Conor O'Nolan Posted July 31, 2018 Share Posted July 31, 2018 I've spend the last 3 months working on Facebook Messenger games. It's potentially a big market, but Facebook need to make lots of changes to catch up with apps on IOS and Android. For web developers (as opposed to app developers) Facebook instant games is very different and requires a lot additional work plus paying the Apple Developer Fee. And then there's a review process. I've written an article on Linkedin that discusses a lot of issues. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/working-facebook-messenger-instant-games-conor-o-nolan/ Comments and feedback welcome. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
obiot Posted July 31, 2018 Share Posted July 31, 2018 I just saw it earlier today on LinkedIn, great article, thank you for sharing your experience ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rich Posted July 31, 2018 Share Posted July 31, 2018 I liked it too, although the "plus paying the Apple Developer Fee" comment didn't make any sense to me. Was it just devs getting confused? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Conor O'Nolan Posted July 31, 2018 Author Share Posted July 31, 2018 2 minutes ago, rich said: I liked it too, although the "plus paying the Apple Developer Fee" comment didn't make any sense to me. Was it just devs getting confused? Seriously, Facebook require an Apple Developer Team ID, so they can put the game on IOS. $100 per annum which is hard for indie devs who don't publish on IOS directly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
obiot Posted July 31, 2018 Share Posted July 31, 2018 4 minutes ago, Conor O'Nolan said: Seriously, Facebook require an Apple Developer Team ID, so they can put the game on IOS. $100 per annum which is hard for indie devs who don't publish on IOS directly. Indeed correct, Apple’s constraint though, not Facebook. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rich Posted July 31, 2018 Share Posted July 31, 2018 Fair enough. If you're even fractionally serious about mobile this is a non-issue though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Conor O'Nolan Posted July 31, 2018 Author Share Posted July 31, 2018 I'm uncertain whether this platform is a serious prospect for smaller developers. I've just seen some shocking revenue numbers from a dev who know's what he's doing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
b10b Posted July 31, 2018 Share Posted July 31, 2018 It's not comparing Apples to Apples. Designing a (decent) Facebook Instant Game is about tightly coupling the "Context" of a group chat into a game. That's not something that fits readily with other mobile app platforms (where "social" tends to be a bolt-on), and stands as a fairly unique value proposition. Granted FB were not the first with this paradigm, nor the last messenger to roll something like this out. Annoyances like inconsistent platform monetisation (iap on some platforms, ads on others, Apple developer account, etc) is a reflection of the fractured native-app eco system, not FB in particular? Granted I wouldn't rely on direct monetisation through this platform yet, but nor would I care to see FBIG become yet-another App Store with the same-old games, same-old discoverability issues, same-old monetisation bad habits. I'd rather see a new type of game emerge, one that can can grow beyond the walled gardens. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Noel Posted August 1, 2018 Share Posted August 1, 2018 Great article, thank you! As for the Apple ID requirement, you can find the explanation here: https://developers.facebook.com/docs/games/instant-games/faq#faq_2080054045606593 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
playh5 Posted September 4, 2018 Share Posted September 4, 2018 Just to add, not all can monetise their games. My country is not supported by FAN that made my games not to show ads. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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