The indie game developer handbook

The indie game developer’s complete guide to running a studio. The climate for the games industry has never been hotter, and this is only set to continue as the marketplace for tablets, consoles and phones grow. Seemingly every day there is a story of how a successful app or game has earned thousands of downloads and revenue. As the market size increases, so does the number of people developing and looking to develop their own app or game to publish. __The Indie Game Developer Handbook__ covers every aspect of running a game development studio—from the initial creation of the game through to completion, release and beyond. + Accessible and complete guide to many aspects of running a game development studio from funding and development through QA, publishing, marketing, and more. + Provides a useful knowledge base and help to support the learning process of running an indie development studio in an honest, approachable and easy to understand way. + Case studies, interviews from other studies and industry professionals grant an first-hand look into the world of indie game development Cover 1 Half Title 2 Title 4 Copyright 5 Contents 6 Indie Game Development 14 The Best Job in the World! 15 1 Development Tools and Resources 18 Game Development Systems 18 Unity 19 Game Maker Studio 24 Unreal Engine 4 25 Construct 2 26 Clickteam Fusion 29 Game Salad 30 App Game Kit 32 Marmalade 33 Cocos2d-x 35 Corona 36 Flash 39 Art and Design Resources 43 Audio Resources 46 Outsourcing 50 Outsourcing Agreements 52 Outsourcing Notes From a Freelancer Perspective 53 Development Tools and Resources 56 Microsoft BizSpark 56 Adobe Creative Cloud 57 My Software Kit List 60 Image Compression Tools 64 Case Study—Creating a Prototype in Unity 65 Development Diary—Part One 65 Development Diary—Part Two 70 Developing Our First Unity Game 76 2 Self-Publishing 82 Base Game Projects 83 Publishing on PC 84 Playable Free Alpha Demo 85 Early Access Release 85 Installers 86 DRM 87 Selling a PC Game 88 Direct Sales 90 Bundles 91 Publishing on Game Portals 93 Key Portals 93 Other Portals to Consider 95 Publishing on Steam 97 Publishing on the PlayStation Network 101 Concept Approval 102 Development Kits 102 Age Ratings 102 Translations 103 QA Submission 103 Product Codes 103 Financials 103 Pricing and Promotions 104 Publishing on Nintendo 106 Concept Approval 106 Development Kits 106 Age Ratings 106 Translations 106 QA Submission 107 Product Codes 107 Financials 107 Pricing and Promotions 107 Publishing on Xbox 108 ID@Xbox 109 Publishing on Apple 110 iOS Development 110 Mac Development 112 Mac App Store 113 Publishing on Android 116 Google Play 116 Amazon App Store 116 SlideME 117 Amazon Fire 117 OUYA 119 GameStick 119 Nook 120 Partnering With Games Publishers 120 Devolver Digital 121 Midnight City 121 Thumbstar 121 Ripstone 121 Chillingo 122 DotEmu 122 Points to Consider When Approaching a Publisher 122 Revenue Split 122 Payment Terms 122 Intellectual Property Rights (IP) 122 Ports to Other Devices 123 What Will They Do? 123 One Final Thing 123 Post-Mortems 123 Life of Pixel—Our First PC and Mac Launch 123 Our Android Console Experiences So Far 126 The Indoor Pub Games Sports World PlayStation®Vita Post-Mortem 128 A PSP Minis Adventure 135 3 QA, Localisations and Age Ratings 140 QA Bug Tracking 140 Bug Tracking Software 141 Working With External QA 143 Language Translations 146 Age Ratings 147 4 PR and Reaching Out to the Press 150 Game Icon 151 Tagline—A One-Sentence Description of the Game 151 Descriptive Paragraph Describing the Game in Further Detail 152 Closing Line ‘Call-to-Action’ 152 Bullet Point Feature List 153 Bullet Point Basics 153 Marketing Keywords 154 Copywriting Tips 157 Learn by Example 157 Start Sentences With Action Verbs 157 Use Active Voice 157 Economize Your Words 158 Limit Jargon 158 Keep Sentences Short 158 Press Releases 158 A Good Press Release Needs a Good Headline 159 First Paragraph 159 Second Paragraph 160 Last Paragraph Call-to-Action 160 Important Points to Remember 161 The Press Kit 161 Company Bio 162 Press Release 162 Fact Sheet 162 Logos 162 Banner Art 163 Screenshots 163 Videos 163 Press Distribution Services 164 GamesPress 164 GameRelease.net 165 prMac 165 SoftPress Release 166 Games Press Release Distribution Service at Mitorah Games 167 Tier One Services 167 distribute() 167 Who Should You Contact? 