I just want to point out that a Publisher doesn't necessarily market the game for you. You really need to make sure marketing is specified in your contract, because I've known several indie studios who took publishing deals, got a bunch of money to develop the game, but didn't get a marketing push and it really didn't help them in the long term. So make sure you ask about marketing, don't just assume it's going to be part of the package.
It's good practice to have explicit commitment on the contract. A clear roadmap with clear deliverables. Open data from both sides. And a cancel clause in case of breach.
That's good to know honestly! I just got my first publisher contract deal and Im thankful theres specific sections all about the marketing. I specifically only looked for it because I know I hate marketing after our kickstarter lol But its crazy a publisher wouldn't market like.. doesn't that make them more money?
I don't understand how publishers can throw money at a game without wanting to see it succeed and earn them a profit? Hard to believe that a publisher who funds a game and doesn't do marketing can stay in business.
thank you for the informative video! It's still difficult for me to believe that you're not a social person... I know I'm not, even talking to a camera is scary (don't know why), but you're basicalylly radiating strong confidence, which is an awesome quality to have
I have a question and hope to catch you live to ask If I can. I just recently got a publisher deal and things look good, the question is actually on Humble Bundle games. I heard a warning from a dev friend of mine that humble bundle is kind of a double edge sword, because its a big contributor to people reselling steam keys by the thousands.. Publishers love to look for these bundle deals to sell your game so what are your thoughts on humble bundle and if I have any reason to worry - or if there is no need for concern based from your experience? Just wanted your thoughts thanks =]
Do you think someone who is capable of learning and teaching themselves all the other game dev skills, would also be able to teach themselves the necessary marketing/PR skills if they put their mind to it? And about how much time/effort would that take compared to the game itself, half as much, just as much, 10%? If they had their own money to invest(~15k) and were willing to really put their mind to it, do you think they could have results as good as a decent(not bad but not amazing) publisher? And also, exactly how early would they need to start focusing on marketing? I've been 100% all in on the game, and am working on my 10 min super-polished demo(trinity hook!), my plan was to get that done and then take a breather from dev and focus on getting the word out
I know you don't expect someone else to answer, but I wanted to toss my thoughts in there if it helps. Kickstarter/fundraising would be a great test and learning function for your marketing/learning skills as it will test how well you can convey your ideas and see real time reaction to the premise and themes of your game, while also having the funding afterwards if it's successful. You learn skills by just utilizing what you know and learning as you go, so the earlier you start, the better you'll get by time you go to release. From what I seen and know, you basically want to do marketing the entire time you work the game. Unless you have plans for a grand reveal at some point, you want to start as early as possible. If you wait too long, you can fall into the common indie trap of just forgetting to market till the end and then no one ends up finding out about your game by the time you release, which isn't very helpful to you.
Hello bro, my name is Favour Odoyo, I'm the founder of 7trace technology, I'm just starting out as an indie game developer, though, I'm also a 3D artist and a programmer (web and app), .. I would want to know like, how much should I sell my game to a publisher?..
Who are you addressing? I can answer for both myself and Thomas Brush : yes. Thomas used it to create Pinstripe, NeverSong(Once Upon a Coma), and just used it to create Twisted Tower. EDIT : Wait, what the heck!? I miss-read your comment :D I will now reply with this. I have learned it in a terrible way. But I know that Thomas learned Flash before Unity. Sorry mate :D
Thank you once again! TO be honest, I have been a fool of game development for too long. I am 16 now, but I want to get real with the thing. Does anyone else feel the same way?
Goin on 10 years and I have yet to release a full original title. However I'm finally going to do so this December. It was a long road to get to the point where I feel my skills are all good enough to do this. I never wanted to release low quality jank. Not saying my game will be the GOAT but I feel its a great start. Study, study, and study some more. Study your favorite/the best indie games, and emulate their quality. Not just for your games, but the packaging as well (cover art, steam page, itchio page, and your brand page). As a single dev you'll need to learn well not only how to develop, but polish also. Programming, graphic design, 3D modeling, texturing, environment design, lighting, and sound, are the main skills you'll need to make a good, profitable game. Its a LOT but its doable.
@@ZeroTraceOperative Yes. I have to be honest with you--I am scared of game dev. Not because I think it's impossible, but because I am afraid of the emotion surrounding it. There is wrong in relying on emotions. That fear is false, and I think it grips too many of us. I don't care any more--I will make a game, and I will make it good. I am happy to say that I don't care about what other people think I am. I am a game developer, and only God can stop that.
