So What's So Difficult About Writing Apps?

Programming? 

Nope. Programming's easy. There are a even a number of middleware systems you can use to reduce your programming to a minimum. No, that's not the difficult bit. That's much easier than when I started coding in binary and hex in the 80s.

Ideas? 

No, ideas are everywhere, waiting to be plucked out of the ether.

Appstore Submission?

Yes. Appstore submission is hard. There are Bindle IDs, icons of various sizes, screenshots, descriptions, international descriptions, age ratings and a whole bunch of other stuff. I actually think getting a finished app into the various appstores is more difficult than creating the thing.

Making money?

Now you're talking. Making money out of apps is the most difficult thing. How do you get your app noticed among over a million - yes currently 1.6 million others? That's where publishers used to come in handy, of course. They had press agents, contracts with ad agencies, all sorts of contacts with the press (when there was a press) etc etc. Now we have social media and bloggers, but the number of apps we're competing against is phenomenal.

Price Points

Appstores have killed games prices. App prices for games are ridiculously low, some people are not willing to pay for an app. Freemium? It can work if you're lucky, and there are always stories of Angry Fish, Wiggle Woggle etc., but you need to shift huge numbers to make it pay. 

Frankly, it's a lottery for the indie developer.

So what's the answer? Keep plugging away until you die? Run a Kickstarter? If you do find out, please throw me some tips. You can contact me through the website - www.potassiumfrog.com 

In the meantime desktops still have a role to play. Of course, some games can't currently be translated to mobiles, but most can. And VR is just around the corner. PC, Mac and Linux games still command reasonable prices, and there's a healthy community willing to swap tips and reviews. Getting a game on Steam is most likely essential, of course.

So the moral of this is I guess that the appstore goldrush has been over for quite a while. Good ideas, well-executed will always be in demand. Formats have dissolved but people still want to be entertained in an original way. Most likely.

Slightly Magic - in your favourite appstore now!