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in the WIP board check out WWC- it is part 2 of my project. while radiate will be sold by me- like physically. going to my friends houses and emailing them copies- more personable selling- When Worlds Collide is to be sold on the internet or in the flea market. any good sites for indie designers to sell?

I've not added to this thread for a while so I thought I'd give everyone a quick update.

Over the past months I've been busy with real world commitments which has stopped me actively promoting Pioneering but the website search ranking has finally stablized so I do get the odd sale here and there from people googling either the game specifically or history games in general. By far the best sale surges I have had come from google ads with some of the worst coming from facebook ads. Seriously, I'd avoid using facebook ads - a high bounce rate and low sell through compared to google.

I had an interesting experience recently when a lady emailed following her receipt of the game for Christmas (isn't that a nice thought your game being bought as a present for someone?). This lady, I dare say, represents my target audience - a fan of history but not gaming, yet open to new digital experiences. This lady first couldn't run the game on Windows 7 (she needed to download Direct X) and then began panicking because she accidentally punched and NPC in the face. More than anything this has underlined the importance of a) good customer service and b) understanding the breadth of the market we are targeting - some players will always hate your products, others will love them, but no one is the same as another and all abilities need to be catered to.



To be honest most websites that will sell your game are not necessarily the best option - don't get me wrong, they can really help, but remember your product will set next to (or burried under) those of your competitors. I think a good website and direct targeting of your audience is your best option. Of couse that is easier said than done and I'm still struggling in that regard myself. I've found that the best google ad I can post mentions "The Oregon Trail" as people still look for it and it is probably the most comparable game I can think of to my own title. I think I would start with an official website that sells the game and then working hard to optimize it to appear high in niche rankings. Hope this helps

thanks, chidem. worthwhile info, and I'm so glad you bumped this thread back up. I want to sell this game, but really, It's about getting the most sales. I provide support on my site, and always through E-mail, but I need customers, a publisher, a way to get my game out there as a game. any good suggestions? I emailed a publisher last week and didn't get a reply.

Wish I could offer you some advice but as I've never tried to get a customer I don't think I can. If I were looking I would start by searching out smaller, niche publishers who cater to a small but focused audience where your game would fit in nicely. Beware though, it's not hard to set yourself up as a "publisher" - make sure whoever you email has the capacity to sell games.

I remember years ago reading an article in Edge magazine about breaking into the games industry and it was with the creators of Darwinia who basically said you shouldn't be looking to shift 100,000 copies of your title - instead, you should look to shift just enough to make it worth your while. So if you're selling a game for $10 and you want to make $15,000 (for the sake of argument) you'd be looking to sell 1,500 copies. In my opinion that would make for a successful game - peanuts for a publisher but enough for an independent developer. A small publisher might bring you 1,500 customers but your cut would be reduced. That said, working by yourself it would be difficult to get anywhere near that amount.

I suppose that brings us back to the first point - getting customers. As I said google ads works reasonably well and through free vouchers to get you started you can get a few sales for free, but the trick is building momentum beyond a handful of customers. Answers on a postcard

I see. google ads. hmm. I know already I will get a few sales among my friends (10 maximum) but it's always good to sell more. I wish I had something to compare it to, It would be rude of me to come out and ask you outright what you made selling your game, but I need a comparison point to tell if I'm making what I can be. I spent about 160 dollars in development, and I'll say my time is worth 40$ that means (because my game is 10 dollars) I need to sell 20 copies. is this about what is possible?

That's more than possible, I am sure. Best thing you can do is try and find free vouchers for things like google ads - I got £50 worth of free advertising that went a long way. Presumably if I spent £500 on advertising I would sell 10x the number of copies I've sold. The issue is that if I paid for my advertising I would have lost money overall (though not much), so getting your pricing right is important.

how'd you get free advertising?

When I set up my website the site I used gave me the voucher for free but try googling about, you may find something that way

did you use a certain domain registry?