Software updates: the key to longevity
Yesterday version 5.1 of Lux was released, bringing with it some changes to the multiplayer ranking system and better unicode support. This marks the 55th time that Lux's version number has been increased! That gives an average of 1.7 updates a month in the last 2 and a half years since Lux 1.0 was released on November 25th 2002. (It should be noted that a number of times I have put out quick same-day releases to fix a bug in a just released update. And yeah, I realize that my quality assurance process could be better...) The full details of every release can be seen online in the Lux version history. Every release has been a free update to all registered users. I thought about charging an update fee for version 4.0 and 5.0 when they were being developed, but decided against it. I wanted to bring all my users forward to the fun new features with their full support, and charging more money would have prevented that. Also, new sales have continued to stay strong throughout, so there wasn't a need to charge.This constant, on-going development is one key reason behind how I have been able to make a successful business out of it. Each release helps keeps Lux in the news and on the front of the download sites. It makes existing users feel happy that they are getting more then they bought. And it increases the appeal of the software to new users by adding more features, fixing bugs, and refining the GUI (and marketing screens). In short it's a win, win, win situation.
Of course, creating all these updates take up time and effort. There's no way in hell I would have ever done this much if I didn't really enjoy the work itself. I started making Lux for fun, and I have a passion for working on it. Even so, I have definitely gotten somewhat burned out after working on the same project for this long. The pace of releases has slowed down from it's heyday, and that will probably continue going forward.
Since the first version of Lux was released, my plan had always been to slowly add features until I had a kick-ass Risk strategy game with tons of features. This worked out nicely, and is really the only way for a very small team to build an application with real depth. I would recommend this approach to any beginning software authors. Release a first version quickly, and then constantly improve it for as long as you can. This iterative development style also allows your users to get involved shaping the direction of the product that they use (assuming you have a forum or other avenue for them to easily send feedback). This then helps build up a fanatical userbase of supporters to push you forward. Take it from me: fanatical users are fun =).
| Posted by dustin on August 7, 2005 with category tags of shareware games marketing Lux |
Written by dustin
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