
easy.

~~~
csense
I buy very few games on Steam these days. I dislike DRM, so I vote with my
wallet, and spend most of my gaming budget supporting DRM-free games on
Gamersgate.

~~~
timknauf
Yeah, perhaps I was wrong to focus so much on Steam in my comment. Gamersgate,
GOG and Green Man Gaming (to name a few) also do a fine job of drawing
attention to less mainstream titles.

------
mattmaroon
I love it when people still cite The Long Tail, years after every bit of data
it was based on turned out to be false. It's the tech industry's favorite pipe
dream, but digital distribution simply does not change the 80/20 rule.

~~~
barrkel
I always understood the long tail not as a fat tail, but rather something that
enriches middlemen who can afford to "stock" a much wider range than a brick
and mortar store. That is, the only way to get rich off the long tail is to
aggregate over it. You won't get rich by being a tiny slice in it.

------
bazookaBen
i think what the OP meant was the end of indie game dev for great devs who
don't want to do any marketing.

in that case, partnering with a publisher makes a lot of sense. For example,
Flight, the iOS game heavily promoted by ArmorGames could have gone it alone,
but decided otherwise.

~~~
bazookaBen
link : [http://armorgames.com/news/151/flight-available-on-all-
ios-d...](http://armorgames.com/news/151/flight-available-on-all-ios-devices)

------
michaelochurch
If you were at Google in July-August 2011, you'll understand this: Google just
does not get Games. The leadership DNA to understand the space is not there.
There are people who understand the problem and could make Google Games great,
but they are not in decision-making positions and probably never will be
(design paradox).

If you think about it, the mismatch is easy to spot. Google made a great
product (web search) by being ideologically non-editorial, but you _need_ to
be editorial in the gaming space, and you need to support the indie developers
who are where quality comes from. The problem, at "Google scale", is that you
also need to figure out a process and strategy that enable you to be editorial
without micromanaging every decision (because you can't).

------
franzus
> Long Tail Market

Oh, don't get it wrong. The long tail market is there. But what many people
get wrong is that you don't make meaningful money as a producer in a long tail
market. The guy owning the store with all those obscure niche titles in it
will make the money.

Yes, you can produce obscure apps (and music) and find customers. But it won't
be many customers. You as the producer will be making only cents. The app
store owner on the other hand will be making the big money because he can
monetize the whole long tail with his indefinite shelf space.

------
wilfra
People still search for games based on keywords. Can't you focus on this?
Title your games with high volume search terms, use good keywords etc.

~~~
mwd_
I think the search function is biased pretty heavily toward more popular
titles. Even if you put an obscure word in your app's description, if it is
not very popular it will be behind pages of approximate matches.

