so I started my own video game studio

[BlindMessiah94]

Thanks for the advices, I'm trying to be careful but being the enthusiastic CEO of the company makes it hard to not sound like an advertiser! And besides, I do intend to contact them, but I want to have a little more to show beforehand.

Finding good music composers is pretty hard, and I intend to hire a full time sound designer/composer before the end of the year. I'd have to hear what you do before offering anything of course, but I'll definitely listen to your portfolio if you send it to me Aside from that, you'd have to be willing to move out to Quebec, and speaking french or intending to learn the language would definitely help (but isn't a must).

I would gladly send you a portfolio if you're interested. I actually live in Vancouver, so I'm at least in the same country

I agree that finding good composers is difficult. As a composer I'd say it's equally difficult finding good designers to work with.
I would love to send you some stuff if you would like to have a listen when the time comes. But it's more important that the sound you are looking for is what I can offer, and that we work well together.

PM me if you'd like me to send you some of my work.

 

[gamer_parent]

wow... good for you!

just a question, do you have any plans on how you intend to raise your half a million? I'm actually trying to start my own gaming dev company as well. The venture capitalist groups I've spoken to generally will not start putting down the big money you've picked up enough steam by yourself. But one of the things that they said which stuck with me was that you need to be prepared to deal with your growing pains. Not that part where you go from 0 users to 100,000 users. That's peanuts. But rather, trying to break the 500K mark apparently is WIDELY expensive for a lot of start up tech firms. That is, you need sustainable growth.

Another question, do you do contractual works as just a dev studio? It seems like a lot of publishers now a days go the way of just contracting out dev jobs instead of develop their own team. But it seems you're playing both roles right now. Any chance that you would do contract dev work if it came to you?

 

[LordSphinx]

I'll be honest, I'm damn impressed.

I don't really have a question... well sorta, I guess.

See, I like to write short stories and scripts... and it's been one of my dreams to write for a game. But, problem is, I'm only 15. So, I guess my question is, if an unpublished writer approached you looking for a job, would you take a look at some of his work and possibly hire him/her?

As I stated earlier, I don't have enough work for a writer full time, so I'd rather find someone on the team who also have good writing skills than hire someone from the exterior for that purpose (there are a lot of game designers who actually have a background in literature). Besides, there a re a lot of people aspiring to writing for games, so someone who has a limited background wouldn't have much of a competitive advantage to make me consider them over the others. I guess I'd have to meet the person personally and know if I feel like I can trust them with the task.

Im actually curious about the level of customisation thats supposed to be available in the titular sword in Swordcraft.

I caught a mention that specific attack types would get specific elements, but im more intrested in:

-How many elements you are thinking about implementing.

-If youre going to stick with the basic sword style. e.g. A blade, hilt and pommel with varying proportions and colors.

For now, the game is designed around 9 different powers. These powers can be leveled more than once, and you can't max out everything. You could, for instance, have a little of everything in the sword, or max out only a few powers and forget about the rest. Thus the game is meant to be short, but with a good replay value.

wow... good for you!

just a question, do you have any plans on how you intend to raise your half a million? I'm actually trying to start my own gaming dev company as well. The venture capitalist groups I've spoken to generally will not start putting down the big money you've picked up enough steam by yourself. But one of the things that they said which stuck with me was that you need to be prepared to deal with your growing pains. Not that part where you go from 0 users to 100,000 users. That's peanuts. But rather, trying to break the 500K mark apparently is WIDELY expensive for a lot of start up tech firms. That is, you need sustainable growth.

Another question, do you do contractual works as just a dev studio? It seems like a lot of publishers now a days go the way of just contracting out dev jobs instead of develop their own team. But it seems you're playing both roles right now. Any chance that you would do contract dev work if it came to you?

How I get around to obtain that money is the most difficult thing in the process of starting up the business, I can tell you that! But my business plan clearly shows that it's worth the investment, and by the end of the day, that's what they want to see. I also explained earlier how I build up my cash on hand by using each previous loan or grant to convince the next to pitch in. It's a very fragile build up where if someone gets out, everybody does, and that is a very stressful thing to manage. I'll probably spend more time running after the money than actually design the game on which the studio works. That's a compromise I am willing to make in order to bring my vision to life!

