This is a fantastic view into indie development that I don't think enough people get to see.
Confessions of a failed indie developer
41–50 of 83 posts
Re: Confessions of a failed indie developer
#42A couple of observations. You probably shouldn't think that you can get your indie game done in a year, release, and ramp up revenue so fast that you'll soon be self-sustaining. Sounds obvious, but most guys starting out actually believe that there's a chance of it playing out like this. Starry-eyed optimism is probably a precondition for going anywhere near this business in the first place, but it must be tempered a…
> you should probably not think in terms of the release that ends the project Yes. I want to stress this some more. I know several people who are/were working on big ambitious projects in a kind of stealth mode, citing concerns that their idea will be stolen, or emphasizing that it isn't "ready yet". I suspect this is usually rationalizing a fear of criticism. A single-person personal project shouldn't be worked on i…
Do you have any advice on how to put it in front of users to get feedback? Friends are good for a while, but they're biased. Just go on IRC and ask a few folks?
Re: Confessions of a failed indie developer
#43Earlier quoted context omitted.
> I guess the reason is that gamers can be a fickle lot and there's a large risk that the game will be written off as crappy if you release a poor prototype. You only need feedback from 15-20 people to get the gist of where you stand with the game. For that you don't need to release anything, just post a link on a forum and be sure to engage with the comments that follow.
Once you've put it out there though, you can't really take it back.
You don't have to release it to the WORLD when you put it on a forum. For example, if it's web based, you can whitelist usernames/IPs. If it's a downloadable app, you can make it self destruct after a period of time or something so that people can't keep playing it.
Re: Confessions of a failed indie developer
#44I really enjoyed and appreciated this article. So many harsh comments! Yes, what he did was foolish, but thank god for foolishness. And these things are easier to see from outside and after the fact than when you're following a dream. I've had a lifelong dream of building my own game, and I'll be sad if I die without trying. I'm way less prepared than the author. I've done web dev for 15 years. My last game was an AS…
Do not build a game engine unless your goal is to be selling a game engine. If you're going to make a game that requires a game engine, use another engine that's already built.
Lets put this in terms of web development: You wouldn't start building a webapp by building your own web framework first.
Re: Confessions of a failed indie developer
#45I switched from making simple games on iOS to making simple utilities, it is so much quicker. Games require a lot, good graphics, unique gameplay, lots of testing.
Re: Confessions of a failed indie developer
#46A couple of observations. You probably shouldn't think that you can get your indie game done in a year, release, and ramp up revenue so fast that you'll soon be self-sustaining. Sounds obvious, but most guys starting out actually believe that there's a chance of it playing out like this. Starry-eyed optimism is probably a precondition for going anywhere near this business in the first place, but it must be tempered a…
I never worked on games and don't want to, but this question bugs me: what would it take to convince someone to invest in a gamedev effort? It just sounds like a very poor investment. If Alice and Bob are both willing to invest in their own pet projects, but not willing to invest in each other's, doesn't that mean one of them is provably irrational?
Proven success in the past, a unique idea, and lots of progress on the game.
Re: Confessions of a failed indie developer
#47A couple of observations. You probably shouldn't think that you can get your indie game done in a year, release, and ramp up revenue so fast that you'll soon be self-sustaining. Sounds obvious, but most guys starting out actually believe that there's a chance of it playing out like this. Starry-eyed optimism is probably a precondition for going anywhere near this business in the first place, but it must be tempered a…
With some exceptions like Minecraft it seems that most games are basically developed in a vacuum with little user input (except maybe small groups under an NDA?). I guess the reason is that gamers can be a fickle lot and there's a large risk that the game will be written off as crappy if you release a poor prototype. This is probably more the case with games than other applications because the line between an unplaya…
It's more because building a game of this kind is an intensely personal effort and developers have trouble seeing it as "ready" for others, plus, don't care about player feedback because it's not the players they're building for -- it's themselves.
Re: Confessions of a failed indie developer
#48Doesn't this guy realize that asking for money they way he did with flex funding defies logic. If you only raise some of the money, how were expecting to finish the project, and what about the people who gave you money - you just scammed them. He still hasn't paid them back yet, instead saying he owes them a game! Trying not to be harsh, but this guy is obviously clueless - built his own game engine - maybe he should…
> can you not find something more worthwhile to do?
Games have a straightforward business model easily understood. Let me explain...
I'm developing a game in the evenings & weekends. I do not have to go to all the local business networking groups to find some SaaS problem to develop into a solution for B2B sales. I don't have to poll everyone I meet about my new social local mobile wotsit to figure out my B2C sales. I don't have to look for a problem. The "normal" people I know who have computer problems have problems that are solved through education or using a comprehensively better toolset: both solutions are not wanted solutions. My "awesome app" ideas would generally take years to develop and may not even be wanted. Remember, people like & usually want what's familiar (faster horse, etc). Games, on the other hand offer a simple business model: entertainment. If it's catchy and entertainy enough, you wind up making some money; if you really get lucky and the game is smooth enough, you make lots of it.
All that said: The probability of my game making 'f u' money is, loosely, nil. What I'd like to be able to do is make rent money; what I'll probably do is make beer money... for one six-pack of microbrews. :-)
The big problem with solving "hard problems" is that they are (1) time consuming (aka expensive) and (2) often they are solved in an ad-hoc fashion already which makes the switchover brutally difficult or (3) there is simply not the infrastructure to support your solution. If you've done enterprise development, you'll have a glimpse of the grief involved with simple problems on a complex domain.
Given the above, games seems like a low-reward low-risk way to make some cash (to me).
Re: Confessions of a failed indie developer
#49I really enjoyed and appreciated this article. So many harsh comments! Yes, what he did was foolish, but thank god for foolishness. And these things are easier to see from outside and after the fact than when you're following a dream. I've had a lifelong dream of building my own game, and I'll be sad if I die without trying. I'm way less prepared than the author. I've done web dev for 15 years. My last game was an AS…
Do not build a game engine unless your goal is to be selling a game engine. If you're going to make a game that requires a game engine, use another engine that's already built. Lets put this in terms of web development: You wouldn't start building a webapp by building your own web framework first.
> You wouldn't start building a webapp by building your own web framework first.
Umm, yeah, I kinda did this. And as I am not ready to promote either the framework or the app, I can certainly relate to the OP.
Having said that, I don't regret my decision at all, and I'm now using the framework in some production work for clients. This is very satisfying.
I also have a mortgage and two kids, and I am paying the bills while my wife is in grad school. So my side projects must remain just that. But they keep me sane, so for me it's not just about the end result.
Having kids makes moonlighting much harder than having a day job does, IMHO. (But what do I know, I've been freelancing since Katrina.)
And I really am going to publish them this year! Really!
Re: Confessions of a failed indie developer
#50For folks who liked this post, you would probably find Indie Game: The Movie interesting. (It's on Netflix.)