We have just started a UDK project. It will be a unique combination of dynamic (generated) puzzle game and tactical RPG. Pretty light game, viewed from the top, but it will have enough depth to last longer. It will have multiplayer (6 man tops). We will host it on Steam (as steamworks is very good up till release for beta purposes).
We can't make any games, that require serious modeling (shooters, 3rd person RPG, strategies ... etc), so we need to focus our creativity on unique things.
Now we want to sell it for 8-12 bucks, but there is a huge problem. Advertising, I just have no plans for it. Sure, I can let Valve put it on their site, but as I heard informally, they charge up to 35% of the profit. 25% for UDK if we hit the 5k USD mark, which we should, otherwise it won't worth to put four to six months in it.
And last, but not least, piracy. I mean even small games get pirated. Truth be told, maybe I deserve bad luck, I pirated quite a few games (only bought those, that I really, I mean really liked - 20-25%).
What do you think, would a rookie team have a shot at some success? (we are c++ and c# programmers by trade)
A shot at fame if you make a really awesome albeit simple game? Totally, still remember the guys who made Uplink, that was great - and they got the chance to see other projects through.
A shot at making large money from a small release alone, in the hopes that it won't be pirated? I'd say the odds are slim to none there.
Lets just say that you should expect it to be pirated, theres no formula for succes. Concerning pc games though, it helps to know what people expect, depending on your intended age group, look at the games they probably grew up playing and play a bit on nostalgia but improve upon established gameplay formulas.
Unless you want to try something new like what2dBoy did with "World of Goo" where you take a proven tabletop experience and translate it into something different as a computer game.
Also as an indie game you have to keep in mind that you're building a fan group, so have some forums, constantly release information, screenshots and videos about what your doing to keep people interested. And unless you have great confidence in your ability of game design then go for a niche game to begin with, aiming to please everybody will be fatal if you don't have much experience.
Best of luck in your endeavour.
this is hard market ...hard and cruel, but there were individual studios who hit the pot with original idea's and intresting gameplay.
i made 2d level 2 years ago (made all by my self..music animation programing) of space invaders style but with pople ..made very basic chain reactions inside (shoot barell and it will exlode everything around it and shoot window and it will smash into pieces etc).
this 6-7 min's level, took me 4-5 months , it is damn hard work but very very satisfactory to see your creation come to life:)
my advice to you...if you can, go for it and do the best you can without any expectation's and maybe you will find yourself in the next E3
why even go 3d? you said it yourself that you guys aren't exactly adept at modeling (let alone animation etc) and in that case i'D rather go with good looking, simple 2d than shitty 3d
I have a very concrete target audience in mind here, although small.
1. Old school PC gamers, who played games like Jagged Alliance, Fallout tactics ... etc. The game however will be a simpler Tactic mechanism, as it's an objective based game, where it's not about clearing a room of enemies, then next! I can't exactly tell you how the puzzles will work yet, because it's the main idea of the game (not seen before, guaranteed), and needs work and polish.
2. Players who like a real challenge. Not many of these people exist, but they are probably sick with mainstream gaming in general, and will likely heed the call of something that promises old school, hard (but not impossible) gaming.
And about the forum: as soon as we have video footage, we will launch the site, and a forum.
Also: I forgot. The single player will be hand built puzzles, sort of an intro for the multiplayer, where players can test their skills. There will be an option to build maps on your own (a toolset we will first develope ... toolset is too complex a word, an in game builder more like. simple, but effective). Hoping it will be any good, perhaps people will make mods.
My main design philosphy is this: every time a player fails (if he fails at all), he will have the opportunity (should he have a little intelligence) to analyze and learn from his mistake.
I don't define Hard as time consuming. I define hard as: you need good pattern recognition and creativity to bypass it, not simply time, and brute force method solving capabilities.
We gave the idea a lot of thought, and not making a lot of money doesn't bother us. Making enough for it to be worth our while, is important though. Who am I kidding. I live in Romania. The average wage is a little over 200 euros per month, and living costs much. I don't have a rich family to support me, so what I do with my time has to be worthwhile. Sad, but true. high school years are gone.
Can't comment on the pricing, as we barely have any real info about the game. I wish you good luck though, and it if turns out well I'll buy it. We need more original games.
Do you guys have experience with the UDK (or UE3 in general)? I am not sure this is the best way to go. Not only is it difficult to develop for, but also you will have to pay a certain percentage of your earning to Epic Games as part of their licensing policy for the UDK.
