Good Money in Gaming?

#1 Not enough for a porsche or used vett, maybe enough for a '97 used ford tempo.

#2 Ok, do you think if I had a few games out all with a publisher? And I don't mean like all in just a month or two but like over 8 to 9 months. But, I'm also talking with content packs with the hole shabang including anamation for models and mabye a few games under my belt.

#3 Game developing is not a get-rich-quick scheme. It will take years just to learn one facet of game development to where you can make decent money at it.

#4 "Ok, do you think if I had a few games out all with a publisher?"

Publishers hardly take on a a game unless it's nearly finished, unless you're extremely reputable, and finishing one game in 8-9 months is a stretch, let alone a few.

It's just hard work like everything else, the only upside is that if you failed you failed while doing what you love.

Kaj

#5 Ok. I never thought of games as a get rich way. And I already have a publisher wanting to look at the game when its done. But, I'm also thinking about making a content pack with every thing from buildings to guns to cars. Like fairly good ones, not cartoonie looking like the Bravetree ones. No offence but I'm also a little of a car fan too and the Bravetree pack doesn't impress me much. Tim's content pack looks really cool but it might (might) be really easy for it to be recognoised in a game. I would want to aim for somthing with a little more animation and 3d models. Please note I'm not challenging Tim, I just wanna put out a content pack with more things than that. I mean, there has gotta be more all-around content packs to go too when you need too. I just wanna open up some more opportunities instead of just having to go to one content pack and just using it with just all it offers.

#6 Oh, sorry forgot to reply.

"finishing one game in 8-9 months is a stretch, let alone a few"

Well, acording to my programmer. It will take around 4-6 moths to finish a game so I'm just talking off his input on me.

#7 Its entirely possible to make a game in that amount of time. I've done complete games in less time than that. Of course, I was able to do anything else during that time except eat, which I usually did while working, and sleep every couple of days.

#8 Has your programmer ever *finished* a game? As in, 3d, full design, implementation, assets and gameplay tweaked?

If he can do that in 4-6 months he should already drive his Porsche, because many companies would die to talk to him.

#9 Here's a little secret for you... Most people don't start in this business because of the money. They start into it because they have a love and passion for it. There are far far far quicker ways to make money that will take less work and less heartache.

Don't expect to make money on games... You can expect to be able to survive off of it in a few years if you work very hard... but don't expect to make gobs of money.

Oh... and publishers will tell you they want to see your game, even if you dont have a game or even an idea of what you want to make. They rarely ever burn bridges, just in case.

#10 Colton, I think you may be underestimating the time it takes to make a game, content pack, etc, not to mention the personal commitment. The creative director of the graphic design studio I worked at before GarageGames had a saying, that design wasn't a job, it was a passion. The same thing can be said about any creative industry, be it graphic design, film, games, or whatever.

With that in mind, I think it would probably be wise to start small and focus on developing skills to create quality work, instead of focusing on some potential payoff at the end of the race that may not even come. Just my (friendly) 2 cents.

#11 Game development, much like weapons research, is an enterprise for the misguided.

#12 Like I said, I'm new to game development so I don't know much. Well, I decided to try to start making games to see if I could make somthing of my self cause I already have a vast love for computers and games. Being able to make a little money doing that is just a bonus. I'm amed at quality work no doubt but I'll just always try to make the next thing better from the last thing. But, no. My programmer hasen't completed a game but I've seen some of his work and its enough to draw me in. But he was working with DarkBasic so its nothing to impressive. I know he is spank'n good at VB code so I wanna get him TrueVision 1.5 so that 5-6 month time frame might be possible for us. I'm either getting TV 1.5 or Torque. I can't decide cause torque was amazing in Tribes 2. But TV 1.5 would be better on the graphics side(saw an impressive screen shot) and plus it can be written in VB. But then again, torque has so many content packs which would make my life alot easier but my programmer would haved to do the code used for torque. But, TV 1.5 would make his life easier since its in VB but alot more work for me. And I don't know if I could use for example Tim's pack in TV 1.5. Which sounds better? I know this is the torque website but one can publish a game even if its not made with the torque engine. Well, Thanks for all of your input. It really opens the eyes abit. ♣

#13 I read a quote once about making money making indie games.

It was something to the effect of, "For your first game, you probably won't make enough to buy a new car. Or even a new computer. Maybe enough to buy a new video card."

