weird business

[LucaMs]

if you don't try you don't know how it will turn out.

I do not need to try to know that giving birth is very painful .

Also, I see the results obtained by other members.

Finally, I see that very good developers like @Erel, @Johan Schoeman, @Informatix , @DonManfred do not waste their time to develop apps (Informatix one only).
This because they are also smart!!!

 

[Indic Software]

Hello,

It seems now a days people are tired of seeing well polished and beautiful looking apps on their phone. They want something that is odd looking and feels challenging to use.

@ilan, unfortunately your app/game is well polished and smooth graphics, etc. it is very modern so people do not flock around it.

If you are an old timer then you may remember a game called Round42 in the DOS era.

I would suggest you to build similar game or clone that game to the ditto. You will surely get many installations. Please take care to see that the retro effect is maintained!

Just my idea!

 

[ilan]

Round42

wow, you brought me now 30 years back.
i remember playing this game on C64.
i really like those old school games. but i am afraid people like more games with lots of effects and childish assets like Candy Crush.

i think in the end its about luck. you can make an awesome game but wont see any success from it and you can make a very simple one and see success from it.
its hard to tell what people like.

i have uploaded yesterday a new game to the appstore, lets see how it will make.

 

[JakeBullet70]

I have come to the conclusion that in the 'APP' market you have to be both programmer and online marketing master.

 

[JakeBullet70]

online marketing master.

With that said, maybe we need a forum on just Online Marketing?

 

[LucaMs]

you have to be both programmer and online marketing master.

I am increasingly convinced that the success of an app depends more on marketing than on its quality!

I'm thinking of a "trick" and I try to propose it.

Create a "moving app" for the others. Develop an interesting app for topic and name, such as Football, for example. This app must not do anything particular, it must be totally free and without advertising. In this app you publicize your other apps.

It's important that there is something famous in the name of the app! As far as I know, Google allows names like "abcd whatsapp"; if someone confirms this, I think this may be a good way.

 

[Indic Software]

i really like those old school games. but i am afraid people like more games with lots of effects and childish assets like Candy Crush.

You guessed it perfectly! People want many childish looking games and effects. So add them in your new games or to the retro games you redevelop!

Imaging forcing a game player to control say (for example in space arcade game) the space ship using two separate buttons placed on screen only and not by swiping or tilting or any other methods!

Usually with excessive freedom people like a few wired restrictions also!

 

[An Schi]

As far as I know, Google allows names like "abcd whatsapp"; if someone confirms this, I think this may be a good way.

I think there is a user on this forum, who had to unpublish his whatsapp-picture-remover or simular.
I might search for it tonight

 

[JakeBullet70]

I am increasingly convinced that the success of an app depends more on marketing than on its quality!

I agree. It is marketing.

 

[Widget]

I agree. It is marketing.

Agreed. I still can't believe 100 million people downloaded and played "Pokemon Go". They even played it when driving and while trespassing on people's properties and they even risked their safety by walking out into traffic to get more points. Perhaps developers are overestimating the intelligence of their customers?

Look at the new Apple phone, where the user can pay $1000 in order to have an animated emoticon that represents pile of dog poop. If they give me their address, I can deliver the real thing for a lot less than $1000. I'll even put it in a flaming paper bag on their front steps if they order the deluxe on-fire edition. I'm thinking of getting Amazon to sell it for me, because they will sell almost anything for a buck. The only downside to this venture is, I'm going to have to get a bigger dog.

 

[LucaMs]

I still can't believe 100 million people downloaded and played "Pokemon Go".

Indeed it is not so; they are (were) 752 millions (July, 1 2017)
https://mynintendonews.com/2017/07/01/pokemon-go-has-reached-752-million-downloads/

 

[Indic Software]

Agreed. I still can't believe 100 million people downloaded and played "Pokemon Go". They even played it when driving and while trespassing on people's properties and they even risked their safety by walking out into traffic to get more points. Perhaps developers are overestimating the intelligence of their customers?

Look at the new Apple phone, where the user can pay $1000 in order to have an animated emoticon that represents pile of dog poop. If they give me their address, I can deliver the real thing for a lot less than $1000. I'll even put it in a flaming paper bag on their front steps if they order the deluxe on-fire edition. I'm thinking of getting Amazon to sell it for me, because they will sell almost anything for a buck. The only downside to this venture is, I'm going to have to get a bigger dog.

 

[ilan]

The example i posted in post #1 just proove that its not about marketing. Does anyone here believe that this guy spent money on promoting his game?

The reason of his success was not marketing.

I spent more then 1500$ on marketing my game without any results.

I have a friend that spent about 2500$ on his app. He got a lot installs from countries that did not made him any revenue. When he stopped promoting installs went bad down.

