I've had this idea bouncing around in my head for a while and I want to know what you guys think. I started off thinking about how hard it can be sometimes for the people who want to start earning money for their games but are not really sure how to get started. I know there are quite a few good places to sell games, especially the up and coming IndieCity, but I was kind of thinking of a smaller scale kind. I was inspired by the recent Gamemaker Halloween Jam where people create games over the weekend based on a one-word theme. LAWS was the last theme. Anyway, I got to thinking, "What if you were to have a jam, like, say monthly and earn money for your games?". So the "Worth a buck" idea came into being.

Basically, the first Monday of the month a theme would be announced and developers would have 2-3 weeks or so to make a game. Then the games are published onto a site. In the games themselves, when you complete the game, there would be a dialog that comes up asking if you thought the game was worth a buck. If you say yes, you are directed to the paypal site and so forth. If you say no then, well, nothing happens. You get a big sad face. Anyway, the developer could keep all of the profits. I was also thinking maybe the winning game, the one that earned the most money, might get an extra prize or something, I don't know. Or maybe everybody who enters could contribute some money and the winner would get it all.

The business could take an entry fee to make a profit and things like that so as to make it worth while. I don't think it would be terribly hard to set up. I'm also not sure whether the games should be hosted on the website or not. It would add to expenses but it might simplify everything a bit more.

Well, tell me what you all think!

Oh, and happy holidays!

Not a bad idea.

Voters would need to pay $1 to vote for the best game, and developers get to make some profits.

I'd suggest to keep a percentage to keep the website running (say 30%-70%). You might also want to keep hosting all previous winners and have choice for people to purchase them at a buck.

I think I would likely say a game would be worth a buck, but not want to actually pay a buck for it.

alnite - I like the idea of hosting for the winners. Also, taking a percentage is a pretty good idea; I'll have to think about it.

HappyCoder - Why wouldn't you pay for it? Lack of money?

alnite - I like the idea of hosting for the winners. Also, taking a percentage is a pretty good idea; I'll have to think about it.

HappyCoder - Why wouldn't you pay for it? Lack of money?

I agree with HappyCoder, although perhaps not for the same reason. For me it's more about the bother of using PayPal.

Also, I'd lose more than a buck if PayPal was the only way (AFAIK, PayPal charges for low-yield transactions).

Don't use PayPal as the only way to accept payment. They'll randomly put your transactions and account on hold when they feel like it, especially if you are a startup microISV. Go with a real merchant account. Or have a merchant account / PayPal account combination.

HappyCoder - Why wouldn't you pay for it? Lack of money?[/quote]
Personally, I think the biggest issue with schemes like this is that we're conditioned to view higher prices with higher quality and disdain products (such as games) that traditionally sell for high prices but are being offered for much less.

It isn't that I don't think the author is entitled to some compensation, or whatnot, so much as there is a certain "price" at which people consider "too much" simply because they don't wish to go through the actual hassle of paying (particularly for online products). Honestly, when I see a game that is being offered for "a buck" or something similar, and isn't a marked down version of an older game (read: one that commanded a decent price at some point in time) I can't help but wonder why they didn't just offer it for free. It sends the subtle message that the author wants payment but isn't confident enough in their product to demand a higher price. It comes across as more of a "pity payment" than a valuable service transaction.

Obviously, this isn't true for a large percentage of such items. But the issue with trying to sell your product "on the edge" is that "a buck" is an easy price to beat .. and a lot of people have already done it.

That said, I find the idea of a regularly scheduled "jam" (contest) for developers very intriguing. I wish there were more of them (*cough* 4E).

[size="1"]*bunny hops into the conversation*

Don't use PayPal as the only way to accept payment. They'll randomly put your transactions and account on hold when they feel like it, especially if you are a startup microISV. Go with a real merchant account. Or have a merchant account / PayPal account combination.

Any recommendations/preffered-vendors that you have personally used?

Personally I had a related but somewhat different idea, which was to actually make the competition involve publishing the game on iTunes. Then you declare the winner based on sales. Of course this means that everyone has to pay before playing, unfortunately.

[size="1"]*bunny hops into the conversation*
[quote name='Eleventy' timestamp='1322443060' post='4888276']
Don't use PayPal as the only way to accept payment. They'll randomly put your transactions and account on hold when they feel like it, especially if you are a startup microISV. Go with a real merchant account. Or have a merchant account / PayPal account combination.

Any recommendations/preffered-vendors that you have personally used?
[/quote]


I obtained a merchant account from http://www.gotmerchant.com/.

Their application process is pretty straight-forward. They also have low fees and very good customer service. The only thing you'll need is standard ID documentation and at least one valid business-related trade reference (such as a vendor, supplier, marketing partner, etc).

If you don't want a full-blown merchant account, you can also go with other services such as FastSpring and 2CheckOut. Though, I have never used the last two.

P.S. You should do a Google search for "paypal microisv" and read the first article.