How to Consistently Make Profitable Indie Games
Вставка
- Опубліковано 2 кві 2018
- Hi! I'm Ryan Clark, founder of Brace Yourself Games, and designer of games such as Crypt of the NecroDancer, Industries of Titan, IncrediBots, and more. I've been making indie games since 2004, and I've been fortunate enough to have created numerous successful games. I have an explicit strategy that I follow to achieve these results, and in this talk I will explain that strategy to you! (More below...)
This talk was part of the Pro Indie Dev Conference in 2018, and is made available here as a sample of the complete recordings. To check the talks by Edmund McMillen, Mike Bithell, Adam Saltsman and many others, go to www.proindiedev.com!
I occasionally produce other videos and articles, so please subscribe here on UA-cam, and follow me on Twitter at: / braceyourselfok
Thanks! - Ігри
R.I.P. Steam Spy.
I've watched this talk through multiple times and it's still the best one I've ever seen. Thanks Ryan for sharing so much info! When you say that we should all support our fellow developers, you certainly practice what you preach. Cheers~
Good talk. Also I thought my screen was dirty
Thanks for taking the time to put this talk together! This is simultaneously encouraging (indies can still succeed if you do the right things) and sobering (I'm not doing most of the right things). Provides lots of useful context and a simple enough framework for someone just starting up!
I've been watching many talks about this, but none was any close to be as good as this one. Thank you so much!
That trailer for the Necrodancer is great tbh.
Did anyone else manage to get the 2 marks off the screen?
I've watched so many videos about Indie Game Development, this one was by far the best! I read your article about hooks on Gamasutra a while ago and found it very helpful, and now we get the extended premium deluxe version :-) Also loved that you touched the topic of how all human brains are hardwired based on ancient times. In case you haven't read it(and in case you actually come across and read this comment), there is quite an interesting and entertaining book on this topic:
The Stone of Age Present by William F Allman ("how the legacy of our ancient ancestors profoundly influences our contemporary behavior and moral values").
Thank you so very much!
One of my favorite game dev videos of all time. Those points sound so obvious that I thought I always knew them but looking at my past attempts at development I see that I did not and even looking at what I do right now it is obvious that I could do better. X)
Reevaluating my direction right now.
I am so glad I found this channel. Thank you very much for all the insights!
The Gears of War trailer with Gary Jules' "Mad World" track is what got me to buy an Xbox 360. To this day, it remains one of my favorite game trailers ever. Aside from that one piece, what a wealth of information for aspiring indie devs, I'm here a bit late, but I've learned so much, thanks Ryan!
What a great talk! I learned so much today. Nice!
Phenomenal video Ryan! Really love the thoughtful and process oriented approach that people can reproduce. Really appreciate your sharing your years of experience. - Matt
Mentioned the chills thing right after I got them. Christ, there are some amazing tips in this. You, sir, are a blessing.
Many thanks for this talk, its quality matches that of the best GDC videos for sure!
Very insightful, cheers! :)
This was indeed an excellent talk. Thank you for sharing it Ryan! It is beyond helpful!
Hi Ryan, thanks for the great talk.
I've only just started my indie career and find this immensely useful. I've been wasting too much time on projects that should never have been started.
It would be interesting to see some of the ideas you considered but then discarded because they didn't meet the criteria.
Loved it! First time listening to it! Ready for Version 2023 2.0 :D
Great talk, thanks for taking time to do that!
Thanks for sharing your wisdom! Helpful.
Thanks for the video! Very clear, informative and gave me some stuff to think about.
The decision to include the Trailer for HLD right after your CoND trailer was brilliant. The two trailers couldn't be any more different, yet they were both extremely successful
What a wealth of experience and guidance shared for free! Thank you Ryan. Only one huge GLARING issue with the video... The little mark to the right of you through the whole video!!!! I sweat I tried to wipe it off like 10 times. Look forward to seeing more content from you!
I did the same, kept having to scroll just to check
Awesome talk Ryan, I remembered a lot of your thinking here, but it's very helpful to have a lot of it summarized in one place. Also the examples of trailers and games regarding hooks are great! Hope I end up celebrating your birthday with with Nick and Kenneth at a hotel room again in the future! ;)
Haha, that would be amazing, Steffen!!
What a great video.
Hands up who also thought the green-screen artefact next to Ryan's head was some dirt on their monitor...
