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Show HN: I got laid off from Meta and created a minor hit on Steam

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Re: Show HN: I got laid off from Meta and created a minor hit on Steam

#311

Post by williamdclt »

GlacierFox wrote: post #127
guywithahat wrote: post #120

Not to get too personal, but how did working on a video game affect your personal life? If you worked from home, do you have a wife/kids? Was anyone upset or disappointed you were working on a game and not getting another job at a big tech company? I don’t mean to be critical, but I’ve always faced pushback working on startups/side projects, and I’m wondering how that was for you?

Your partner stops you from working on startups and side projects? Come join the other 99% of us not working at a big tech company, life is still fulfilling, honest!

There's a world between "big tech" and "startup", and between "startup" and "solo project that won't bring any money for a year (if ever)". What the OP did is much more less usual than working at big tech.

Re: Show HN: I got laid off from Meta and created a minor hit on Steam

#313

Post by JohnnyMarcone »

peterkelly wrote: post #137
guywithahat wrote: post #120

Not to get too personal, but how did working on a video game affect your personal life? If you worked from home, do you have a wife/kids? Was anyone upset or disappointed you were working on a game and not getting another job at a big tech company? I don’t mean to be critical, but I’ve always faced pushback working on startups/side projects, and I’m wondering how that was for you?

Sounds like you need a better partner

You shouldn't jump to judgement without knowing any of the details.

Re: Show HN: I got laid off from Meta and created a minor hit on Steam

#314

Post by michaelgburton »

mikepurvis wrote: post #304
pc86 wrote: post #298

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is very much personal opinion but if you can blast through all of a games content within 2 hours of purchase it wasn't finished / big enough to justify a financial transaction in the first place.

Honestly, that could go both ways. Like I'll happily pay cost-of-small-game to watch a movie that will be over in two hours, and there's a whole category now of single-sitting games like Journey, Minit, A Short Hike, etc, that are easily able to be completed in that timeframe but are obviously worth their modest purchase price. To some of us adult gamers with actual lives and commitments, having something that can be…

I literally started a company on that thesis. It failed, but I still believe in that mission.

Re: Show HN: I got laid off from Meta and created a minor hit on Steam

#315

Post by jlokier »

johnnyanmac wrote: post #196
guywithahat wrote: post #153

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I mean video games are notoriously competitive, and very little money comes in until it launches after a year of building. It was not impossible OP was going to launch to 4000 customers. I think OP’s story is inspiring, and I’m happy to hear he had support, but I could also see a wife being upset her previously highly paid husband is working on a video game, and presumably a low salary from a publisher (if any). When…

>It was not impossible OP was going to launch to 4000 customers. Having a publisher helps a lot. But 4000 copies for many indies would be a rousing success (albeit, not a financial success). It is simply that competitive. >I could also see a wife being upset her previously highly paid husband is working on a video game, and presumably a low salary from a publisher (if any). Very true for 99.99% of indie devs. But I f…

> once you can get a startup off its feet, the VC money from seeds easily makes up for that downtime

The depends a lot on the startup. Many startups don't take VC money.

Of those that do, in my experience as first non-founder employee, the founders were paid very little compared with employees, on the hope of future success with their equity instead, even after the startup got decent pre-seed and seed investment. Both rounds of investment were enough to pay some key employees well, but not to pay everyone well for long enough. So the founders felt they has to continue with low pay for themselves.

Re: Show HN: I got laid off from Meta and created a minor hit on Steam

#317

Post by thatguy0900 »

theanonymousone wrote: post #224
randfish wrote: post #125

Incredible work, Brian! I'm in awe of what you've done in such a short amount of time. I started an indie game company (still working on our first title) and had a few related questions if that's OK? 1) If you didn't need a salary or marketing help, would you still have signed a publishing deal? My sense is most of the publisher value lies in getting paid before the game launches, and with marketing around launch, bu…

> most of the publisher value lies in getting paid before the game launches, and with marketing around launch Reading this, I'm wondering if there is something like a publisher for other types of Software than games? Looks a decent deal. No?

Isn't that exactly what vcs do?

Re: Show HN: I got laid off from Meta and created a minor hit on Steam

#318

Post by mikepurvis »

michaelgburton wrote: post #314
mikepurvis wrote: post #304

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Honestly, that could go both ways. Like I'll happily pay cost-of-small-game to watch a movie that will be over in two hours, and there's a whole category now of single-sitting games like Journey, Minit, A Short Hike, etc, that are easily able to be completed in that timeframe but are obviously worth their modest purchase price. To some of us adult gamers with actual lives and commitments, having something that can be…

I literally started a company on that thesis. It failed, but I still believe in that mission.

Were you trying to make short games or offer some kind of abridging service?

Because I've wondered about that too. Like, right now there's a pretty big dichotomy between "purchase and play a game myself" and "watch someone else play it on youtube/twitch". But it would be interesting if there was a market for a kind of interactive guided tour, like for $10 let me play the best 4-6 hours of AC:Odyssey, and that's delivered as a mod that just trims all the fat, levels me up quickly enough to hustle through the main story beats and see the good boss encounters and action set pieces.

(Ubisoft themselves sort of do this with their paid XP boosters, but that doesn't actually cut content, it just lets you skip a few hours of grinding over what is otherwise still a 40hr+ experience for most people)

Re: Show HN: I got laid off from Meta and created a minor hit on Steam

#320

Post by CptFribble »

SXX wrote: post #251
helsinki wrote: post #212

How much of a cut does the publisher and steam take from a $20 purchase?

In gamedev we usually count it like this: * Refunds and VAT 16% overall * Steam cut 30% below $10,000,000 sales * Publisher cut from net profit after recouperation is around 50% So developer get around $5.88, but obviously for some countries it's can be better because there is no VAT or lower VAT, but price there would be like $5-15. PS: And yeah from $5.88 you still owe some corporate tax.

why are refunds so commonly counted against sales in this way? Wouldn't a refund cost essentially nothing?
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