Wildcat Comic-Con 2013

 
     My school hosted a Comic Con a while back and I figure it's about time I talked about my first convention. Going to the Wildcat Comic Con was a fun, interesting, and educational experience for me. I got to meet people like author Jerry Craft and voice actress Erica Schroeder in the same halls I normally sip milkshakes in. It felt pretty surreal waking up that morning and seeing a crowd of costumes stroll by as I hunted for french toast. It was a great way to start a day of surprises.

Big Risk

     Making games is definitely not like a part-time job. Money is not guaranteed and loads of hours get poured into your creations. By quitting my job (hopefully permanently) and taking on focused indie development, I basically did a leap of faith. I believe in myself enough to risk my college education and financial safety on the games I make and the blog I write on.

    I'm hoping that my games get reviewed and sales pick up soon. My college tuition problem is getting worse and I admit to having a moment of serious self-doubt a few days back. With renewed vigor I look to the future and I look at myself. Who I've become since I first learned Java. I think I have what it takes. I know indie development is worth the risk.

Getting Android Reviews

     I've been tossing out URLs for my game left & right in order to get people to notice it more. As far as that goes, all I needed was a few single sentences to either grab attention or describe the game quickly, a few paragraphs to describe what makes it special, the app description, and links to the game and web pages associated with it. 

     Since I can't start sending out the iOS version until I fix it, I have a few go-to android sites to depend on to boost sales. I can even list a few for those who are curious. 

• Android Authority
• Best Android Apps Review
• AppStorm
• AndroidTapp
• AndroidAppsReview
• Life of Android
• App Review Central
• Crazy Mike's Apps

     Obviously there are much more than this, but it's a start. Also, it'd be a good idea to avoid spending money to get reviewed. If your game is great, the reviews will come on their own and others will follow. If a site needs money to get your game out there to it's "thousands" of followers (who are most likely fellow developers), it's likely a waste a money. 

Game Development Magic

     Have you ever had that one dream job in mind and just couldn't imagine being anywhere else? For me it's game design. I don't know where I'll work, or what I'll be making (I've got an idea but we'll see how it turns out) but as long as I get the feeling that I have when making games now, I'll be entirely too happy. There is just some unexplainable tingling feeling I get whenever I think about working on my dream game, bringing a childhood idea to life, that is magical.

     There were times where I wanted to be a Disney animator or imagineer, a cartoonist, an author, a game animator, or recently a games programmer. None of those things hit the mark. With where I'm headed, there's nowhere else I'd rather be. It's good to think about how you're planning to spend most of your life. Work shouldn't be a drag for you. everyone has talent and everyone likes fun. How do you plan to combine those and make money to live off of?