Skip to main content

Indie game storeFree gamesFun gamesHorror games
Game developmentAssetsComics
SalesBundles
Jobs
TagsGame Engines

Are my pricings fair?

A topic by 4Elements Studio created 1 day ago Views: 116 Replies: 7
Viewing posts 1 to 5

I am a Game Designer and creator, looking for a job. Because I used to do it for fun, I am new to charging for making somebody else's videogame idea, so I don't even know how much to expect to be paid.

In my country, I can live comfortably with just 3000 to 3600 dollars a year, and the prices listed assume a "per asset" pricing model.

Now, considering the above, the question is: am I fair to charge these prices?

$8 per normal enemy
$16 per stage hazard
$32 per stage
$16 per extra boss attack (for complex bosses that are more than just normal enemies with a lot of HP)
$64 per player character ability (including weapons and non-recovery power-ups)

(Normal enemies are cheapest because they're the easiest thing to make for me, while player weapons/abilities are most expensive because they're hardest to make)

Hypothetical Mega Man style game (1 year of development time, not counting playtesting):

50 normal enemies -> $400
12 stage hazards -> $192
12 stages -> $384
13 bosses with 5 attacks each -> $1040
Player character has 12 weapons, a dash and a wall climb -> $896

TOTAL: $2912

Hello, Godot Generalist Developer here,

i'm no expert, but there is a few considerations I look for when commissioning something. I must emphasize the importance of presenting things you've made in the past. I also like to see detailed descriptions of your abilities, example "i have experience with 2D platformers, 2D top down games, Finite State Machines, I sometimes make SFX and Music, and i've done some marketing" not all these skills will be related to a commission but it shows you have experience and reliability in the field. 

A good way to market yourself is to make stuff frequently and post them as asset packs or around social media's, free or paid, if people like your work they will look into your other work.

Now back to your topic. Consider having different commission models. It sounds like you are a generalist if you are able to produce an entire game on your own, use this to your advantage by widening your commission models. Not everyone is looking for a whole game, some people are just looking for art specifically, or they want SFX, or Music, those are the most marketable skills on itch(to my knowledge) you may have to consider other platforms if you're looking for clients that want whole games, Itch is full of indie dev's honing their craft, there are generally more developers than artists/sound designers here.  This means its hard to stand out, if your pitch is coding related. 

I think, it may be more appealing to price based on how long you think the project will take, having a spreadsheet is a good start, and explaining to clients why having 50 enemies will "add x time to the project, so the cost should be reflected like so" would go a long way to making clients want to work with you. 

take my advice with a grain of salt, i'm just an indie dev who likes developing

That is the reason why I decided to put my portfolio on DeviantArt, where there's bound to be artists that can cover for my poor graphical skills.

I asked this same question to friends on Discord, and one of them agrees with you in that I should replace my commissioning model entirely. Like you're saying here, one price for the full game based on how long it'll take. I believe your advice is good.

You can see my achievements in the following sites: (just ignore the 3D Custom Girl foot fetish pictures in the rest of my DeviantArt profile...)
https://www.deviantart.com/leotheevil/gallery/94887856/game-making-practice
https://fourelements.newgrounds.com/games

Are you prices fair? Sure, who's to say they're not.

Will Indie developers pay that? I doubt it, most are on tight budgets (as seen by the quantity of unpaid vs paid requests on itch.io).

Is it market-related? For a commission, perhaps. For an asset pack, no. It's far above the market.  

I can pay $2 - $15 per character that is rigged, comes with animations and is pre setup in Unity at the Unity Asset Store.  You're charging $80 per boss character with fewer animations, and I must set it up myself (which is no big deal for 2D, but it is an extra step).  

Perhaps have a look at Fiverr. You can see what other artists are charging and whether they get much work.

Now THAT is the answer I was looking for! So no, my prices are NOT fair considering the budget of independent creators. By the way, I meant those assets from the programming side, not the graphic side.

Nevertheless, I shall halve those prices. I'll probably need to tackle two projects at once to make money for the year without taking too much from others.

Thank you.

Hey @4Elements Studio  How can I get in touch with you ? what's your discord?

Search me as leotheevil on Discord.

(1 edit)

Hi I'm not sure what you are refering to, this is a programming part or the visual part.


For commissions you should ask for the standard and no lower just because in your country you can live with X amount of $, you have to think is better for you to ask for the standard and is better for the rest that you ask for the standard price. 

Depends on the skill that is needed, you won't get a complete project, you will get tasks to do, or fixing errors (assuming you are in the programming part of gamedev)

I work in visuals but you should always do a research by your own, try reddit on r/gamedevClassified or something like that, you will get a hint of how much people is asking for your knowlege.