As for doing contractual work, that's actually the kind of thing I need to avoid. The main goal of Nine Dots Studio is to influence how this industry rolls, and I think that the solution is to be self publishing our titles. This is something that is harder to do, but much more viable in the long term. I have to choose between not having control on deadlines, milestones and expectations and have to share the game's generated revenue between the publisher and the studio, who would probably end up with a puny 20%, or be my own publisher and only have to give away 30% to the distributor such as Steam or Microsoft. That's a huge difference.

The thing is, now that digital distribution is getting so big, the expertise from huge publishers isn't relevant anymore. At first, developers needed them for marketing, manufacturers, distribution, retailers, etc. Digital distribution makes everything simpler. Having a bigger share of the sales means that you don't need to sell as much copies of the game to be profitable, which in turn reduces the requirement for a bloated marketing budget. Meanwhile, I cut the middleman and we can do the games we want, answering only to our consumers and ourselves. THAT is a development dream. And I intend to make it true

 

[Secret world leader (shhh)]

What stage of development are you at in the game just now?
Will the game be in 2D or 3D?
Will you be releasing it on PC/steam?

 

[REvolve]

I admire your boldness in this venture; not many people would do/have done what you're trying!

My question: If someone (i.e. myself) is interested in entering the game industry as a programmer or developer with an engineering degree, what would be the best way for them to do it? I find I satisfy all of the requirements for a job save industrial experience, and I don't know how to get that in the game industry if everyone is asking for it!

Best of luck to you and your new studio!

 

[omega 616]

My question is, are you going to be listening to gamers in terms of annoyances?

Such as unskippable cutscenes, being forced listening to NPC's (mainly on the second or more play throughs), being forced into a training room (again on the second or more play throughs). You know, The kind of stuff all gamers don't like.

 

[LordSphinx]

What stage of development are you at in the game just now?
Will the game be in 2D or 3D?
Will you be releasing it on PC/steam?

We've just finished our prototype and are now starting development on the title. The other questions have already been answered in previous posts

I admire your boldness in this venture; not many people would do/have done what you're trying!

My question: If someone (i.e. myself) is interested in entering the game industry as a programmer or developer with an engineering degree, what would be the best way for them to do it? I find I satisfy all of the requirements for a job save industrial experience, and I don't know how to get that in the game industry if everyone is asking for it!

Best of luck to you and your new studio!

Programmers are rare, they are sought after and anyone competent can find a job in game development if he looks around and pitch in at every opportunity. Just be confident in your abilities and start speaking to people. It's even easier if you got some experience in programming, no matter the field.

My question is, are you going to be listening to gamers in terms of annoyances?

Such as unskippable cutscenes, being forced listening to NPC's (mainly on the second or more play throughs), being forced into a training room (again on the second or more play throughs). You know, The kind of stuff all gamers don't like.

I don't want to force anything down the player's throat, but I will eventually make titles that have a strong narrative focus and thus I'll have to direct the player's attention to key moment. As for tutorials, I prefer an approach that completely separates the tutorial from the main game. Let those who want to instruct themselves about the game do so, without getting in the way of those who don't care. Besides, any tutorial feels artificial IMO, unless the notions are introduced in very, very, very small increments.

So short answer: yes, we'll do our best to avoid annoyances, but we want to use the medium to say something meaningful rather than treat our products like toys, and that means that sometimes, we will need to direct the player's attention toward something else than gameplay.

 

[similar.squirrel]

The very best of luck to you, man. I will keep an eye out for upcoming releases.

 

[Gunner_Guardian]

I also encourage you to release games on steam, a lot of hit indie titles have had the majority of their sales on that platform including Super Meat Boy and in general the platform is really friendly at exposing small but fun titles but whatever it's your company if your that afraid of pirates.

I'm a PC gamer and I'm interested in this sword game.

 

[LordSphinx]

I also encourage you to release games on steam, a lot of hit indie titles have had the majority of their sales on that platform including Super Meat Boy and in general the platform is really friendly at exposing small but fun titles but whatever it's your company if your that afraid of pirates.

I'm a PC gamer and I'm interested in this sword game.

Well, from this thread I can definitely see a recurring interest in having this game on PC, and I do have dedicated PC gamers in my team. If I keep hearing it as often I'll certainly give more consideration to it. But I still have to strike a deal with Steam first, and that is a time consuming endeavor, so I won't start this process unless I'm sure that I can manage.

