I''m am researching the game development industry for a college research project. One of the requirements for the assignment is to get information from a non-print source, either by questionaire or by interview. I decided to post this questionaire here. The tentative topic for the paper is "Is this a good time to begin a game development venture?" Any feedback will be greatly appreciated. and you don''t have to answer everything. Industry questions - What resources are needed to start a successful game company? - In you''re opinion, how has the industry done even during the recent recession in America? - Do you see room from growth in the industry. User Feedback question - What types of games would you like to see that are not currently being done to a full extent? - Are you satisfied with the quality level of current games? - What improvements can make future games better? I know the questions are very broad, and they may not seem to directly relate to the topic, but the paper has to be 12 pages, and i have a particular spin I want to add. Feel free to add any further information. Cybernetic Dawn

Industry questions
- What resources are needed to start a successful game company?

The same as are needed to start a successful company in any other industry:

* A solid idea or "unique selling proposition".
* Business skills (accounting, management)
* Marketing skills (strategy)
* Selling skills (gotta make money)


- In you''re opinion, how has the industry done even during the
recent recession in America?

* Entertainment usually does well during a recession. See how Hollywood grew during the Great Depression in the US. However, a lot of game industry projects were put on hold during 2001, or just cancelled. Things are definitely picking up again, though.


- Do you see room from growth in the industry.

* Certainly. There are still huge market segments outside the normal "adolescent male" segment that is traditionally targeted by the industry.


User Feedback question
- What types of games would you like to see that are not currently being done to a full extent?

* I don''t think we''ve done much more than scratch the surface of the potential of online games. I think the community aspects of these games are still under-exploited.


- Are you satisfied with the quality level of current games?

* Graphics are looking good...but, no, I don''t think that other areas of game development have seen as much progress as the pixel- and triangle-pushing.


- What improvements can make future games better?

* More focus on the player, and what the player wants out of a game.
* Less focus on absolute realism.
* More divergance from movies and books and other traditional non-interactive media.


DavidRM
Samu Games

It seems like every week there is a new person asking for business/financial/industry info for a school paper, not just here but in the IGDA forums as well. Sometimes I wonder if these people are actually doing school work, or searching for data for their business plans under the guise of scholarship.

I agree, Tacit. That''s why I only answer about every third one...


DavidRM
Samu Games

Thanks DavidRM for the quick response. Oh and Tacit, I know what you mean, but as the guidelines for the paper state, i must post a questionare or a survey. I have no choice. This is not my main research. I don't expect to get a lot of replies. None of my post ever do, but its always good to get other peoples opinions. Besides, post like these can help others as well.


Cybernetic Dawn
FEAR THE TURTLE

[edited by - Domini on April 11, 2002 4:30:03 PM]

Well this is sort of like a print resource, but there are some good articles on the subject now available in the GDC 2002 archives at:

http://www.gdconf.com/archives/proceedings/2002/index.htm

The business-related sessions are at the end of the list.

Graham Rhodes
Senior Scientist
Applied Research Associates, Inc.

Thanks for the replies so far. I would like more opinions. I can do the other research, but hey i still like the links.

MMSSoftware

quote: Original post by Domini
Industry questions
- What resources are needed to start a successful game company?
- In you''re opinion, how has the industry done even during the recent recession in America?
- Do you see room from growth in the industry.

David hit the nail on the head, although there''s a lot of room for interpretation on "a successful game company." If you want to do your own games by yourself and self-publish, then you don''t need much more than a lot (a lot a lot) of willpower.

If you''re looking to start a company to do console games and get a publisher, well, you''re either going to need an incredible amount of willpower AND a large number of contacts AND a good deal of cash to hire the people who don''t know what needs to be known to get a venture off the ground (like any business). Video games are right in there with the rest of the entertainment industry; it really doesn''t matter too much what you''re doing as long as you know the right people.

So, what skills do you need to get a company and a staff together to work on AAA games? You need several programmers to get the Technical Design Review in place to evaluate risks and solutions that are coming down the road at you. You need several artists feeding your programmers with test data so they can push the technological solutions that they''re playing with. You need a designer or two, one with *real* writing experience, to flesh out your game design doc. You need someone well versed in financials so that you can budget the company, to figure out your burn rate (of cash), and to see where the money is going (typically game studios of 15 burn about $100k a month) and to make sure you don''t run out of it. You need someone who is business-savvy to be able to get a decent contract and make sure that the studio doesn''t get screwed. You probably need a lawyer to make everything legal, and you need an office (200 square feet per person, office space is cheap here at $2/sq ft- a team of 15 needs 3000 sq ft at $6k/month).

Then you need to buy computers for everyone. The artists need software and the programmers need software. Figure on $5-10k average SOFTware costs per person, add the cost of whatever computers you need.

You then need to get that demo ready, get the design doc and tech review doc ready, and start flying all over hell and creation to hit up publishers for contracts. Agents can help here, but they take up to 30% of your gross (e.g. they get $900k of your $3M budget). hmm. what else? Oh- nothing but the fact you''ll spend weeks of your life on the phone to get rolling, distracting you from development, so it becomes a 16hr/day affair.


Is there room for more game companies? Most certainly! Entertainment *is* what it''s all about. The trick is making yourself show through all of the noise and getting in touch with the publisher and showing yourself as much better than all of the other crap that''s out there (remember, everyone thinks that they''re better than all of the crap).

Good luck-

Industry questions
- What resources are needed to start a successful game company?

A sellable project
Easy access to legal documentation.
Access to your target market. (website, advertising)
Ability to handle payments.
Talent, Drive, Passion, Patience.
A little bit of a luck.

- In you''re opinion, how has the industry done even during the
recent recession in America?

To me it seems like people were a bit less likely to spend money. I don''t think it hurt those people who produced quality projects too bad tho.

- Do you see room from growth in the industry.

Yes. I think the market for certain targets has been explored a lot more then others.

User Feedback question
- What types of games would you like to see that are not currently being done to a full extent?
- Are you satisfied with the quality level of current games?
- What improvements can make future games better?

For me, these three questions can be summed up with this statement...

I would love to see more projects that have less to do with the use of technology and more to do with the actual game play.

Technically I think the games are progressing nicely. The content of some games leave a lot to be desired. I see too many games that have the same content just different graphics (and the content wasn''t that good to begin with.)






-Tams11
Tams11 Software