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App development as a board game reach goal

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Thu, 08/04/2016 - 16:10
adversitygames
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I'm curious about the idea of having a high-end reach goal of turning a game into an app (for tablets, mobiles, etc) as a reach goal.

A lot of board games seem to be getting turned into apps now and it seems like a good place to get on board, but I don't know a lot about software development.

Does anyone else know about this/has tried this/succeeded at this? Is producing a game in app form too a good idea?

And how much does something like that cost? (in this case, I'm working on a relatively complex game eg around the level of dungeon lords or lords of waterdeep, but it would be interesting to find out about the costs for smaller games too)

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Thu, 08/04/2016 - 16:44
#1
questccg
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Be very careful

I have been told that some successful KS campaign are now in the NEGATIVE because of "Stretch Goals"... Basically they offered more for more backers, but the problem is that the overall cost of the "extended product" cost significantly more than the original "core" product.

So generally speaking you should be careful when trying to add "Stretch Goals" to your campaign. Many only learned about the cost of them just prior to production ... and it was a disheartening experience to know that all the "extra" cash you thought you would have - got sucked in by all of the "Stretch Goals" they had promised.

Back to the OP, I have no clue how much it costs to convert a board game to an electronic version. Sorry.

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Thu, 08/04/2016 - 17:28
#2
ElKobold
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Depending on the complexity

Depending on the complexity of the game and complexity of the app you want, it can range from "relatively cheap" to "very expensive". In any case, you should discuss the terms with the developer _before_ you consider adding this stretch goal.

That being said, the app has a benefit of not costing more, with the increased number of backers. So, provided you can pay for the development to begin with, you are safe from what QTCCG mentioned, as with every copy sold, you don't incur additional production cost.

Not sure how appealing it would be for the backers though. Especially considering that the app can take as long, if not longer, to develop, than the actual board game.

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Thu, 08/04/2016 - 23:27
#3
Tedthebug
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Check distribution

I've heard some app developers saying that it is really hard to distribute games on iOS as they aren't able to give vouchers. In the end they just have the app free for a few days, email those that are meant to get the free copy to tell them of the short window, then reset it to a paid app afterwards. The devs have to wear the cost for any that are downloaded during that window by people that weren't eligible for the free version as there is no recourse for them to get money from those people.

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Sat, 08/06/2016 - 08:47
#4
adversitygames
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questccg wrote:So generally

questccg wrote:
So generally speaking you should be careful when trying to add "Stretch Goals" to your campaign. Many only learned about the cost of them just prior to production ... and it was a disheartening experience to know that all the "extra" cash you thought you would have - got sucked in by all of the "Stretch Goals" they had promised.

Absolutely, I need to know how much it will cost before I add it (and may decide not to, depending on what I find out).

I'm currently expecting a figure around 30-40k for production, so this would only be a top-end reach goal to avoid going into the red over it. I was thinking of giving a free copy as a bonus to any high-end backers if it succeeds. But whatever happens it wouldn't set back the production of the board game - I'd just need to put a separate estimate on devivery of the app (at the moment I guess something like a year to roll that out, but I'll get a more accurate figure before including it on KS).

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Sat, 08/06/2016 - 08:52
#5
adversitygames
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ElKobold wrote:That being

ElKobold wrote:
That being said, the app has a benefit of not costing more, with the increased number of backers. So, provided you can pay for the development to begin with, you are safe from what QTCCG mentioned, as with every copy sold, you don't incur additional production cost.

Not sure how appealing it would be for the backers though. Especially considering that the app can take as long, if not longer, to develop, than the actual board game.

Well it would be a reach goal, it would be a "what I'll do with this money if I succeed this much" sort of thing.

Yeah in terms of the pros and cons:
+ Much wder distribution, gets out there to video gamers/app users
+ Minimal costs once completed
- A huge starting cost that I could spend on publishing an entire extra board game, and that may not get recouped (supposing it costs £35000 and I charge £5 for it (before tax), I need to sell 7000 copies before I break even)

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