Plan for Nauris Krauze
by Nauris Krauze · 11/26/2003 (2:02 am) · 8 comments
Artefacts Inc. is not-so-ambitious 2D fantasy hero management game with vague strategic, economic and RPG elements and tongue-in-cheek attitude.
It is targetted to pretty low spec machines and people who want some relaxing gameplay between work and "serious" entertainment.
If all goes well, we could end up with "productivity killer" which drives your boss mad :P
Mock-up of the in-game environment. AutumnWorld theme.
Team-speak
Artefacts Inc. core team consists of Wayne *Prock* Prasek and me. Wayne is doing his binary voodoo and currently developing the framework while I do graphic art assets.
We havent had any problems working together from the moment we met on #garagegames - he's a down-to-earth guy with great ideas and constructive thinking. Each feature we have discussed, has been
stripped down to essence and intertwined with basic elements of the (yet to be incorporated) gameplay.
Besides almost daily chatting on IRC, we have our private dev forum where we pitch ideas for various features, store specs etc.
I can highly recommend setting up such system even if your team is tiny - forums allow better formulated and thought-through posts than chat and also help greatly if timezones differ severely, which is the case for us: usually "chat window" isnt longer than couple of hours.
Wayne's friend and collegue Dave alias tsk has helped greatly by making map editor and has showed great skill of tolerance, listening to my wishlist what such an editor should have:)
Portraits of heroes and enemies in game.
I have contracted freelance composer Nick Burnette for Artefacts' music needs and I must say that the stuff he has sent us is really great, I can recommend him anytime. He's nice, creative and we
easily negotiated a deal, affordable to any indy developer.
These days, when I do my pixel hunting, I listen to his tracks all the time. Keeps me in true Artefacts-mood.
Mock-up of the in-game environment. DesertWorld theme.
No Pixel Shaders Fer Ye
Above and below are the mock-up images of the in-game environment. Actually, the real game will look very much the same, as there is no doctoring present- I simply threw some of the finished tiles and sprites together. This is how it looks in the map-editor, once we have Real In-Game Shots (tm), we'll put up some Real Dev Picture of The Day (tm) for public execution.
Mock-up of World Map style.
Fistful of Dollars
Although there is lots of work ahead to finish this puppy, I've been looking into possible ways of publishing Artefacts Inc. to avoid hasty last-minute decisions later.
Frankly, it still seems a bit murky as of now. What we know for sure is that we'd like to see Artefacts Inc. as commercial product and make it the first drop in the portfolio of games generating some income over the time.
Hopefully, we would reach a critical mass at one point, when revenues from our games make it possible to say "buh-bye" to dayjob. At least, its my goal.
But which channels of distribution to use is still a little bit of mystery to me.
Our game is not from the oversaturated puzzle and arcade pond. Its kinda good, but then again, maybe it will make it harder to offer it to portals which make living from tetris-clones.
GarageGames seems to differentiate itself from such places, but seems to focus on more "core" audience and magic 3D.
Of course, there is always possibility to publish game ourselves and sell it from website, however, it means building recognizability and community from scratch, which inevitably will distract from game making itself.
Artefacts world and heroes have vague Terry Pratchett influence and I was thinking of ways to penetrate Discworld fan communities, which maybe could result in more or less interested potential customer base.
Maybe someone has been in similar position and can share an advice.
Well...we'll see. As I said, lots of things have yet to be done on game itself.
Alright, back to the drawing board :)
It is targetted to pretty low spec machines and people who want some relaxing gameplay between work and "serious" entertainment.
If all goes well, we could end up with "productivity killer" which drives your boss mad :P
Mock-up of the in-game environment. AutumnWorld theme.Team-speak
Artefacts Inc. core team consists of Wayne *Prock* Prasek and me. Wayne is doing his binary voodoo and currently developing the framework while I do graphic art assets.
We havent had any problems working together from the moment we met on #garagegames - he's a down-to-earth guy with great ideas and constructive thinking. Each feature we have discussed, has been
stripped down to essence and intertwined with basic elements of the (yet to be incorporated) gameplay.
Besides almost daily chatting on IRC, we have our private dev forum where we pitch ideas for various features, store specs etc.
