Quote: You dont understand.If an indie needs x amount of money for development,he needs more than x+ worth of immovables to be able to pay it back.

No. You don't understand. I am not trying to get a loan, I am thinking about loaning out my 'own' money to independant developers to help the game industry move away from the state of static development that I currently believe it is in. Since this is my own money, I get to dictate why and to whom I loan it to, regardless of collateral and ability to repay.

would said loan service be available internationally?

Quote: Original post by bit64
I planned on funding this myself, not through a bank loan.
Anyway, good feedback thanks.
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No. You don't understand. I am not trying to get a loan, I am thinking about loaning out my 'own' money to independant developers to help the game industry move away from the state of static development that I currently believe it is in. Since this is my own money, I get to dictate why and to whom I loan it to, regardless of collateral and ability to repay.

*Perks up* [smile] I have to admit, you are quite some entrepreneur. What I think you should do is draft up a design model showing your idea in action - your idea is definitly there and has been discussed. All you would have to do is come up with the actual design - showing a complete sample of what would happen. I think undoubtly you could definitly find people - but finding people who will be working on something worth while is another aspect.

Anyways if you decide to persue your idea - I'd like to have a general chat about it sometime. The whole approach of it intrigues me and is something that would be of intrest to me. Best of luck in your endevors!

- Drew

Quote: would said loan service be available internationally?

I would like for them to be, but honestly I have no idea what that would entail. I am still in the early stages of planning. I need to know if this would be worth my time first :) If I find that it is something I want to pursue I imagine I would need a good lawyer and accountant to answer those questions.

Sounds like you wan't to be an Angel investor. High Risk, High Returns. I think this idea is good although I would never loan out an astronomical amount of money.


Has anyone ever thought of gathering up a team that invests their own money into the project, lets say $2500. Each developer would have an equal stake in the product. The devlopment money can be spent on real licensed software, professional Audio, etc... If you have 10 developers this would start the devlopment company with $25,000 of self invested capital. This would also pay for incorporating a business, and the personal investment would be an incentive for you to work your ass off to reap the benefits. If more money is needed you can ask for matching funds from an outside sponsor/investor such as the individual above.

Quote: Original post by Codemonger
Has anyone ever thought of gathering up a team that invests their own money into the project, lets say $2500. Each developer would have an equal stake in the product. The devlopment money can be spent on real licensed software, professional Audio, etc... If you have 10 developers this would start the devlopment company with $25,000 of self invested capital. This would also pay for incorporating a business, and the personal investment would be an incentive for you to work your ass off to reap the benefits. If more money is needed you can ask for matching funds from an outside sponsor/investor such as the individual above.

You mean do what every professional start-up developer does?

Quote: Original post by Drew_Benton
I agree and disagree with this statement. It is true that there are lots of people out there with the talents you have described - but they should not need the funding or organization handed to them to get something accompished. I think that those people should be able to make a game with 0 funding and have to manage the organization themsevles. Now I say this because I truly feel that there are enough free resources and tutorials online now that making a decent game is very realistic and possible. Being able to start with nothing and create something so grand is what separates the boys from the men in game programming. (err something like that [wink]). Once you can do it like that from nothing - doing it with something is a lot easier. The orginization I feel is also programmer/developer responsibility. They should be able to handle it all themsevles.

As nice as it would be to say that no one should need funding to get something accomplished, I think the relatively small number of indie games tells us reality doesn't quite match our hopes.

As great as free resources and tutorials are, it's still a lot of work to put a game together, and more than anything, that work requires time. Time which is hard to come by when you're working 40h a week. Which is where bit64's funding comes in handy.

I really think your idea has merit bit. At 20k each, 5 people working full time on a game for 2 years could really make something wonderful. At the same time, it's also risky business. To be successful, you'll need teams full of talent, and as someone who's tried to work on an indie team, that's hard to do.

I really think if this were to work, you'd have to have a hand in putting together those teams. Even something as simple as sorting out individuals based on a portfolio/demos to determine the cream of the crop, and then letting them match themselves up (because another important part of the equation is that everyone have an interest in the game being produced). I think that would greatly increase your chances of ROI.

And to answer your question, provided I had enough confidence in the team, I'd definitely sign that contract.

I'd definitely sign such a deal, providing that I was confident about myself and my team with regard to the project in question! I'd, however, be more pleased to have a "traditional" contract with added security.

However, what basically happens in your concept is: The full risk is placed on the developer, and the team will be completely broke after just one botched project, having to pay back their old loan AND try to make ends meet with a new one - no money is "generated", it's just loan business.

I think you can get that from a Bank (e.g. Team of 5 people, each one takes a 20k loan during one phase of the project). No need for a publisher anymore.

A 20k loan is easy to get nowadays. What's not easy is to make 100k to pay it back once the game is out.

Quote: think you can get that from a Bank (e.g. Team of 5 people, each one takes a 20k loan during one phase of the project). No need for a publisher anymore.

A 20k loan is easy to get nowadays. What's not easy is to make 100k to pay it back once the game is out.

Indeed that kind of loan is easy to get, if you have a job. However, if you want to start a game development company and dedicate your time to making a great game, this would be an oppurtunity to do that. That's all. You won't have to flip burgers on the weekend.

[Edited by - bit64 on January 20, 2005 5:23:40 PM]

I think its a good idea. You have a solid grounding on what you want to do, its just a case of fine tuning the details of what you want to do.
And yes, if I could get a team together I would go for this sort of thing. However, there is the marketing side of it, for example. If the application made, were to be sold on the internet, where would it be sold? what would it cost? etc. etc. These are things I wouldnt want to worry about as a developer. So I propose that you set up a website where you sell the games directly, and hence become the largest indie-game seller on the internet (unless there are any other sites out there already), of course advertising your presence on various other sites around the net. Whats your opinion on this idea?