How To Start An Indie Game Studio For ALMOST $0 (my setup)

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  • Опубліковано 28 лис 2024

КОМЕНТАРІ • 126

  • @romanvolek1004
    @romanvolek1004 4 роки тому +15

    i started gamedev with gamemaker studio 2 about 3 months ago (greatly inspired by you) and i thought it was a great choice for beginners!

    • @TreeFallStudios
      @TreeFallStudios  4 роки тому +1

      Aw that is awesome!! Yea I started with GameMaker Studio originally 6 years back or so. It is definitely a great learning tool for beginners and some advanced users release top notch games with it as well!

  • @serjantpizza
    @serjantpizza 2 роки тому +8

    Thank you for this advice man! You convinced me to re-use GIMP and now I wait for the right time to buy Affinity at a lower price. I learned to use photoshop the last three days, but the subscription plan of adobe made me really concerned economically. Now I am considering perpetual licensing so that I won't have to worry about payement while using a professional program. At the same price of a AAA game, I know its something I'll keep for life.

    • @TreeFallStudios
      @TreeFallStudios  2 роки тому

      Awesome! Yes, I learned how to use Photoshop in college, and it is definitely great software, but just hard to use on a budget-based startup studio that is for sure. Affinity can definitely do a lot for you for the price. They usually run sales every once in a while, and you can pick it up for 25 to 30 dollars usually. This is a killer price for a perpetual license on such a strong program. I have been using it now for a long time, to edit and create textures in. There are definitely some features missing that Photoshop does better for texture work, but generally there are workarounds or ways to pull up GIMP and finish it up in there. So, I think for the price savings it is definitely worth looking into those programs.

  • @CHINOPLAYz
    @CHINOPLAYz 4 роки тому +7

    I’m so glad someone posted a clear detailed step by step video

    • @TreeFallStudios
      @TreeFallStudios  4 роки тому +2

      Thanks so much for the feedback! I really enjoyed making this video and I am passionate about this topic, helping people start their game studios. I think I will continue to make a few more detailed videos on this subject in the near future as well.

    • @CHINOPLAYz
      @CHINOPLAYz 4 роки тому +2

      TreeFall Studios that’s so cool dude I wish for the best!! If you have a moment I have a situation I’m stuck in I’ve followed and made tutorial games finished tutorial parts start to finish, Different genres, even did a little tweaking to some to spice them up. Now I want to create my own unique game, I just feel like every idea I have is pretty big every video I hear start small for you first serious game and I understand that but do you have any methods you do to create like mini games?

    • @TreeFallStudios
      @TreeFallStudios  4 роки тому +2

      @@CHINOPLAYz Wow! This is a great question! Actually yes, I have a few tips and things I have learned when trying to keep my games reasonable size. If you don't mind, I would love to answer this question in a video! I will have it on the channel by sometime next week!! I really understand your frustration. I have made quite a few mistakes in the past trying to go "too big" for what I should have been able to handle in regards to the time it would take and skill level I had at the time.

    • @CHINOPLAYz
      @CHINOPLAYz 4 роки тому +2

      TreeFall Studios great!! il keep I eye out for it. That Bell should be ringing!!!

    • @TreeFallStudios
      @TreeFallStudios  4 роки тому +1

      Thank you!! Ring the notification bell yes haha! I plan to have your video out on Wednesday of next week, I have already finished Monday's upload. So either Wednesday or Friday it should be out :D

  • @baddragonite
    @baddragonite Рік тому +2

    I've done sprite art for a long long time as a hobby, I can also say for a free option is someone really Hates GIMP, MS Paint is a surprisingly good straightforward program for sprites as well, and Aseprite is a fantastic one-time payment program

    • @TreeFallStudios
      @TreeFallStudios  Рік тому

      HAHA! I have definitely met quite a few people who cannot stand GIMP. I have tried to use it on and off throughout the years, and I always seem to quit very quickly. I feel like if I did use GIMP full time and learned its quirks, it would be much more usable. I am still running the Infinity Suite, so Affinity Photo and Designer. I actually purchased Aseprite and have dabbled a little in there. I plan to work on another pixel art game soon so I will play around with my options!
      I have never tried using MS Paint for anything professional though so that is definitely a cool choice! I have not used that program in a long time.

