1. Is it a mistake to go small?

2. Is attempting a AAA indie game impossible in the current market

3. or easier with the availability of more technology?

1. No. It's recommended.

2. Yes.

3. No.

1. Is it a mistake to go small?

2. Is attempting a AAA indie game impossible in the current market

3. or easier with the availability of more technology?

1. No. It's recommended.

2. Yes.

3. No.

Thanks for the feedback Tom.

I ask because my original game was developed fully in house and was fairly large scale (MMORTS) even though it was fully self-funded and independent, but it also took half a decade to build and was old technology by time it was released. Licensing technology was really in it's infancy at the time and not readily available (or remotely affordable).

Are you saying that the availability of things like UDK, Unity even Crydev etc does not make it any easier than developing an indie game 5-10 years ago or just does not make attempting to develop a "AAA" game any easier for indies?

I'm actually going to disagree with Tom on #2 -- AAA indie is not impossible, merely insane and misdirected. You said it yourself. By the time it was done, the whole thing was way out of date.

But allow me to get to the point, and listen very closely. Your goal as an indie is not to ape current market trends and create the same shit everyone else (pro or not) has. That is a pointless exercise. As an indie, you need to explore something that is different and off beat creatively. There's an excellent talk by Ben Kuchera of ArsTechnica discussing this. If you as an indie accomplish the herculean task of matching an AAA studio on visual fidelity, you've just given your potential userbase something they already have. I only briefly skimmed it but your Kickstarter looks like you're doing the right thing.

Go big creatively, not budgetarily.

or just does not make attempting to develop a "AAA" game any easier for indies?

Not that either, but that's closest. An AAA game is never "easy" for anybody, especially for indies.

Edit: it does make it "easier," so "not any easier" is incorrect. I'm saying an AAA game is still incredibly expensive and time-consuming to make, even with the best engine.

Provided you've proven your worth at working for niche audiences and understand the trade, I wouldn't jeopardize your current structure.

Going AAA also means possibly being one of thousands of developers that will lose a lot of money. While indies also make projects that fail, they don't fail as badly. Sure the payout isn't as exciting, but if you find value in making smaller-scoped games (as you seem to do), your chances are definitely to stick with this approach.

I can think of many more projects you could do with these kinds of budgets, and I would bet that someone with your experience of the market, with an actual published game, would find better ROI in working on smaller titles.

Your goal as an indie is not to ape current market trends and create the same shit everyone else (pro or not) has. That is a pointless exercise. As an indie, you need to explore something that is different and off beat creatively. There's an excellent talk by Ben Kuchera of ArsTechnica discussing this. If you as an indie accomplish the herculean task of matching an AAA studio on visual fidelity, you've just given your potential userbase something they already have. I only briefly skimmed it but your Kickstarter looks like you're doing the right thing. Go big creatively, not budgetarily.

This is great feedback. And thanks for the compliment, while it's easier to take the small approach- it becomes difficult to make your game stand-out from the masses on smaller games. But you bring up a great point about focusing on the creative aspect to find your market. Although "going big creatively" is a bit easier said than done, but I think your point as a whole is dead-on.

Provided you've proven your worth at working for niche audiences and understand the trade, I wouldn't jeopardize your current structure.

Going AAA also means possibly being one of thousands of developers that will lose a lot of money. While indies also make projects that fail, they don't fail as badly. Sure the payout isn't as exciting, but if you find value in making smaller-scoped games (as you seem to do), your chances are definitely to stick with this approach.

I can think of many more projects you could do with these kinds of budgets, and I would bet that someone with your experience of the market, with an actual published game, would find better ROI in working on smaller titles.

Appreciate the feedback. It's definitely a bit validating to hear that from other developers on how they approach this. As far as the experience with shipped titles go, its surprising to me how little that actually helps anything other than your own personal growth. But you make some great point regarding finding your niche. We're hoping our new title will open us open up the doors to a new niche for us, but we will have to see how it plays out.

Thanks again for the feedback guys.

or just does not make attempting to develop a "AAA" game any easier for indies?

Not that either, but that's closest. An AAA game is never "easy" for anybody, especially for indies.

Edit: it does make it "easier," so "not any easier" is incorrect. I'm saying an AAA game is still incredibly expensive and time-consuming to make, even with the best engine.

To be honest, i don't think the engines really makes making AAA games easier today than it was lets say 25 years go, the production values of AAA games have gone up dramatically and the fact that the necessary tech is reasonably cheap and easy to license today doesn't offset that.