I wish someone would make an alphadoku game so I could play it.

I think that will be our first project as I have an unexperienced guy in the team and Alphadoku seems to be the easiest project. So, do you think FGL is a good place for such a game? How YOU would publish it?

I've used Unity web player to play several games. I've bought several standalone games through BigFish games - they actually still do some distributing through brick-and-mortar bookstores, as well as online sales. Steam of course is the big one for online standalone game sales. I've played plenty of microtransaction games on Kongregate but it does seem like a sudoku game of any kind isn't suited to microtransactions. I haven't personally had any experience with FGL, though they look pretty pro. For a mobile game, that's pretty much google play store or the app store, they're like a dual monopoly. I've mostly seen people selling minigames on a virtual-pet-site-specific forum. A lot of places that will buy the use of a minigame don't require exclusivity, so you could likely sell a different version elsewhere.

Alright, here are the core things you really need to worry about:

1) How talented and experienced is your team? At a minimum, you should have at least one artist and one programmer and they should have quite a bit of experience.

2) Morale: How much are you paying your team members? If nothing, then you're going to have to find some extremely compelling reasons for people to stay on the project after months pass and the going gets tough. Don't promise equity or sales proceeds; 50% of $0 is zero, so when your team members think that the prospects for their efforts are zero, then you've got a huge problem coming down the project pipeline -- team members are going to abandon ship.

3) Scope: You've got a three man team, a finite amount of time, and a finite amount of resources. Be very realistic about what your team can achieve based on these resources and the teams talent. It's infinitely better to build a small, simple polished game which ships than a large, complicated and unpolished game which is impossible to complete.

4) Team Dynamics and leadership: People are people. They're not always going to get along perfectly and agree 100% on everything. That's good and usually healthy to have a diversity of opinions and insights on a team, but whoever is leading the team has to make sure that the interactions are constructive and not destructive and toxic. You'll want to build a sense of camaraderie among your team mates -- bring beer into the office, hold pizza parties, give recognition where its due, etc.

5) Market Research: You *must* look at what people are buying and where. This is very much like fishing: Where are the fish biting? What are they biting on? What kinds of fish are they? Don't go fishing where there are no fish, don't put lures out there which they have no interest in, and don't attract the kind of fish you don't want to catch. Do you want to build a web game? Do you want to build a mobile game? a PC game? These are all your fishing spots. Different fish lurk in different fishing spots, so be sure to use the right tackle to catch the right fish. The general customer expectation for mobile and web games is "free to play", and you want to make money, so "freemium" is the only viable business model. I suspect that the market is getting tired of these business models and it's getting kind of saturated, so maybe it's worth considering a different fishing spot or a different lure type.

Anyways, enough talk. It's 100% possible to create and ship a game today. It's the age of the indie developer right now. I'm on a 2 person team working on a commercial release for the PC platform. Be realistic about what you have to work with, make a sane business plan to achieve your objectives, and figure out what your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats are (SWOT) and plan accordingly. This is all very much like a chess game -- you only make moves when you have a well thought out plan and each move should play a part in achieving that plan. Don't move with a plan. Strengthen your position to increase your chances of victory. Good luck, and have fun!

^

yep, well said,

Often times people don't actually know what they want to do, so figure out what you don't want to do, then work your way to what you want.

If you're scared of devoting hours invested in something that is likely no one will play, you're not yet cut out for game development. Game dev is a long painful torturous roller coaster. If you're not willing to invest in the journey and risk for the potential gain, then I'd say you should find a more stable field.

But let's say you know, and want to try, as you should.

1. Assess your team: No Artist yet, why not go find one?

How well can you program, how well can your other 2 members do what they do?

How long have yall been at it?

2. How is your team structured?

What platform do use to communicate, share files, organize, etc.

3. How much time do you all have?

A day? a week?

How long are you willing to invest overall in the project?

How long do you expect it to take?

What are the time zones you are in?

Do you have school? part time/ full time job?

4. How's your team work, communication, and management skills?

5. Do you or any of your members have experience with Unity?

(3D takes significantly longer than 2D, so be aware)

Note: Unity is really good and makes it easier to make what Unity intends, however, trying to push the boundaries of the engine are quite a challenge)

6. And there's the unexpected:

variables that aren't so clear in the outset, but you'll hit them, and need to problem solve around them.

The best way to make something marketable is to make yourself into a marketable person.

a study preferably based on some survey and A/B testing also involving monetization may eliminate most problems imo.

How do I A/B test a game idea? What do you mean?

Sorry that just noticed your reply , by A/B testing I refer to conclusions you might get using previous titles of you or other people allowing you to tailor idea.