Indie, an abbreviation for “independent,” describes a video game developed by an individual or a small team without the aid of a publisher. Instead of Blockbuster releases from major studios, indie games are created by individuals spending their own money.
Crowdfunding platforms like Kickstarter and Indiegogo support some of these initiatives. Still, the money they raise seldom covers the full cost of production, let alone additional charges like advertising and production fees.
Developing an indie game can seem like an impossible task. Of course, there is a lot to do, but you need to know what is required so it becomes easier even to start. Having the resources to do what is needed is another hassle. Indie game development is something you can start doing whenever you like. Independent game developers can be anyone, from students to people with regular 9-to-5s.
Here are six practical ways to help you get a start in your indie game development
Start With A Plan
The video game development industry is such that; the more prominent your idea, the more complex its development. It is better to start with simple video game ideas and expand them into challenging ones. Developing games is a difficult skill that is better improved with practice. You need to start with a simple idea and then narrow it down to its core features for playability. Completing a game, regardless of size, would motivate you to continue learning. This stage needs regular re-evaluation, though. How do you plan to achieve your goals? In your opinion, what does a successful life look like? Your game sold one million copies? One of Markiplier’s YouTube uploads? A video game character franchise to rival Mario, Master Chief, and others?
Going inward to devise a brilliant strategy for attaining achievement is necessary. What sets your game concepts apart from others? What kind of game will it be? Will it be like the ones at Online Casinos or just a regular mobile game? It may be challenging to face these questions head-on at first, but the sooner you do, the sooner you’ll find solutions. These questions and their solutions will generate yet more inquiries. To learn quickly, make mistakes quickly. Any aspiring independent game studio founder would do well to adopt this motto.
Define Who You’re Trying To Reach
It’s OK to say that your target audience is gamers, but different games appeal to different people. Casual gamers, for example, might not play platform games like Super Meat Boy but instead stick to popular games like GTA and Minecraft.
People who are already interested in indie games will still need convincing that yours is the best option. Finding a niche is essential when creating games as an independent developer. Without a clear idea of who you’re making the game for, it’s easy to make a game just for yourself or your group of friends. This can turn people away from your game and hurt your chances of it being successful.
Select The Game Engine
The next step in your indie game development is selecting the engine or framework. Choosing the right engine or framework for your video game is essential because it determines how your game will end up.
Unreal and Unity are popular options for making games and running them. Because of this, the software you choose will be responsible for powering the player’s gameplay. These two game engines are used in the gaming industry to create various games, ranging from the massively popular Fortnite to the smallest indie titles.
If you want to learn anything quickly, pick one piece of software and stick with it. Once you have a firm grasp on how something operates, switching to a different tool is a breeze. After reaching $1,000,000 in revenue, Unreal Engine charges 5% of your earnings, while Unity charges a flat monthly subscription price per seat. User reviews indicate that Unity is more prevalent among programmers, whereas Unreal Engine is favoured by studios looking for excellent graphical performance. Mobile game developers, however, prefer to work with Unity as it facilitates easy development across several platforms.
Don’t Make Expensive Investments
The greatest temptation you would face as an indie game developer is the temptation to spend on expensive things. You would expertly convince yourself that whatever expensive item you buy would improve the quality of your game, which is more or less inaccurate. You can create quality games using whatever it is that you already have. As an indie game developer, you want to minimize your cost of production as much as possible.
Stay Focused
It is effortless to be distracted from doing any creative work. However, staying focused on game development is of utmost importance. Getting ideas is the easy part; completing the concept into reality is the tricky part. You would get tempted to begin new projects and leave the old ones.
Resist the temptation to abandon your game development halfway. Resolve to work on one project at a time so that when you complete one, you carry all that you have learned into your next project and produce an even better game.
Play a Lot Of Games
Nothing improves work than first-hand experience, and playing lots of games gives you just that. When playing games, remember that you are playing not to have fun but to learn. When you play games, you should use the time to dissect your favourite games to find out what you enjoy about them, what aspects the game does right, and where it needs improvement.
Conclusion
All the above steps help you create a game that you and other gamers would enjoy, an improved version of an existing game. There are many more practical tips for indie game development than the list above; however, the above recommendations would help indie game developers create games in the most effortless way possible. It is best to follow each tip one after the other. There is no rush to finish; however, completing it is crucial.
