by date
Make It Big In Games
Make It Big In Games
| Name: | Jeff Tunnell |  |
|---|---|---|
| Date Posted: | Jan 27, 2006 | |
| Rating: |  4.0 out of 5 | |
| Public: | YES | |
| Comments: | YES | |
| RSS Feed: |  or Subscribe with  . | |
| Profile Page: | View profile page for Jeff Tunnell |
Blog post
Can you really make it big in games?
Of course you can. Electronic Arts did it. Sierra did it. Activision, Take Two, Ubisoft, and the other companies that many of you reading this post would consider the big guys, all started somewhere. I remember standing next to a skinny kid in front of the Mediagenic booth a long time ago at a CES in Las Vegas. We vaguely knew each other from attending a meeting about the new and promised to be fantastic CD-I (Compact Disk-Interactive, from Phillips, the creators of the CD format) system that was on the horizon. At that meeting I was very skeptical of the system and asked a lot of hard questions, so he recognized me and we started talking. During the conversation, he casually told me he was going to take over Mediagenic by setting up some investors and buying enough stock to gain control. Well, his name was Bobby Kotick, and he pulled it off, renamed to company to it's old name, Activision, and he's now worth a billion or so dollars.
Cool story, but you're probably thinking that being a financial genius as well as having Tony Wynn (of Vegas casino ownership fame) as a friend and investor is not a very repeatable way to make it big in the games business. Of course, it isn't, and that isn't what this blog will be about. The main point is just to remember that big companies were once very risky little companies.
On a more approachable note, in 1998, a former Microsoft programmer made some very simple games and started selling them through fledgling portals like Real, Yahoo, and Shockwave. That programmer was Garr Godfrey, the games were Collapse! and Text Twist, and the company was Gamehouse. In 2004, Real acquired Gamehouse for $35MM. Later that year, a newly rich Garr told his story in a keynote address at the annual IndieGamesCon that we put on in here in Eugene, OR, USA. Even he was blown away by the power of those small games and finding a market.
OK, ok. Now, you're probably thinking right place, right time. Anybody could have made it big with the impeccable timing of Gamehouse or Popcap, but nobody could really make it big now. Right?? I'm here to say that it is always the right place, right time for some "next big thing." You just need to find it.
This blog is not about blowing smoke, or being an inspirational get rich quick advice column though. I'll explore hard edged, nuts and bolts strategies and methods of deciding what kind of game you could make, how to find your team, what you can expect once your game is complete, and many more of the thousands of decisions you will need to make in order to survive in the game business.
Six years ago when we started GarageGames I didn't truly know if "indies" could succeed in making a living making games without large publisher support. In fact, unaffiliated game developers were not even called indies back then, but we didn't like the name "shareware developer", so we used the name indie and it stuck. Now I absolutely know you can make a living making games, and I have developed many strategies to help you succeed.
I'll explore those ideas in future posts, and hope to make it into a two way street by having a companion wiki at makeitbigingames wiki. The MBG wiki is open, but not ready for prime time yet, so look for it in the future.
-Jeff Tunnell, Game Maker ... makeitbigingames
Of course you can. Electronic Arts did it. Sierra did it. Activision, Take Two, Ubisoft, and the other companies that many of you reading this post would consider the big guys, all started somewhere. I remember standing next to a skinny kid in front of the Mediagenic booth a long time ago at a CES in Las Vegas. We vaguely knew each other from attending a meeting about the new and promised to be fantastic CD-I (Compact Disk-Interactive, from Phillips, the creators of the CD format) system that was on the horizon. At that meeting I was very skeptical of the system and asked a lot of hard questions, so he recognized me and we started talking. During the conversation, he casually told me he was going to take over Mediagenic by setting up some investors and buying enough stock to gain control. Well, his name was Bobby Kotick, and he pulled it off, renamed to company to it's old name, Activision, and he's now worth a billion or so dollars.
Cool story, but you're probably thinking that being a financial genius as well as having Tony Wynn (of Vegas casino ownership fame) as a friend and investor is not a very repeatable way to make it big in the games business. Of course, it isn't, and that isn't what this blog will be about. The main point is just to remember that big companies were once very risky little companies.
On a more approachable note, in 1998, a former Microsoft programmer made some very simple games and started selling them through fledgling portals like Real, Yahoo, and Shockwave. That programmer was Garr Godfrey, the games were Collapse! and Text Twist, and the company was Gamehouse. In 2004, Real acquired Gamehouse for $35MM. Later that year, a newly rich Garr told his story in a keynote address at the annual IndieGamesCon that we put on in here in Eugene, OR, USA. Even he was blown away by the power of those small games and finding a market.
OK, ok. Now, you're probably thinking right place, right time. Anybody could have made it big with the impeccable timing of Gamehouse or Popcap, but nobody could really make it big now. Right?? I'm here to say that it is always the right place, right time for some "next big thing." You just need to find it.
This blog is not about blowing smoke, or being an inspirational get rich quick advice column though. I'll explore hard edged, nuts and bolts strategies and methods of deciding what kind of game you could make, how to find your team, what you can expect once your game is complete, and many more of the thousands of decisions you will need to make in order to survive in the game business.
