AppyPie goes the KickStarter Route for their Mobile Game Building platform

Gurgaon based app building platform, AppyPie, has launched a KickStarter campaign to aid their new game building platform. The platform aims to help mobile game enthusiasts build a complete mobile games without having to code. A user can choose a template provided by the AppyPie platform, upload graphics, customize settings, powers, enemies and the game is built. Like building an app on the AppyPie platform, publishing the app on the market comes at a cost, of which the platform makes a small cut.

The company's founder Abs Giridhar said, "We have already raised some money from our existing businesses and created a prototype that works but we need more money for a public release. Kickstarter is an awesome place where early ideas can get supported by those people who would eventually want to use it and this project would not happen without their support. If we are able to raise this money then this will not only validate our product but give us the confidence in the fact that Our Game Builder is supported by gamers and developers alike."

As with any other KickStarter project, funders will get a variety of rewards depending on their level of contribution, from digital downloads of the mobile games they designed to becoming Appy Pie's First White Label Mobile Game Reseller, which is available to just 2 fans who pledge $5,000 or more. The fundraising campaign runs through August 10, and unless Appy Pie achieves its $10,000 goal, it gets none of the pledged money.

Our Take 

Apart from being able to raise capital without much commitment, platforms like KickStarted and Kiva have always been a great way to validate an idea. However, I am a little skeptical of an idea like AppyPie trying to raising money on KickStarter. History will tell you that most successful KickStarter projects are for those products which have an interesting idea, with little or no business model to it. (Read this interesting article for more on this thought).

The product itself is quite clever. Most games on mobile are quite similar and barring some changes in characters, powerups and story lines. With an addition of more templates, it sure will make game building a whole lot easier for everyone. While an argument can be made for the uniqueness of AppyPie's game building platform, it has a very straightforward and evident business model. Future additions like in-app purchases and monetization is just not KickStarter language. It will be interesting to see how this KickStarter campaign fares.

If you find AppyPie's game builder interesting, help them out by funding their KickStarter campaign