  • @brbbst
    @brbbst 4 роки тому +29

    I couldn’t go along with GIMP instead I find Krita way better.

    • @TreeFallStudios
      @TreeFallStudios  4 роки тому +5

      I really have to give Krita a shot, I still have never used it before. I have heard quite a few people in the comments mention that it is their favorite free art program. I think it's very exciting to find new programs that people love!

    • @dolrixdev3122
      @dolrixdev3122 2 роки тому +2

      Is Krita free?

    • @brbbst
      @brbbst 2 роки тому

      @@dolrixdev3122 Yes it is.

    • @nicolaim4275
      @nicolaim4275 Рік тому

      @@dolrixdev3122 It is part of KDE which is a free software community.

    • @the_untextured
      @the_untextured 10 місяців тому

      Same

  • @Blackclanstudios
    @Blackclanstudios 3 роки тому +4

    I ditch Photoshop and switched to Affinity Designer and Photo. They are on sell ALMOST ALL THE TIME. And you can buy them for 25 or 35$ while on sell. A one time payment that is much better than Photoshop. I was sick of paying monthly and I needed to save. Great results with Affinity Designer and Affinity Photo. It's a huge suggestion if you don't want to pay Photoshop ur money every month, especially if your not using the program as much as you thought you would.

    • @TreeFallStudios
      @TreeFallStudios  3 роки тому +2

      Oh yea! Perpetual licensing models are just so much better to me. I try to purchase lifetime software for everything I use to help cut costs.

  • @MackaWhy
    @MackaWhy Рік тому +1

    Fun to come to a video like this while Unity is currently shitting the bed with developers.

    • @TreeFallStudios
      @TreeFallStudios  Рік тому +1

      LOL. Hey we try to have fun around here. This is my most popular video, it is a bit old at this point but a good number of things in the video still hold up! You might not wanna choose Unity over Unreal now though :P Thanks for watching!

  • @leethememerwolf
    @leethememerwolf 3 роки тому +2

    Thanks for the tips I am being a Indie Game Dev!

    • @TreeFallStudios
      @TreeFallStudios  3 роки тому

      Awesome and absolutely. Welcome fellow indie dev!

  • @boldlion2857
    @boldlion2857 3 роки тому +2

    Thank you I was being hesitant with what engine to use to make a game and where to make music, Again Thank you

    • @TreeFallStudios
      @TreeFallStudios  3 роки тому +1

      Awesome well I am glad this video topic helped you out a little! Thanks for watching!

  • @Radiobush
    @Radiobush 5 років тому +6

    I love Affinity Design best!

    • @TreeFallStudios
      @TreeFallStudios  5 років тому

      Yes!!! Affinity is so great. Easy to learn, versatile, and powerful. I got Photo first to edit texture maps with, but I'm picking up Designer to make art during their sale this week!

  • @wolfpack7874
    @wolfpack7874 4 роки тому +2

    You should put the Letter out on the PS4, Switch, and/or PC. That game had a really catchy soundtrack and great gameplay.

    • @TreeFallStudios
      @TreeFallStudios  4 роки тому

      I'm glad you enjoyed the game, especially since that is basically our oldest one haha! I have tinkered with the idea of remastering it. I have not progressed too far in that yet, but maybe someday soon!

  • @tauheedgamedev2388
    @tauheedgamedev2388 4 роки тому +4

    Great video, I recently started making games in Unity and started a channel, and videos like this really pushed me to get started so thanks. As Iv earned £0 so far from development I'm sticking with Unity, if I ever make money and reach the threshold I would be very tempted to move to Godot.

    • @TreeFallStudios
      @TreeFallStudios  4 роки тому

      Awesome! Very cool to hear this video helped in a way. I wish you luck on your game dev journey!! Godot is also an interesting option, I think in the future I will definitely take a deeper look into and learn it a bit further.

