Is my funding scheme even possible?

[RiseUp]

So I'll try to keep this simple. Over the last year I've dabbled in game development, and I feel ready to publish a mobile game. I feel I have a great concept (which I won't divulge for fear that some of you better coders out there might beat me to it) and a working engine, I've even designed the first of five levels and started building art assets. I feel that I could complete a polished version by July, but I don't know whether it's worth pouring time into.

For the amount of time it would take me (not to mention the time it would take to port to iOS), I need to make at least some revenue from the game, and I've already ruled out the idea of charging to download it (since free games inevitably get more exposure, and I couldn't charge anyone for a mobile game in good conscience). I think the "free-to-play" model employed by most mobile games (Candy Crush, Dungeon Keeper, etc) is abhorrent, and offering in-game assets that aren't integral to gameplay doesn't fit the concept I'm designing my game around. I'd hate to pester my audience with advertisements as well, so I've come up with only one solution:

A donation button. From the game's start screen, there would be an option marked "donate", and tapping it would bring up a page of text saying something to the effect of this:
"I've worked hard to deliver a mobile game that I would like to play. A game that proves that you can still have depth with simplistic touchscreen controls, that proves challenge and decision-making don't have to be absent from more casual games. If you've enjoyed playing, if you feel that your experience was worth your hard-earned money, and if you'd like to see more from me in the future, I humbly ask you to donate a dollar or two. If you'd rather not, that's perfectly fine, and I'm glad that you took time out of your day simply to play this. Thank you"

I think putting out the best product you can for free, and then "passing the hat around" so that anyone who enjoyed it enough can support your future endeavors is morally the "right" way to publish a mobile game, not only for my own product, but for developers at large. The question is whether it's financially viable, and I can't answer this on my own. I'd be fine with paying a developer whose free game I enjoyed, but I'm not sure if people at large share the same sentiment. So I ask you, people of The Escapist, do you think this could work?


P.S.
I realized I've failed completely at keeping this brief, but I hope you've cut me some slack and read to the end. A toast to my first thread on this site, and to many more. I appreciate any input.

 

[sneakypenguin]

A lot of devs do that, or throw up two copies of the game one free and a .99-4.99 version labeled donate or some such.

 

[RiseUp]

A lot of devs do that, or throw up two copies of the game one free and a .99-4.99 version labeled donate or some such.

Really? I haven't actually seen it in practice much. Could you point me to some games that've used this before?

 

[tippy2k2]

Eh....not to be a spoil sport but I'd be absolutely shocked if that would work.

Frankly, I think very very very few people would give up money when they don't have to, especially to a mobile game. I just don't think the audience that plays the mobile games would give up the money if they don't have a reason to.

However, we are not the people you should be asking if I had to be brutally honest. Find a "Developers Forum" or ask friends of yours that are in the industry (hell, there are a few here so if you're lucky, someone who actually knows what they're talking about rather than me who just pulls answers out of my bum will show up).

Just keep in mind that the mobile app market is one of the toughest things to break into (at least according to "Shark Tank" and who am I to argue with Mr. Wonderful?). More likely than not, your app is going to fail (sorry D. I would certainly go for it but don't be discouraged if game 1 (and 2 and 3 and 4 and 5 and...) fail for far far far far more crash and burn then becomes the "Angry Bird" of mobile.

Good Luck!

 

[sneakypenguin]

A lot of devs do that, or throw up two copies of the game one free and a .99-4.99 version labeled donate or some such.

Really? I haven't actually seen it in practice much. Could you point me to some games that've used this before?

i'll have to find my old android tablet but theres a ton of stuff(super crappy apps usually lol) in the play store usually it'll say ad-free version or such. idk what your game is but i'd make one free then do a splash page thing that says if you like this consider supporting .yaddayaddayadda and link the deluxe/adfree version.


That said and to be a bit of a debbie downer if its released on android/ios it will be crushed amongst a deluge of 600,000 other free games

 

[Tom_green_day]

You could just shove in adverts. I know I wouldn't really pay if I didn't have to, no offence.

 

[King of Asgaard]

As those above me have said, it's unlikely that people would willingly part with cash when the full version of the game is available for free. That's not to say some people won't be charitable, but not enough to make that revenue you want worth the effort.
Then again, we here at the Escapist are a bunch of beautiful, cynical bastards, so it's entirely possible that we're wrong.
For what it's worth, kudos to you for not making your app F2P, or charging for it. It's good to see some people are more concerned with making a good product first and remuneration second.

 

[Austin93]

A lot of devs do that, or throw up two copies of the game one free and a .99-4.99 version labeled donate or some such.

Really? I haven't actually seen it in practice much. Could you point me to some games that've used this before?

I know of a game called Postmortem: One Must Die. There's a free version on it's site and then a paid version on Steam that you can buy to support the dev. The paid version also comes with a few bonus things (concept art, sprites, wallpapers) but the only reason it seems to buy it and indeed the only reason I did was to support the idea

 

[smokingplane]

A lot of devs do that, or throw up two copies of the game one free and a .99-4.99 version labeled donate or some such.

Really? I haven't actually seen it in practice much. Could you point me to some games that've used this before?

plague inc. did this I think. The paid version did unlock all levels without having to play previous levels on hard and had a fastfwd button to speed up time. But the game was all there in the free version without the need for in-app purchases or 10 sec long adds or any of the other methodes to pester you into buying the full version.

