We're moving house!

This is just a quick note to let all my faithful readers (yes both of you) know that I'm moving the hosting of this blog to my main website at www.WhiteTreeGames.com

For those of you that have come here using the re-direct from the Making Games Made Easy url you'll soon (if not already) have noticed as I'm going to change the re-direct to the MGME section of the WhiteTreeGames site.

So don't worry this blog hasn't died and with your help it will continue to flourish and become a major resource for indie game development.

Jon...

PipeDreams - Step 1. The WHY and the WHAT

Ok then, still here? Good, let's begin...

If you've been following this blog (or checked out the archives) you'll see that there's been an awful lot of talk the talk but no walk the walk - this is where things start to change...
Let me introduce you to ...

Now this is a simple enough idea and one which I had whilst working through some other prototypes (but more about that later), in a nutshell I had an idea simple idea which I could complete fairly easily on my own and if polished well enough I might even be able to entice a few people into downloading it.

So this is my WHY - I wanted to make a game, I wanted to make it fun, I wanted to make it playable and enjoyable and finally I wanted to see it finished and gracing the front of my soon to be launched casual games website (ok I wanted it to make me a bit of spare cash as well - but that would have really been a bonus and not the primary concern at this stage in the game).

You'll notice then that my primary concern is as a hobbyist but sprinkled with some long term aspirations to actually make a living out of what I love doing! Look at any set of figures for startup companies or speak to any independant developers actually making money out of making games and they'll tell you it's a long hard slog especially before any decent standard of living can be achieved. My plan therefore was to focus on this (and subsequent) projects from a hobbyist point of view, squeezing hours here and there, evenings and weekends getting the game finished whilst maintaining a wife, kids and full time job to pay the bills.

My hope was (and it still seems a reasonable propasition) that seeing as the most expensive part of the development would be the time spent programming the game I could effectively reduce those costs to nothing (after all this was my hobby) by using my free time, ok it would take a lot longer to complete but when it's done then any money earned would be pure profit (less any business expenses, taxes etc, of course).

So that's my WHY, back to the WHAT...

As I said PipeDreams will be a very simple puzzle game, simple games seem to in vogue at the moment (the Casual Games market is a multi-million dollar a year industry!), I like simple puzzle games, my wife likes simple puzzle games so done well enough why wouldn't somebody else like my simple puzzle game?

My initial idea was inspired by the classic PipeMania games where by you had to place pieces of pipes to connect a tap to a drain, instead of that I turned the concept on it's head and placed all the pieces on the board to start and instead had to rotate the pipes so that they all joined up with in a time limit. Here's a very early mockup of the sort of thing I mean.

As you can see it's a very basic idea, but as a first project it seemed like a good idea...

Next time : The Design Document (does it need one?)

Putting my mouth where my money is!

Ok, the last few posts contained an awful lot of info (and probably a few healthy kick-in-the-pants wake up calls as well), but what does it all mean, how does it work in the real world, is it possible for someone to make a successful game on their own?

As I mentioned in the introduction as well as developing the "Making Games Made Easy" website I'm also following my hobby by developing my own unique games and ideas and putting my own experience to work, so over the next few weeks I'm going to document the process via this blog by following my own ten step plan.

Will I be like the toothless budgie and succeed, or, will the whole thing come crashing down around my ears to be followed by me skulking off to the dark corners of the internet muttering and grumbling as I go...

Stay tuned and find out!

Time to get professional

It seems these days that everyone and their aunties are out to make the next-best videogame (and some of them probably will) however the ones that really stand out are the teams that go that extra 10%. Despite what you may have heard the games biz is a professional industry and you should strive to uphold professional values in everything you do;

• Aspire to deliver milestones on time


• Make every element of the product the best that it can be


• Aim to be consistent in your approach and design


• Learn to take constructive criticism


• Listen (and take on board) customer feedback


• Leave "no stone" unpolished

And most important of all...

• Don't skimp on the testing!

Nothing say's amateur more than a game that only works 10% of the time and the excuse "well it worked on my machine just fine!" will just not wash with paying customers. In fact make room for bug testing, playability testing, compatiability testing, module testing and any other types of testing you can think off (and lot's of it) in to the schedule right from the beginning, make sure it's spread throughout the development process so that any issues that arise can be dealt with properly rather than just being bodged at the end.


For every rule there is an exception - and here's mine...

So far you've (hopefully) stuck with this and read it all the way through - as I said at the beginning this document was written to help anwser the regularly posted question of "I've got the next greatest killer game design, what do I do next!". If after reading this and deciding that your WHY is simply that you just want to make games that YOU'd love to play, then feel free to disregard anything and everything I've said. However from personal experience I can tell you (and so will anyother published designer/developer) that a design IS important, a schedule IS important, a goal IS important - but what's most important is that you are doing this for all the right reasons and that you never forget to have some FUN! yourself because without that you wont get past the starting gate.

Remember these are just my thoughts - it's how I currently work and how I plan to keep on working, feel free to take and adapt these ideas and make what ever use of them you can, however I would respectfully request than anyone wishing to copy this information for use on other websits or publications please contact me first (or at the very least give credit where credits due).

Full Steam Ahead...

Ok talk is cheap - but money buys whisky!
In other words all the above is great but now that you've got your design, a working prototype, a deliverable schedule and people on board who will pay you real money - it's time to start delivering...

