So you want to be a games producer eh?

Submit your own resources!

Brian Wilson   (Jun 08, 2008 at 06:00 GMT)

Nice post. Another important thing is timing. When you decide to go indie full-time with your savings, make sure you are ready. Make sure you are technically ready to crank out a game. Don't waste your 6-month-window-of-funding on a FPS if you haven't even learned to model yet. Make sure you understand your engine, art pipelines, coding capabilities etc. Be ready to hit the ground running on development on day one. Even better, do what you can with the game in your free time while working, and once you get to the point that you need 10+ hours/day to work on the project in order to progress, then that's the time to consider going at it full time.

Build a solid project timeline, it doesn't hurt to do some studying up on project management. Once you think you've got a solid project plan, test it's timing estimates by taking a vacation/leave of absense from your job and make sure you've got it right, or are at least close before you take the plunge into independence. You aren't gonna make an MMO in 6 months, and excercises like this will show you that. The first game out the door is going to be limited to puzzlers, simple action games etc. Save that super big project for after you're business has money influx. If you simply don't want to build smaller apps to get started, there's always the option of spending those funded 6 months building content; be it models, sounds, sprites, engine kits, dev tools, and the sort.

Also keep in mind that depending on how you publish your product(s), you will need time for that. So don't have you project slated for a 6-month timeline if that's all you've got funding. Leave a buffer at the end for the publishing/marketing stuff. A month is good, 2 months is even better.

Dan Keller   (Jun 08, 2008 at 15:51 GMT)

This is why I like being a teenager. I can make games without worrying about making a living.

Tony Richards   (Jun 08, 2008 at 19:41 GMT)

Right-size your life.

Assume that your expenses, once you start, will be higher than they are now. Make sure you can afford the health insurance, short term and long term disability for everyone in your family. Before you quit your day job you should be socking away as much money as possible, but if you combine all of these ideas then it's not hard.

For me, I assume I can reduce my standard of living by half after I quit my day job. So, that's easy... I just throw half of my net income into savings every month. If you do the same, after two years you will have enough in savings to start your own company and assuming your expenses don't increase then you don't have to worry about income for one to two years.... but don't forget that self-publishing a game can also be expensive so you need to take that into consideration unless you're confident you will find a publisher that would be interested in your game.... and get it in writing first :P.

Look to yourself as your only source of funding, talent and technology. If you happen to be able to hire someone to fill in the gaps then that's gravy, but don't rely on it unless you have it in writing and you're dealing with someone you trust and that you've done business with before.

Do not assume that another company or individual, no matter what they have published as part of their "roadmap", will create the technology for you. If it is not done yet, assume it will never get done or you will get burned! Don't make someone else's failure doom you to your own failure.

In rare cases you may have a partner that can compliment your funds and/or talent, but be cautious... even if the partner is your significant other you need to be careful unless you've already proven that the two of you can survive in times of stress and crisis.

Set your goals and stick to them.

Finish some demo games first. Treat yourself as the publisher would. Take a look at your savings and ask yourself, "If someone else gave me this game design and said they could implement it, is it worth this money?"

Before you quit your day job, you must not think about the things that you think you can do, but things that you have already proven yourself to be able to do.

Proof is in the pudding...

If you're making an FPS game, for instance... have you made at least one fantastic character model, one building, some props, created an entire level and implemented the hardest / riskiest parts of the game?

Assume that you're going to lie to yourself, so take a step back and ask yourself, "Have I proven that this can be done?"

Create a few technology or art demo's along the way as part of your proving grounds, but make that big project be your first project and get the bulk of it done before you quit your day job... that's going to be the riskiest game you will have to opportunity to create.... every game thereafter you'll be relying on your game income and less willing to take risks.

So, it's best to take that risk first.

Remember... going back to your day job isn't a failure. Be prepared to do it at a moment's notice and don't burn any bridges.

You haven't failed until you call it quits, and even then it's only a failure if you didn't learn any lessons from it.

---------------------------------

Ok, so that's just a few good tidbits I've picked up, mostly from personal experience.

I still, as of right now, have not pushed a game beyond the level of being a demo... although I have made a significant number of demos, including MMORPG, RTS, RPG and FPS type games.

