(Note: I’m glad you wrote this post, because the Forum is a place for ideas! I’m giving off-the-cuff feedback here that will sound negative, but that doesn’t mean I think the post was bad.)
The main difficulty with any proposed app project is that almost all apps get close to zero users—including plenty of apps that seem like they should be popular, or at least don’t obviously seem less entertaining than their more successful competitors. It’s hard to get traction in crowded markets, and “mobile games” is a crowded market.
It’s true that very few mobile games have a social mission. However, this means that you’re targeting an unusual set of people. Most people (I assume) download mobile games as a form of low-cost entertainment; they’re unlikely to be interested in an app whose sole purpose is to take their money, even if it’s for a good cause. If someone wants an app that will help them donate to charity, it’s unlikely that they’ll be looking for one with a game layer between them and their beneficiaries.
There are certainly people in the world for whom this hypothetical app would be useful and entertaining and persuasive (in terms of getting counterfactual donations), but I don’t think those people are common, and that adds another difficult problem to the initial problem of “getting users for your app”.
(Note: I’m glad you wrote this post, because the Forum is a place for ideas! I’m giving off-the-cuff feedback here that will sound negative, but that doesn’t mean I think the post was bad.)
The main difficulty with any proposed app project is that almost all apps get close to zero users—including plenty of apps that seem like they should be popular, or at least don’t obviously seem less entertaining than their more successful competitors. It’s hard to get traction in crowded markets, and “mobile games” is a crowded market.
It’s true that very few mobile games have a social mission. However, this means that you’re targeting an unusual set of people. Most people (I assume) download mobile games as a form of low-cost entertainment; they’re unlikely to be interested in an app whose sole purpose is to take their money, even if it’s for a good cause. If someone wants an app that will help them donate to charity, it’s unlikely that they’ll be looking for one with a game layer between them and their beneficiaries.
There are certainly people in the world for whom this hypothetical app would be useful and entertaining and persuasive (in terms of getting counterfactual donations), but I don’t think those people are common, and that adds another difficult problem to the initial problem of “getting users for your app”.
Very good points, I agree with all.
Don’t be afraid to sound negative, honest feedback can save a whole career!