How much is your game worth?
Well that depends on how good it is, and how many sales it gets.
Good = Cash = Worth.
This is how most of us value our games. It's a good model. It's certainly how EA, Microsoft, Gameloft etc assess their titles. But it's also complete rubbish and it doesn't help us make better games. For the simple reason that you are not a big games company, you are a creative independent. As such you have a different role to play in the games industry, and you should be governed by a different set of rules. Here they are...
Big Games Company make Money
Independents make Fun
Fun. We all know it's important, but all too often we get distracted. How much of your game development time is actually dedicated to having fun? How much of your game development time is dedicated to better graphics? Better sound? Coding? Tweaking? Debugging? Logos? Your website? I'm not saying that those other things are not important. However, if you haven't spent at least the same amount of time having fun as the rest of those things, then you probably are not going to create a worthwhile game.
Fun = creativity = ideas
ideas = a worthwhile game
Worthwhile in two important areas. You have fun, and the gamer has fun, because you put all these great ideas in your game. As an independent you are so lucky to have this opportunity to have fun. So many people who work for big games companies are jealous of you, because they don't have fun. Why? because big games companies make money, not fun.
Fun should be your driving force, your own reward. If it helps, think of yourself not as a games developer but a Fun Developer. And if that's not enough for you, Fun Developers have their own equation...
Fun Developers make fun AND MONEY.
Something to think about for your next project. Instead of thinking 'How do i make a peggle clone' or 'How do i make a horizontal shooter', think 'How can i have fun?'.
Good = Cash = Worth.
This is how most of us value our games. It's a good model. It's certainly how EA, Microsoft, Gameloft etc assess their titles. But it's also complete rubbish and it doesn't help us make better games. For the simple reason that you are not a big games company, you are a creative independent. As such you have a different role to play in the games industry, and you should be governed by a different set of rules. Here they are...
Big Games Company make Money
Independents make Fun
Fun. We all know it's important, but all too often we get distracted. How much of your game development time is actually dedicated to having fun? How much of your game development time is dedicated to better graphics? Better sound? Coding? Tweaking? Debugging? Logos? Your website? I'm not saying that those other things are not important. However, if you haven't spent at least the same amount of time having fun as the rest of those things, then you probably are not going to create a worthwhile game.
Fun = creativity = ideas
ideas = a worthwhile game
Worthwhile in two important areas. You have fun, and the gamer has fun, because you put all these great ideas in your game. As an independent you are so lucky to have this opportunity to have fun. So many people who work for big games companies are jealous of you, because they don't have fun. Why? because big games companies make money, not fun.
Fun should be your driving force, your own reward. If it helps, think of yourself not as a games developer but a Fun Developer. And if that's not enough for you, Fun Developers have their own equation...
Fun Developers make fun AND MONEY.
Something to think about for your next project. Instead of thinking 'How do i make a peggle clone' or 'How do i make a horizontal shooter', think 'How can i have fun?'.
Comments
Cheers, Weswog
How do you Fun Developers do it?
Squeaky squeak squeak squeak squeak!
squeaky,
Squeak Squeak
(Just wash your hands afterwards)
http://www.maureenjohnsonbooks.com/2010/06/08/manifesto/
Cheers, Dragokillz
Glad you guys liked the article - it really made me smile!
QS
I'm itching for another meet. Thinking we could have a workshop, knock a game out, then head off to the pub to bask in our collective genius?