A successful iOS game makes $4,000 annually (this goes for any app frankly). A successful Android game makes one seventh of that (one third at best).
You are not a large multi-million dollar company (at least I don't think you are given that you're reading this book). So you don't have the customer acquisition/marketing budget to beat this $4,000 annual average. Period.
You succeed in the mobile space by building many niche, high quality games. Trying to gain traction with using a wide net/with the general populace, is like winning the lottery (Flappy Bird, Crossy Road, etc). If you make a generic game that's a copy of what's already out there, it's unlikely you will succeed.
Do not spend more than two months building the first version of your product. Put it out there soon, get feedback from reviews, iterate on a steady six week cadence. Market directly to your niche audience (find the forums, online groups, in person groups that represent your audience).
One game won't make you rich. Hell, three games won't make you rich (this is coming from someone that had a game at the #1 spot for 18 days straight, and three games in the top #100 apps overall). Build many games (more than ten) that have a consistent, polished style that represents you as a game dev. And follow Xzibit's advice:
Yo dawg. Cross promote your games, in your games, to get people to buy all the games you made, that you promoted within your games.
To put it another way. Release one game, and find X people to buy it. Then make another game. Chances are (if communicated/marketed correctly), those loyal to you, will buy your other game too. Keep making good stuff that cater to this group (the one that also bought your second game), and they'll continue buying what you build.
Also, don't quit your job trying to make it as a game developer unless you can live with no income for a long time. I repeat, don't blindly "follow you passion". It won't end well (the last thing I need is another suicidal email from a game dev that tried to follow in my footsteps... yes this has happened more than once). I had over $100,000 in liquidity before quitting my job to pursue what I love to do. I got a college education, saved for ten years, lived well below my means, and got rid of all my debt. Only then did I feel I was to a point where I could take some time off and explore what I really wanted to do with my life. Even then, a whole boat load of luck was involved, and the constant "shit I need to find a job now" threat is ever looming till this day (December 2016).
This book is separated into three main parts, plus some fluff. If you're pressed for time. Read part two immediately, read the postmortems end the end of each chapter in part one, then read the rest at your leisure.
The fluff chapters were written after emails from game devs and fans over the last three years. Some of these chapters are to inspire, some are to help beginners, and some are to give you a reality check.
- Redefining Success
- Get Started with Game Dev When You Don't Know How to Code
- Making Your Apps Accessible to the Blind
- I'd Give Anything
The first part of the book are the developer logs of A Dark Room. I went back through all of them, and reevaluated what I observed then, with the experience I've gained from doing this for three years. If you're pressed for time, read the postmortems at the end of each log and then decide if you want to read the original dev entry.
- Building A Dark Room
- Marketing A Dark Room
- A Dark Room Goes Viral
The second part of the book are essays with extremely valuable pieces of advice/knowledge gained over my time as a mobile game dev. I've ordered them for you from most important to least important (again, if you're pressed for time).
- Build Games for Mobile
- Making Small, Sustainable Income
- How to Price Your App
- The Ins And Outs of the Review and Ranking System
- How to Market Your Game on Reddit
- How to Contact Apple About Your Game
- App Store vs Google Play
The third part of the book are interviews with other indie game devs, editors for mobile gaming websites, and other types of content creators. Each one provides a unique perspective of the mobile landscape and how to succeed (or fail with style).
For those that don't have time to read the interviews. The general advice is:
- Build small and quickly.
- Stay true to who you are.
- All of this is hard work.
- Luck plays a huge factor.
- Be genuine when talking to others (don't be a sleazeball, ass wipe marketer).