In a lot cases marketing does not help it can only give a push to an alreafy successful app but i dont think that it can make a 0 app to a big hit.

In my opinion the reason he success with this game is because of the app name, icon and simplicity of the game. And also why people know this game from google.com.

 

[Deleted member 103]

Make a Facebook account, make sure you get at least a million followers and then you have a million downloads.

But I do not want a Facebook !!!

 

[LucaMs]

The reason of his success was not marketing.

Millions of downloads do not necessarily mean success.
Hundreds of thousands of installations (without uinstallations) and many minutes of daily use of your app mean success. Many apps are abandoned in "a corner" of devices.

In my opinion the reason he success with this game is because of the app name

This is why I wrote this #46

icon and simplicity of the game

Important but less, if no one visits your page.

 

[ilan]

Millions of downloads do not necessarily mean success.
Hundreds of thousands of installations (without uinstallations) and many minutes of daily use of your app mean success. Many apps are abandoned in "a corner" of devices.

Getting milion of downloads is a huge success. I am not talking about money i am talking about visiability of the app in the market.

Its up to u to use that success correctly

Important but less, if no one visits your page.

What u wrote here does not make sense.

If the icon and title of the game were the factor to be found by users he will have a lot visits on his page.

So when i search for dino because i would like to play a dinosaur game it will make sense to use dino in your game name or description.

If u start getting downloads u start appear in top 500 list and now your app icon can help to get more installs.

So both (name and icon) are very importent.

Even if u open the top 10 games you will enter the page of the icon that is interesting to you.

Right?

 

[An Schi]

As far as I know, Google allows names like "abcd whatsapp"; if someone confirms this, I think this may be a good way.

https://www.b4x.com/android/forum/threads/whatsapp-clenaer.80585/

Last year I posted on Google Play an app that cleared WhatsApp from duplicate files (images, videos, audio, documents) or let you preview and delete files that were no longer interested.
It also allowed to move the files to dropbox, so as to free the device memory.

Google Play asked me to move the word WhatsApp at the end of the title because this could create confusion with the original App and then I could post it, after a while I removed the app and admonished me saying I did not have to use the word WhataApp.

I could have changed package name and app name and redacted it with a new icon .... but I did not care ... and did not produce much revenue.

 

[LucaMs]

@Star-Dust
"Google Play asked me to move the word WhatsApp at the end of the title"

 

[LucaMs]

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=br.com.tattobr.android.wcleaner&hl=it

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=androidpills.com.whattoreply&hl=it

 

[ilan]

its easy to say everything is about marketing but i dont agree with it.
marketing is important but before you market your product it needs to have potential.
potential does not mean A GOOD APP potential mean IS IT NOW A POPULAR CONCEPT?
WILL IT INTEREST PEOPLE?

i saw some videos from big companies that gives advice how to make a popular app and i followed their suggestions.
thats why i made "Cowboy VS Ballz" (i changed the name from Ballz Shooter to Cowboy VS Ballz and i will explain why i did it later in this post)

so the guy (Buildbox founder) gives some advice how to make a popular app and he has a lot experience.
i advice anyone to watch the video (i will put it at the end of the post)

so his biggest advice is to make an app that in trendy right now. there are a lot game concepts like JUMP UP, ENDLESS RUNNER, FLAPPY BIRD, PLATFORM,...
but if you open the TOP CHARTS you can see what people are right now playing and what is right now trendy.

and you should look for simple games that are trendy and that are NEW in the market. you will find some games that are a long time on the top 10 like Hill Climber or MINCRAFT but you should look for those that are NEW and simple.

Now you can have a clue whats people are playing and what is trendy now and make your own game (NOT CLONING) just take some features from that game and put it in yours. this is what i did.

i took BALLZ concept and put a cowboy that shoots all BALLZ that fly to him. i put physics to the game and some effects like Slow motion and share HIT Picture like in Hill Climb and make a simple game with a lot potential (i hope)

first i called it BALLZ SHOOTER but then i saw that there are a lot X VS X games out there like SNAKE VS BLOCK, SLIGHTER VS BALL,.. so i decided to use the same name type and called it "Cowboy VS Ballz" like this it is more interesting to people and also femiliar with other games (i mean the name type)

i made it also simple with no childish graphics so it will point to anyone in any age and not only 7 to 13 years old kids.
(this is also an advice by Buildbox guy.

you can see the game here (i have uploaded a new build so the name is right now not correct)

link: https://www.b4x.com/android/forum/threads/cowboy-vs-ballz-ispritekit.83889/

and i advice anyone to have a look at this video (especially game developers in this forum):