Have you taken a look at XNA? As C# and C++ developers, you should have little to no problems picking it up and developing good stuff. And considering the description, you will not be limited with XNA. Also, having the full source code, you will have much larger control over the small things instead of having to find workarounds in the UDK.
Not saying the UDK is bad, not at all, just saying, if you don't have any experience with it, it might be better to stick with what you know.
If you offer to donate 25% of the game to a major charity AND the game is good I'd pay $15.
Who knows if the game is that interesting you might even get sponsorship.
What kind of nonsense is this? How is game development linked in possible anyway with charity? This is strictly between Radicalus and what he wants to do with his money. It doesn't involve you in any way. If you want to donate, it also has nothing to do Radicalus either. Tying the two things together is outright stupid.
Radicalus could donate 25% of his profit to charity, but why the hell would he? Certainly not a profitable thing to do. And it doesn't really help much with TBs 15$ then, does it
Because charity normally gets people to spend (more) money?
It's like easy advertising.
While I do think I understand tb I don't think it's something you should do when you've got all your money bet on a single horse.
haha yea...and you know what? it is fun to play and if i had free time i would have keep going with more levels and build up the story..i realy enjoy playing it:) killing all the enemies is chalenging but there is bug with the score..not count right lol.
Now we want to sell it for 8-12 bucks, but there is a huge problem. Advertising, I just have no plans for it. Sure, I can let Valve put it on their site, but as I heard informally, they charge up to 35% of the profit. 25% for UDK if we hit the 5k USD mark, which we should, otherwise it won't worth to put four to six months in it.
I think it might be worth it for you if you had Valve put it up. The amount of exposure your game would get would be enormous. Also might want to think about Facebook PPC. It's easy to get in to, easy to target gamers, and the costs aren't that high, especially once you start targetting non-US demographics.
Might also want to think about giving the game away for free if users fill out a survey. You get paid for them filling out the survey, and they get the game for free. A good way to monetize all those 13-17 year old with a lot of time and no money.
Steam would be great because what keeps the most people from buying small games online is the sucky way to get hold of them. With steam it's very easy to purchase games. Some people just browse steam and buy games if they look interesting. If I were you I would try to sell it for 2$-4$. 35% isn't that much because you'll definitely sell more with steam.
Making a good game with low resources must be the most challenging thing in the industry. Think about something as simple as Tetris. It takes genius to come up with something as simple, but yet addictive as that. Good luck though and I hope you find your Trine...
We have just started a UDK project. It will be a unique combination of dynamic (generated) puzzle game and tactical RPG. Pretty light game, viewed from the top, but it will have enough depth to last longer. It will have multiplayer (6 man tops). We will host it on Steam (as steamworks is very good up till release for beta purposes).
We can't make any games, that require serious modeling (shooters, 3rd person RPG, strategies ... etc), so we need to focus our creativity on unique things.
Now we want to sell it for 8-12 bucks, but there is a huge problem. Advertising, I just have no plans for it. Sure, I can let Valve put it on their site, but as I heard informally, they charge up to 35% of the profit. 25% for UDK if we hit the 5k USD mark, which we should, otherwise it won't worth to put four to six months in it.
And last, but not least, piracy. I mean even small games get pirated. Truth be told, maybe I deserve bad luck, I pirated quite a few games (only bought those, that I really, I mean really liked - 20-25%).
What do you think, would a rookie team have a shot at some success? (we are c++ and c# programmers by trade)
Sell? Just give it to the public for free. This is pirate forums that means you're pirate too, so why you wanna sell it?
stalin, hitler same shit different asshole, both was retarded gays.
We have just started a UDK project. It will be a unique combination of dynamic (generated) puzzle game and tactical RPG. Pretty light game, viewed from the top, but it will have enough depth to last longer. It will have multiplayer (6 man tops). We will host it on Steam (as steamworks is very good up till release for beta purposes).
We can't make any games, that require serious modeling (shooters, 3rd person RPG, strategies ... etc), so we need to focus our creativity on unique things.
Now we want to sell it for 8-12 bucks, but there is a huge problem. Advertising, I just have no plans for it. Sure, I can let Valve put it on their site, but as I heard informally, they charge up to 35% of the profit. 25% for UDK if we hit the 5k USD mark, which we should, otherwise it won't worth to put four to six months in it.
And last, but not least, piracy. I mean even small games get pirated. Truth be told, maybe I deserve bad luck, I pirated quite a few games (only bought those, that I really, I mean really liked - 20-25%).
What do you think, would a rookie team have a shot at some success? (we are c++ and c# programmers by trade)
Sell? Just give it to the public for free. This is pirate forums that means you're pirate too, so why you wanna sell it?
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