  • @nguyenzirenepersonal5812
    @nguyenzirenepersonal5812 3 роки тому +1

    Thank you for your sharing Eli

    • @TreeFallStudios
      @TreeFallStudios  3 роки тому

      You are welcome! Glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for the comment!

  • @T_Ocha_Streams
    @T_Ocha_Streams 5 років тому +3

    I wanna make a branch game. 😜
    I actually began my journey with blender back high school. Around 2009ish.

    • @TreeFallStudios
      @TreeFallStudios  5 років тому

      What do you mean by branch game!? :D Ah very cool!! Yes blender has been around for a little while, very awesome program! I think I first came across it when I started college, sometime around 2012 is when I started.

    • @T_Ocha_Streams
      @T_Ocha_Streams 5 років тому +1

      @@TreeFallStudios 0:39 😀 ment brand game. But phone autocorrected.

    • @TreeFallStudios
      @TreeFallStudios  5 років тому

      @@T_Ocha_Streams HAHA! AH yes. A brand game, brand new games, totally worth it, if you ask me.

  • @dolrixdev3122
    @dolrixdev3122 2 роки тому +1

    Super helpful! Thanks!!!!!

  • @justalef1900
    @justalef1900 4 роки тому +1

    Nice job man👍

  • @Slacker333666
    @Slacker333666 3 роки тому +1

    awesome video thanks for the content.

    • @TreeFallStudios
      @TreeFallStudios  3 роки тому

      Glad you enjoyed it! Thanks!! I aim to more videos like this one soon!

  • @diobrando309
    @diobrando309 3 роки тому +2

    With godot you can port it to consoles but you will have to pay a godot supported company that ports it because the PlayStation store requires a licensed third party publisher.

    • @TreeFallStudios
      @TreeFallStudios  3 роки тому +1

      Yea I did look into that recently. There are a few options now, which is super nice. It still adds an extra step and extra cost though which is not the greatest. It would be super amazing if they support those consoles natively one day for everyone.

  • @WispOfSoul
    @WispOfSoul 4 роки тому +4

    for a free music alternative I would suggest lmms or bosca ceoil

    • @TreeFallStudios
      @TreeFallStudios  4 роки тому +1

      I will have to look those up! Thanks for posting a suggestion!

    • @WispOfSoul
      @WispOfSoul 4 роки тому +1

      @@TreeFallStudios no worries, thought it would be a good idea to comment since I've gotten some pretty nice music out of them, also for art I use krita and libresprite which are both free and opensource, sound effects for 8bit or 16bit style games I use bfxr and sfxr same with these free not sure if there open source though.

    • @TreeFallStudios
      @TreeFallStudios  4 роки тому +1

      Wow! Lots of new suggestions, very cool! I have heard quite a bit of talk about Krita, a lot of positive vibe around that one. I definitely need to look into it. I am smitten with my Affinity now, been mostly covered in my 2D art department.

  • @Goomastra
    @Goomastra 2 роки тому +1

    im 1 minute in and im dead lmao this editing is great

    • @TreeFallStudios
      @TreeFallStudios  2 роки тому

      LOL. Thank you. I feel like I am not the best at editing, but I try sometimes lol.

  • @tylerscott3192
    @tylerscott3192 Рік тому +1

    Do you have a video on starting up the business in general? Do I need to make a LLC?

    • @TreeFallStudios
      @TreeFallStudios  Рік тому +1

      I am actually working on that right now! For starting a brand new game studio in 2023, should be ready either Friday or early next week. As for business advice, starting an incorporated business is definitely helpful depending on how serious you plan to be. It is also really tough to give tax/legal advice, we are only supposed to give our "opinions" on such matters but I will definitely be going over some pros and cons and how tos in the video. TreeFall Studios is technically TreeFall Studios L.L.C. and I will talk a bit about how that is beneficial. Thanks for asking!

    • @tylerscott3192
      @tylerscott3192 Рік тому

      @@TreeFallStudios cant wait! keep the great content coming!

