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Solo Dev Questions

Started by March 21, 2024 09:11 PM
4 comments, last by Tom Sloper 8 months ago

Hello everyone!

I'm currently an undergrad student at Southern New Hampshire University majoring in Game Development and Programming. I'm currently planning on making my games before venturing out into the industry and I was wondering if anyone could give me any tips. One of the major parts I'm not sure about is how to do marketing if I end up trying to release a game. Should I start off showing the game in forums like r/indiedev to try and get the game out there? Any tips would be much appreciated.

-Tyler

TLoudon said:
Any tips would be much appreciated.

Yet another SNHU assignment question.

First tip, go tell your teachers that we're sick of this assignment. Year after year your lazy teachers send the students out with an assignment to go pester the forums. There are good ways to do it, but they don't.

It is not your fault, but recognize your school is not well regarded. If you have an opportunity, go get a Computer Science degree at another school, or a Fine Arts degree if that is your passion.

TLoudon said:
One of the major parts I'm not sure about is how to do marketing if I end up trying to release a game. Should I start off showing the game in forums like r/indiedev to try and get the game out there?

No. Those are fellow developers, not your customers. It would be like going to all the auto shops and offering your services for doing oil changes. It would be like going to a burger restaurant and asking if you can sell your own burgers inside their shop.

Marketing is just as big as developing. Usually marketing has equal costs to the full development cycle OR MORE. That is, main development of programming and art often gets 1/3 of the total funding, and marketing often gets 1/3 OR MORE of the total budget. Business expenses get another 1/6, and pre-production, post-production, and support tend to get the bulk of what remains.

For large games that must succeed, over the past decade marketing represents an even larger share of the funds. The large games costing over 100M are more typically beginning to approach 1/2 of the total budget going marketing.

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TLoudon said:

Solo Dev Questions
how to do marketing

That's one question, student. Your professor neglected to teach you that the subject line of a post should match its content.

-- Tom Sloper -- sloperama.com

TLoudon said:

Hello everyone!

I'm currently an undergrad student at Southern New Hampshire University majoring in Game Development and Programming. I'm currently planning on making my games before venturing out into the industry and I was wondering if anyone could give me any tips. One of the major parts I'm not sure about is how to do marketing if I end up trying to release a game. Should I start off showing the game in forums like r/indiedev to try and get the game out there? Any tips would be much appreciated.

-Tyler

That's a great plan to start making your games while still in school! Marketing your game is crucial for its success. Utilizing platforms like r/indiedev is a fantastic idea to showcase your work and gather feedback. Additionally, consider building a strong online presence through social media and indie game forums. Networking with other developers and engaging with potential players can also help generate interest in your game. Best of luck with your game development journey!

nikita20 said:
Best of luck with your game development journey!

Please introduce yourself, @nikita20, in the GDNet Lounge forum. https://www.gamedev.net/forums/forum/25-gdnet-lounge/

And since you are new here, please read this site's posting guidelines. https://www.gamedev.net/guidelines/

Best of luck with your game development journey, @nikita20

-- Tom Sloper -- sloperama.com

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