Plan for Justin Mette
by Justin Mette · 11/12/2003 (6:36 am) · 4 comments
Back in early August, I was reading A Shareware Developers Life which is a BLOG by Thomas Warfield and his experiences with developing shareware over the last decade. Thomas mentioned that he was interested in licensing a game or contracting out development for a game. I emailed Thomas and a few conversations later we agreed to develop 3 Java web games based on his popular Pretty Good Solitaire game.
I had never written a Solitaire game before and had worked with Java only for business applications. Over the summer, I learned a lot about using Java 1.1 (lowest common denominator) for games and about Solitaire itself. Overall it was a fantastic project and went smooth as silk Thomas was great to work with.
Just last week, the games were posted on the Goodsol Web Site and Thomas had some nice things to say about 21-6 in his BLOG (much appreciated!). After seeing the games up on his site, I got all inspired to put them up on the 21-6 site and show off our hard work while also promoting Pretty Good Solitaire.
Long story short, the 3 web games are now live on the 21-6 site and we are also an affiliate of Goodsol Development (through RegNow) which means we get a small chunk of any sale referral that comes from 21-6.
In the spirit of Viral Indie Marketing 101, please check out these free Solitaire games and pass along the link to anyone you know who might also enjoy them. The full version of the game has over 500 variations of Solitaire and also has some unique features that you won't find in other Solitaire games.
www.21-6.com/goodsol.asp
... and now ... back to your regularly scheduled program ...
I had never written a Solitaire game before and had worked with Java only for business applications. Over the summer, I learned a lot about using Java 1.1 (lowest common denominator) for games and about Solitaire itself. Overall it was a fantastic project and went smooth as silk Thomas was great to work with.
Just last week, the games were posted on the Goodsol Web Site and Thomas had some nice things to say about 21-6 in his BLOG (much appreciated!). After seeing the games up on his site, I got all inspired to put them up on the 21-6 site and show off our hard work while also promoting Pretty Good Solitaire.
Long story short, the 3 web games are now live on the 21-6 site and we are also an affiliate of Goodsol Development (through RegNow) which means we get a small chunk of any sale referral that comes from 21-6.
In the spirit of Viral Indie Marketing 101, please check out these free Solitaire games and pass along the link to anyone you know who might also enjoy them. The full version of the game has over 500 variations of Solitaire and also has some unique features that you won't find in other Solitaire games.
www.21-6.com/goodsol.asp
... and now ... back to your regularly scheduled program ...
About the author
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#2
I worked on the java games part-time over the summer - totalling about 190 hours over the course of 12 weeks.
My main job is running 21-6 but these contract gigs help to pay the bills and in this case also help out our fellow indie developers.
11/12/2003 (9:37 am)
Awesome, thanks Jay!I worked on the java games part-time over the summer - totalling about 190 hours over the course of 12 weeks.
My main job is running 21-6 but these contract gigs help to pay the bills and in this case also help out our fellow indie developers.
#3
11/12/2003 (10:06 am)
Oh where a little emailing can lead :) Excellent read Justin... 
#4
1) Learned a new skill
2) Became an affiliate, with a possibility of additional company revenues in the future
3) Helped out a fellow indie
4) Increased 21-6's exposure and visibility.
What's not to love? Great success story!
11/12/2003 (12:10 pm)
You definitely managed to turn it into a win-win scenario. It was an opportunity that not only brought in some extra paying-the-rent cash, but you:1) Learned a new skill
2) Became an affiliate, with a possibility of additional company revenues in the future
3) Helped out a fellow indie
4) Increased 21-6's exposure and visibility.
What's not to love? Great success story!
Torque 3D Owner Jay Barnson
Excellent success story. Did you work on the games full-time over the summer, or was it mostly stuff done on the side?