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After the success of the previous post with 5 Marketing and Business tips for Game Developers, I decided to write 5 more tips to help you who are new to this market and/or don’t know very well which way to go.
01 – Be flexible
We live in an industry that is constantly moving. This may be a bit obvious, but we don’t pay enough attention because we’re always so busy. New trends appear all the time, as user behavior in cohorts can change quickly. Fortnite, Free Fire, what else is coming? Just to be clear, my main point here is – if you get caught off guard during your project, don’t dismiss it. Think about possibilities, trends and don’t be afraid to pivot if necessary. Don’t follow hypes, but follow clear trends.
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02 – Don’t take a step bigger than your leg
How big is your team? Are you a one-man army? How big is your budget? Plan the project accordingly – game development isn’t poker (even if budget isn’t an issue – you lucky guy!), so never go all-in. Make projects you can FINISH. More: If possible, try to have a plan B, C and all the letters you can get, so the goal is to keep your studio sustainable and not just an all-or-nothing initiative.
03 – Investment is not a commodity
In my experience, it’s an overwhelming feeling to look at matchmaking tools (ubiquitous at every event, apparently – and that’s great) and see the surreal amount of studios looking for investors for their games. It’s like there’s an endless number of people ready to spend money and all these games are good enough to make someone throw money in the developers’ face. Honestly, it will NOT happen. Investors are looking for projects with the lowest possible risk and the fastest possible ROI. While we have examples of wonderful relationships and results between studios and seed or equity investors, this is by far the most difficult relationship to build.
My advice to you is to look for alternatives – Government grants, platform grants, how you will be able to achieve high visibility through a solid business plan and a great prototype. Handle it all and then maybe you’ll be seen by a solid investor and build an amazing experience from there.
04 – Be seen
This is not about place, place, place. It depends entirely on visibility and engagement.
If you have an awesome game, you are 50% ready. the other 50% is making people discover you exist. Social media is just the tip of the Iceberg. You need to go further. Campaigns, cohorts, being in the right places at the right time, building a community.
My advice: Talk to an expert. So you will only have one game – create the best games ever. Let the marketing guys do their magic for you (and of course, trust them.)
05 – Ask for help
And finally, continuing on topic 04, let me reinforce one thing – do what you do best. If you have the opportunity, always ask for help. Mentors, association, public and private initiatives, IGDA… All of this is there to help you.
Creating amazing games is already a daunting task in itself – and that’s something you do well. For everything else, consider hiring reports, agencies and other experts. Is it expensive? It may be – but I assure you that these assets are also available at prices that indies can afford.
Build a dedicated and secure ecosystem around you so that you build not only meaningful experiences, but you also receive monetary recognition from them.