 

[omega 616]

My question is, are you going to be listening to gamers in terms of annoyances?

Such as unskippable cutscenes, being forced listening to NPC's (mainly on the second or more play throughs), being forced into a training room (again on the second or more play throughs). You know, The kind of stuff all gamers don't like.

I don't want to force anything down the player's throat, but I will eventually make titles that have a strong narrative focus and thus I'll have to direct the player's attention to key moment. As for tutorials, I prefer an approach that completely separates the tutorial from the main game. Let those who want to instruct themselves about the game do so, without getting in the way of those who don't care. Besides, any tutorial feels artificial IMO, unless the notions are introduced in very, very, very small increments.

So short answer: yes, we'll do our best to avoid annoyances, but we want to use the medium to say something meaningful rather than treat our products like toys, and that means that sometimes, we will need to direct the player's attention toward something else than gameplay.

Sweet!

What about in balance 'cos it sounds like you might run into the same problem as the magicka dev team ran into with the steam beam, if they nerf that beam that changes all the other spells aswell. So will you leave OP stuff in or what?

Making the game harder (increasing enemy numbers or health) will balance out that one build but 'cos the game is hard now thats the only effective build thing. The same will happen if you nerf the build, it will trickle down to the effect the other things (I imagine) meaning the game will be made harder.

 

[holographicman]

how did you get into game testing?
and what skills do you need?

good luck man i hope 9 dots makes it big

 

[Dogstile]

So, is there anything you'd like to ask to the CEO of Nine Dots Studio?

Oh, its quite simple.

How hard exactly is it to get into game design? I mean, i'm learning C++ and Java, but i've heard that most companies use their own engines and their own modified languages. Would this mean that i'm learning to logic currently and that i'll have to apply that logic, rather than the language, to a company?

 

[LordSphinx]

Sweet!

What about in balance 'cos it sounds like you might run into the same problem as the magicka dev team ran into with the steam beam, if they nerf that beam that changes all the other spells aswell. So will you leave OP stuff in or what?

Making the game harder (increasing enemy numbers or health) will balance out that one build but 'cos the game is hard now thats the only effective build thing. The same will happen if you nerf the build, it will trickle down to the effect the other things (I imagine) meaning the game will be made harder.

My first passion is game design, and my favorite field in game design is game balance, so it a matter I hold dearly at heart. I see it this way: when a development team work on 5 options, if one of those options is much better than the rest, it's like tossing away all the hard work that was put in making the 4 other choices, and that's as disrespectful for my development team as it is for the consumers, who are punished for not making "the right choice". So I think that in an ideal world, the game should be well balanced from the start, it shouldn't be an oversight or something you start tweaking only late in the production. But if we can't make it right at first try, well we'll definitely try to re-tweak the balance to avoid any kind of clear exploit. But what I often see in most RPGs is that while doing some game balance adjustment, they nerf something while boosting something else. This is dangerous. Unless there is a clear exploit, I think that only boosting the weaker one up to par without changing the stronger one will result in no one losing their build and more satisfaction with the game overall.

how did you get into game testing?
and what skills do you need?

good luck man i hope 9 dots makes it big

Activision was just starting out a QA division in Quebec, in fact when I got in we were only 12 employees there. I got the job two weeks after completing a game design degree. I was hoping to use QA as an entry point in the industry to eventually get a job as Game Designer at Beenox, the local Activision game development studio, but that's not what came up. I regret nothing, as I learned a lot of different things and working there was a blast: I loved the people and I loved the job. The only thing is to make sure not to get stuck there. Eventually you stop learning and it becomes routine. Then is a good time to move out, assess what you gained and start looking for the next step in your career. Of course, it is entirely possible to make a career in QA, if you are fit for the role. I'm pretty sure that Vice President of Quality Assurance in a large publishing company is the kind of job you can hardly be ashamed of!

For the skills, you need to have good critical thinking and a varied experience related to games. If you do nothing but play shooters online, you won't impress us. Also, game skills won't impress anyone: when you work on a game 40 hours a week for months, I swear that you get godly at it. So instead, try to find bugs, and not just the graphical kinds. Also, the job isn't just about looking out for bugs: it's also about communicating them to the team. So take into consideration the communication skills required to write comprehensive reports on said bugs. Develop the vocabulary and learn the basics of how a game is made. Inverted normal maps, skyboxes, Z-fighting, First Party Requirements... these are just a few terms we use commonly when testing games. I suggest that you visit gamasutra's sister site, gamecareerguide, to find a few tips on how to land a job in test.

