I'll try to make this snappy...

I started developing solo games. Tried working in a team with friends but spent most of the time trying to quite literally give them things to do (Things I didn't need but didn't want to leave them out.). Anyway, I went solo, so I invested in playmaker (Visual coding software), because I don't have the time to spend months and months coding and solving issues for each game.

The problem is, I spent 6 weeks making a Tower Defense and after releasing a sort of playable version onto the app store, realised these games involved way too much work, despite using asset store products (I'm not an artist nor an animator in the slightest). I don't regret it though, I learnt an invaluable amount from it, but decided to go 2D and possibly 2.5D.

I'm just worried that I'm going to release 20-25 apps (Currently only on Google Play), and get maybe 3 or 4 downloads from all 25 apps that weren't me getting my friends to download it.

Things I'm aware of:

Paid advertising is the best way to get downloads, but I have next to no money.

You're supposed to build a community beforehand, but I have absolutely no idea how. This was a spur of the moment thing and I've progressed with development much faster than I first thought.

Artwork can make a HUGE difference, but I'm not an artist at all. I can barely draw stickmen :lol:

Things I'm unaware of:

How some apps that, quite frankly look awful and don't really engage with the user get 20,000+ downloads

Anyway, developers out there, whether you started solo or currently still are, how did you go about getting some success? Are you still struggling or did you find it relatively easy? It'd help a lot, thanks!

Sorry about the long post.

For those of you who want to check out what kind of apps I've made (currently just 2), then here are the links. I don't expect nor want you to download it at all, but a look at the screenshots and maybe a little extra note about where I'm going right or wrong would be nice!

Don't rely on solo mobile gamedev for money unless you have a community. If you do gamedev as a hobby/make good games/do good marketing you'll grow one over time.

Personally for me the solo developing never worked for me, my highest download count was at 54 players, after I flooded Imgur with updates and tried to build a community.

How some apps that, quite frankly look awful and don't really engage with the user get 20,000+ downloads

It does have a lot to do with luck, I see a lot of great quality games go unnoticed.

At the moment I am doing work for a solo developer who made a game that has more than 10 000 downloads, the way he did it was a famous YouTube personality played his game while filming. In the following week he had more than 10 000 downloads and enough money to hire a team to improve the game.

A thing I want to point out: I have never seen a game with more than a 1 000 downloads, that was a bad quality game when compared to all games on the store.

If you compared a game with a 1.7 ranking and 1 000 downloads, to a game with a 1.7 ranking and only 10-50 downloads, you will see the one with more downloads is a better game in most categories; often art.

The first step to getting a lot of downloads is making a game worth downloading, what you need after that I personally have no idea; it looks like it could be luck.

in my case? missed the boat and burnout.

there are jackpot cases like flappy bird.

ironically, i'm collecting games via humble bundle - but I wonder, if I'm a game dev, how can I survive with humble bundle existing?

i'm sure this conversation about humble bundle existed before, and I'm not a representative of the market. but that is my opinion. i'm the kind that can wait several years until game is 75% off or several on the dollar.

--edit--

in my case, i was living in a 3rd world village at that time and game dev wasn't big. so i was on my own anyway.

A few assorted points:

"The problem is, I spent 6 weeks [...] realised these games involved way too much work"

If 6 weeks is too much work for you, then you're probably doomed as a game developer. Some of us slave for years on the same project, because that is how long it can take. Obviously the world of apps is different, but it's an arms race, and you can't expect to compete with 6 [wo]man-weeks of work versus similar games boasting hundreds.

You talk as if it's not possible to make a certain genre of game without expensive assets, but gameplay and presentation are only loosely connected. You could make a tower defence game with minimal art if you really wanted. It sounds like you're stuck in the mindset of wanting to compete directly with existing games not just in terms of their gameplay but their aesthetic, and that is not a realistic route open to you.

The mobile app market is brutal. Don't confuse the low barrier to entry or the high amount of overall revenue with a high chance of individual success.

"I'm just worried that I'm going to release 20-25 apps (Currently only on Google Play)"

If you're only shipping on Android then you've more than halved your sales before you even started. iPhone users are a minority, but they're a large one, and they're more likely to pay for things. Worse, it also limits your ability to get noticed, because some people and sites won't bother covering an app that is only on Android. It also stunts your virality when people can't recommend it to their friends with different phones.

"You're supposed to build a community beforehand, but I have absolutely no idea how."

You can't build a community of gamers without having games. But you can network with other developers. Talk about your development, post screenshots, comment on other people's work, and help promote them. Many of them will do the same for you, in time, and their audience becomes your audience.

"How some apps that, quite frankly look awful and don't really engage with the user get 20,000+ downloads "

Could be advertising. Could be a pre-existing audience. Could be a popular search term. Could be malware that makes people download it. It's probably possible to do a case study of specific examples, if you provide them, but in general we'd just be speculating.

Hey there mate. Im new to this forum and the first post im commenting on is yours :D.

Ok. So down to the point. I am a solo dev my self. I do, Sounds, Low poly art, program you name it i do it all. It did take time for me to get decent in all areas. My main focus was programming since its my main passion when it comes to game dev. I have released 2 Steam titles with very little marketing and both titles have done better then i thought they would.

Anyway what i find helps when it comes to growing some kind of following is dev logs AND lots of them. If you make something new and cool make a video on it. If your having a issue on something make a video about it and how you think you can solve it. If you have a twitter account post on there about what your doing on your game and over time you will start to see people commenting on what you post. Don't get me wrong this is not something thats going to get you known over night im still doing it but over time iv been getting more and more interest.

I have my own studio and i do have side projects with friends and family but what iv found is that theres always a lack of work from everyone when your partnering with friends. So in my oppinon its always best to find someone you can trust and hire them. If you do not have the money to hire by the hour. Offer them a cut of all proceeds if the game gets on any platform.