If you are in it for the money, forget it. I left professional game development for consoles with big publishers because there was better money elsewhere (well, that, and I wanted the freedom to make my own games.)

Indie games - man. There is definitely POTENTIAL there. There are a handful of shops out there that have done very well by indie games. There are far, far, FAR more indie shops that have launched an indie game and exited very quickly out of sheer dissapointment. You've got to WANT to create games and WANT to be independent and keep at it tenaciously for a long time as far as I can tell.

I'm hardly a "seasoned vet" (I have only one commercial indie project under my belt, and one freeware experiment as part of an article), so there are more reliable voices than mine.

#14 Funny, after indie struggle for a few years I am happy to work in a professional studio again and play with Torque in my spare time. Though the luxury of being my own boss (well, shared with the co-owners) I find it hard to beat the certainty of a monthly pay-check.
Game programming is always fun to me, whether I work for a boss or not. Never went looking for the big bucks there, I just love the feeling of after 10 years still buzzing with things to try when it's already time to go home again - no money can buy me that, and I think not many other jobs can offer the same...always new stuff to learn, always new things to be discovered, always new challenges.

On the TrueVision versus Torque thing...it depends on what you want. Torque gives you the full source, therefore the ability to modify the engine, but you definitely need some expertise - only your programmer can gauge that. TV makes it easier to get started I think but in the end you have less control.
Added bonus for Torque would (in my opinion) be multiplatform possibilities, I think the Mac gamers are rather deprived of good games still.

But realize that it's not the engine that makes a game good. People die to buy ZooKeeper....which is basically a flash game, and I mean a simple flash game.

#15 So one has to have drive and passion to do this. Ok, so are there many indies making games for the mac? Cause I think that would be rather fun. But, I don't own a mac so I don't think I'll make a game for it just yet. From what I'm hearing, it is going to be hard to even sell around a few hundred games. Hold up, so when some one talks about not being much money, does that include paying all of your people that made that game possible, or with out paying them? I think I'll go with TV cause right now I don't wanna get into customising the Torque engine. I'll try them both out when I'm ready and see which one I like. I started this forum cause I wasen't sure what I was getting my self into. But I'll give it a swing with a few titles. Once again, Thanks to everybody. Your input has helped me alot!

#16

Quote: From what I'm hearing, it is going to be hard to even sell around a few hundred games.

Bingo.

Actually, just getting the game SHIPPED is pretty dang hard. But yeah, the average indie game sells ... well, diddley squat. A few copies a year? But that's averaging the few that sell THOUSANDS with the vast majority that sell NONE or just a handful.

Quote:Hold up, so when some one talks about not being much money, does that include paying all of your people that made that game possible, or with out paying them?

WAY too many variables in that equation.

The best advice is the one that GarageGames gives: "Make it fast, make it fun." Test the waters out yourself. Assume the game won't sell a single copy, and then you'll be pleasantly surprised. I know it's not a way to build a business plan, but it's about like asking, "How well will this movie starring nobody but unknowns will do?" Sometimes it works (like "Star Wars,"), most of the time it doesn't. There are just too many variables. Once you have a game out there, have some idea of who your audience is, and what it takes to make them happy, you can start talking.

#17 I've *devoted* 10 years of my life to making games professionally. I made pretty decent money for one of those years contracting with a studio... developing a game is only one part of being commercially successful... this is true for indies and well is large studios.

For the record, the worst game I helped develop, EASILY made the most $$$.

-Josh Ritter
Prairie Games, Inc

#18 Alright, makes since. So if I wanted a game to sell good, I would haved to be good at marketing and things of that nature? Well, matter of fact, I've already been looking into that for some time now. I don't know if anybodys ever heard of Chris Cardell but he has a very very good email weekly or monthly news letters he sends out and they all make since and make you think "duh, why didn't I think of that?"

As for game ideas, I can think of some pretty fast. None like hit the tree with the arrow but right now I have a young story kinda like everquest but a little more modern. But I know alot of people like violence so I'll fuse that in......every where.
So thanks again for all of your input.

#19 What's the deal with Valuesoft. Seems like a good publisher for a first game? Not quite AAA but respectable graphics and a whole slew of titles.

#20 Here is a blog worth reading. Make sure to read the sub-title.