168 Rock, Paper, Shotgun 168 Indie Games 168 TIGSource 169 Indie Game Magazine 169 Pixel Prospector 169 The Indie Mine 169 YouTubers Are the New Games Press 171 Monetization Worries 173 Let’s Play 173 Twitch 174 Reviews and Press Coverage 178 Follow-up on Reviews and Online Articles 178 Tools and Resources 179 Promoter 179 Google Alert 179 MailChimp 180 Sendy 180 YMLP 180 5 Marketing 182 Know Your Market 182 What Are Your Unique Selling Points (USPs) 183 Start Your Marketing Early 183 Marketing Checklist 185 Press Releases 186 YouTube 186 Twitter 186 Facebook 188 Tumblr 189 Company Website 190 Product Website 190 User Ratings 193 RSS Feeds 193 ModDB/IndieDB 194 Screenshot Saturday 194 Slidely 195 Digg 195 Competitions and Free Giveaways 195 Crowd Funding Increases Visibility 195 Steam Greenlight 196 Reddit 197 Conferences, Festival Contests and Game Jams 198 Analytics 198 App Annie 199 Flurry 199 Swrve 199 Apmetrix 200 Marketing Tools 200 Buffer 200 Social Mention 201 IceRocket 201 CrowdBooster 201 Marketing Grader 202 Inbound Writer 202 HootSuite 203 Google Analytics 203 Klout 203 SurveyMonkey 204 6 Advertising 206 Advertising Channels 207 Reddit 207 Project Wonderful 208 BuySellAds 208 iSocket 209 Google Adwords 209 Facebook 210 Banner Sizes 211 Mobile Advertising 212 Ad Networks 213 Google Admob Ads 213 Apples’ iAd 214 Applovin 214 Chartboost 214 RevMob 214 Tapjoy 214 Upsight (Formerly Playhaven) 215 7 Websites, Forums and Source Control 216 Company Website 216 WordPress Themes 217 WordPress Optimization 219 Web Caching Plugins 220 Anti-Spam Plugins 221 Landing Pages 221 Discussion and Support Forums 225 Source Control 226 8 Funding 230 An Introduction to Funding 231 Friends and Family 232 Angel Investor 232 Professional Investor 232 Find a Mentor 234 Attend Events and Meetings 235 The Due Diligence Process 235 Support Organizations 236 Further Reading 238 Sources of Funding 240 Early Access/Alpha Funding 240 Abertay University Prototype Fund 241 Business Angels 242 Venture Capital 244 Digital Capital 245 Game Incubators and Accelerators 245 Crowdfunding 248 Games Publishers 252 Platform Holders 253 Development Grants 253 Regional Growth Funds 253 Festivals and Contest Prizes 254 Production Tax Credits 254 Research and Development (R&D) Tax Credits 255 9 Tax, Legal and Other Odds and Ends 258 Looking After Your IP 258 Identifying Rights in Interactive Media Businesses 259 IP Holding Companies 264 Withholding Taxes 265 Game Legal Text 267 Registered Trademarks 268 Business Consultancy and Agency Representation 268 Arise, Games Consultancy Services! 268 Index 272 The indie game developer's complete guide to running a studio. The climate for the games industry has never been hotter, and this is only set to continue as the marketplace for tablets, consoles and phones grow. Seemingly every day there is a story of how a successful app or game has earned thousands of downloads and revenue. As the market size increases, so does the number of people developing and looking to develop their own app or game to publish. The Indie Game Developer Handbook covers every aspect of running a game development studio-from the initial creation of the game through to completion, release and beyond. Accessible and complete guide to many aspects of running a game development studio from funding and development through QA, publishing, marketing, and more. Provides a useful knowledge base and help to support the learning process of running an indie development studio in an honest, approachable and easy to understand way. Case studies, interviews from other studies and industry professionals grant an first-hand look into the world of indie game development The indie game developer's complete guide to running a studio. The climate for the games industry has never been hotter, and this is only set to continue as the marketplace for tablets, consoles and phones grow. Seemingly every day there is a story of how a successful app or game has earned thousands of downloads and revenue. As the market size increases, so does the number of people developing and looking to develop their own app or game to publish. The Indie Game Developer Handbook covers every aspect of running a game development studio-from the initial creation of the game through to completion, release and beyond. Accessible and complete guide to many aspects of running a game development studio from funding and development through QA, publishing, marketing, and more. Provides a useful knowledge base and help to support the learning process of running an indie development studio in an honest, approachable and easy to understand way. Case studies, interviews from other studies and industry professionals grant an first-hand look into the world of indie game development Indie Game Development: The Best Job in the World!Chapter 1: Development Tools and ResourcesChapter 2: Self-PublishingChapter 3: QA, Localizations & Age RatingsChapter 4: PR & Reaching Out to the PressChapter 5: MarketingChapter 6: AdvertisingChapter 7: Websites, Forums & Source ControlChapter 8: FundingChapter 9: Tax, Legal & Other Odds and Ends