GOING COMMERCIAL?

Posts

chana
(Socrates would certainly not contadict me!)
1584
Sounds good, it would be interesting to know how many copies of To The Moon and Spelunky were sold, but if like Dyhalto writes :
" in the future, as long as the internet stays the way it is, this will change. People will be able to produce their art and earn a moderate living from even a limited audience. ",
then it's not all that important, I guess.
I've seen freely distributed games make $1,000 because people donate money.
Spelunky is pure gold. Most addictive indie game I've ever played. If it had been a commercial game from the start it would have been worth anything I was asked to pay for it. But if it had been a commercial game from the start, I might not have played it at all because it was commercial. There's the dilemma of going commercial for ya.

Anyway...
A common complaint I hear about any game I ever make is that it's Windows-only. Which I am sympathetic to; lack of any cross-platform support is the thing I like least about Rpg Maker. I wonder how much potential audience one loses by being Windows-only? When it's a free game you can shrug that criticism off, but if it's a commercial game I imagine you need to care about being accessible.
-Do you make games for money?
No. Simple enough answer.

-Given the chance, would you work on commercial games?
Before I did my course in Games Art & Design I'd have said "Yes, I would jump at any opportunity afforded to me!" since completing that course some time ago, I now say "Not a chance in Hell!"

The way the industry currently operates and the salaries and hours involved? Not to mention how that three year course almost entirely killed off any and all enthusiasm I had for video games? Count me out.

-Do you aspire to make games for money one day?
See the above.

-Why would you NOT make games for money?
I do not have the time/ effort/ skill required to make a game worthy of charging people for with entirely original assets, made in a "legitimate" and "relevant" engine to be released on a similarly "legit" and "relevant" platform.

Also, when making games for money you're making the kind of thing that will sell, you're not saying anything personal.

I like dicking about in RM2k3 because it's fun, because it's personal, and because I make stuff primarily for me.
Dudesoft
always a dudesoft, never a soft dude.
6309
Sam just about nailed down why I don't draw comics for a living. (and didn't pursue animation college)
In case anybody want to see donation system in working, here's the link to all the Dwarf Fortress donation report

They started doing this since 2007. Here's the number of donation during the past months.

January: $3689.27
December: $5468.33
November: $3199.46
October: $2503.28
September: $2793.95

If you've tried the game, you'd know that the game is mediocre by today's UI design standard ( all ascii arts, terrible control using alphabets on the keyboard only) but the game found its niche target. People who paid for the game paid after they've played the game, so there is no case of buying the game and feel that you've wasted your money on a crappy game. Every cent they made, they know that it's from people who truly appreciate their game and want to support them.

While you might say that this is an exception, there are more examples like this as I mentioned in earlier post. Admittedly, there are not many examples, but this is probably due to how risky and crazy it sound, releasing your game for free and just accepting donation. Nevertheless, it works for animator, game developer, and musicians, as far as I know.

author=flowerthief
A common complaint I hear about any game I ever make is that it's Windows-only. Which I am sympathetic to; lack of any cross-platform support is the thing I like least about Rpg Maker. I wonder how much potential audience one loses by being Windows-only? When it's a free game you can shrug that criticism off, but if it's a commercial game I imagine you need to care about being accessible.
I think the number of mac gamers is growing. While you don't lose many audience, I have a feeling that currently mac users appreciate your game more than window users, probably because of how rare it is to find a game in mac that is non-casual.

I really think you'd benefit a lot more if you switch the engine to renpy though. It's cross-platform, and all visual novel/renai features are already implemented for you. Heartache is a game that depends on fanbase, so to spread it to as many platforms as possible would help you find more fans easier.
^ Well, games I make aren't pure visual novels but have significant gameplay elements, but you're probably right.

However...seeing that tempts me to want to make a game like Dwarf Fortress! :P I love randomization in games, and it's actually pretty cool that ascii graphics can still be profitable in today's age. The audience can be sure that all that development time is going to substance rather than style.
-Do you make games for money?
Nope. I´m just making them because of I have a strange need to be creative.

-Given the chance, would you work on commercial games?
Without a doubt. Give me a place at Square-Enix right now and let´s build it up again to what it once was.

-Do you aspire to make games for money one day?
This thought have always struck me. It would be a giant plus if I could, but I think it´s limited to merely a dream for now. I don´t have the patience to learn any scripting language (except perhaps Ruby, but... yeah.)

-Why would you NOT make games for money?
If there is a project I feel very deeply about. Like the one I´m working with now (not the Zelda project). I don´t creat this one for money. I do this to prove myself that I actually am good for something in this life.
-Do you make games for money?
no
-Given the chance, would you work on commercial games?
no, I'm not really the person that would want to make games for money, casue i dont think i want that as a proffession, making games is just a fun hobby for me, and thats good enough for me.
-Do you aspire to make games for money one day?
not really
-Why would you NOT make games for money?
cause then i would have deadlines and a whole bunch of crap from media and stuff, im not trying to be a big-time seller, im just trying to have fun.
-Do you make games for money?
apparently. i think there's a difference between "making games for money" and "making games where money is a by-product" because the former implies that the pursuit of money is the main goal. it's not. the main goal is being able to support myself on what i do. the quote isn't "money is the root of all evil," the quote is "the love of money is the root of all evil." i don't love money. it's pretty cut and dry when you break it down.

-Given the chance, would you work on commercial games?
yes, with a caveat: i do not intend, and will never intend, to work for any large video game company. i disabused myself of that notion long ago.

