Porter's World

Work to Payout Graph

There’s always a balance in everything. In the flash industry there’s a balance in how much you work, to how much you get paid for that work. It’s important to find this balance if you plan to make a full time job as a game developer. Below we’ll take a look at the lower end, the higher end, and of course the golden area right in the middle. Keep in mind there are always reasons to branch off of this price/payout golden area, and we’ll go over those as well.

Let’s take a look at the lower end of the chart. Mini games have always been accepted in flash. A simple concept that can be picked up and played, but doesn’t have too much depth. Without an amazingly original and exciting idea, these games don’t pay off too much, nor do they require that much work. They may only pay a few hundred dollars in payout, but they also only take 10-20 hours to create. There are a few advantages to this. First off, it’s easy to get the idea, keep motivation and see your project through to the end. Longer projects tend to drag on after awhile and the developers efforts dwindle as a result in the later days of production. It’s also a useful tactic to follow for bill paying purposes, some people prefer to be paid on a weekly or bi weekly basis, this is definitely the way to go for you.

Next we’ll look at what I’ll call the golden area, right in the middle. This area offers the most money for your hard work. Medium hours and optimal payout for those hours. You don’t work months and months on end on a project, you work a month or two depending on your team size and hours put in. This area is the best as I’ve said because you get the most money for your work. A small game that could get you a few hundred dollars for 10-20 hours. Let’s say such a game would get you $600 USD. Now let’s visualize turning that small idea into a more in depth game, but nothing over the top. Something with replay value, levels and perhaps a short story, again, keeping this game at a medium sized project. If we can manage to do such a thing and only double our hours, or go slightly over that, we can turn $500 USD into $5000 USD. Not all games will fetch such a price, but even so reaching the $2000-$3000 mark isn’t unreal by any means. As you can see, if you’re capable of creating such games with your creative abilities, it’s definitely worth your time to expand upon those small ideas.

Work to Payout Graph

The last section we’ll look at is the high end. This section requires the most work, and even if you’re games are huge and very successful, you’ll find that the money really doesn’t compensate for how many hours you put in. There isn’t really much to say on this, you just generally don’t get as much money for the large amount of work you put in. There are exceptions, but as a general rule of the market It’s best to avoid this unless you’re looking into micro-transactions, a website specifically for the game and many other additions that will keep your money coming in, and again, your game must be a hit for any of this to matter. This area is unfortunately one many new comers fall into without realizing two things, they probably aren’t capable of finishing such a project yet, and second, it’s not worth it. The last exception to going into this area is one that should not be forgotten, doing it for the fun. If you’re passionate about your project and just want to see it come to life, go for it, designing games should never just be about the money, but don’t forget that you probably won’t see the cash the work should bring in, but if you’re really into your project that shouldn’t be an issue.

So as you’ve seen, there are definitely different many things to consider when determining the size of your project. There are bonus’s to all sized projects, some better for casual production and others better for bringing in the right amount of cash. It’s ultimately up to you to decide which sized project you’ll pick, but make sure to take all the above into consideration when you do so.

Unlock

It seems that flash games are always evolving. If it’s not better graphics, it’s unique game-play mechanics. The newest form of evolution in flash games is the addition of achievements. In addition to achievements hitting flash games, many flash sites have taken achievements to the next level by integrating them into the sites themselves.

It’s no mystery that replay value is a huge factor in game design. Game designers are constantly trying to make their games fun enough to have players stick around for another play or two. It appears that a new formula has risen to aide developers in this process, one that RPG’s have been using since the dawn of their creation, the addiction of having more power. Let’s face it, despite how great some classic RPG’s are, and even some modern games such as WoW or Final Fantasy, we all find ourselves mashing a button for hours simply to raise a few numbers, unlock a move every so often, and repeat until we get bored and move on to the next game. I’ve titled this “The Curse of the Numbers”. Gaining achievements in games may seem like something new, but it all boils down to that same desire within our brains that keeps us mashing a button to reach the next level.

Regardless of the simplicity behind this formula, it still packs tremendous power, so much in fact, that major flash sites such as Kongregate are built off of them. If you’ve ever heard of Kongregate you’re well aware they have many games that offer special achievements only found on their site. It may sound like a simple addition, but it’s quickly risen Kongregate to be among the top flash portals on the net and that’s no small accomplishment. It’s so effective in fact, that older flash portals such as Newgrounds are making additions to incorporate such features, and they’ve been successful since before Kongregate was even thought of.

All in all it’s a very simple concept, however it’s undeniably, increadibly effective. If you’ve got a great game that needs something to top it off, adding in achievements is surely no wrong way to go. Many games using achievemnt systems have seen a great boost in scores despite their simplicity in comparison to some larger titles, some good examples of these games are Amorphous+ and Cell Warfare. Weather ot not this is the next big move in flash game evolution can’t be said for sure, but if the big guys such as Newgrounds and Kongregate are in on it, so am I.

Quantity vs Qaulity

The phrase “Quality over quantity” probably isn’t new to your ears, you’ve most likely heard it a couple hundred times in your life thus far. It’s something I’ve been giving a lot of thought lately, in regards to the flash industry that is. As much truth as there is to the phrase, there are times when both quality and quantity must be met.

I’ll start off with an example of where quality over quantity truly does apply. My personally run flash portal PrincePorter.com currently runs entirely off of a model based on this thought. My current plan for the site is to just collect as many quality games as possible and truly leave out anything that isn’t of great quality. The idea here is that when you click on a game on my site in a category you appreciate, you find a game that you will enjoy 9/10 times. Sure I could toss on a couple thousand games, get more Google traffic and perhaps make more money, but in the long run this does my site no justice, the quality of games is what keeps people around, or at least keeps those who do visit pleased with their experience.

Quality over quantity is something that flash developers definitely keep in mind. I myself am a perfectionist and refuse to produce a game under my name that isn’t of high quality. Often times I feel that although this is a good thing, there are definitely a few negative aspects to the matter. First off, many average games can be made in just a weeks time, earning the developer a couple hundred dollars at a fairly constant rate. Rather large games can potentially earn thousands upon thousands of dollars, but they take a lot more time, and unless that game is a huge hit, they often end up earning only slightly more than two average sized games, which takes far less time to create. There’s a certain balance that must be had when creating games concerning the size of the project as well as it’s quality, and with the increase of quality flash games on the rise, this balance is becoming harder to obtain as a developer. The simple truth is that in order to survive as a professional flash developer, you must not only release quality games, but you must continue to release these games at a constant rate.

Although some may feel that having a single huge hit may be the way to go, I think most flash developers that are in the industry for a living will agree that committing to a schedule and knocking out successful game after successful game is the way to go. There once was a time when one could simply get by with a large array of average games, but as the industry is stepping up a notch, so must it’s members. In the end, it seems that both quality and quantity will be needed to stand out as a successful flash developer.