![]() And if the sound just isn't right? That's you. Or the artist to get those animations fixed, also you. "But you need to remember that you are reliant on the programmer to get your art in, that's you. Having to create all aspects of the game adds some pretty significant stress, although some might also call this freedom. "If you get sick then engineering, art, sound and production team are out of commission. "If you are testing your game, then you are not technically developing your game," Escalante observes. Of course, it's crucial to keep in mind that as a one-person developer, absolutely everything falls under your care. You have little to lose and so much to gain in terms of standing out." The Escapists and Stardew Valley are prime examples of successful games made by solo developers but Versus Evil warns these are the exception, not the rule You can be experimental with art style, genre, mechanics, even marketing. You are free to make something completely different to the kind of safe bets the bigger companies are working on. If not, you can still fall back to developing on a shoestring - with the added advantage of a record of finishing games under your belt. If your game does well enough to fund future work, fantastic. "No indies start out with a pile of money. "Most of us start out by developing on a shoestring and making the absolute most of very little," says Larkin. Two people with no office will have significantly fewer monthly expenses than a team of ten, which would still be small for a studio today.Īs much as funding your next game with your most recent release can appear to be a highly sustainable business model, Larkin reminds developers that it is not essential given where most one-person studios begin. Herein lies a key advantage of being a one-person or even reasonably small studio: little to no overheard. Hope is not a strategy." Colm Larkin, GambrinousĮven $1m or $500,000 can be a major success for an individual developer if it's enough to recoup costs and potentially fund future projects. Focusing entirely on making a great game and hoping people notice it is a mistake. "Marketing is one of the most important things you need to do. The developer has had a successful launch, begun growing a community, delivered on their vision and promises, and now has a brand they can nurture." "Some games might not make $10m or more, but they can still be seen as a success at $2m," he says. So while success is indeed still possible, it depends on what you qualify as success. However, Steve Escalante - general manager at Dungeoneering's publisher Versus Evil - stresses that the sales and revenue generated by the likes of The Escapists or Stardew Valley are still the exception, not the rule. Yes, you need to work hard and invest time to reach people, but it is not impossible or a lottery." Your fans don't care about big-budget marketing campaigns or expensive production values. "Look at how Undertale and Stardew Valley saw massive success in the last year from one-person indies. "Success as a one-person developer is definitely possible," he tells. ![]() ![]() It's a disheartening market to be in, but Colm Larkin - the man behind one-person studio Gambrinous and creator of turn-based RPG Guild of Dungeoneering - urges his fellow developers not to give up hope. The rise of the indie games market over the past decade has taken the industry back to its roots: lone creatives building games from their bedroom, garage, kitchen table, and so on.īut with absolutely anyone now able to develop their own titles, the work required to release and maintain a best-seller can be incredibly daunting - particularly as the chances of success seem to be falling.įor every $10m global hit like The Escapists, there are countless games that never reached the audience their developers hoped for.
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