Hi,

Recently a guy asked me to to make a flash game for their website based on their product which is fruit juices, a guy would jump around and pickup their juice cartons like coins in a mario game and some other simple mechanics so they can put up on their website. They guy asked me to tell him how much does it cost them for us to make it.

So how much you think such a game would be valued on like FGL or so?

I know it's hard to price something based on three lines but I just want to know some rough numbers.

-Regards.

You need to estimate your cost to make the game. How many weeks, and how much money you need per week. Do you have to buy any software packages to make the game. Also, is hiring of artist(s) and audio to be your responsibility or your client's responsibility. Do you have to travel to the client's office.
All those costs should be factored in. And factor in change requests, what if the client doesn't like the game you make and needs it done over. And make sure there's some profit in it for you - 20 to 30 percent.
Once he agrees to your budget, get a clean contract from him (you want him to write the contract - not you), and hire an attorney experienced with games to look it over before you sign it. There's a list of game attorneys at obscure.co.uk.

See also: "Bidding a Freelance Contract".


Don't forget to also take into account potential time/effort saved if you happen to already have an existing piece of work that could be modified to suit rather than having to start from scratch; it you do have something, be sure to check that modifying it wouldn't end up being more work than starting fresh.


Unless you really want the experience, you should be sure to estimate a cost that will allow you to profit from doing the work -- if the cost you calculate is more than the client is willing to spend you'll have to turn down the job; if you end up in this situation be sure to do so politely, as you should not do anything to hurt your chances of gaining future contracts from the employer.

If you do elect to make a lower bid for the contract in order to gain experience/pad your resume, you should still endeavour to calculate a fee that will at least ensure you don't lose any money. There will always be other jobs available, and it isn't worth short-changing yourself just to get the work.

Thanks.
What I actually did is to give him three options on different price ranges with a simple platformer prototype with some of what he wants.