Hey guys,
I looked around the forum and I was not able to find anything about Financing a game to self-publish it.
Question: for you who did self publish one or more games, what method did you use to finance the project(s)?
soul
Financing
Thu, 05/04/2006 - 13:20
Thu, 05/04/2006 - 13:33
#1
Financing
Hi
I have just started to work on the company, but up to this date I have spend $5000 (some of it saved for next project). I invested my own money into this. I hope to get the money back.
// Johan
Tue, 05/09/2006 - 19:39
#2
The Old Money Question
Well, I have just been going through a start-up of a company. Money is both harder and easier to come by than you think. Friends and Family are a great plce to start. Do it like a company. Write up a buisness plan, crunch some numbers, and start selling shares. Ask for $1000 from everyone you know, show them what they get for their money, and see what you can do. Be clear though. Don't fudge it at all. Be clear and straight forward. Treat it like buisness not like family. That way, if you fail then there is no hard feelings.
Also, have your numbers down. Look at the US census for sales figures and participation rates. This can give you a good idea of what to expect. Remember that most games sell between 1000-5000 copies at most.
Hope this helps.
Tue, 05/09/2006 - 20:35
#3
Financing
If you do solicit investments from friends and family, be very clear about the risks and returns. Even with a great game, a good business plan, and lots of hard work, there's no guarantee that you'll even make back your initial investment, let alone make a profit.
As others have said, don't invest any money you can't afford to lose. I was lucky enough to have some stock options that I could cash in -- I wasn't counting on them being worth anything, so if I never see the money again it's not a catastrophe, as it might be if I had to use retirement savings, a home equity loan, or credit card debt.
Also be very clear with yourself about why you are doing this. If it's to make money, there are many better ways. If it's because you love designing games, it's a lot cheaper to produce a few copies by hand to play with your friends, which also leaves you more time to design more games. For me, well, I'm turning 40 soon, and my wife looks at this as my "red sports car".
Tue, 05/09/2006 - 20:49
#4
Financing
Totally self funded. Well actually I am a little different than most, I have two other co-owners. We all pool money each month to put into an account. We also try to invest other money, maybe tax returns and work bonuses into the bank account also, but of course it is all subject to personal needs first. So we tend to add money it waves. But we also get to put the financial burden across 3 people. But of course this means more overhead and business conflicts since 3 people have to agree.... I dont suggest it for those who dont feel strong enough to fight battles. And I dont suggest it for people that have trust issues...
Take is slow, figure out a way to hand produce 5-10 copies of your game. Seek friends or other playtesting groups to give it a try. While you work out any issues, collect and save money anyway you can. Once you get your game *done* ask yourself these two questions:
1) Am I will to risk all the money that I saved on self publishing my game?
2) Can I be a sales person?
Thanks guys,
We're taking a similar approach to Zzzzz's method of sharing the load. I do the graphics, game design, web site and all that. My partners share the critics' roles, playtester's roles, finances, events and of course support!
We also walk the path of Warrior10thCircle's: we asked our closed ones to invest in the project, making certain they we're aware of the risks involved. We promised one thing: a playable game, even if home made!
We're even planning what we call here in Quebec a "souper spaghetti" (spaghetti diner) with a fixed price for people to be there. We have 80% being re-invested in the project, 10 % is for expenses, and the other 10% in given to an ecological foundation.
I greatly enjoy sharing this experience. I learn a lot and enjoy myself tremendously. We will self-publish the game, even if it takes more time than we planned, patience is gold to those who use it!
Something that could be interesting in this thread would be sharing tricks we discover along the road. In this way, others who walk a similar (or the same) path can benefit from all of our experiences.
soulbeach