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The collection of making games in ways that didn't work.

dislekciadislekcia
edited in General
We keep falling prey to selection biases for successful indie developers, only hearing how a very small percentage of devs manged to get to where they are now. This is like trying to make war planes bullet-proof by putting more armor on the areas that got shot-up on the planes that made it back to base... (Think about it for a second, see the problem? Good)

So I'd like to start collecting the tales of indie devs who haven't succeeded, perhaps that could help us all know what not to do, instead of trying to copy things that only might be tangentially related to success.

Here's the first entry: Confessions of a failed indie developer.
Thanked by 2hermantulleken iceblademush

Comments

  • ElyaradineElyaradine
    edited
    This one, obviously. :)
    Retro/Grade. The game was completed and released, but not without significant (and avoidable) cost.
    http://www.gdcvault.com/play/1017963/Obsessive-Compulsive-Development-Retro-Grade
  • ThaumaturgeThaumaturge
    edited
    I'll confess that I somewhat skimmed Dislekcia's article, but, if I'm not much mistaken, the points that the author raises as having caused problems would seem to be these:
    • Starting with only a small reserve of money and a rather limited income.
    • Underestimating the time and cost of development.
    • Building an engine of his own, rather than using a third-party engine.
    • When attempting crowdfunding, doing so before the game was in a position to produce an engaging video, and leaving the video silent and unsupported by additional commentary.
    • When it came to taking work with which to support himself, taking work in the industry, which resulted in difficulty in switching from work to the indie project, a conflict which the paying job won.
    Does that seem about right?

    I haven't yet watched the video in full.
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