a) They figured out that switching from a work contract to freelance/incorporated is something that needs research and costs a little more then nothing. As annoying as that is, that’s very naïve. There’s ample guidance for that step around, including talking to an accountant before that step. But that might cost money. Don’t be cheap when starting a company.
b) The market for retro RPGs (as witty or interesting as the game concept might be) is - from my personal perception - incredibly full and very niche. I’m a person with more then 1000 games checked on my Steam Queue. Never heard of the game, but I certainly saw at least 5 that were very much alike. Not exactly, but alike. Also, there’s games like Legend of Grimrock that provide much more production value (even if the fight system is as antique as ever). Currently LoG costs less than this game. That’s tough. Proper research may differ, but I would have expected this to be covered in this retro.
So, it’s basically a cry for help (which needs to be appreciated), but for the advice, it’s basically: do your proper research before quitting your job!
I actually found this perspective pretty interesting – the bar for success seemed really low. 300 sales to survive, 700 to stay in business? That’s what, between $1500 and $3500 after Steam’s cut and before taxes? In that light it’s actually kind of depressing how hard it is to even make a splash.
the bar for success seemed really low. 300 sales to survive, 700 to stay in business?
For a single-person business that seems reasonable. Compare with the “Manabi line”.
In that light it’s actually kind of depressing how hard it is to even make a splash.
There are just so many games out there though. Average sales are always going to equal number of users * number of games per user / number of games on sale. And there are so many people who want to make games.
As I talked about above, I do think it’s worth talking about these kinds of situations. There are a lot of young people interested in games who would love to get into game development, there are a lot of colleges advertising their game-making programs and talking about how it’s such a great and fun career, and there’s a lot of attention given to the successful stories in indie development. Failure stories like these get told a lot less often, even though they’re likely the more typical scenario. If we don’t talk about them, we don’t give the people considering doing indie game development a clear picture of the risk involved.
As for the marketing aspect, I can’t say whether that was his primary motive, but well, hey, I’m sure it doesn’t hurt.
This is why I personally stopped focusing on game development. As a hobby it’s great, but it’s very hard to make a stable career as an indie. Technical skills don’t differentiate you anymore with the explosion of great free game-making tools either. What really sets you apart is your ability to market your game, and that’s not my core skill set.
Remember: for every story you read like this, there are dozens, maybe hundreds of others that you don’t. Almost nobody gives interviews to the “losers” in the indie market.
The key to a good game is actually arts and game design, not technical aspect, unless you are doing something completely game-changing like quake did.
Why did he choose the grid-system ala eye of the beholder? I’m pretty sure this choice derived from table-top dnd back in the day and that choice is because it makes it easier to realise the mechanics of the game with pen and paper. It’s just awkward on a pc.
Besides that, what is to differentiate this game from other roguelike dungeon crawling games for which there are many really good ones? The fact that monsters can also pick up items? wow. such inspired.
What really sets you apart is your ability to market your game
I have to disagree here. Game discovery is at an all time high and I think there has been no better time than now for the better games to rise to the top. Gamers are so connected via social media, reddit, youtube etc that if your game is actually good people will find out.
I mean, I’m not going to argue that the game was great. To be honest, I didn’t even research the game itself.
But this is a story I’ve seen multiple times now, and even been a part of personally (though to a less tragic extent, since I was too hesitant to jump in with both feet the way this guy did). A game can’t just be good, it has to be great, in a unique way, in order to stand out.
The point I was trying to make when talking about the technical aspects is that back around 10 years ago, when a game like World of Goo was considered to be the pinnacle of the indie game scene, there were very few good game-making tools available, especially free ones. You pretty much had to either write your own engine, or buy one from the smaller market of game-making tools available for you. And most of those tools only did 2D games. This meant that indie games back in the day tended to have to roll a lot more of their own technology, and that created a much higher barrier to entry.
These days, with the proliferation of great game-making tools, most of them free, that aspect is a lot easier. Don’t get me wrong, I think this is a good thing overall, since it allows a lot more people to make games and has led to a Cambrian explosion of new mechanics, new ideas, and even new genres. But on the developer’s side, that makes it much harder to stand out above the noise.
And sure, discovery and discussion is easier. But mediums like that are awash with a lot of noise as well. Steam alone had 837 games last month. Why should people talk about yours?
Marketing isn’t just advertisements and press releases, it’s fundamentally about answering the question I just asked. Understanding the market, and making something unique that it’ll stand out, is also good marketing. But with so much stuff available, doing that is hard.
The point is that indie game development is risky business, and that the risk is far beyond what people might expect. Even just selling a few hundred or few thousand copies, in order to break even, can be difficult. You could easily come out with a game and have it sell next-to-nothing.
That’s ultimately the moral that people should be taking from stories like this. They’re cautionary tales that don’t get told nearly often enough.
