Climbing the Ladder?

#1

In time I intend to enter into the world of CoG by creating Hosted Games. If I start writing full time for CoG would the revenue be decent or minimal, overtime as time passes?

#2

Iā€™m writing full time as well, and Iā€™d say it could become decent or even substantial overtime. If your gamebooks are long, eloquently written, and non-linear, theyā€™ll be succesful as far as CoG goes. And if theyā€™re in a series, the ssales will rise each year, instead of decreasing overtime. It also wouldnā€™t hurt to add music or illustrations (as Iā€™m doing with Trial of the Demon Hunter), because it adds flavor.

Also consider that CoG is growing, and the new ā€œtry it before you buy itā€ appproach has garnered more sales.

#3

I see. I knew its possible to add illustrations however I didnā€™t know about music. How does that mechanism work? And this game of yours: Trial of a Demon Hunter, will it be a Hosted or Choice of Games?

#4

@Harian
You put the audio file in the ā€œmygameā€ folder and the music will start when the gamebook is opened. @andymwhy is actually the one making the sound track for me. Itā€™ll be published in the Hosted Games label before the end of the month, most likely.

#5

@Samuel_H_Young
Is that actually official behavior? Up till now the inclusion of music hasnā€™t been supported by choicescript, you had to ā€˜hackā€™ it in.

#6

@CJW
Jason said itā€™s fine. Iā€™m pretty sure there isnā€™t any hacking involved, though Iā€™ll have to talk to Andy about it.

#7

@Samuel_H_Young, thereā€™s a little tweaking with index.html as well. In fact, thereā€™s a guide on the wiki (from CJW) for how to set it up:

#8

@andymwhy
Wow, thatā€™s actually pretty simple.

#9

What about videos?

#10

Please no music. I strongly dislike music. If itā€™s there let it be turned off.

The most money in Choice of Games is in the work for hire option. $10,000 for 50,000 words or so. No royalties, no rights over what you write. Next is an official Choice of Games label, but unless youā€™re a published author you wonā€™t qualify for that.

Hosted games earn less money. I donā€™t think you could live off of the proceeds from just one game. But with multiple games Iā€™m sure it would build up.

#11

@FairyGodFeather, I believe you said the same about the music I added to Blackraven and thatā€™s fine. The music player from the wiki includes volume controls.

Just about every app game has music. Thereā€™s no reason CoG games should be excluded from this.

#12

@FairyGodfeather
You can pause the music or mute your audio.

I wonā€™t mention names, but right now, the most successful CoG author is making somewhere arround $20,000, and the most successful HG author is making about $9,000.

#13

I see, Iā€™m not a published author and am relatively new at writing CYOAs. I mean Iā€™ve written online short stories before but if I am to enter this market I should start off with Hosted Games? If successful with a few games under the Hosted Label is there the possibility of eventually progressing to work for hire in CoG?

#14

Well i hate myself music, but i dont care due i mute it always , but there case some apps dont have mute option i never buy again nothing from a company dont put a mute button by system , i play in hospitals when i go with my grandma for hours you couldnt put music in a hospital. Also images for me are secondary too, text is the main stuff. A good text with replay value and options than matters, thatā€™s the success way

#15

@Harian
CoG can offer to publish you under the official label if you have at least one HG. Itā€™s at their discretion, though.

@MaraJade
I agree that text is the most important factor, but it definitely doesnā€™t hurt to have all 3.

#16

@MaraJade
So you should be careful with the amount of text and audio you implement?

#17

@Harian
Not neccesarily. They can only strengthen the qaulity, not hurt it.

#18

Text itā€™s great and i love long games, my problem is basically music and games without a mute button. Due itā€™s not first time i open a app and no button and a horribly music wake-up half hospital lol and i have to pick down battery to shut down top speed is no funny, not at all X(

Edit SAM BAD MUSIC COULD DESTROY A GAME I COULD SHOW YOU EXAMPLES

#19

@Samuel_H_Young @andymwhy
Yeah, the hack, I originally did that with Terminal but was unsure whether it would work across all devices after a gameā€™s publication. Although it uses the same principles, I think that particular wiki article was actually wrote by AlexCosarca.

Itā€™s good to know it will though, if Jason said so?

As to whether or not you should add music and pictures, thatā€™s entirely down to individual opinion and creative direction. Some will like it, others will hate it - some games will benefit from it, others likely wonā€™t.

As for making a living off of CoG, from what I gather, I think youā€™ll struggle to make enough to LIVE off game writing, even with ā€˜Choice ofā€™ label publications - particularly if you have a family to support.

Itā€™s hard to say for sure though, as your games might be the next best sellers.
I think the feasibility will get better over time though, as more games are made and more customers are attracted.

#20

@CJW

Well Iā€™m glad you made the hack :slight_smile:

Well Iā€™m still a teenager, so if I can make multiple successful gamebooks before I make a family, I think itā€™s a high possibility that I could live off writing CoGs. And as youā€™ve said, CoG is growing. Plus, the in game demoā€™s have increased sales.