I can highly recommend setting up such system even if your team is tiny - forums allow better formulated and thought-through posts than chat and also help greatly if timezones differ severely, which is the case for us: usually "chat window" isnt longer than couple of hours.
Wayne's friend and collegue Dave alias tsk has helped greatly by making map editor and has showed great skill of tolerance, listening to my wishlist what such an editor should have:)
Portraits of heroes and enemies in game.I have contracted freelance composer Nick Burnette for Artefacts' music needs and I must say that the stuff he has sent us is really great, I can recommend him anytime. He's nice, creative and we
easily negotiated a deal, affordable to any indy developer.
These days, when I do my pixel hunting, I listen to his tracks all the time. Keeps me in true Artefacts-mood.
Mock-up of the in-game environment. DesertWorld theme.No Pixel Shaders Fer Ye
Above and below are the mock-up images of the in-game environment. Actually, the real game will look very much the same, as there is no doctoring present- I simply threw some of the finished tiles and sprites together. This is how it looks in the map-editor, once we have Real In-Game Shots (tm), we'll put up some Real Dev Picture of The Day (tm) for public execution.
Mock-up of World Map style.Fistful of Dollars
Although there is lots of work ahead to finish this puppy, I've been looking into possible ways of publishing Artefacts Inc. to avoid hasty last-minute decisions later.
Frankly, it still seems a bit murky as of now. What we know for sure is that we'd like to see Artefacts Inc. as commercial product and make it the first drop in the portfolio of games generating some income over the time.
Hopefully, we would reach a critical mass at one point, when revenues from our games make it possible to say "buh-bye" to dayjob. At least, its my goal.
But which channels of distribution to use is still a little bit of mystery to me.
Our game is not from the oversaturated puzzle and arcade pond. Its kinda good, but then again, maybe it will make it harder to offer it to portals which make living from tetris-clones.
GarageGames seems to differentiate itself from such places, but seems to focus on more "core" audience and magic 3D.
Of course, there is always possibility to publish game ourselves and sell it from website, however, it means building recognizability and community from scratch, which inevitably will distract from game making itself.
Artefacts world and heroes have vague Terry Pratchett influence and I was thinking of ways to penetrate Discworld fan communities, which maybe could result in more or less interested potential customer base.
Maybe someone has been in similar position and can share an advice.
Well...we'll see. As I said, lots of things have yet to be done on game itself.
Alright, back to the drawing board :)
About the author
Nauris Krauze is 2D designer/illustrator with 10 years experience in game development. Currently art director at 3Nstudio, working on games for social networks, occasionally doing some contract work.
#2
Yeah, I guess you`re right, we`ll have to explore many options and try to combine various approaches.
What I *really* would like to avoid is making some *really* bad mistakes, like choosing bad(unfitting) distribution channels and basically dooming the game to joyless existence in some forgotten online limbo.
You know, "first cut is the deepest" and all that stuff.
Anyway, we cant really worry too much about distribution since there is no game to distribute yet in the first place:)
11/26/2003 (6:32 am)
Heh, thanks Phil:)Yeah, I guess you`re right, we`ll have to explore many options and try to combine various approaches.
What I *really* would like to avoid is making some *really* bad mistakes, like choosing bad(unfitting) distribution channels and basically dooming the game to joyless existence in some forgotten online limbo.
You know, "first cut is the deepest" and all that stuff.
Anyway, we cant really worry too much about distribution since there is no game to distribute yet in the first place:)
#3
Always great to see another RPG game in the works. :))
John H
11/26/2003 (7:47 am)
Wow!! Somebody love there paint program as much as we do :)Always great to see another RPG game in the works. :))
John H
#4
11/26/2003 (8:26 am)
I'm excited about this one. It looks like you've got some killer ideas and a great theme. I can't wait to see how this one goes. 
#5
Keep up the good work!
-Jeff Tunnell GG
11/26/2003 (8:43 am)
Very nice look and style. If the game is fun, GG is always an option, however, I agree with Phil. Our recommendation is to get your game out in as many distribution channels as possible.Keep up the good work!