  • @Blackclanstudios
    @Blackclanstudios 3 роки тому +2

    Now this was helpful, BUT I came here looking on starting the company part of it as the title suggested. Not setting up. Im looking to know did you go through copyright to protect your name and business, trademark or patents for your games and work, and getting your business started of where u sell ur games. Im already passed the softwares and games engines to use. I got a whole game im ready to put out and sell and a company name to start on but I want to make sure my business and games are protected. Example. Company name Nintendo. Game Mario. They are protected with copyright and trademarks. Did you go through those steps with your business? That's what im curious about.

    • @TreeFallStudios
      @TreeFallStudios  3 роки тому +1

      I was actually asked about this very topic by someone else in a comment as well, I am working on creating a video to cover these types of questions. I have been a little busy but hopefully will be able to get it out pretty soon! Thanks for letting me know you are interested in that. Also congrats on finishing your game, that is exciting!

    • @Blackclanstudios
      @Blackclanstudios 3 роки тому +1

      @@TreeFallStudios Thank you show much for replying. And please do upload a step by step process of what you did and how you went through copyright and trademarks. It's hard trying to start an Indie-game company all by yourself and not know any clue of legal process of making sure your work is secured and protected. Its finally good to connect with someone who went through it and can give insight to others like me starting out about it. You just gained a follower 💕

    • @TreeFallStudios
      @TreeFallStudios  3 роки тому +1

      @@Blackclanstudios I can definitely do a tips video, and try to cover as much as I can, but this will also depend on where you live and such. Different states have different processes to incorporate your business, and outside the US there are different processes as well. I can go over briefly some of the differences between copyright and trademark and such, those differ, but yea I can try my best to mention some of the things I have learned. Thanks for the comment!

  • @filiphedman4392
    @filiphedman4392 4 роки тому +1

    Godot FTW.

    • @TreeFallStudios
      @TreeFallStudios  4 роки тому

      Great choice!! I am very interested to see more from that engine, it is very promising and definitely has a cool story.

  • @Barldon
    @Barldon 4 роки тому +4

    Any advice on when / if you should set up a limited company for your games?

    • @TreeFallStudios
      @TreeFallStudios  4 роки тому +3

      I can give some, although you have to take it with a grain of salt, because you usually want to consult with a licensed professional, such as a CPA before setting up an incorporated company. It also heavily changes depending on the state you live in. I can make a video going over some of these topics if you are interested, and it could be a good starting point for you to go from before consulting any type of legal help, which normally would charge you by the hour. If you are knowledgeable or brave lol, you can do most of the process on your own, but it can be tougher to fix if you mess up how you wanted it for instance. If you are interested in that video I will put one together for you, just let me know. Thanks!

    • @Barldon
      @Barldon 4 роки тому +2

      @@TreeFallStudios That'd actually be super useful, I think for myself and a lot of people :) I actually live in the UK so I know it will all be slightly different, but general advice will still apply I'm sure. Thank you!

    • @TreeFallStudios
      @TreeFallStudios  4 роки тому +2

      @@Barldon Awesome! I will do a little bit of extra research and then give an overall incorporated tips video, absolutely! Stay tuned to the channel, I will try to comment on this reply when it goes live, should be in a week or two. I have a few other videos to come out first but I will work on getting it done sooner rather than later. Thanks again for the great question, I hope I can help even if it is just in a small way. Have a good one!

    • @Barldon
      @Barldon 4 роки тому +2

      @@TreeFallStudios Brilliant, thank you dude, I've subscribed and will definitely keep my eye out. Keep up the good content :)

    • @TreeFallStudios
      @TreeFallStudios  4 роки тому +1

      @@Barldon Awesome!! Thanks so much, I really appreciate it!

  • @anwartech8193
    @anwartech8193 2 роки тому +1

    Unreal 5 starts to require royalty until 1 million dollars I saw somewhere.

    • @TreeFallStudios
      @TreeFallStudios  2 роки тому

      Yea I think they have changed their license fees a few times since this video, at least once for sure. It is a lot better now than when I made the video. Also, Unity has gotten more expensive, a LOT more expensive since I made this. It is time to do an updated version with the most current cost effective tools.

