What should GS do next with the pricing?
Having been a lurker for a year and watching all the tshirtbooth videos etc i spent my time before shelling out the money to buy a macbook pro, ipod and gs pro to switch to making games with GS. I am really enjoying my experience with it so far.
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I just wanted to post a thought/discussion/debate/idea about how i feel that GS may want to go forward as a business and see what other people feel.
I think that when they reach 0.99 this should be the most stable and free version they offer. I think that 1.0 should be 'pro' only and people should pay for it to enable the support and ongoing development and integration of new features. If you are already a pro user then the upgrade to 1.0 is free. I think that almost like inApp that you get the free software and then by paying for extra features to help you develop a more 'feature' packed game.
Why do i suggest this?
This software is the easiest tool to get a game into the app store - and as such just like electronic music software - it floods with a ton of crap alongside the really great stuff.
Many many people seem to whinge and whine about features and things missing that are 'basic' and they demand them from the software - but its free..
I agree the software isn't complete as yet and doesn't offer all the features a standard game developer would require but it is the easiest solution.
I think that a lot of the features on the roadmap should be clearer in whether they are for pro users or for everyone and i think that whiel they want their SG name out and about as much as possible i think that things such as inApp should be for pro users only. I.e if you want to gain the maximum potential revenue from your game then you must like any other job invest in tools first. If you dont then you use the free version, still make your game and still get it out there.
I think there is a difference between people using GS for business and for making games for pleasure.
I look at the software i used and taught in schools for the past 2 years - YOYO Gamemaker and there model is about giving away software for free but if you want to get your games out into HTML5 on iOS or Android then you gotta pay - and tbh why not.
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Its not a fully fledged or well worded argument or thought process and probably flawed but just wanted to see what peoples thoughts were. I come from an open source tools and sharing esque background and code with processing etc so im not about the free/pay pay/piracy debate im more interested in what you think their model should/might/will be.
~
I just wanted to post a thought/discussion/debate/idea about how i feel that GS may want to go forward as a business and see what other people feel.
I think that when they reach 0.99 this should be the most stable and free version they offer. I think that 1.0 should be 'pro' only and people should pay for it to enable the support and ongoing development and integration of new features. If you are already a pro user then the upgrade to 1.0 is free. I think that almost like inApp that you get the free software and then by paying for extra features to help you develop a more 'feature' packed game.
Why do i suggest this?
This software is the easiest tool to get a game into the app store - and as such just like electronic music software - it floods with a ton of crap alongside the really great stuff.
Many many people seem to whinge and whine about features and things missing that are 'basic' and they demand them from the software - but its free..
I agree the software isn't complete as yet and doesn't offer all the features a standard game developer would require but it is the easiest solution.
I think that a lot of the features on the roadmap should be clearer in whether they are for pro users or for everyone and i think that whiel they want their SG name out and about as much as possible i think that things such as inApp should be for pro users only. I.e if you want to gain the maximum potential revenue from your game then you must like any other job invest in tools first. If you dont then you use the free version, still make your game and still get it out there.
I think there is a difference between people using GS for business and for making games for pleasure.
I look at the software i used and taught in schools for the past 2 years - YOYO Gamemaker and there model is about giving away software for free but if you want to get your games out into HTML5 on iOS or Android then you gotta pay - and tbh why not.
~
Its not a fully fledged or well worded argument or thought process and probably flawed but just wanted to see what peoples thoughts were. I come from an open source tools and sharing esque background and code with processing etc so im not about the free/pay pay/piracy debate im more interested in what you think their model should/might/will be.
This discussion has been closed.
Comments
One version... $99... on the Mac App Store.
Include exporting to HTML 5...
Promote GameSalad as a tool for the web and games.
Pro: 500
express: back to 99
Free: make games but can't publish
standard version 1.0 is free and CANNOT publish to ios - only html5
pro version 1.0 and upwards includes paid for features such as android/inapp/chrome store
other than bug fixes and engine updates the free version stays at 1.0
the pro gets updated with new features that are worthy of the 'pro' tag - such as inApp, android, tables/arrays, and other more complex things not yet in such as custom box2d collision shape integration, onsceneload commands, custom scene loading and scene transitions etc etc etc roadmap etc etc
thats my opinion becuase althought they wish to spread their name and word about their company - having the app store filled with shitty games displaying a lovely video saying powered by gamesalad will in turn instill a negative confidence from consumers in the product.... itll be a case of "oh look this game is another powered by gs"...
of course apple quality control helps and there are hundreds of amazing gs games - hence why i use it but im saying that in the bid to over market your name and product you must be careful in what features you hand out for free
imo. 2cents etc
@articsunrise,
Thanks for the link merged it to this thread.
