Want to make a game? Go on then.
Five years ago, it was tough to get a game a market. Only the major publishers with relationships with retailers across the globe stood a chance.
Now things have changed. One person studios, two person teams and small groups are all making a living making games on a growing variety of platforms: iOS, Facebook, Steam, browsers, Unity, and more. It’s not easy, and there’s no guarantee of Minecraft-style success. But if you want to get into the games industry, you should start by making games. And who knows, you might be able to make a living from it sooner than you think.
I originally presented this at the public sessions at Edinburgh Interactive on 11th August 2011.
http://edinburghinteractive.co.uk/public-programme
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Just do it: how to break into the video games industry
1. Nicholas Lovell GAMESbrief Edinburgh Interactive Entertainment Festival August 11th 2011 Breaking into the game industryJUST DO IT!
2. Nicholas Lovell, GAMESbrief Author, How to Publish a Game Director, GAMESbrief Clients include Atari, Channel 4, Channelflip, Firefly, IPC, nDreams, Rebellion and Square Enix @nicholaslovell / @gamesbrief
4. Show offer: Get 80% off Go to www.gamesbrief.com/store Enter code EIEF80 Get How to Publish a GAME for 80% off: Digital: £99£19.90 Physical: £149£29.90 Both: £149£29.90
6. I want to work in the games industry because: It’s my major hobby Games are cool I want to make pots and pots of money It’s better than becoming an accountant It sounds like a laugh, just playing and making games all day All my friends are doing it I just want to make games. I’d do it for free if you didn’t pay me
7. The future of the games industry It’s in three parts* * See http://www.gamesbrief.com/2010/10/the-future-of-the-games-industry-its-in-three-parts
8. A disclaimer This is what I believe Not everyone agrees with me Form your own view
9. Part 1: the blockbuster The big are getting bigger Red Dead: 11m units MW2: 15m units in first two months MW: 14.4m units Yet jobs are going: 5,464 gross games industry jobs lost in 2010 Disney, Activision Blizzard, THQ, Sony, Atari, Crytek – all have made cuts in 2011 There is room for, perhaps, 5-7 major publishers
10. Part 2: the persistent world Persistent worlds are “games as a service” They are never “done”. The team never packs up and moves on They launch with a smaller feature set; they are tweaked and iterated and adapted They are TV, to the blockbuster’s film
11. Part 3: the indie These are not businesses that drive investors wild These are about teams of 1-15 people, making a living making games This wasn’t possible 5 years ago Now it is + you might get lucky
12. Which way is the industry going? Games in boxes peaked in 2008
17. Why does making a game matter? Starting something is hard Finishing it is much harder There’s more to a game than a prototype Challenges overcome: Teams QA Publishing Outsourcing Fear Making a game shows initiative and guts. If you don’t do it, don’t be surprised if breaking into the industry is tough
19. How to make money from an indie game To make a game: It used to cost $10m you needed a publisher It used to require relationships with GAME you needed a publisher It used to involve a marketing budget as big as the dev cost you needed a publisher It used to require vans and men in brown overalls to deliver boxes to warehouses you needed a publisher Now you don’t need a publisher
20. The sources of revenue Direct Indirect Sell the product Display advertising Sponsorship Subscriptions Premium features Offers and rewards Virtual goods Skill gaming
21. Jobs a publisher did – and that you now need to do instead Sales: Getting money from your customers, directly or indirectly Marketing: Telling potential customers that your customers exist and making them want to buy it Distribution:Getting code from your computer to your customers’ devices Finance: How can you pay for all of this
22. Conclusion If you want a decent shot at getting a job in the games industry, you need to be making games now If you are making games now, why not think about how to make money from them? A finished game beats a prototype beats a portfolio of piece work beats a CV A game that generated revenue is best of all