  • @Ochenter
    @Ochenter 3 роки тому +1

    Like your shirt colour....

  • @leethememerwolf
    @leethememerwolf 3 роки тому

    UE5 is hyped cause of the price for payment after a while

  • @nutritionalyeast7978
    @nutritionalyeast7978 5 років тому +5

    Gimp is as powerful as photoshop for the core photo editing functionality imo. The UI just seems clunky if you're used to photoshop, I learnt gimp first and photoshop's UI seemed very clunky when I tried it.

    • @TreeFallStudios
      @TreeFallStudios  5 років тому +1

      I agree! Whatever you learn first can affect how you perceive other programs. It was kinda this way with blender for me. A lot of people used to think it was complicated, with hotkeys and the right click, so when I used 3ds max in college some, I thought that one was clunky haha. Some of the work in our games used gimp at one point. I'm really enjoying using Affinity Photo right now though. :D

    • @DanielScariti
      @DanielScariti 4 роки тому

      What about Paint.net

    • @TreeFallStudios
      @TreeFallStudios  4 роки тому

      I have heard a little bit about that, I know a couple of devs who have used it before. I believe that it is a good free option for sure, but from what I have seen, I believe Gimp has more powerful/versatile capabilities for free software. That is strictly in terms of game development, but I could be wrong there, I don't know really know the process of texture creation or anything with Paintnet.

  • @nathanh8287
    @nathanh8287 5 років тому +2

    yaaas

  • @SuPeRNinJaRed
    @SuPeRNinJaRed 2 роки тому

    0:58 It looks like the lock is broken. It won't open.

  • @Kenbomp
    @Kenbomp 2 роки тому +1

    Man none of these videos on tube talk bout desks or basic setups

    • @TreeFallStudios
      @TreeFallStudios  2 роки тому

      WOW! It is crazy you said that. I have been thinking of doing a video like that. I am currently transitioning to a few new pieces of equipment and thought about doing a deeper dive into that stuff but did not really know if that was something many people were interested in.

  • @RetroGameRepublic
    @RetroGameRepublic Рік тому +2

    As far as I know, you don't pay Unreal a cut until your game makes £1,000,000 over it's lifetime

    • @TreeFallStudios
      @TreeFallStudios  Рік тому +1

      Yea Unreal has way better pricing now. When this video first came out they had different revenue structures I believe they have changed since then.

    • @RetroGameRepublic
      @RetroGameRepublic Рік тому +1

      @@TreeFallStudios Oh right, they must have changed it to compete better with Unity.

    • @TreeFallStudios
      @TreeFallStudios  Рік тому +2

      @@RetroGameRepublic Yea it has great pricing now. I think Unity is basically the most expensive way to go now, unless you make like a TON of money from your game, then the Unreal cut would be more than the Unity Pro fees.

  • @Mareidd
    @Mareidd Рік тому +1

    And how can I advertise my game without paying alot of money?

    • @TreeFallStudios
      @TreeFallStudios  Рік тому

      This is a good question, a lot of people ask me this. It is very tough, marketing techniques typically take money, however your best bet for free marketing is growing your prescence on social media. Running your own website will cost money, running ads costs money, paying people to play your game costs money. Over time you can build a rapport with different press outlets and you can send them codes of your game to play, and they might review your game for instance, this would be another "free" ish route. Different platforms have different costs associated with keys free or paid, so the costs may vary depending on where you launch and how many codes you send out for marketing purposes. UA-cam is a good way to market your games for free, as long as you have the equipment to film the videos, if not, it will cost some money to get started.

    • @Mareidd
      @Mareidd Рік тому

      Thankyou alot

  • @김해원-u9m
    @김해원-u9m 2 роки тому +1

    What about a free game but you have to buy things like currency

  • @Mareidd
    @Mareidd Рік тому +1

    How can I know how much my game will make?