Free to download/use the software (except publishing).
$199/year for iOS publishing
$199/year for Android publishing
$349/year for iOS/Android publishing
GS could include HTML5 publishing with the paid subscriptions above.
- Jeff
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The competition is suddenly very heavy.
The only thing that I think they should do is remove the Gamesalad intro screen from the free version - so that should the game be a bit poop - it does remove the chance of bad rep being applied to GS and the GS community as a whole.
Now they might think about offering a discount or an incentive towards people putting in the GS splash screen in their "pro" games by way of a discount or feature inc in the Pro pricing.
If you (as they have tried in the past) charge $99 for the base model of the software to allow people to publish then they will radically slow their growth and decrease their appeal.
I have no reason to use the Pro Software and yet I currently have 2 exceptionally high asset games in production easily exceeding 100 man hours and if I worked out a charge for the assets that are included in the games then I have spent over $5,000 USD (I am producing them myself along with a profesional musician)
Gamer Center and the extra features that Pro give me hold only a cursory intrest in the game and $500 for Pro isnt warranted.
Even If I used Pro I would still have the Game Salad intro screen in there as I want people to know about the engine and that im part of a great community.
But with an upgrade system from express to pro so you don't pay twice.
Like: express for 1 year $99, go to pro within that year: $400.
If it wasn't for the free version I wouldn't be making a game right now.
If I were to earn some real money from this then I'd go pro. My first game - although not a bad effort in my opinion - hasn't generated a great deal of sales:
http://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/aimless/id449688749?mt=8
However, I've now put in a good few hundred man hours on game 2 - and maybe success will come my way 2nd time around.
Anyway - my point is: without the free version I wouldn't have made the leap.
And - its quite possible that people like me will be the person making that game that trully puts GS on the map!
PS. My upcoming game is gonna be a corker!
GS with a free version.
GS pro 200 dollar a year!
Free to pros
$1000 to those dig up threads older than a year
$2000 to those that don't bother searching the forums
$3000 to multi-thread posters
$4000 with use of templates and no imagination
$5000 for the use of the words- zombie, birds, doodle, rush, or angry.
$15,000 to everyone over 45 with a fish related monicker
old kipper
E.g,
Free trials no software company does not have a free trial
different membership packages
education discounts
E.g,
Free trials no software company does not have a free trial
different membership packages
education discounts
The thing is though you guys are not happy with just free publishing. Now that you have that free you want more for free. Everyone understands the idea behind why you want a way to try making games with no cost. But you have got to start appreciating why they free version gives and accept that if you want more options you will have to pay for them. Nothing in the pro features will make you game better. So quit worrying about the cost. Show some appreciate what they have provided you and when you are confident in your games quality. You will not blink at paying for the extra ways to make money off your app. Until then if your focus is money you will always sacrifice the quality of the app in the attempt to make your money faster.
But as a user, I think it's fair that you pay for something good/useful.
I'm not sure if pro should be $500 a year though? How about a $99 renewal fee? (Unless that makes covering their server costs etc impossible)
Edit: what's with all the tags? O_o
Shaz
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But the only thing I don't understand with this thread is why so many people are insistent that the current free version shouldn't be free.
I went to a party last night and there was a free bar. I had a great time and it didn't cost me a penny - but I'm sure if some of you guys were there you would have insisted on paying for your drinks anyway! Crazy.
We'd probably have the same chance of getting Adobe to change the price of Creative Suite as any input will change the price of GameSalad. We all like to think we are business savvy, and some may be, but if that were really the case, we would all have multi-million dollar companies.
Multiple investors are involved now, with millions of dollars at stake, and any input we may have about the way the business should be ran is probably laughed at by these investors. They know what they are doing, and I highly doubt board meetings are conducted with the forums opened up, and individual opinions taken into consideration.
It would be like you sitting at a stop light, and listening to the man that's washing your windshield tell you how to be a millionaire, and taking that information seriously. (No offense to people that wash windshields)
And this is just my personal opinion on the matter.
I think it's more akin to a members bar, where you pay $500 a year and get free drinks
If you let anyone in off the street, there will invariably be trouble!
QS
But I think we'll just have to agree to disagree on this one.
Anyway, that's enough of posting my thoughts here - I've got a game to make before they bump the price back up...
Either pro is set at a price where GG can be profitable or GS doesn't exist. Take your pick
That being said, free users definitely shouldn't enjoy all the perks of a pro version. I'd like the $99 system per publishing medium. I'd be more than happy to drop $200 to publish to iOS and Android.
My $.02