 

[Caiphus]

I, personally, would donate if I saw mobile games using these funding schemes. I've been playing a bit of Dungeon Hunter 4 and Marvel Puzzle Quest. While those games are good, the amount of stuff locked behind a microtransaction pay-wall is silly. And, because of this, I don't think I'll be playing any more of them. Never paid a cent either.

But if there was none of that shit, and a donate button, I probably would have dropped some money on those games. Purely to support developers that don't try to squeeze money out of you. And I have donated money to free app makers before (SMS Control Center, for example).

But that's me. I have no idea what the quality of your game is like OP, and I don't know if enough people would donate to make it worthwhile. The mobile gaming market is a mess, and filled with bullshit games. There's a chance that people might find your game, a full game playable for free, and jump on the opportunity to pay nothing. It's difficult to say. I can only really speak for myself.

 

[MeChaNiZ3D]

While I thank you for your stance on free-to-play baggage, I think you'd do better with some kind of crowdsourcing. I don't know how good your game is, and I would donate money for a game that I liked, but I don't think most people would. If you do decide to go with it however, perhaps consider it being out of the way but on the main menu, with a prompt at an hour of play in, or level progression. Without knowing the background, I might not be sympathetic enough if the donation button were too overbearing. I mean of course I'm being a prick, it's a free game, but I do appreciate subtlety. And also if a player does donate, don't request further donations, just have the button sit there.

Notify us if you complete your game. ^^

 

[MeChaNiZ3D]

A lot of devs do that, or throw up two copies of the game one free and a .99-4.99 version labeled donate or some such.

Really? I haven't actually seen it in practice much. Could you point me to some games that've used this before?

plague inc. did this I think. The paid version did unlock all levels without having to play previous levels on hard and had a fastfwd button to speed up time. But the game was all there in the free version without the need for in-app purchases or 10 sec long adds or any of the other methodes to pester you into buying the full version.

Maybe you're referring to an older model, but when I got it, I had to pay for it and it came with a fast forward button, but you still had to get high scores to progress. Since then there's been an expansion with scenarios that costs an extra few dollars and apparently entitles you to all future content.

 

[Mr.Savage]

Don't really see the donation thing working out to be honest...You'd get the occasional person who'd be willing to support you, but the vast majority simply won't. I suspect this to be doubly true for Phone games.

I have no idea what your game is like, so this method may not work, but...Have you considered kind of copying what Apogee did back in the 90's with it's shareware model, and more recently by Telltale Games?

Essentially, you'd allow anyone who downloads the app to be able to play a short, yet complete experience, an 'Episode' if you will. At the end of which they will be prompted to pay a single fee to experience more 'Episodes', or simply unlock the rest of the game.

So...I guess it's really more of a customized demo, meant to hook the player, instead of just some random part of the game (As many demos are).

However, that's only if your game is story based. If it's a side-scrolling arcade shooter...Then you'd just give the first few levels away for free, with the rest becoming unlocked via a single fee.

That's how I'd do it, anyway

I suppose the other option would be to start a kickstarter, asking for a small sum of monies, and then releasing the game for free.

Of course, you could also just pop advertising in it too...

Also, may I ask why you chose to create your own engine? Was there some trait that you required that an already available engine could not provide? Most cheap engines like Unity or GameMaker Studio already are capable of porting to a plethora of devices. So I'm quite curious as to why you'd choose to make your own.

 

[smokingplane]

--snip--

Maybe you're referring to an older model, but when I got it, I had to pay for it and it came with a fast forward button, but you still had to get high scores to progress. Since then there's been an expansion with scenarios that costs an extra few dollars and apparently entitles you to all future content.

yeah it was a pretty early version, but i remembered paying for the fwd button, and getting the extra scenarios more tnan a year later or something, without it being mentioned when I bought it.
Even if they dropped the free version, they did start free version. I can imagine them changing it once they got enough exposure.

 

[KingsGambit_v1legacy]

First, major kudos to you for the work and commitment you've already put into making your game. I'm starting to have leanings towards trying myself but well realise how much work must go into it.
Second, even more kudos for avoiding the more abhorrent practices often seen amongst mobile games. You have put genuine thought into your potential customer's experience and when given the option of doing something despicable and not doing it, you went the good way.

But for your "donation" idea, I have to say I don't think it will be tremendously successful, in spite of your good intentions. You may get some, but mostly you'll get good will and a good reputation. While both those things are nice to have, they won't fund you. Personally, I have a couple of games that I play and while a couple of them have in-app purchases, I will not use that. I'll uninstall a game if the paywall barrier is too restrictive. I don't mind infrequent, unobtrusive banner ads. I haven't yet bought a game (though family members do so regularly, primarily on iOS, for their kids).

Saying that, maybe I am mistaken. If the game is good enough, the scheme could work. If you can afford to give it away and won't "depend" on the income, then anything incoming would be a bonus and maybe a good reputation will help move a second title in the future. Whatever you decide, I wish you only luck and success.

 

[RiseUp]

Thanks guys, it's definitely something I'll continue to put thought into. Even if it doesn't return much, I think it still might be worth doing, just to get something out there before I release anything on console.

The main issue I can see facing any mobile game is getting noticed, rather than being crowded out by the thousands of Flappy Bird imitators. Getting exposure is a lot easier for a console or PC release, thanks to Youtube's Let's Play community (I don't think many people would have ever heard of Outlast without Pewdiepie and others playing it), but mobile games don't have something similar. I don't ave any idea how I'll get exposure for my game once I finally end up releasing it.