-Do you aspire to make games for money one day?
already doing it. baby steps.

-Why would you NOT make games for money?
collaborations and small, experimental projects are nice to release every once in a while! they serve as portfolio builders as well as a nice treat for fans that follow your games.

also quoting this because it's fuckin' true

author=TFT
game design school is a waste of time and money when human beings in the indie scene are making splashes. 1 course of college could probably pay for 1 indie game. i find it staggering how people will spend thousands of american dollars to go to digipen only to end up handing sandwiches to blizzard employees when they could have taken that 1% of money from school to create a project with full creative freedom.

god save the games.
Do you make games for money?
No, I have been making them to tell a stories. It's been something I wanted to do, to visually tell a story through a game.

-Given the chance, would you work on commercial games?
Well, I actually have a chance right now. Some experienced Devs are interested in helping us go commercial.

Am I going to say yes? I'm a touch hesitant, sure if they pull through and I understand what they get out of it. Then I may go for it.

-Do you aspire to make games for money one day?
As a job it would be nice to live like that.

-Why would you NOT make games for money?
Simple, fear of my lack in skill to actually make a game. I have substantial skill in years of English courses, but as for creating a game it is fairly new.

Corfaisus
"It's frustrating because - as much as Corf is otherwise an irredeemable person - his 2k/3 mapping is on point." ~ psy_wombats
7874
author=CornedCosmos
Do you make games for money?
No, I have been making them to tell a stories. It's been something I wanted to do, to visually tell a story through a game.

-Given the chance, would you work on commercial games?
Well, I actually have a chance right now. Some experienced Devs are interested in helping us go commercial.

Am I going to say yes? I'm a touch hesitant, sure if they pull through and I understand what they get out of it. Then I may go for it.

-Do you aspire to make games for money one day?
As a job it would be nice to live like that.

-Why would you NOT make games for money?
Simple, fear of my lack in skill to actually make a game. I have substantial skill in years of English courses, but as for creating a game it is fairly new.



A necropost of 2 years, 6 months and 14 days. Why didn't you just start a new thread?
Max McGee
with sorrow down past the fence
9159
author=calunio
I read this piece today:

Why Do Developers Give Away Their Games For Free?

I know some people make games as a hobby, and some do as a job. But seeing all these people who originally made games for free starting to make commercial games (Terry Cavanagh's VVVVVV would be another example) made me wonder: how many people who make games for free would start making them for money, given the chance?

-Do you make games for money?
-Given the chance, would you work on commercial games?
-Do you aspire to make games for money one day?
-Why would you NOT make games for money?

- Hell yeah. You can buy them here. And my Kickstarter just cleared $10k before close of pledging. But they're not VIDEO games.
- Commercial video games? Well, do you mean my own or like...a major studios? My own? Sure. A small indie studio's? Sure. Working for a AAA? Not unless they're paying enough to actually live on. But I mean, nobody really HIRES writers/game designers, people hire artists, composers, and programmers so I really don't see this happening.
- Well, see the first answer.
- The main reasons I don't make VIDEO GAMES for money are: a) well I'd need to actually fucking finish something before I thought about selling it, b) then I'd have to not use stolen graphical resources or music I don't own the license to. Neither of these is an INSURMOUNTABLE obstacle, but they are obstacles. If I felt like it I could probably come up with at least ten distinct additional reasons I haven't gone commercial yet, but most of them can probably be synthesized to: trying to monetize something is extremely stressful, especially when you haven't gotten "actually finishing the video games you make" down to an exact science (and I'm something like 4 for 40 or worse, projects finished to projects started).

EDIT: HAHAHA I TOTALLY DIDN'T REALIZE THIS THREAD IS 2 AND A HALF YEARS OLD AND I'VE PROBABLY ALREADY POSTED IN IT BECAUSE I WAS ACTIVE BACK THEN.
EDIT2: Yeah I totally did post in this thread 2.5 years ago.

Corfaisus said- A necropost of 2 years, 6 months and 14 days. Why didn't you just start a new thread?

My reply

Goes to show I should pay attention to dates more often. I just got wrapped up into the topic, didn't even bother checking the date. Sorry!
BizarreMonkey
I'll never change. "Me" is better than your opinion, dummy!
1625
author=calunio
I read this piece today:

Why Do Developers Give Away Their Games For Free?

I know some people make games as a hobby, and some do as a job. But seeing all these people who originally made games for free starting to make commercial games (Terry Cavanagh's VVVVVV would be another example) made me wonder: how many people who make games for free would start making them for money, given the chance?

-Do you make games for money?
-Given the chance, would you work on commercial games?
-Do you aspire to make games for money one day?
-Why would you NOT make games for money?
This is a great thread.

Money isn't the endgame for me, I just love making games, and it's what I wanna do for the rest of my life, a donate button is something I already have and maybe merchandizing will come, but I doubt I'll ever charge people to play a game I or my collective makes. I could have already, with a game like Perseverance, for example.

I have loads of cool ideas, I like expressing them, I don't see the logic of making people pay to have me express them since it's more for my sake I do.

I'm all about sharing.
slash
APATHY IS FOR COWARDS
4158
I want to make enough money from my games to be able to spend more time making games and less time working a real job. Right now I'm only able to work on games and stuff I have passion for in my spare time, and if selling my games could buy me more spare time to make more things, well, I'm in for that.

I doubt I'd ever get rich making games, but it'd be nice to have more time to work on them, and money can buy you that time.

EDIT: Woah, I just saw how old this topic was, and also that I had posted in it two years ago... weird