Sometimes You Die rose in the App Store ranks to the #1 spots a few months before A Dark Room did. It was very cool to see an indie developer succeed with a game that completely broke the iOS mold. Additionally, Philipp took a different angle with Okay?: it's a free app with a donation IAP, plus puzzle hints in exchange for watching an ad (but done tastefully).
How old are you? What's your professional and educational background?
I am 24 years old and recently made my bachelor's degree in communication design. Right now I am doing my master thesis in information design.
With regards to Sometimes You Die, and Okay?, what technologies/languages did you use to build the games? How large are the code bases? How long did they take you to make (a short bullet list would be perfect)?
I never learned coding professionally, everything I do is Youtube-taught. Corona SDK uses a quite simple and friendly language, and the first game that I made has been coded in 3 months, starting from zero knowledge. I think a professional coder would lose his hair when he sees the code, but in the end it worked somehow.
Usually, I only have one big code file with 5,000 – 10,000 lines. Not using a scene manager or something makes me able to make a fluid navigation, where any screen can animate into any other screen. Sometimes You Die and the first version of Okay? were surprisingly comfortable in terms of coding, I needed about 6 weeks each. The level editor in Okay? was really hard then. I had to make sure that even the wildest level attempts would work.
I like to be as transparent as possible with revenue, if that's something you can share, that would be awesome. What's the lifetime revenue for Sometimes You Die, and Okay?? If you can't give exact numbers, could you at least supply relative revenue (example: "X made twice as much as Y“).
Sometimes You Die is a paid game, and Okay? has two revenue sources: A voluntary donation and video ads, that you only see when you need a hint.
Sometimes You Die made short, but heavy revenue. It was ranked #1 games in USA and Germany for a few days, but decreased quickly. After 2—3 months, the golden age was over. Okay? still makes good revenue, the first version did not have the video ads, but when I released the second version, the donation and the ad revenue were both at the same level. The ad revenue is quite stable, but the donations decreased, that is not surprising. You donate once, but you keep wanting hints through the game.
Between iOS and Android, which platform has brought in the most revenue? Percentage breakdown?
The downloads are split very equally. While on Android, paid apps don't work for me, the donations in Okay? are twice as high as on iOS. The ad revenue is less than half of the iOS revenue though. All in all, the revenue is 1/3 Android and 2/3 iOS.
What were some of the happiest moments during the development of your games?
I always wanted to hang on a wall in an art museum, the catch is that I don't make art. But in 2015, I won the App Art Award from the ZKM, which is one of the world's leading centers for arts and technology, for Sometimes You Die. They have a huge area for artistic games, one story above their art museum, and since then, my game is represented there. Somewhere between Limbo and Shadow of the Colossus, that makes me kind of proud.
The saddest moments?
I have made a game the last three months with an extensive level editor, which nearly melted my brain. I have put a lot of effort into that, and made it in a way that I thought Apple would like. Then I saw on Wednesday that is was featured on the homepage in the US App Store on second place, thought „so it begins" and cracked the champagne. But the features are updated on Thursday regularly, and for some reason, my game was featured one day before that. So on Thursday, a full load of games squeezed in front of my apps on the home screen, pushing me to place 8 or so. I was kind of bugged, but not pissed. That came when I clicked through the App Stores of several countries and realized that it was featured on no single one but USA. That was kind of depressing and I put the champagne back in the fridge.
What tips do you have for those that are just starting with programming and game development?
I never saw that the first games are successful. My first successful app was number 5, and many developers believe that already the first attempt will bring tons of cash. But it is quite likely that it will get no attention at all. I get many mails asking why their apps aren't successful, and in most cases, they are just not designed well. That means not only the graphics, but also the flow and the experience. Many developers forget that the main function of a game is creating a good feeling.
We may have a couple of project managers reading this interview. Any tips for them with regards to managing a project/interacting with developers?
I don't have much experience with project managers. But I worked in a user experience agency for half a year, and realized that the priorities between designer and programmer are a bit offset. Designers make mockups and these are recreated by the developer, but a great user experience is so much more than hopping from image to image. The user should be supported and guided by animations and transitions, knowing exactly where he is at the moment, and where to go next.
Also, we may have a couple of ad men reading this interview. Any tips for them with regards to marketing a game?
I am probably a bad marketer. I always ignore the mails from ad networks and primarily take care of making the game great instead of the revenue. I could easily implement some ads making me richer, but what is more important to me is that the gameflow is right.
Between Sometimes You Die and Okay?, you have games that are both premium and free to play with ads/IAP. Do you have any insight with regards to when to choose premium vs free to play?
Premium is for quick cash, with the expectation that the cash flow stops after 2—3 months. Also, there are always a hand full of people downloading your game. Free to play needs a critical mass to generate revenue, so you have to make sure this is a game that is easily enjoyable and well accessible. But once it runs well, it is really relaxing to see the cash flow.
Given hindsight is 20/20, would you have done anything differently with regards to building and selling your games?
Making apps doesn't cost anything. Some licences for the music, images, translations, speakers, but I never made an app that was what I would call expensive. So everything that I earn from them is profit, physically as well as mentally. It isn't possible to be always successful, but when you see your mistakes as a chance to learn something from them, you can lean back at ease.
Any other tips with regards to getting featured by Apple? Any "must do this or don't come crying to me" kind of stuff?
Don't come crying to me if you make a game that isn't fun. You can hire the best designers and brainstorm the shit out of you, in the end it has to be fun. Make user tests! Most games fail within the first minute. That is the most important thing that I have learnt.