Post by Wechenbetelly in Request for opinions on the development of indie video games

Viewing post in Request for opinions on the development of indie video games

Like any business, video game development can be profitable, but there are no guarantees. Even if your games are well received, it will probably take several years until you see any returns. And even then you would probably make more per hour by flipping burgers. If you’re seriously considering game development as a source of income/career I would recommend getting a book or two on the topic. Those can answer a lot of questions in great detail. I remember The Art of Game Design (by Jesse Schell) and Level Up! - The Guide to Great Video Game Design (by Scott Rogers) being quite good, but I don’t have my copies anymore and don’t remember if they go into the financial aspects.

On the other hand: If you want to go into games development out of passion there should be nothing stopping you - including common sense. ;)

And lastly: To get a vague, initial impression if your game ideas would do well, look at some free games from the same genre (here on itch.io and elsewhere). That’s what you would be competing with right now.

I hope this helped you.

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Tepuysoft4 years ago

Thank you very much for the information, it is very complete.

Do you know how much is the average minimum sales in general that a new indie video game can reach?

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Wechenbetelly4 years ago (1 edit) (+1)

Well… There is no such thing as an “average minimum sales in general” when you are starting out making games. You will need to work a regular job to support yourself for at least the first few years. I wouldn’t want to be too disheartening, but your first few (free) games won’t reach more than maybe a hundred people. Even when they are free, people might simply not have the time in their day to check if the game they downloaded 3 month ago is any good or not and then they might simply forget. I would say that, here on itch, a better metric than sales is followers - especially when you’re starting out. Those are the people who would ask “What has Argenis Rodriguez been up to?”, rather than stumbling over your current new game by chance. At this moment in time, there were 60 new, paid releases over the past 7 days and 73 “free” ones (which users could still donate for) on itch.io alone. That is what you would be competing with for attention - at the moment. And in my personal, limited experience, as game development becomes more and more accessible that number will always rather go up than down.

If you want to know about expected income for an employment as a software developer in that niche… That is a question that you should forward to Venezuelan game devs. You wrote about the difficult legal situation, which will probably be a factor. And I wouldn’t know the first thing about Venezuelan taxes. ;)

A bit of advice in that regard: Try to look up interviews with independent developers before you contact them. Even if your questions weren’t answered you might be able to reference that interview, showing (or underlining) that you actually care about what they have to say and didn’t just write the same mail to 20 studios. If you’ve written bug reports or fan mail to any devs try to contact them first. There’s a chance that they would remember you.

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Tepuysoft4 years ago

Excellent I already have many things clear, the work that I have aside is design and development of website and virtual stores.

I am aware that my first games will not reach many people. What do developers gain by publishing free games and not receiving payment for it?

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Wechenbetelly4 years ago(+2)

The simple pleasure of sharing their work for people to enjoy. :) Sometimes some aforementioned followers… And sometimes donations - if they enable those. Potential support for their Patreon account, if they have one.

Keep in mind that not every game is the new Undertale. Sometimes you just spend a month on something small and then realize it’s not good enough to ask money for. But somebody might still like it enough to offer up a donation or constructive feedback. Or they see something in it that you didn’t and have some wholesome, free entertainment. Either way, giving a game away for free is better than just deleting it.

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