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Developing an indie videogame as an investment opportunity?

by Curtis2011
10 replies
I spend a lot of leisure time enjoying video games.

One thing I have noticed in the last few years is that indie video games (games developed by small start ups) are really taking off. A large part of this is due to Steam's publishing platform which seems to make it relatively easy for anyone who creates a video game to publish it through their system to a very large audience. From what I've heard, Steam takes something like 30% of revenue, which doesn't sound like a terrible deal considering they essentially do all the marketing for your game that you'll need, if the game design is appealing to consumers.

As an avid video game player, I have noticed that there have been a lot of small studios consisting of 1 to 10 amateur game developers that have produced games that go on to bring in multi-millions in revenue. One of my favorite examples is a simple side scrolling game called Terraria. Apparently the entire release version of the game was developed by only two people in 5 months, and it went on to sell more than a million copies in its first year, around a price point of $9.99 (although sometimes on sale for less).

In other words, 5 months of development time plus a great game design resulted in both these people becoming millionaires. To me, that sounds like a great investment.

My question is: Does anyone have any clue if it is possible to outsource the entire creation of a video game, if I personally created a 100% complete design document for it before outsourcing began?

I am a great idea guy but I sadly have no programming skills or artistic ability, both of which would likely be required to actually create a video game of any size. However, I do think that I have a strong ability to identify what type of game would be well-received by the indie game market, and to design a game that would sell well. I also have experience hiring plenty of people in the past for smaller projects like website development, so I know how to negotiate with freelancers in general.

Is it possible for one person to create a video game design document, then simply outsource the entire creation of the game from start to finish? Does anyone have any resources or information on someone who has done this before?
#developing #indie #investment #opportunity #videogame
  • Profile picture of the author Saul
    sounds like a risky plan.

    As an avid minecraft player I know *exactly* what you mean by small indie companies becoming multimillionaire firms. Mojang is probably the more extreme case, but it's not the only one, by far.

    I believe Youtube is part of the recent success of so many indie games, and yes - there are definitely good opportunities going on in the gaming sector right now.

    As to the whole outsourcing...mmh... I don't know. Outsourcing is my actual job offline, I work for the biggest outsourcer in Italy, so I know all the pitfalls that outsourcing can generate if it's not followed very very closely.

    On the other hand I don't know much about game development, but it sure sounds like something that could become a LOT more complicated when outsourced. As a long time player (which knows next to nothing about game development) and a seasoned outsourcer I would not recommend it.

    It feels to me (but again, it's just a gut feeling, I'm not talking because of experience or real factual knowledge) like something that is more suited for a partnership, a collaborative effort to be pursued in close contact with your partners.

    It takes PASSION to build a great game (in my player opinion, not business advice) and that's not something you usually find when outsourcing stuff. You might find bargains, efficiency, quality (if you're lucky), savings, lots of stuff... but not passion, in my opinion.

    Outsourcing and passion don't really go hand in hand in my experience

    ciao!
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  • Profile picture of the author Steven Saczkowski
    Nothing is ever too risky, and if it is then you shouldn't be in business.

    I think it's a great idea, however you need to factor in some important points. The way people make money now in games is not like before. How much did it cost Terraira to make that game, how much of a cut goes to the network they are selling it on, how much profit do they make? The volume needs to be extremely high. This is why free games, games that are fun and addictive make money because it's the buy-in options in the games that generates the revenue, not the ticket price. Then you have advertising options etc....

    Do more research on the "development process". Do a cost + profit analysis and assess the risk.

    Good luck!
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    • Profile picture of the author LilBlackDress
      Just FYI there is a pretty interesting documentary about indie game developers developing their games called "Indie Game: The Movie". It is on instant download on Netflix. If you haven't seen it, you may get some ideas from it.
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  • Profile picture of the author Mike Hlatky
    Remember that the people with huge success stories are the exceptions, not the rule. But, if you have the time and money to develop and market a game, I don't see why you shouldn't. You could even try something on Kickstarter to drum up interest.

