App costs?

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Xero
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App costs?

Post by Xero » Tue Jan 18, 2022 10:47 am

I know this is a little bit like asking, "how long is a piece of string", but...
I have an idea for an app that would encompass a few things, but I would not be able to do it all and launch it for public use. I could do the bulk of the work in LC, but would at some stage need to hand it over to someone else for finishing (I don't have AR Accounts) and launching on app stores (I don't have developer accounts).
In short, it would be an app that supplements an art-based treasure hunt. A visual image would lead people to a waypoint where they would find another visual image that would lead them onwards. The journey would be a way of finding out about the local area.
It could: recognise an image as being a waypoint. So, take a picture of a mural and a "yay!, you got it!" message would appear.
It could: recognise a location to a certain accuracy. So, when someone is in the right place, a "yay! You made it!" message would appear.
It could: read QR codes, and use them to access websites for additional information.
It could: utilise AR to augment murals. So, there may be a TV in a mural, and when captured through the AR software, a video could play that would supply supplementary info.
It could: Have a way of accessing websites (maybe selected ones only) that would give information about an area (local stories, etc.) to use as research to help solve the clues.
It could: give access to visual coding information. Have a section that shows the morse code alphabet, pigpen cipher, caesar cipher decoder, etc. for people to use.
It could: be linked to an active website that could give out clues.
It would: Unfold as a user gets through each stage of the hunt. So, while finding the first waypoint, you wouldn't be able to access any of the functionality of the other waypoints and get ahead of the hunt.
It would: probably need some sort of "account" system for keeping track of progress- either on-device, or on a server.
It would probably need to be launched on at least Android and Apple and definitely be mobile-ready (possibly only need to be on mobile because that's what people will have with them while searching.
I have looked online and people are saying to full launch- $50,000-$250,000 is approx. average. Even the low end would be way out of my price range and I would not be able to get that sort of money as a grant for a first-time idea.
What's the average price people ask for launching an app like that, and if I did a lot of ground work and design, could I bring it down, or would it be worth just getting one place to do it?
If it ends up too expensive, there are old-school ways of working through the problems.
Thanks in advance.
XdM

jacque
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Re: App costs?

Post by jacque » Tue Jan 18, 2022 7:12 pm

That's a very ambitious project. The quoted costs seem to be in the right ballpark, and I think the lower value is a bit too low.

LC doesn't have a VR library so that won't work. Most of the rest is doable but I'm curious how you'd set up locations other than your own city. You'd need a lot of them to make the app attractive to enough people to make your efforts worthwhile.

Another thing is how'd you'd verify what a photo represents. Google is pretty good at that but not infallible, and usually presents several possible matches. There's no definitive answer, the user needs to decide if one of them is correct.

There are other things to think through.
Jacqueline Landman Gay | jacque at hyperactivesw dot com
HyperActive Software | http://www.hyperactivesw.com

Xero
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Re: App costs?

Post by Xero » Tue Jan 18, 2022 10:43 pm

Thanks Jacque.
I like to aim high! Can always be scaled down.
There are free AR apps out there like Vuforia, but their "freeness" is limited. They do a good job of checking images, so may be annexed.
I just didn't want to launch into it only to find the number was too high, and I would hate to lowball someone or expect someone to work for less than they are worth, so good to know it's gonna be an expensive one.
I may need to reconsider the grandness or just do it without an app.
Thanks.
XdM

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Re: App costs?

Post by FourthWorld » Wed Jan 19, 2022 12:35 am

Xero wrote:
Tue Jan 18, 2022 10:43 pm
Thanks Jacque.
I like to aim high! Can always be scaled down.
...
I may need to reconsider the grandness or just do it without an app.
Brainstorming with someone who knows LiveCode since before v1.0 and also knows scavenger hunts and studies all forms of ARGs might help.

Everything is scalable, esp when the target goal isn't necessarily a particular technology, but fun: guidance, challenge, pacing, the delicate balance of the unexpected, the satisfaction of a good ending.

Message sent...
Richard Gaskin
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Xero
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Re: App costs?

Post by Xero » Wed Jan 19, 2022 3:48 am

Fourthworld,
I have launched 22 individual hunts online, and a macro hunt that is currently going. Scavenger Hunt side of things, all good.
No-one is really combining that with technology, and I have brainstormed the idea with a couple of smart cookies and we have built a pretty awesome concept to augment the reality without losing the purity of the hunt. I think that's what makes the idea so interesting.
It just means building the technological backup to it, and since it's not 100% done for this kind of game, and I am not at that level yet, I am looking into how it can be done- mainly the cost, as that will be the biggest factor I think. Ideas I have aplenty, cash... not so much! :D
XdM

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Re: App costs?

Post by richmond62 » Thu Jan 20, 2022 12:35 pm

Ideas I have aplenty, cash... not so much!
You, me, and 99% of the rest of the world as well. 8)

AND, just supposing you were able to raise the money from somewhere how do
you know that your idea would 'bite' and bring you a good return?

Xero
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Re: App costs?

Post by Xero » Fri Jan 21, 2022 3:56 am

richmond62 wrote:
Thu Jan 20, 2022 12:35 pm

AND, just supposing you were able to raise the money from somewhere how do
you know that your idea would 'bite' and bring you a good return?
Don't worry about that, I have a fortune telling chicken that will steer me in the right direction! :lol:
Yes, you never know, do you?
That's why I would prefer to not invest 10's of thousands into it. By the same token, I don't want to undervalue app developers or try to go low ball and produce junk. I'd be better off ditching it for this round and coming back after proof-of-concept of the "event".
I have been working with some of these ideas in a less tech-savvy manner for a while, so I know the audience. I am aware of other groups wagering technology in the same space, but not going all out. So I am pretty sure there is space for it, but the audience is typically quite small. Out-of-app promotion as an event, and not as an app would be pivotal, and I now have in-principal support through the local council for the event idea. It's now a matter of whether or not the app plays a part in that, and the barrier I see is costs. Sink a little in, and it doesn't have effect if it's junk. Sink a lot in and lose a lot if it's a flop.

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