I have worked on many hobbyist projects as games designer, from the most recent being "warscathed" and also another project this one i was Project Manager for (TimeOnline)

Sorry, i should have mentioned that in the opening post.

Quote: Original post by Skulburn
- Which engine would be the best investment for a longterm arrangement such as this?

It really does depend on the type of game you are looking to do and the market positioning you intend for it. If you are looking to do high end games then you might want to consider Unreal Engine 3, Gamebryo Element, Vicious Engine and so on. These will be out of your budget, but ultimately what you want to try and get if you a) don't intend rolling your own or b) aren't prepared to use something else to prototype in lieu of your final option.

If you want to do something smaller, casual perhaps then there are other solutions such as Garage Games stuff, C4 engine. These you can get hold of cheaply. They may work in lieu of your final option too (although bear in mind any publisher may consider this a risk).

Quote: Original post by Skulburn
- With Indie Licenses, can we sell our games without the game engine's creator receiving royalties and/or us pay the professional price of that engine?

It depends on the licensing terms of the engine. Almost certainly the high end stuff is going to require a licensing fee following an evaluation. Although some may let you evaluate for a very long time, on the understanding that if you sign then the publisher might foot the bill. UE3 is probably a better bet here.

The other engines you can pick up likely within your budget, although as I say you may not be taken as seriously by publishers if you are looking to do something much bigger.

It can seem impossible, but there are developers out there who started like you did. I would not say it is impossible but I would say you are at one end of a scale where it is going to be much more challenging. If you can find yourself some good people to work with and get that demo together with no requirement for income you might be able to do it. I can think of two studios that formed recently by doing just that and one of those was more or less totally made up of 'noobs', not that I mean that in any derogatory sense.

What you need are 'founding partners', not 'employees'. Do have an expectation that plenty of people will say 'Yes, I'm on board...just as soon as you get funded'. But someone else mentioned 'entrepreneurs' and there are others out there.

Good luck.

My_skull_is_burned wrote:

>I'm currently looking to start a professional Game Development Studio in the southwest of England. To the table i bring myself, an experienced Project Manager and Games Designer. I have studied "Game Design and Mechanics" in higher education, and also a side course in "Video Game Art".

Then you are not an "experienced" project manager or game designer.

>This isn't a Help Wanted as such but more of an announcement.

I'm pretty sure there are better boards than this one to post announcements.

>With Indie Licenses, can we sell our games without the game engine's creator receiving royalties and/or us pay the professional price of that engine?

It depends on which engine you license and what their EULA says and whether or not you can negotiate something with the engine owner.

>I've spoken with a few publishers and, i have contacts but without a project demo/finished project, no one will fund the studio. This is why (in my view) the studio would need one project, prehaps not even complete but to show the potential to possible publishers.

You're seriously jumping the gun here. You need game industry experience before you go off and start your own company. Read FAQ 29: http://www.sloperama.com/advice/lesson29.htm

>i do have quite a few industry friends which i did state in my opening post, and we have spoken about collaborating, however most of these friends are in the same profession as i am (Game Design) and I'm mainly seeking people in programming and graphics.

If you work in the game industry you'll get to know and be trusted by lots of folks in a variety of disciplines.

>I have worked on many hobbyist projects as games designer, from the most recent being "warscathed" and also another project this one i was Project Manager for (TimeOnline)

I repeat - that isn't "experience." Read my October 2006 column: http://www.igda.org/columns/gamesgame/gamesgame_Oct06.php. Your participation in those hobbyist projects will greatly sweeten your cover letter, but they don't belong on a serious resume.

Oh, last point. Read "Stupid Wannabe Trick #18" at http://www.sloperama.com/advice/lesson24.htm (FAQ 24).

Thank you tsloper and freakchild.

With an engine, i think what we will end up doing is using an indie license on something like C4 or an equivalent. We will use this to build a working game demo, and then, once we have the backing of a publisher, we can purchase a larger game engine package and build all of our products on this.

I have to say, i know there are people out there with experience eight, nine and ten times more then what i possess. But you cant say i have none. Even if the projects were not paying, and/or commercial. Its still experience in the industry.

Thanks again.

You have said that you are mainly a designer. Before you go making decisions about which engine to use wait until you have a lead programmer on board and then let them decide if you need to licence an engine, what engine or middleware is needed or if you need to write your own engine based on your game design idea.
Just because a programmer(who isn't on your team) or member of this board has suggested a particular engine doesn't mean it's the best choice for your situation.
Most of tslopers advice is correct hobby projects don't actually make you experienced.
However I'd disagree that you have to have industry experience to start a game company. A few people have started games companies right out of college or uni and been quite successful, however these are few and far between and most of them fall flat on their face.

Buster2000

Thank you for your reply, i have posted a thread in the help wanted forum for anyone interested in working with me.

You can find that topic here

Thanks again.

Quote: Original post by Skulburn
....We will use this to build a working game demo, and then, once we have the backing of a publisher, we can purchase a larger game engine package and build all of our products on this.

Sorry but you seem to have missed what Paladine said earlier (and which I am echoing now).

Quote: Original post by Palidine
You won't get funding until:
1) most {that's 98%} of the people in the studio have 3-5 published AAA titles and 3-5 years of industry experience under their belt.
-or-
2) your game is complete and just about at market quality and fits in subjectively with however the publisher perceives themselves

Currently you have no industry experience (Unfortunately two unfinished indie games do not count as industry experience. See What is "industry experience" for an explanation of what does) and given that you have no money you're not going to get a team of industry experienced vets to come and join your team. You will have to recruit part time indie developers who, like you, are trying to break in. Unfortunately publishers simply don't put money into teams like that - even if you have a demo. To get publisher money your team would need to be made up of staff who have finished/published more 2 or 3 triple A games and they would need to be in an office where the publisher could come and meet them in order to undertake a due diligence visit.

If you don't have a team like that then you need to go the indie route working with volunteer indie team members until the game is finished. Only then will a publisher consider publishing it. Going the indie route is slow and painful, with lots of drop outs and inexperienced people making mistakes. That is why it is advisable to pick a small game first so that your can do it with a smaller team and get it done in a reasonable time frame.

Thank you for the Obscure,

I have taken your words into consideration, and have contacted a number of individuals. Over the next week i will be meeting with a few different members of the industry.

Thanks again.

Just thought i would let you know that i have updated the Help Wanted thread with information on our first project.

Quote: Original post by Skulburn
Thank you tsloper... I have to say, i know there are people out there with experience eight, nine and ten times more then what i possess. But you cant say i have none. Even if the projects were not paying, and/or commercial. Its still experience in the industry.

No, it's not - not if you interview for a game industry job. If you say you have experience they'll look at your resume and see that you don't.

You didn't read that column I linked you to above. That explains what "experience" means.