PoV's Challenge - Make a game, sell 1 copy this October!

[PoV]

Hello Indie Game Developers reading the Business Forum!

When I'm not winning cars with games and making dumb faces in ads, I along with a few other guys run this event called Ludum Dare. In summary: Make a game from scratch in a weekend. It's a good place to start-out if you haven't done much gamedev before, or want to take a bit of time prototyping ideas.

Ludum Dare is kind-of counter what this forum is about though. This is a business forum. We talk about ways and trends for earning money with games... sometimes!


Thanks to an unusual combination of IRC taunting and playfulness, I am here to issue you a challenge.

This October: Make a game — take it to market — sell 1 copy

That's the premise. We're combining a deadline with an open dare to "get off your lazy butt, make a game, start your business". We're not asking anything big of you, but to make the jump from 0 sales to 1 sale (or 1 new product for those already established). And we want to see you do it before the spookiest day of the year ends.

More details can be found here:

http://www.ludumdare.com/compo/2010/...e-sell-1-copy/

That's my pitch. I don't promise you anything. Just a shared wordpress blog and IRC channel full of nerds talking and encouraging each other to take the leap from "makes free games on weekends", to "sells games"; And some of us from 1 core game to maybe two.

It should be a crazy month.

[Vino]

Oddly enough my game is due out October 31. If I don't go crazy before then, that is. I guess that means I'm in!

[meds]

OK, I'll try and push my game out for october, if I can get the current set of animations in without much trouble, finish the level editor and not have problems with enemy AI and no problems with the particle system I plan to write.

Heck, if all goes according to plan I'll be finished in a week


(unlikely I know).

[Grey Alien]

Love to join in, but alas I have a non-compete. Good luck everyone! Just get your mum/mom to buy a copy!

[Over00]

I'm in once (solo) and possibly twice (team). Now I still have to figure how to fit that stupid day job paying for the house and food in this...

[lennard]

Dude, you are seriously playing havoc with my mind and schedule. I'm working on both a Dungeon Demon update and releasing my first web game... and now I can't get this other pet project out of my mind. I would have to learn Flash and get it playable within 30 days...

I think I'm in.

[PoV]

Dude, you are seriously playing havoc with my mind and schedule.

Glad to help.

Yeah this thing exploded. The internet is littered with "I'm In" posts in practically every game making related forum imaginable. So very cool.

[Olofson]

I'm between jobs (my former employer went bankrupt), intending to start up a consultancy business (anyone needing some rheology software or firmware work done? ) - and as a long term project, becoming an indie game developer.

And now this!?

So... What can I do in some 30 days? Most of my old spare time projects and designs pretty much rely on lots of fun levels and stuff, which takes lots of work and testing - so I figure I basically have two options here:

1. Come up with some interesting game mechanics that doesn't really need lots of levels and media, or...
2. Start selling the alpha version, including free updates all the way to the final release.

...or both, if I can actually pull the first one off.

[mooflu]

I'm between jobs (my former employer went bankrupt), intending to start up a consultancy business (anyone needing some rheology software or firmware work done? ) - and as a long term project, becoming an indie game developer.

And now this!?

So... What can I do in some 30 days? Most of my old spare time projects and designs pretty much rely on lots of fun levels and stuff, which takes lots of work and testing - so I figure I basically have two options here:

1. Come up with some interesting game mechanics that doesn't really need lots of levels and media, or...
2. Start selling the alpha version, including free updates all the way to the final release.

...or both, if I can actually pull the first one off.

There's also option 3 which is not to rush it, unless you really only want to sell 1 copy instead of a few more.

Set up a payment processor, bank account, web site. These things take a bit of time. There are forms to fill out and sign, etc.
There's a sticky thread "How to Sell Your Game - Boot Camp" in this forum worth a read.

You already have a game you could sell in Kobo Deluxe. It just needs a bit more spit and polish. I just tried it on Windows. It looks nicer then what I remember the last time I played it on Linux , but it would quit when I switched video modes and it didn't have an installer.

If you concentrate on one platform it's probably not too much work to finish it off.

[Olofson]

There's also option 3 which is not to rush it, unless you really only want to sell 1 copy instead of a few more.

Actually, my first thought was to just make something minimalistic at a very low price point - just to make some noise, basically. Not really aiming for a hit!

You already have a game you could sell in Kobo Deluxe.

Well, the problem is that the game logic is still based on the GPL code from XKobo (which is the work of many authors) - which means the entire game needs to stay open source. Indeed, I can still sell binaries with nice installers and stuff, but so could anyone else.

I could make the full graphics and soundtrack available only to registered users, or something like that, but I'm guessing the market for that would be rather limited for a game like this.

It just needs a bit more spit and polish. I just tried it on Windows. It looks nicer then what I remember the last time I played it on Linux , but it would quit when I switched video modes and it didn't have an installer.

Working on the spit and polish every now and then, but for the aforementioned reasons, it's not top priority right now...

In version 0.5.0, all graphics has been replaced, so that might be it. Also, 0.5.1 replaces all remaining 8 bit samples with AGW (structured audio), and adds a bunch of new sound effects as well.

The mode switch crash is a known problem, and I believe it's fixed in my local version.

I've been thinking of installers as something you do when the game is actually finished, so I've never gotten around to it.

If you concentrate on one platform it's probably not too much work to finish it off.

99.9% (at least) of the code is identical across all platforms, so that doesn't really make much of a difference. Also, testing on multiple platforms only finds "sleeping" bugs faster, so it cold even be considered a bonus.

[mooflu]

Actually, my first thought was to just make something minimalistic at a very low price point - just to make some noise, basically. Not really aiming for a hit!

No worries, chances are it won't be a hit (I said a "few more")

Well, the problem is that the game logic is still based on the GPL code from XKobo (which is the work of many authors) - which means the entire game needs to stay open source. Indeed, I can still sell binaries with nice installers and stuff, but so could anyone else.

I could make the full graphics and soundtrack available only to registered users, or something like that, but I'm guessing the market for that would be rather limited for a game like this.

True, if you are not the sole copyright owner, there are limited options for value add (convenience of packaging, online features available only to paying users).

However it would allow you to concentrate on the stuff that isn't code.

If you start with something new, you could use a free XKobo as a promotional item to direct eyeballs to your new creation.

I've been thinking of installers as something you do when the game is actually finished, so I've never gotten around to it.

I usually have a list of must-haves/showstoppers on my todo list. This goes beyond code (installer, docs, web site, etc.) . The game is finished when all is done, not just the code.

99.9% (at least) of the code is identical across all platforms, so that doesn't really make much of a difference. Also, testing on multiple platforms only finds "sleeping" bugs faster, so it cold even be considered a bonus.

All my games are cross platform as well. However, as I mentioned, there's more to deal with than just code. I tend to focus on one platform and stagger the releases. If something goes wrong and there are support issues it's better if they don't show up at the same time...

[Mattias Gustavsson]

I think I'm in.

Me too

[speeder]

Technically I am already in...

My game is non-crippled shareware, so the person does not need to pay it to have it, and I already put a place in my site to someone "register" the game (for 5 USD).

It is just that noone registered it yet (one person donated 4 USD, thus 1 USD short of being a sale).

[Olofson]

Well, in that case... I've actually received a $10 donation for Kobo Deluxe, despite not having a "Donate" button or anything.

[Olofson]

Speaking of which... Latest update on my project.