Where to go from here?

[plexsoup]

I asked on the GWJ forum about how to make the game better. This is the response..

5:07 PM] plexsoup: Me again... What would it take to make "Gaping Maw" a game you'd pay $0.49 for? Hypothetically I mean; I'm not asking for money. If it was on mobile, how much would it be worth?
[5:17 PM] toasteater: I think for mobile you will want to be F2P. No one downloads paid games on phones even if it's $0.49.
[5:18 PM] toasteater: Regardless of the quality.
[5:18 PM] plexsoup: Yeah. Good point.
[5:20 PM] JohnGabrielUK: @plexsoup For me, time is more important than money. I've got tons of games waiting to be played. Unless it's a game good enough to put £10 down on, I'm not going to bother.
[5:21 PM] toasteater: Yeah, that's a factor for me as well.
[5:22 PM] plexsoup: Interesting. Thanks. It's definitely not worth £10. Never will be.
[5:22 PM] toasteater: Especially for arcade-style games: the supply is very great.
[5:24 PM] toasteater: The only kind of arcade game I end up playing often are elaborate bullet hells though so I may be biased against more casual ones.
[5:48 PM] Æmetta: I put a $3 donation request on my game for GWJ7, and even though you're not prompted to pay if you click to download from the jam page, I made $8 off it
[5:48 PM] Æmetta: that said, both donations were from people who knew me and were certain I'd made a good game, but that same confidence can be sold with a stamp of quality
[5:49 PM] Æmetta: the real trouble is marketing your game
[5:50 PM] Æmetta: gaping maw seems close to being a game worth 50¢ but I wouldn't pay such a small amount because it's not worth the trouble to pull up paypal
[5:51 PM] Æmetta: ("close to" meaning it just needs time to polish things up more)
[5:56 PM] gribbles: gaping maw seems like it would work really well with a "toss the turtle" style monetization and progression
[5:56 PM] plexsoup: Thans Æmetta. "polish things up more" is the part I have trouble with. How exactly would you polish it? Like: Does it need better textures, better audio, did you feel it lacks game-feel?
[5:58 PM] plexsoup: @gribbles I loved Toss the Turtle! Didn't know they had any monetization strategy. Thanks for the tip. I'll definitely look into that!
[6:03 PM] plexsoup: Looking at Toss the Turtle again now. I see they have many many more animation events. I should think about adding a bunch more objects and have some animation+audio payoff when you grab an object.
[6:03 PM] plexsoup: Then introduce a bunch of different types of threats, obstacles and enemies.
[6:04 PM] plexsoup: And have some unique rare events (like spaceships arriving on the scene)
[6:04 PM] Æmetta: you pretty much nailed it with that
[6:04 PM] Æmetta: you know what to add just from your own ideas
[6:05 PM] plexsoup: Helps to talk through it with other people. Thanks for the feedback.