Amazing video, so much great information. Took tons of notes! Thanks Ryan!
This proving to be an incredibly valuable game analysis methodology and go to market strategy. Thank you Ryan. I transcribed the whole thing, wil lpost later
Hey, Great video. As a tip to how noteworthy Crypt of the Necrodancer is. For Ludum Dare 41 I made a game that was loosely inspired by it, without having actually played it at the time. But I knew enough about it to use some of it's ideas in a game. (I then went and bought the game, I figured I should play it since I made a game inspired by it)
Very good thoughts here. Thanks for sharing. When you mentioned hardcore games and their visual style Cuphead came to mind as an exception.
6:36 That guy was also the one who made soundtracks for Prince of Persia. Just listen Time Only Knows track, you'll see what kind of a genius he is ✨
Every single word counts, thanks a lot for this talk.
This was fantastic as a indie develop this is going to help a ton thank you!
Hi Ryan, thanks for this talk, it was great!
Tanks for the video! I was having Clark withdrawal but this is a nice bump of that sweet sweet market analysis.
Great info, thanks for the tips.
Great talk and I agree with what you said about the Indiepocalypse and Steam Direct.
THANK U SO MUCH MAN! U rlly helped me grow up my expectations and planning! This was so so special to learn!🤩🤩🤩🤩❤️❤️❤️❤️
Excellent talk. Thank you!
Poor steamspy, it's so sad...
Btw, this is probably the best talk/video/presentation about indie games as business i've ever seen...
Awesome talk. Thank so much
Just found your channel and looking forward to sharpening my skillset. Subbed!
Welcome aboard!
Releasing them! Ok, releasing them FINISHED, I can wait, but can we have a bit of info on Industries of Titan? I'm in love with the graphic style, music and overall "feel" and curiosity is killing me.
Great Video . Helped a lot :) Thank you.
My mum says it's best Indiedev talk since 2004.
That's some serious mindshaking stuff, really.
Also I watched "Industries of Titan" teaser trailer. My unconscious whispers that one of the game hooks sound like "Can an industry genius build an utopia for mankind?". I think it is general vibe nowadays (yeah, I'm looking at you yeah, Elon Musk).
what talk should I watch from 2004?
It's a not video, I'm referring to Steve Pavlina's blog about indie games marketing @@josvdwest
Man, those knowledge, thanks for let me know what's missing in my game : )
Ryan can you share with us why you are switching from Unity to Unreal for Industries of Titan? Would you recommend that more devs do the same?
This is an excellent, highly informative video! However, I am slightly disappointed you didn't mention Dwarf Fortress until 12:13. :-D
The advice is all well and good, but to be fair, Crypt of the Necrodancer is already nearly 4 years old, published when there were literally 70% less games being published per year on Steam and elsewhere. If you can produce a 'hit' game now in 2019/20, then it would be much more impressive. Your points are all valid, but we also have to consider demand and visibility, which as everyone knows is a whole new mountain to climb nowadays, than it was 4-5 years ago. Not impossible, but the margins for financial 'success' are absolutely shrinking and being redefined. A good takeaway is that everyone's version of success is varied, and for many developers, just finishing a game and publishing it is the pinnacle, with revenue being a bonus, and always welcome. : )
Great advices there i put to my first game!!!
Great video!
Such a great video, and the tidbit about why kids like Minecraft was mindblowing - and I think you are right.
I would like to add that the trailer for hyper light drifter is fine, but that Kickstarter launched IN TWENTY THIRTEEN, as well as with a unique personal story from the developer that few can leverage. Launching a Kickstarter in 2022 is VASTLY different from a decade ago. I see Kickstarters with trailers of that quality or better launch almost every week, and most devs would be lucky to raise 5 or 10K nowadays. Especially so for those with no social media following. A trailer like hyper light drifter's is definitely not enough to cut it anymore, and I don't even think a game like Hyper Light is enough, either. It's a far, far different, much tougher and more competitive world.
Thank you so much!
Wow!
Thanks
Oh shit I loved your necrodancer game
Hi Crank, Is there a youtube playlist, video or course that goes into more detail?
What a great video!
Great information. Subscribed.
Thanks and welcome
Small note on 'Players vs Owners' on Steamspy: Looks like it's normal for players to be around 70% of owners rather than 90%; I only found one game with a decent sample size over 75%. (Dunno if the way it's reported recently changed, but that's what seems to be the reality now.)