Using today's old-school content creation tools, I cannot seem to be able to pump out the models as quickly as I can pump out code, so I am taking the time right now to solve this problem.

But, if you want to make games that don't have significant amounts of content (i.e. mostly casual type games), or if you're a lot better than I am at pumping out the artwork then you should do just fine.

Glenn Thomas   (Jun 09, 2008 at 16:07 GMT)   Resource Rating: 5

Know every single bit you can learn about the business from the initial thought till the user is playing your game. Jumping into development too early will only set you back. Know how your going to do it before you do it and don't design anything over your head. Keep it small, keep it cheap, and keep it sensible. Sometimes that's the hardest thing to do, we all have dreams to make the biggest games our minds can conjure but we gotta keep it simple to survive as an indie.

The budding independent game developing entrepreneur has to wear a great number of hats to make it. Make sure each hat is lined up and fits comfortable before you go to the party. I looked for other sources of funding, such as federal and state grants, angel investors, and small business associations. What I've learned thus far is that most game companies don't go this route but investors are very interested in the game business because the see the potential profit. The plus is they don't want ip rights or your soul, they want profit. The downside is they want about 20% to 30% ownership of your independent company for seven years so they can collect dividends with a fair exit strategy. The toughest part is finding an investor that will fund you for the 6 to 12 month development cycle it'll take to make your "small" or game or games. They want return on investment as soon as possible most would rather see the product in your hand. It takes 25% to 30% collateral to get up to 2 million for an SBA loan but if you manage wisely how much do you really NEED to start up?

A great team of six people can get paid over 10,000, you can get supplies and computer equipment, and provide yourself with a cushion for unforeseen setbacks for six months with about $100,000. Casual games through gaming portals are hit and miss. If you don't make the top ten in the top ten gaming portals games average about $0 to $30,000 in the first month. If you do make the top ten in the top ten gaming portals you average 50,000 to 250,000 in the first month. This means the business requires you to make a hit right out of the box to not go into the whole.

So how do you do that? It's not easy but research can help you narrow the gap. You need to do your research, take a business class learn the market trends and come up with a strategy. I have focus sessions on each of my game treatments before they even go past a treatment. Then you have one after concept phase, then one after first playable (and make sure your first playable shines, or they won't even respect it. People believe what they see most don't see your vision), and after that you start playtesting. Reaching the demographic is important and if you don't do that research or get that feedback your increasing your risk of failure. Go to the casual game association website and you can purchase a market analysis for $1500 dollars. It is worth every penny if your serious. If you don't have a gameplan or you haven't assessed and neutralized your risks don't waste your money.

Get everything lined up, know your strengths, know your weaknesses, and do your research. Here's where I stand:

Over 9 game projects only 3 made it to shabby demos/prototypes, 1 may be considered polished.

Fighting game, action games, adventure games, rpg's, mmorpg's, puzzle game, music games, and 2 hush genres and can't specify till the product is at least beta.

Weaknesses: Out of scope, project too big, bad scheduling, money, feature creep, some team members lacked skill, sub par programmers, one animator, high cost of living, and distance.

Strengths: Phenomenal artists and Designers, I did end up with a great project manager, TGB is a life saver, we have great educational services for new people, taking time out to research has paid off, and we lucked out and acquired a license with a top of the line development tool.

Needs: Programmers (Network, Script, Engine/Tool) and 2D animators.
Funding: $50,000
One central work area, in Plainfield, NJ

Neutralize: Team works on $0 dollar budget for royalties, bring on hobbyist, interns, and volunteers, offer royalties, working on several outside projects to acquire funding. 50% of profits go into company acct, 50% of profit pays out to developers. We work remotely through secure online channels to work on our project. We utilize open source programs to manage project, track bugs, create website, create blogs, create knowledge base, store files, and etc. We downsize our projects until further notice and find innovative ways to create great small games. Support the independent community and create or support network. Network, network, network, get to know as many people in the industry as possible. Join the IGDA and participate in every function. Seek investors and tap family support systems. Completely plan and schedule our top three potential casual titles to increase our success rate in creating a hit based off of market research. Have polished demos ready for back up plan of seeking out publisher funding. Don't sleep.

It's not easy but not impossible but be prepared to commit your life to your dream.

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