How to make a profitable game

under $3000

Commercial dev by day / indie dev by night

Star Tactics is a turn-based tactics game about starship fleets battles

Star Tactics

Top-down, stylized graphicsTurn-based combatNo story Two campaignsRandom battles

Unity3dSteam (Win/Linux/Mac)Android - to be releasediOS - to be released

>6k owners$3000 budgetAlready paid off2 people core team2 outsource artistsFree soundsMusic from an older projectDIY trailer (thanks to my GF)

Budget under $3k You can do it too!

Become a producer!

Who is a producer? It’s a person who gives money to other people and they make him a game.Become a producer. Order a game.

Your money, your rulesChoose with whom to collaborateYour responsibility

Why become a producer?

I tried several approaches to indie-development: collaboration with other people - mostly fails due to human factorone-man team - too much work; I don’t codehiring a pro-dev, monthly basis - too expensive, weak motivationworking with publishers - terrible terms, you know

Let’s start!

Define what’s need to be doneDefine what can be done by youFind and hire missing rolesPrepare planningReady to rock!

Principles

Team is crucialSimple gameProven conceptRealistic goalsCheapest team possible - hire students, do it it yourself, use colleagues’ helpUse enginesIndie marketingMaximize quality, make a small but good gameDo cheap features that add value (skirmish mode)Don’t start from skratch: Find a game you really enjoy playing -> Check if it’s successful -> Think about what you want to

improve -> Change setting to your favorite -> This is your conceptGet a job in game industry!Get some experienceDiscuss your ideas and don’t be afraid - idea without implementation costs nothingYou NEED experience. This is your most valuable asset

Team Hire students!Choose who are eager to do your game! Pay fixed per project cost - this is crucial!Be a visioner… and fill every other role you

can1 developer is all you need

Star Tactics team:1 dev + me (GD, manager) + 1 2D part time

+ 1 3D part time

A good candidate

Young PassionateEager to implement your gameMight even make you a draft prototypeYou like him as a personality

Budget sources

Salary! Your main sourceStudents are cheapPer project cost - no other ways. Absolutely. Don’t count price of your work! In other case your budget will be 3-10x higherYour friends may help. By doing some work or giving some money

Simplify Production

Simple visuals, style matters.Simple featuresDon’t overdesignUse engines (again)Marketplace assetsYour colleagues can do part of work

Task tracking!Deadlines!Prepare in advance (store pages, art etc.)You don’t need perfect code! You need a finished game! Most likely you won’t do Game Evolution for this game

Target audienceStar Tactics fills a niche of hardcore games in which thinking is a main skill.Player who values words ‘pay once, play forever’ will appreciate this game because it provides a lot for its price. It’s a game with simple and clear rules but challenging thoughtful gameplay and significant playtime. Star Tactics has a strong community waiting for its mobile release.

Star Tactics will fit to a player who is a fan of:sci-fihardcore strategiesturn-based gamesspaceshipstactical combatbuying a game once and playing it for a long timeOur player is also:a male18-45 years oldNorth American, Western European or Asian ( we didn’t expect

Asia but Steam sale stats prove it)

Marketing

Twitter, Insta, FB - all this shit doesn’t work without tons of moneyFB/Twitter ads doesn’t work at your budget’s scaleTwitter has the best audienceUse autolikers (archie.co) and other SMM tools (Hootsuite)Your sales will be miserableBut your game will be profitableBecause it’s fucking cheapStart to do marketing as early as possibleEverything is a marketing asset

Mistakes

Don’t portDevelop for target deviceI did it just to make a game. Set money goals. Just paying off is okDevelop for target audienceDon’t become too addictedDon’t expect a lot of moneyDon’t delay paperworkPricing - find somebody who knows how it works. Check your

target audience

Press Before release1.5k sent emails72 opens12 link clicks4 replies0 results

News even on PocketGamer doesn’t help

After release100+ received emails30+ coverages

Release

Release preparations take about 1 monthDo the paperwork in // (It eats time. Really)Go Greenlight as early as possible, don’t

delay itLocal communities (i.e. Likers Tribe) can help

with different stuffPlaytest with friendsPlaytest with colleaguesFind some GDs to playtest your game too!

Revenue First night might and most likely will show TERRIBLE sales

Bundles (Indie Gala)Bundles give some money but their value is in

huge (for indie) visibilitySteam farmers - few hundred bucks never killed

nobodySteam revenue is very low comparing to what you

can imagineSteam sales are cool! Use it!Other stores doesn’t make moneyHigh expectations is your enemy!

Community management

Nice to have, but not crucialYour GF/BF is the best option

Thanks for your attention!

See your game on the stores!