Oh weird! Something must've changed with how it's being tracked. NecroDancer's "players" number on Steamspy has dropped a ton for some reason. Thanks for letting me know!
Huh, and now it looks like the numbers have gone back? At least, closer to the "normal" that I was accustomed to. There must've been some change on Steamspy's back end.
Weird - yep! Those are indeed more familiar numbers. Wonder what would've caused that. (Also holy moly, Slay the Spire's over 98%.)
...And now Steam is making this data private and Steamspy's information will be permanently outdated soon. How quickly the world turns.
Undertail had a pretty good kickstarter $51k and pledged only $5k, i would consider that a big success
Wow congrats on the Nintendo IP!
You should've shown the original Dead Island trailer instead of the Gears of War one. I can't think of a trailer that stuck with me more than that one.
*THIS*
"Halo 3: Believe" is pretty good too.
Can you make a follow up video on Fall of Gravity? it has over 2k positive reviews now.
Next up is the same talk. Someone snatched your vlog and reposted it.
The Hyper light drifter Trailer look so boring. just walking and the a fight with music that dont fit with it. And just cuts. looks like an Trailer from Fiverr xd
With respect to showing off accolades in a trailer. How did you go about getting those wins if the game wasn't even finished yet (making an assumption). Were you just submitting short demos? and on that note. How do you find out about these magazine events to where you can submit demos?
1:48 - I feel so burned. I'm currently making Game X, but in Space. (X=Factorio, my game is The Recall Singularity - factories in space)
That's doubly troubling given that Factorio already is in space.
Ever finish your game?
@@styxrakash4639 Not yet. Life got too complex, game too big.
@@TomLeys these things happen
You've got to wonder whether Assault Android Cactus MIGHT have been a hit with a different game name? :)
For some reason you remind me of Tuvok from Star Trek. I am listening at 1.25x speed which may make me think that
Oi! Industries of Titan! Give us a morsel please! :D
Ur a god
Crazy how much work you don't see goes into making games.
Is it true that Nintendo took Crypt of the NecroDancer and made a Zelda game ?
47:40, one or two games made millions , by small teams?? each week??
Which ones??
Have a look: www.steamprophet.com/final-scores Any game that grossed $100k in the first month should gross >$1M lifetime. So the week of Mar1,2018 there's "My Lovely Daughter" and "CHUCHEL". Week prior was "Heroes of Hammerwatch" + "Into The Breach" and maybe "Deep Rock Galactic" counts as indie too?
Thanks for the reply and the info, much appreciated!
A bit frustrating for indies since most of the top selling games on Steam are all made by 100+ person teams with huge budgets.
aaaand steam spy's analytics is shutdown, what timing haha
Add right in the middle of the trailer very disruptive
Someone got the GDC bug :)
Fascinating video! Though I'd rather have heard you talk more casually instead of reading a script, even if wouldn't have been as cohesive.
I appreciate the cohesive informative speech more.
because it's a talk he gave in 2016 at Full Indie Summit
Selling out and backstabbing the consumer is indeed a great way to make money as a studio!
just give us the script if you're just reading from it
Crypt of the NecroDancer was a great game, but the trailer was not, did you pay money for that?? :S Felt like a missed opportunity
28:40
While this trailer does a great job at showing gameplay in combination with music, it has clear weaknesses.
There is text blocking the screen during the first 20 seconds. During that time, you rather have to hook me with interesting gameplay mechanics and visuals. Show the good press after my interest is established.
Next up is the character quote selection.
Cadence: "I'm not going to wait here like a coward any longer! Dad's lost out there, Eli, and he needs help."
-> Yes, great! A hook containing the main character's motivation and a glimpse of the main character's personality.
Cadence: "You can't stop me, I'm going to the crypt of the necrodancer!"
-> Yikes. Generic, unnatural talk with a forced mention of the game's title. Don't do that.
Making games is a great opportunity, but learning all the different skills takes so long that I wonder if it will actually still be on that path once I'm done learning them.
I disagree on the Minecraft part. Mostly because most Minecraft players are adults.....
Airscape might have sold poorly at release, but now sits at 350K+ owners according to Steamspy.
Might be due to it being cited over and over in talks like these, but probably no longer a valid example of a game lacking success.
This is really awesome. I like how grounded your approach is to game development and profit. Most indie devs should see this.