Six years ago when we started GarageGames I didn't truly know if "indies" could succeed in making a living making games without large publisher support. In fact, unaffiliated game developers were not even called indies back then, but we didn't like the name "shareware developer", so we used the name indie and it stuck. Now I absolutely know you can make a living making games, and I have developed many strategies to help you succeed.
I'll explore those ideas in future posts, and hope to make it into a two way street by having a companion wiki at makeitbigingames wiki. The MBG wiki is open, but not ready for prime time yet, so look for it in the future.
-Jeff Tunnell, Game Maker ... makeitbigingames
Recent Blog Posts
| List: | 10/17/08 - Don't Fear the Economy 06/13/08 - The "Better Assholes" Clause 06/09/08 - Working For Big Publishers 06/02/08 - First Day Of The Rest Of My Life 05/29/08 - Make It Big In Games Call For Help 05/15/08 - An Itch That Can't Be Scratched 12/20/07 - Blog O Fix 10/09/07 - Acquisition Fun! |
|---|
Submit your own resources!| Darren Stuart (Jan 27, 2006 at 19:13 GMT) |
http://www.makeitbigingames.com/
not displaying right in my IE6.
Cheers
| Phil Carlisle (Jan 27, 2006 at 19:17 GMT) |
Actually, through the years of coming over to IGC, the one thing Ive become to realise, is that success comes in so many forms and in some many directions that just because someone else closes down, it doesnt mean that there isnt a huge amount of success still out there waiting to be had.
The reports of PC games sales in the retail sector being down by nearly 50% doesnt spell doom for that platform, it spells out clearly that there is now a REAL opportunity to deliver quality games to that platform via ESD. Of course, the main thing it takes, is to get games *finished* and also that all important choice of what to create in the first place.
I'm always up for hearing what youve got to say, because if there's anyone I trust to be honest and yet to spot the diamond in the rough, youre the man I'd always turn to.
So I'm *really* looking forward to the new blogs, the wiki and general ideas about how we step outside of the typical indie trap.
Oh, while I'm at it, congratulations on getting xbox360 marble blast ultra out there too! (same for the whole team), thats a clear as any explaination that games dont have to be massively complex to get opportunities across platforms.
Phil.
| Jason McIntosh (Jan 27, 2006 at 19:30 GMT) |
My suggestion is don't focus so much on the instant b/millionaires to make the point that anyone can succeed. Nothing wrong with those tales, of course, but that might give noobs the wrong impression of what most indies can expect. It might be more productive to focus on how plenty of folks do not dread Monday's because they love what they do and can earn a modest (or, yes, extravagant in some cases) living making and selling their own games.
Looking forward to more blogs on the subject!
| Jameson Bennett (Jan 27, 2006 at 20:49 GMT) |
I look forward future installments and a good critique on the path many developers on GG and other game dev sites take developing thier own next-gen MMORPG WWII FPS WoW clone. Helping indies set realistic development goals and learning the art of triage in software development is greatly needed. I really appreciate your efforts here, it will fill in a big piece of the pie you and the rest of the GG crew have built for us.
| Alan H (Jan 27, 2006 at 21:32 GMT) |
| Tom Bentz (Jan 27, 2006 at 22:20 GMT) |
| Jeremy Alessi (Jan 27, 2006 at 22:54 GMT) Resource Rating: 4 |
| Anton Bursch (Jan 28, 2006 at 04:01 GMT) Resource Rating: 5 |
I can't wait to read what you have to say. Thank you. This is very cool.
| Vashner (Jan 28, 2006 at 18:28 GMT) Resource Rating: 5 |
That wiki sounds like a sweet idea. Customers want good quality games. If you can make a good product the success will follow it. Once you get to the old fashoined water cooler talk.
Like I remember when the Johnny Castaway and Tribes 2 really took off when people at the office start talking about them. I think the same dynamic is out there today. If it's good people go nuts and nowdays with the PC and X360 market. One could get rich quick on accident almost.
| John McArthur (Jan 30, 2006 at 21:32 GMT) |
Im a believer. Starting really small, actually releasing finished games, and repeating this. This is what those big companies did back then. I do think its tuffer now though... the piece of the pie is smaller and the markets flooded. Hell, if it generates even some income I think it would be a huge deal for most out there. I guess its nice to dream big, but to appreciate any return is important.
- John
| Christopher Dapo (Jan 30, 2006 at 22:29 GMT) Resource Rating: 5 |
I love the inspirational words you put out. Just thought I'd let you know that I'm finally getting things rolling in the right direction thanks to a nice little program at the local college. I'll be sure to let you and the rest of GG know how it goes. If everything goes right, I just might make it to the next IndieGamesCon!
Where there's a will, there's a way!
- Christopher "Ronixus" Dapo, (future) Founder and Lead Designer, C.L.D. Studios, LLC
| Jesse Hall (Jan 30, 2006 at 23:02 GMT) |
btw... TRIBES RULES! It was my first online addiction and those were some awesome times. Met some very cool people and am friends with my orignal clan to this day.
| Michael Heining (Feb 03, 2006 at 20:25 GMT) |
Inspiration is great, and its better to be heard from someone that people will listen to.
Id love to hear from you about team building. It seems like as indies its a place where
we are really awful. we all just cant seem to agree on organization/contractual situations
so that we can work togther.
again, nice to hear from you...
You must be a member and be logged in to either append comments or rate this resource.