-Jeff Tunnell GG
#6
If you want to find out about different avenues to market an indie game, the forums at Dexterity Software are a great place to start:
http://www.dexterity.com/forums/
Most of the folks there are active indies with published or soon-to-be-published games, and are happy to share their experiences. Check out the 'Indie Business' forum in particular.
Good luck! I'll certainly be following your progress.
11/26/2003 (9:51 am)
Looking great!If you want to find out about different avenues to market an indie game, the forums at Dexterity Software are a great place to start:
http://www.dexterity.com/forums/
Most of the folks there are active indies with published or soon-to-be-published games, and are happy to share their experiences. Check out the 'Indie Business' forum in particular.
Good luck! I'll certainly be following your progress.
#7
11/26/2003 (12:33 pm)
Nice stuff Nauris, you have been pretty bussy =O)
#8
@Johnny: yeah, without Photoshop life is dull, hehe. Helps adjusting colors from time to time :P
@Jay: Its good to know that Artefacts look interesting. When you`ve been "in trenches" for too long and has thought about the game extensively, sometimes concept looses the freshness for you.
I guess that`s the big advantage of working in pairs - Wayne`s progress and ideas usually is the thing that cheers up me and I hope I do something similar to him :)
@Jeff: Thanks. Yes, it seems that indie has to try to fill every possible channel out there. When time will come that`s just the thing we`ll do. And its good to know that main criteria is fun, not just tech. If all fails, we can remember childhood and make some ASCII fun :))) I wonder if there is market for Really Nostalgic Geeks, hehe.
@Mike: I have been lurking in dexterity forums for couple of months now. You are right, it is good place to get quick and detailed advice/info about the business side of indy game making. And Steve`s enthusiastic enterpreneur`s attitude has infected many of indies hanging out there.
No prescribed recipies to be found, but then again, there really arent any, are there? :)
@Pascal: Thanks, man. I havent been the only one, Wayne has been an extremely busy ant as well. And Nick. And Dave:) If all goes well and Artefacts head somewhere, I might be able to ditch complexes and join you and Phil on your next year`s quest across the lake to IGC, instead of grimly reading about your adventures :P
As I said, this year it felt like it was almost unpolite to attend such an event witohut at least something under your belt.
11/27/2003 (1:52 am)
Thanks everybody for taking interest, its good to know that something you do at least looks interesting enough to keep an eye on. @Johnny: yeah, without Photoshop life is dull, hehe. Helps adjusting colors from time to time :P
@Jay: Its good to know that Artefacts look interesting. When you`ve been "in trenches" for too long and has thought about the game extensively, sometimes concept looses the freshness for you.
I guess that`s the big advantage of working in pairs - Wayne`s progress and ideas usually is the thing that cheers up me and I hope I do something similar to him :)
@Jeff: Thanks. Yes, it seems that indie has to try to fill every possible channel out there. When time will come that`s just the thing we`ll do. And its good to know that main criteria is fun, not just tech. If all fails, we can remember childhood and make some ASCII fun :))) I wonder if there is market for Really Nostalgic Geeks, hehe.
@Mike: I have been lurking in dexterity forums for couple of months now. You are right, it is good place to get quick and detailed advice/info about the business side of indy game making. And Steve`s enthusiastic enterpreneur`s attitude has infected many of indies hanging out there.
No prescribed recipies to be found, but then again, there really arent any, are there? :)
@Pascal: Thanks, man. I havent been the only one, Wayne has been an extremely busy ant as well. And Nick. And Dave:) If all goes well and Artefacts head somewhere, I might be able to ditch complexes and join you and Phil on your next year`s quest across the lake to IGC, instead of grimly reading about your adventures :P
As I said, this year it felt like it was almost unpolite to attend such an event witohut at least something under your belt.
Torque 3D Owner Phil Carlisle
Youve definitely gotten a good plan going. You DO need to think about things like who your core audience is and how to get to them.
Dont think GG is just about "core" targets. But you must consider every avenue for your games. Keep in mind that generally, you dont want to just use one avenue anyway, I'd say do "all of the above" if you can.
Multiple streams of smaller income is definitely the mantra for indie game devs.
Phil.