This section is quite easy - just follow your schedule, hit the milestones (as close as possible) and keep ploughing on till the job is done, and as Winston Churchill often said "Never give up, Never never give up!"

One word of advice about milestones, schedules and publishers. Publishers generally like to be kept in the loop especially where deadlines are concerned and everyone slips and misses a deadline from time to time. The key thing is to let your investors know as soon as possible that your going to slip, don't try and hide the fact or cover it up (they'll find out sooner or later anyway) and they'll apreciate your honesty, especially if they can see your working extra hard to make up for lost time and getting the project back on schedule. Obviously some deadlines are unmissable (often the run up to events like E3) - make sure you plan for these well in advance so any potential problems can be recognised as soon as possible or else you'll risk burnout through excessive "crunch time".

Time to network

Before we go on let's have a little recap as to what we've got so far...

A knowledege of who the game is designed for and what makes it fun!
A solid design that reflects all of the elements discussed so far
A (semi) complete list of all resources required across all areas of the project
Proof of concept protototypes including (but not limited to) technology demos, storyboards, concept artwork, character and level designs, background story etc etc
A schedule forcasting a (hopefully realistic) completion date
A business model detailing route to market and profitability forecasts

If you wrap all this lot together, you'll find that you've actually got a complete presentation that you could pitch to any of the major publishers. Obviously getting them to answer your calls or let you set foot in their offices is another matter altogether.

The easiest way to get your foot in the door is to have a proven track record of commerical success (but if that's the case then you probably wouldn't be reading this anyway).

Following on from that, presenting yourself and your product in a professional light is a must. Remember publishers are in business to make money, and everyone is always on the lookout for the next big money spinner, the next market to exploit.

However video game publishers (like any profit-centric businesses) also tend to be very conservative and don't like to take risks (especially with their shareholders money). The more information you can provide, the more proof you can give that not only does your design have the potential to make them millions but also you (as a team or company) can bring that design to fruition the more likely they are to take you seriously and want to do business with you.

Ok, so the next question has to be - HOW do you get the chance to make your pitch. All businesses are (or at least should be) in the market of establishing relationships with likeminded firms, all the major publishers actually do a lot of the hard work for you - attend trade shows, make appointments (in advance) to meet with people and discuss your pitch, attend E3, ECTS, IGDC etc etc, subscribe to trade magazines, arrange contacts via websites, ring them up, email them, send them a pitch in the post - be creative (but most importantly remember to NOT be pushy and if need be take no for an answer - there's always another company round the corner)

But what about publishers ripping off your ideas ??? Ok from time to time it happens (although not as often as you fear), I would doubt that these days many would do it intentionally (maybe your idea was geninuely similar to one they already had in pre-production), besides you've got copies of all the source and reference materials you used to create your design (which can be used to help prove ownership).

If you feel you have been ripped off, react and respond in a professional manner, talk to a lawyer (IANAL) state your case (most people / companies tend to be reasonable if approached in a reasonable / professional fashion) - For what it's worth, most countries don't allow you to copyright or patent ideas, but any work that is created has automatic protection under copyright law (although it never hurts to put "(C) 20??, Your name here, All Rights Reserved" at the bottom of the page!).

Even if you don't plan to go down the traditional route and decide instead to self publish, going through the networking process and making contact with people is never a bad thing - nothing is ever created in a vaccum, establishing yourself and your company gives you credibility, get's you noticed, allows people to find you if your game is ever up for an industry award... If you want to make a name in the games industry, then you have to be a part of the games industry.

The route to market. (or how do I get this game off my PC and onto yours!)

Retail distribution via the highstreet is probably still the main outlet for mass market videogames - especially for consoles but it's plain to see that thanks to the internet that's starting to change. As KateMonster (in Avenue Q) said "The Internet is really really great", it has opened up more opportunities (not just "for porn") for people to communicate with one another, distribute goods and services, advertise and generally make themselves available than anything else in history.

We are still only just beginning to explore the many diverse ways we can deliver content to (paying) customers. Blogs, social networks and dedicated portals are fantastic (and cheap) ways to reach a massive audience, their really is no limit to the number of customers you can reach and unlike highstreet shops that demand a high turnover of products on a regular basis, there is an almost unlimted amount of shelf space and products can have an almost limitless shelf life.

Don't get me wrong the potential return from portals can be huge, but your going to be competing with the best of the best for an ever decreasing slice of an ever more discerning market.

Having a new or novel slant on the "route to market" can really make the difference and catapult a product up beyond your wildest dreams (however the inverse is also true) - don't be afraid to experiement and try out new ideas, exploit new niches, you never know what (or who) you might find.

Trying to forecast profitability (especially on an untested or unproven idea) is at best wildly inaccurate and no one (with any sense) is going to pay too much attention to what ammounts to pure speculation - however if you have a realistic (and achieveable) schedule you should be able to forcast what the game is going to cost (in terms of resources required and man hours to deliver), dividing that total by your intended saleprice (less any commisions, charges, payments, taxes etc) should give you a rough idea of the number of copies you need to sell to at least break even, obviously once your past that figure then ideally your home clear.

If you dont understand the business side of your business you'd be well advised to speak to a professional who does!

One last point which probably needs to be mentioned - no one is ever going to buy your game if they don't know it exists! Marketing and PR are vital to any products success (and your game is no different), there are many many ways to get a buzz going and get people talking about your game, and thanks to the internet a lot of them are very low cost (if not free!)