Game Development Question and Guide

alexmartina

Hello Polycounters,

I have one simple question... I got ask for a very rough estimate to develop 2 games for android and ios.
One is a match game like candy crush an the other is a color and draw type of game.

Any one can help me how can I create rough estimates in this type of cases?
Should it be by hour or by type of project?


Any help or guide will be very helpful

Brian "Panda" Choi

If you need more answer fields, TIGsourcee and r/gamedevclassifieds are also good places.

Add3r

Unless they have a hard plan for features and content the games will entail and they will not budge on wanting to pay per project over a period of time (and you dont want to turn down the project for whatever reason)...... I would always ask for hourly rate.  In any game development scenario, the development itself is extremely organic.  They will ALWAYS ask for more features, and almost always ask for more content, so make sure you consider that when taking projects.  In my experience, freelance should always be hourly rates to protect yourself.

alexmartina

Add3r said:

Unless they have a hard plan for features and content the games will entail and they will not budge on wanting to pay per project over a period of time (and you dont want to turn down the project for whatever reason)...... I would always ask for hourly rate.  In any game development scenario, the development itself is extremely organic.  They will ALWAYS ask for more features, and almost always ask for more content, so make sure you consider that when taking projects.  In my experience, freelance should always be hourly rates to protect yourself.

Nice comment @Add3r
Thank you for your help and advice  
You know this client what they do exactly is they get contacted by a client and then they ask the freelancers they have in their contact list/book... I never had a game project with them so I wasn't sure how to give them a rough estimate as they requested so that's why I asked for help here in the forum.

I told them it will be roughly $10000 for each game... That's the price I got doing some research on google.
So now they are going to talk to their client and to see if we can proceed.

But what do you think? Is it a good starting price? Or you think its highly rated price?

Another thing is what should I do if they contact me again if their client accept?
Hope you can help me.

Best,
Alex  

Add3r

$10,000 is extremely cheap.  My hourly rate is anywhere from $45-120+ USD depending on asks, and I try to bill for no more than 8hrs a day, and you have consider the fact that you are going to have to pay for all of your development tools out of pocket; Every bit of software, your computer, office space (whether at home or in an actual office, still have to charge for it), and personal business taxation depending on country you are working from.  In the US, if you are self employed you have to pay for your insurance, business licenses (LLC, etc), office space licensing (if applicable), business insurance (if applicable), and you also get tax'ed out the ass during tax season for being self employed.  If you do not account for all of that, you can end up actually lose money on taking the job.  I hate giving a flat amount up front, rather break down general feature time quotes and let them do the math.  If they want a number, break down an entire project based on their asks and add it all up, but they should honestly come after discussing how a project would get paid out and agreeing on your hourly rate.  Flat fees will only ever kick you in the ass, especially if you sign a loosely worded contract for the job (please get a lawyer to look over the contract before signing!!!!).  Think, if you spend 6 months on a $10,000 project, you only made $10/hr before taxes and that includes ZERO funding for supplying the software/hardware/space to do the job.  This would most likely equate to losing money on the project, more on the side of breaking even or making very little if it was a 3/mo project.

Also, think about how much they could potentially make on the game.  Since they are asking you to be the sole developer of a game, you should work in royalties and other incentives to help negate the upfront cost of a project while still covering your back in the long run.  It can be a win/win for both the developer(s) and publisher/client.  Just make sure that you are getting fairly compensated for your work AFTER development costs, your hourly rate always has to assume development costs unless the publisher provides those resources.  

Putting together game pitches, quotes for long term full projects, etc is a lot of work up front but will always save you in the end.  Take the time now, and thank yourself later.  

alexmartina

Add3r said:

$10,000 is extremely cheap.  My hourly rate is anywhere from $45-120+ USD depending on asks, and I try to bill for no more than 8hrs a day, and you have consider the fact that you are going to have to pay for all of your development tools out of pocket; Every bit of software, your computer, office space (whether at home or in an actual office, still have to charge for it), and personal business taxation depending on country you are working from.  In the US, if you are self employed you have to pay for your insurance, business licenses (LLC, etc), office space licensing (if applicable), business insurance (if applicable), and you also get tax'ed out the ass during tax season for being self employed.  If you do not account for all of that, you can end up actually lose money on taking the job.  I hate giving a flat amount up front, rather break down general feature time quotes and let them do the math.  If they want a number, break down an entire project based on their asks and add it all up, but they should honestly come after discussing how a project would get paid out and agreeing on your hourly rate.  Flat fees will only ever kick you in the ass, especially if you sign a loosely worded contract for the job (please get a lawyer to look over the contract before signing!!!!).  Think, if you spend 6 months on a $10,000 project, you only made $10/hr before taxes and that includes ZERO funding for supplying the software/hardware/space to do the job.  This would most likely equate to losing money on the project, more on the side of breaking even or making very little if it was a 3/mo project.

Also, think about how much they could potentially make on the game.  Since they are asking you to be the sole developer of a game, you should work in royalties and other incentives to help negate the upfront cost of a project while still covering your back in the long run.  It can be a win/win for both the developer(s) and publisher/client.  Just make sure that you are getting fairly compensated for your work AFTER development costs, your hourly rate always has to assume development costs unless the publisher provides those resources.  

Putting together game pitches, quotes for long term full projects, etc is a lot of work up front but will always save you in the end.  Take the time now, and thank yourself later.  

Thank you so much @Add3r

This is exactly the perfect answer. I will keep this in mind forever
You are my new friend