I have two issues with this:
a) They figured out that switching from a work contract to freelance/incorporated is something that needs research and costs a little more then nothing. As annoying as that is, that’s very naïve. There’s ample guidance for that step around, including talking to an accountant before that step. But that might cost money. Don’t be cheap when starting a company.
b) The market for retro RPGs (as witty or interesting as the game concept might be) is - from my personal perception - incredibly full and very niche. I’m a person with more then 1000 games checked on my Steam Queue. Never heard of the game, but I certainly saw at least 5 that were very much alike. Not exactly, but alike. Also, there’s games like Legend of Grimrock that provide much more production value (even if the fight system is as antique as ever). Currently LoG costs less than this game. That’s tough. Proper research may differ, but I would have expected this to be covered in this retro.
So, it’s basically a cry for help (which needs to be appreciated), but for the advice, it’s basically: do your proper research before quitting your job!
I feel bad saying this (I really do), but I can’t help shake the feeling that the true motive of the author was to market his game via this story.
The world is filled to overflowing with failed business ventures. I’m not sure this one is particularly different or insightful or noteworthy.
I actually found this perspective pretty interesting – the bar for success seemed really low. 300 sales to survive, 700 to stay in business? That’s what, between $1500 and $3500 after Steam’s cut and before taxes? In that light it’s actually kind of depressing how hard it is to even make a splash.
For a single-person business that seems reasonable. Compare with the “Manabi line”.
There are just so many games out there though. Average sales are always going to equal number of users * number of games per user / number of games on sale. And there are so many people who want to make games.
As I talked about above, I do think it’s worth talking about these kinds of situations. There are a lot of young people interested in games who would love to get into game development, there are a lot of colleges advertising their game-making programs and talking about how it’s such a great and fun career, and there’s a lot of attention given to the successful stories in indie development. Failure stories like these get told a lot less often, even though they’re likely the more typical scenario. If we don’t talk about them, we don’t give the people considering doing indie game development a clear picture of the risk involved.
As for the marketing aspect, I can’t say whether that was his primary motive, but well, hey, I’m sure it doesn’t hurt.
This is why I personally stopped focusing on game development. As a hobby it’s great, but it’s very hard to make a stable career as an indie. Technical skills don’t differentiate you anymore with the explosion of great free game-making tools either. What really sets you apart is your ability to market your game, and that’s not my core skill set.
Remember: for every story you read like this, there are dozens, maybe hundreds of others that you don’t. Almost nobody gives interviews to the “losers” in the indie market.
The problem is that the game sucks.
The key to a good game is actually arts and game design, not technical aspect, unless you are doing something completely game-changing like quake did.
Why did he choose the grid-system ala eye of the beholder? I’m pretty sure this choice derived from table-top dnd back in the day and that choice is because it makes it easier to realise the mechanics of the game with pen and paper. It’s just awkward on a pc.
Besides that, what is to differentiate this game from other roguelike dungeon crawling games for which there are many really good ones? The fact that monsters can also pick up items? wow. such inspired.
I have to disagree here. Game discovery is at an all time high and I think there has been no better time than now for the better games to rise to the top. Gamers are so connected via social media, reddit, youtube etc that if your game is actually good people will find out.
I mean, I’m not going to argue that the game was great. To be honest, I didn’t even research the game itself.
But this is a story I’ve seen multiple times now, and even been a part of personally (though to a less tragic extent, since I was too hesitant to jump in with both feet the way this guy did). A game can’t just be good, it has to be great, in a unique way, in order to stand out.
The point I was trying to make when talking about the technical aspects is that back around 10 years ago, when a game like World of Goo was considered to be the pinnacle of the indie game scene, there were very few good game-making tools available, especially free ones. You pretty much had to either write your own engine, or buy one from the smaller market of game-making tools available for you. And most of those tools only did 2D games. This meant that indie games back in the day tended to have to roll a lot more of their own technology, and that created a much higher barrier to entry.
These days, with the proliferation of great game-making tools, most of them free, that aspect is a lot easier. Don’t get me wrong, I think this is a good thing overall, since it allows a lot more people to make games and has led to a Cambrian explosion of new mechanics, new ideas, and even new genres. But on the developer’s side, that makes it much harder to stand out above the noise.
And sure, discovery and discussion is easier. But mediums like that are awash with a lot of noise as well. Steam alone had 837 games last month. Why should people talk about yours?
Marketing isn’t just advertisements and press releases, it’s fundamentally about answering the question I just asked. Understanding the market, and making something unique that it’ll stand out, is also good marketing. But with so much stuff available, doing that is hard.
The point is that indie game development is risky business, and that the risk is far beyond what people might expect. Even just selling a few hundred or few thousand copies, in order to break even, can be difficult. You could easily come out with a game and have it sell next-to-nothing.
That’s ultimately the moral that people should be taking from stories like this. They’re cautionary tales that don’t get told nearly often enough.
By the way, the game source is available under MIT license here: https://github.com/BacioiuC/Ebony-Spire--Heresy