So, for the last 2 months my mind has been on this game.  It has been a long and difficult road, but it is finally done.  I’m very proud of Agent X.

It is an algebra game, so that may put people off from the beginning. So, I don’t mention “algebra” anywhere in the description.  It is not a game for little kids.

But ever since I was a kid myself, I liked to write stories.  I like spy and detective stories mostly.  And I really love the cliche pulp fiction that you find in so many paperbacks.  With Agent X, to a very small degree, I was able to write a story.  I love the comic book sections of the game more than anything else.

 

I was able to write some cool dialogue and a script of how I wanted it to look.  I gave it to a very talented artist in Spain (his name is Francisco Maldonado and I am now a big fan) and he drew it better than I could have imagined.  My development team in India coded it well for both iPhone and Android.  The only problems I really had was with animated sprites– this went through 3 different designers and ended up costing me too much money (and a lot of lost sleep).  But in the end, I’m happy with the result.

It is live on Google Play and coming soon to iTunes.

One of the things I find difficult with running Overpass is that I get a lot of cold calls from software development firms. Most of the time, they are offshore, but there have been some from the UK. It has gotten to point that every time my phone rings, I know it will be a salesperson.

My email is worse. I get 2-3 emails every day from a software development firm seeking “strategic partnership”. “Strategic Partnership” apparently is the new code work for “hire us”. It is a strategic partnership where you pay for everything.

I get emails telling my website sucks and they can fix it (good way to impress me is to bad mouth my website and then offer to fix it–for a price). Or, my seo sucks and they can fix it.  Or, they can’t find me on Google.

I also get LinkedIn or Skype contact requests from people I have never met. I might accept them (because I have a measly number of friends on LinkedIn and, you know, moments of weakness and all that . . .) but am bombarded with sales messages after that– almost immediately.

What no one seems to say is . . .

Why would I hire them over someone else? What differentiates them? What have they done that is interesting or unique? When I look at their website with stock-photo business-people images and portfolio page of other companies’ work, why would I chose them over the next company that looks exactly the same?

When everything looks the same in terms of features and benefits, you look to price. Then price become the deciding factor. No one wants to decide on price. And there are too many developers out there to try and fail with every one in the hopes that you find a good one.

If you are a developer or a designer, you need a portfolio of your own work. And it needs to be online. If you are an app developer, you need to have a portfolio of apps you released under your own name. If you are a designer, you need a page on Deviant Art. If you are a web designer, you should have your own site.  For it to be truly yours, it has to be done on your own dime (with no decision makers influencing you one way or another).  If you are saving your portfolio work for job interviews, you won’t get many calls.