    • @TreeFallStudios
      @TreeFallStudios  Рік тому +1

      Well, you can never know for sure how much you will make, however there are a few things you can do to get a close estimate. For example, you can do some market research based on similar games, compare to your new project to your own prior sales history if you have released previous games, talk to other developers you are close with to get an average of their sales history on particular platforms to name a few.

    • @Mareidd
      @Mareidd Рік тому

      I am happy you answered that was really helpful! Now How can advertise my game

  • @almasanchez2889
    @almasanchez2889 5 років тому +3

    Hahah @ 0:39 I knew it was gonna be a great video

  • @Eiael
    @Eiael 3 роки тому +1

    Krita and Audacity :-)

    • @TreeFallStudios
      @TreeFallStudios  3 роки тому +1

      Nice!! Lots of Krita love on this video. I definitely need to use it for a project or check it out more extensively.

  • @elamandeep
    @elamandeep 3 роки тому +1

    what's your view on godot game engine??

    • @TreeFallStudios
      @TreeFallStudios  3 роки тому +2

      I have high hopes for it. I absolutely love open source and free software. I downloaded it, but have not worked much in it yet. I think I will give it a go and show off some work in it some day. My only negative complaint, is that it is limited in it's release capability. It only officially supports PC/Mac/Linux, and mobile. There are 3rd party companies you can go through in order to get your game to certain consoles, but I imagine that is a bit of a hassle and is just not nearly as stable as using an engine that is partnered with someone like PlayStation for example.

  • @randstadroleplay
    @randstadroleplay 4 роки тому +1

    Can you make an cheap/free marketing video. In the next 4 years i will launch 2 games. My first game is an 2D game and is created with Gamermaker studio 2. My second game is an 3D horror-survival game created with Unity.
    My first game is coming out in Q1 2021.

    • @TreeFallStudios
      @TreeFallStudios  4 роки тому

      Sure thing! I am currently working on another requested video, one about incorporating your game business, and then I will do a marketing one for you sure!
      And that is very cool. When I first started I learned on Game Maker, you can do some cool stuff with that. Also Unity is always the bomb diggity. I wish you the best of luck! I will try to reply to this comment when the video is live, be sure to stick around and be checking the channel just in case.
      Thanks again for your question!

    • @randstadroleplay
      @randstadroleplay 4 роки тому

      @@TreeFallStudios Thanks, i will send you an key when my game is live. So if you want you can check it out and give an feedback.

    • @TreeFallStudios
      @TreeFallStudios  4 роки тому

      @@randstadroleplay Sure thing! I would love too!

  • @260SG
    @260SG Рік тому +1

    just started and need employees

    • @TreeFallStudios
      @TreeFallStudios  Рік тому

      Haha! Employees can definitely help speed things along and having a team of game developers can be a big boost to whatever project you are working on! It can be hard to build a team when you are first starting out, so don't get discouraged! =)

  • @dolrixdev3122
    @dolrixdev3122 2 роки тому +2

    Unreal engine only takes 5% of your money if you make over 1 million dollars.

    • @TreeFallStudios
      @TreeFallStudios  2 роки тому +1

      Yea they have changed their structure since the recording of this video. They are becoming better cost wise for indies than Unity is. Unity is still the king of options when it comes to easier porting to different platforms. So definitely more options and pros and cons to weigh between them both. Unity is becoming more expensive and Unreal is becoming more accessible.

    • @dolrixdev3122
      @dolrixdev3122 2 роки тому

      @@TreeFallStudios yea

  • @user-km1iz3nj7n
    @user-km1iz3nj7n 4 роки тому

    I think Unreal is 5% a cut after your first million dollars.

    • @TreeFallStudios
      @TreeFallStudios  4 роки тому

      They quite possibly might have changed their fee royalty structure since the recording of this video, I will have to look into it.

    • @user-km1iz3nj7n
      @user-km1iz3nj7n 4 роки тому +1

      @@TreeFallStudios yeah I think they just started it in may.

    • @TreeFallStudios
      @TreeFallStudios  4 роки тому

      @@user-km1iz3nj7n Ah gotcha. That would be so much more beneficial then. Most people would never have to pay royalties that way.