Building sustainable indie studio in 2018
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The games industry ecosystem has changed a lot since 2009, to survive as an indie game developer/studio you need to adapt. Here are some survival tips on how to manage your studio and projects in 2018.
Building sustainable indie studio in 2018
- 1. Building Sustainable Indie Studio in 2018 Kris Antoni, Toge Productions
- 2. Agenda Today Ill be discussing: 2009 vs 2018 Building Team Managing Studio Choosing Projects Managing Projects
- 3. Introduction - About Me Kris Antoni Founder of Toge Productions 9 years of experience in game dev. IGDA Jakarta Chapter coordinator Indonesian Games Association advisor
- 4. Introduction - About Toge Toge Productions Independent game development and publishing studio. Started in 2009, formally established in 2010. Released more than 20 games across multiple platforms (web, mobile, desktop)
- 5. In the beginning Started with only 2 guys in a garage Indie game developer making web-based Flash games No funding (~US$ 1000 own saving)
- 6. Now 14 people Indie dev & publishing for PC, consoles. Collaborating with more than 7 studios We now have an office and 2 cats
- 7. Sustainable? Keep going for a very long time Survive Adapt
- 8. Definition of Indie Studio Indie Studio is a team that has complete creative freedom and legal independence Not the size of the team or how much money they have Legal Independence Creative Freedom IndiesInternal R&D Internal Studio Work-for-hire/ Outsourced Team Source: Jason Della Rocca
- 9. Starting your studio 2009 vs 2018
- 10. Starting your studio 2009 vs 2018 THE GOOD
- 11. Tools are accessible & affordable Engines are cheaper and easier to use Platforms are more open
- 12. The Game Market is Growing
- 14. Starting your studio 2009 vs 2018 THE BAD
- 15. The Game Market Its getting crowded, at least for Mobile and Desktop (Steam) Democratization of game development has opened the floodgates. Supply is exceeding Demand. We are competing for time and attention.
- 16. The Game Market Web Games Flash Gaming is DEAD (sort of)
- 17. The Game Market Mobile There are approx 3,6 Million apps on Google Play Store There are approx 3,1 Million apps on App Store
- 18. The Game Market Mobile App Store - There are approx. 783,269 games in iOS (25% of total app) Play Store - 677,560 games in Google Play Store (18% of total app) Very crowded, visibility is an issue Source: Statista.com
- 19. The Game Market Mobile With $70Bn market it seems that in average each game makes $47,918 in revenue per year. But in reality the top 1% mobile games earns 90% of the revenue. Backed by HUGE marketing budgets. Means that the rest 99% earns almost nothing Source: Statista.com
- 20. The Game Market Desktop (Steam) +-25,000 total games on Steam in 2018 7,696 games released in 2017 alone Predicted 9800 new games in 2018 Top 0.5% games earns 50% of the total revenue Steam Greenligh t Source: Steamspy.com
- 21. The Game Market Console Dominated by AAA games However, relatively less crowded A lot easier now vs 2009, but still very hard for indies to enter (especially for 3rd world countries)
- 22. The Quality Expectation 2009 - Angry Birds - $ 0.99 2018 - PUBG Mobile - Free Gamers expects high quality polished game for cheap Race to the bottom $0
- 23. Self-Publishing in 2009 Make a good game and release! Show off on social media Success!
- 24. Self-Publishing in 2018 Making a good game is no longer good enough. You also need to think about: Hooks Content Size Product Positioning Marketing & PR Release Windows Pricing Target Market User Behaviour
- 25. 2009 vs 2018 COMPLETELY DIFFERENT!!! The situation has changed! We need to adapt to survive!
- 27. Small and Agile Teams Keep your team small and agile Less mouths to feed, your budget will last longer Hire people with good work ethic and attitude, not just good skills Keep your projects small, but focused
- 28. Have ONE DIRECTION Your team believe in the same shared vision This will give you a direction to go Define goals and milestones Allows you to plan ahead OKR & Sprints (Ill explain later)
- 29. Have Entrepreneurial Soul Its okay to find inspirations from other games, but if you dont stand-out from the crowd, youll drown. Build POSITIVE REPUTATION & DISTINCT SIGNATURE Impact / Innovation Commercial Intent Independent Entrepreneurs Sell Outs/ Clones ...just lost Starving Artists Source: Jason Della Rocca
- 31. Set Goals & Milestones Objective & Key Results Agile Method (Sprints)
- 32. What is OKR? OKR stands for Objectives & Key Results is a framework for defining and tracking objectives to identify goals and focus efforts A dream written down with a date becomes a goal. A goal broken down into steps becomes a plan. A plan backed by action makes it reality.