    Just don't expect to develop a game, put it up on Steam, and then sell 1 million copies
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    • Profile picture of the author Curtis2011
      Originally Posted by Saul View Post

      It takes PASSION to build a great game (in my player opinion, not business advice) and that's not something you usually find when outsourcing stuff. You might find bargains, efficiency, quality (if you're lucky), savings, lots of stuff... but not passion, in my opinion.

      Outsourcing and passion don't really go hand in hand in my experience

      ciao!
      I definitely understand what you are saying. What I am talking about is designing literally every button and function in the game myself, then simply outsourcing the programming of it and the art and sound assets. So, it would be my own design, just not built by me.

      Originally Posted by Mike Hlatky View Post

      Just don't expect to develop a game, put it up on Steam, and then sell 1 million copies
      :rolleyes:

      Yes it's true that the success stories are exceptions. But at the same time, I think most indie game developers are very inexperienced at marketing in any shape or form. Most of the games that I see appear to have been built with a "I'm building the game I want to make, then I'll just sit and hope that customers want it too" instead of a "what type of game is there large demand for?" approach.

      I think if one were to develop a game from scratch based on customer demand, instead of just 'passion' (as someone mentioned above), that there would be a much higher chance of success.

      Originally Posted by LilBlackDress View Post

      Just FYI there is a pretty interesting documentary about indie game developers developing their games called "Indie Game: The Movie". It is on instant download on Netflix. If you haven't seen it, you may get some ideas from it.
      I've seen it. Overall, I thought it was pretty terrible, mostly because of how socially inept it made video game developers seem. Then again, perhaps most indie game developers are that awkward...
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  • Profile picture of the author FreeMeal
    Check out "Indie Game: The Movie" it's a brilliant documentary following the lives of a few indie game developers. Developing a game, getting it to market, and promoting it is something that shouldn't be taken lightly.
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  • Profile picture of the author Vin Venture
    I've been a gamer my entire life and worked in the industry for 5 years - I definitely wouldn't recommend trying to design and outsource the development of a game, at least not how you're presented the plan.

    The development process is as simple as "here's a game design, code it", at least not for any successful games (indie or not). As the designer, you need to be very hands on - working closely with your devs to ensure your vision is created into something tangible.

    That being said, there is HUGE potential with indie games right now, especially with the new consoles a few months away. If you're passionate about gaming, have a unique and fresh idea you could crowd source the funding and start building a proper development team; with people who can get on board with your idea and have an equal passion for gaming.
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  • Profile picture of the author Edward Floyd
    I'm actually a game developer myself, with a title on Steam, and this topic interests me a lot.

    It's definitely a huge effort to develop a game, and while many indies do hit it big, they are the special cases, as people have noted. It's the same in any industry (like IM). You have the big shots, but for every one of those there are also 1000 people who don't make it. Hiring a two person team full time to develop a game for 8 months would probably cost about $70,000 at minimum. Terraria would have taken a team of very good programmers and game designers - not your average coders.

    If there are any marketing specialists in the indie games niche, let me know!
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  • Profile picture of the author tcrews
    It's risky for a PC game. If you do not have active devs, your game will suffer. Not all games sells millions
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    • Profile picture of the author RDInfo
      I have some experience making and selling infoproducts and some experience making video games.
      Making a video game is much more complex and time consuming than making an infoproduct!
      Basically, the design document of a video game could be a final infoproduct ready to be sold.
      But to make the final video game you need to convert your ideas in code, images (for 2d games), meshes+materials+textures+animations (for 3d games), sounds, effects, others systems to manage the entities in the virtual world (collisions, physics, ...)
      And even if you manage to have a functional game on your machine, it may have render problems on others machines. So yes it is a difficult task and there is a lot of work required compared to the uncertain rewards.

      But as you say some indie games have brought a lot of money so it can be done.

      I have also found good ideas for games with players asking for some game and apparently ready to buy, but creating a good game is not an easy task.
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