So, is there anything you'd like to ask to the CEO of Nine Dots Studio?

Oh, its quite simple.

How hard exactly is it to get into game design? I mean, i'm learning C++ and Java, but i've heard that most companies use their own engines and their own modified languages. Would this mean that i'm learning to logic currently and that i'll have to apply that logic, rather than the language, to a company?

Game Design does not equal programing. It is true that learning how to program a game is a good additional skill for a game designer, but it is far from the most important skill to have. Very bad schools will often create shallow game programming courses and then call it a game design degree, but that's utter bullshit. A game designer's job isn't to write the code, but to build a clear vision of what the game will be and communicate this vision efficiently to the whole team. The game designer is an architect. He makes the blueprints of the game, and then he makes sure that everyone understand these blueprints.

As for how hard it is: It is the hardest field to get in. By far. And in most case, employers make poor choices for their designers, making it all the more frustrating when trying so hard to get in there.

 

[gamer_parent]

How I get around to obtain that money is the most difficult thing in the process of starting up the business, I can tell you that! But my business plan clearly shows that it's worth the investment, and by the end of the day, that's what they want to see. I also explained earlier how I build up my cash on hand by using each previous loan or grant to convince the next to pitch in. It's a very fragile build up where if someone gets out, everybody does, and that is a very stressful thing to manage. I'll probably spend more time running after the money than actually design the game on which the studio works. That's a compromise I am willing to make in order to bring my vision to life!

As for doing contractual work, that's actually the kind of thing I need to avoid. The main goal of Nine Dots Studio is to influence how this industry rolls, and I think that the solution is to be self publishing our titles. This is something that is harder to do, but much more viable in the long term. I have to choose between not having control on deadlines, milestones and expectations and have to share the game's generated revenue between the publisher and the studio, who would probably end up with a puny 20%, or be my own publisher and only have to give away 30% to the distributor such as Steam or Microsoft. That's a huge difference.

The thing is, now that digital distribution is getting so big, the expertise from huge publishers isn't relevant anymore. At first, developers needed them for marketing, manufacturers, distribution, retailers, etc. Digital distribution makes everything simpler. Having a bigger share of the sales means that you don't need to sell as much copies of the game to be profitable, which in turn reduces the requirement for a bloated marketing budget. Meanwhile, I cut the middleman and we can do the games we want, answering only to our consumers and ourselves. THAT is a development dream. And I intend to make it true

Good observation on both, I believe.

Just out of curiosity, do you think using prototyping as a means to fund a project is a good option?

 

[LordSphinx]

Just out of curiosity, do you think using prototyping as a means to fund a project is a good option?

It's risky, but very often a necessary evil. For instance, you can't get an approval for your game from a First Party without having something to show about your game. Yet, investors will be much more willing to join in on the project if they know that you have a deal with a big company such as Nintendo, Sony or Microsoft. Besides, even them can be offering part of the funding if they like what they see. The reason why it's risky is that if you only get enough funding to build a prototype, then you start searching for more funding, you can easily become trapped between bad options and feel obliged to pick one, and you end up being screwed. So I'll try to get everything I can to build up a cushion, as it will give me both time and leverage to negotiate fair deals.

 

[Amondren]

Kudos it takes a lot of courage to quit a job to start up your own company. I wish you the best of luck and with luck I'll see your games in the top sellers on XBOX live.

 

[rabidmidget]

As someone who is planning on joining the (preferably indie) game industry as well (uni student atm), I salute you for your leap into the world of Indie Game development!

I would say that I would buy your game, but us Australians don't get XLIG, due once again, to our ratings system.

 

[LordSphinx]

As someone who is planning on joining the (preferably indie) game industry as well (uni student atm), I salute you for your leap into the world of Indie Game development!

I would say that I would buy your game, but us Australians don't get XLIG, due once again, to our ratings system.

Well there have been talks of changing the rating system down there, so who knows? At least for once it's looking bright. We'll see!

 

[Plurralbles]

your site is so creative it has nothing to say!