- 33. OKR Structure Vision / Dream Year 2 Strategic Goals Year 1 Strategic Goals Q1 Objective Q2 Objective Q3 Objective Q4 Objective Key Result Key Result Key Actions Long Term Yearly Quarterly Month or Week Company OKR Team OKR Personal OKR Key Actions
- 34. OKR Best Practices Where do we need to go? Objectives: Directional Inspiring & Ambitious Qualitative Time Bound (Yearly or Quarterly) Actionable by team How do we know we are getting there? Key Results: Results/Outcomes to achieve Measurement of Success Measurable & Quantifiable Time Bound (Quarterly/Monthly) Difficult, but not impossible Company OKR Team OKR Personal OKR Final Goal / Objective Milestones / Key Results Effort Driver / Key Actions What do we need to do to get there? Key Actions: Efforts to achieve objective Key to Success Can be Number or Boolean Time Bound (Monthly/Weekly) Difficult, but not impossible
- 35. OKR Example Dream: The Best Game Ever! Year 2 Strategic Goals Year 1 SG: Validate Visual Style Q1 Marketing Objective Viral on Social Media Q1 Art Team Objective Create Distinctive Visual Style Key Result 10K Likes Key Result 10K Retweet Key Actions Post 10 Devlogs Key Actions Post 100 Concept Art Key Result Win 2 Awards Key Result 10K Likes Key Actions Experiment with 10 Art Styles Key Actions Make 100 Concept Art
- 36. OKR Best Practices Max 3 Objectives at a time 3-5 Key Results / Actions Set Quarterly Reviewed Weekly or Monthly Visible to Everyone <50% is problematic, 70% is on target, >90% is too easy Objectives Key Results Time Frame Progress Visibility Target
- 37. Benefits of OKR Disciplines Thinking How to cascade major goals logically and how to achieve it Communicates Accurately Gets everyone aligned to what is important Establishes Measurement Culture Shows how far we have gone Establishes benchmark Motivates to push further Focuses Effort Ensures that we are going the same direction Everyone is Involved! Everyone knows where the company is going and participate in moving forward
- 39. Acknowledge Your Limitations Do you have it to pull this off? Skills Experience Budget Time Platform / Tools (Multiplatform) Passion / Do you care? Impact & Result Cost & Effort (Effort) Max Cost Max Result (Waste) Max Cost Min Result (Stagnant) Min Cost Min Result (Lucky) Min Cost Max Result
- 40. Methods There are 2 approach Product Oriented Games First Approach Market Oriented Audience/Platform First Approach Gameplay ThemeVisual Competition Trends User Behavior
- 41. The Product Oriented Approach Start with creating prototype Focus on innovation (Mechanic, Visual, Narrative) Game-jams Find market fit later Prototype Market Research Experiment Development Launch
- 42. First, Best, or Different If you cant be the first, be the best If you cant be the best, be different By being different sometimes youll be the first Experiment & Innovate! Example: Ultra Space Battle Brawl Fighting PONG game on steroids
- 44. Fail Fast, Fail Forward Dont waste time polishing crap Prototype and validate quickly Participate in game-jams & Ludum Dares Learn from your failures and move forward
- 45. The Market Oriented Approach Start with market research Understanding the market (User Behavior, Competition, Trends) Market analysis Find game design to fit market Prototype Market Research Experiment Development Launch
- 46. Know Your Audience Mobile Gamer On the go Short sessions Not willing to pay upfront PC Gamer Dedicated time/space Med-Long sessions Willing to pay upfront $-$$ Console Gamer Dedicated time/space Long sessions Willing to pay upfront $$$ Do market research & analysis Know their behavior/habits Know their demographic Know your customer journey Identify their personas What hooks them?
- 47. How consumers find you? What influences them? Streamers / Youtubers Game Media Etc Important Landing Page ASAP Build fan base! Customer Journey
- 48. Understanding Hooks Something that can grab your attention and pull your curiosity Types of hooks 1. Visual Aesthetics 2. Theme Cohesiveness 3. Interesting Mechanic 4. Emotional Hook a. Nostalgia b. Controversy c. Dev Story 5. Audio Hook 6. Technological Novelty 7. Brand Loyalty / Power 8. Catchy Title & Pitch 9. ROI for the Player / Affordability 10. Social Hook / Peer Pressure
- 49. Know Your Competition Is it a crowded genre? Product positioning? What works? What to avoid? Steamspy / App Annie Boxleiter method Simulation Play as the zombie horde Play as a single zombie Action
- 50. Anticipate Trends Dont follow current trends, you are too late! Predict future trends!
- 51. You Need Both! Iterate and test Prototype Market Research Experiment Development Launch
- 53. Scaffolding Building Chunks Your dream project is too ambitious for you to tackle at once! Break it down into smaller chunks.
- 54. Minimum Viable Product (MVP) MVP != Vertical Slice (at least not always)
- 55. Vertical Slice A portion of the final product. 1 level / 1st 15 minutes. MVP Core Gameplay Secondary Features Polish / Cosmetics
- 56. Build Visibility as early as possible Build hype and awareness. Direct traffic to your Landing Page or Store Page. Goal collect wishlist & fan base! Concept Art Mock-ups Post concept art or mockups to social media Concept Alpha Demo / Early Prototype Post GIF or video, Proof of concept demo Alpha Vertical Slice Demo Feature highlight, Teaser demo Teaser trailer Exhibition & Competitions Beta Trailers Gameplay, Story / Narrative, Announcement Trailer Pre-Launch Launch Updates Post-Launch
- 57. Pricing vs Revenue (Steam) $9.99 is the go to price for most indie games
- 58. Pricing vs Revenue (Steam) Revenue generated vs price
- 59. Pricing vs Revenue (Steam) Value has to match Price $19.99 Dont make cheap games Dont sell your games for cheap!
- 60. Predicting Success 10,000 Steam Wishlist Pre-Launch = ~5000 1st Week Steam Sales = ~ 10,000 1st Month Steam Sales = ~ 24,000 1st Year Steam Sales Average price of $10 ($10 median, $12 mean) More wishlist = more sales The right pricing = more revenue Rough estimates based on average Steam game: 30%-50% Pre-launch Wishlist is = 1st week sales (Wishlist conversion + organic sales) 1st week sales = 50% of 1st month sales 1st month sales = 40% of 1st year sales Average 1st year wishlist conversion rate 15.4%
- 62. Collaborate Find partners that complete you! Funds Skill & Experience Insight So that you can focus on what you do best!
- 63. Take Away & Conclusions
- 64. Take Away & Conclusions The market is always changing, be ready to adapt Always look for new opportunities Keep your team small & agile Have clear direction Set goals & milestones Know your limitations Be unique & distinctive Build your fan base early Collaborate
- 65. Thank You Kris Antoni @kerissakti Toge Productions @togeproductions