@@BlindseekersOath I'll be honest as well: it can be VERY stressful, but its self inflicted, as we are not obligated to anyone but ourselves when developing. But thats still a HUGE deal. Your reputation with yourself equates to confidence. Make promises to yourself, and dont break them. Keep your eyes on the prize, but be honest with yourself and the value of your game. Many devs get rose tinted glasses over their games, delusionally believing its better than it is. Happened to me with an old game I was working on that was doomed to fail and I couldnt see that with the rose tints on. I've learned from that and have humbled myself. Stay true, and God will lead you righteously.
Yeah, I'm 14 and making tons of games, but I'm waiting to be a legal adult to actually start making commercial games and having it as a job. Maybe that's not what u meant
Funny that one person (yes, I am talking about myself) can populate over 50% of the comments :D EDIT : Getting ahead of myself, I only populate about 40% of the comments. I'm not worthy '_'
Here is the reality, I am employees short of being blizzard without the gross sex stuff. Coding doesn't make you a game designer it makes you a 3d graphic engineer. I am a director screen write lore master creature design weapon designer website designer and the list goes on. I need 3d graphic engineers, lore mechanics expansions the total package. I am to old and as my daughters illness gets worse we are out of time. I don't need school I need employees seeking long term profit sharing. Your videos lack so much substance as to the actual how. Here it the skinny you keep saying the truth and nobody but me seems to hear it. This video is marketing and what i need is a path to hiring people. Either small team generating a slice and or working to be the lead of the branch teams.
I just want to point out that a Publisher doesn't necessarily market the game for you. You really need to make sure marketing is specified in your contract, because I've known several indie studios who took publishing deals, got a bunch of money to develop the game, but didn't get a marketing push and it really didn't help them in the long term. So make sure you ask about marketing, don't just assume it's going to be part of the package.
Yeah, he actually mentioned that during the live stream.
It's good practice to have explicit commitment on the contract.
A clear roadmap with clear deliverables.
Open data from both sides.
And a cancel clause in case of breach.
That's good to know honestly! I just got my first publisher contract deal and Im thankful theres specific sections all about the marketing. I specifically only looked for it because I know I hate marketing after our kickstarter lol But its crazy a publisher wouldn't market like.. doesn't that make them more money?
@@wufflespuffs3744 Ha! But no, that doesn't make them the money directly. They get money from the developer(s). That is why we must be so careful. :D
I don't understand how publishers can throw money at a game without wanting to see it succeed and earn them a profit? Hard to believe that a publisher who funds a game and doesn't do marketing can stay in business.
I absolutely LOVE these live sessions. Thanks man!
Great video buddy, good topic. More dame dev streams coming?
Love your content about Game Dev!
thank you for the informative video! It's still difficult for me to believe that you're not a social person... I know I'm not, even talking to a camera is scary (don't know why), but you're basicalylly radiating strong confidence, which is an awesome quality to have
46:26 that's me. Have been following thomas sir from 2019 and I learnt a lot from him 🙂
When Thomas said "if they don't wanna talk about games, there's nothing to talk about" lmao, I'm exactly the same
I have a question and hope to catch you live to ask If I can. I just recently got a publisher deal and things look good, the question is actually on Humble Bundle games. I heard a warning from a dev friend of mine that humble bundle is kind of a double edge sword, because its a big contributor to people reselling steam keys by the thousands.. Publishers love to look for these bundle deals to sell your game so what are your thoughts on humble bundle and if I have any reason to worry - or if there is no need for concern based from your experience?
Just wanted your thoughts thanks =]
Do you think someone who is capable of learning and teaching themselves all the other game dev skills, would also be able to teach themselves the necessary marketing/PR skills if they put their mind to it? And about how much time/effort would that take compared to the game itself, half as much, just as much, 10%? If they had their own money to invest(~15k) and were willing to really put their mind to it, do you think they could have results as good as a decent(not bad but not amazing) publisher?
And also, exactly how early would they need to start focusing on marketing? I've been 100% all in on the game, and am working on my 10 min super-polished demo(trinity hook!), my plan was to get that done and then take a breather from dev and focus on getting the word out
I know you don't expect someone else to answer, but I wanted to toss my thoughts in there if it helps. Kickstarter/fundraising would be a great test and learning function for your marketing/learning skills as it will test how well you can convey your ideas and see real time reaction to the premise and themes of your game, while also having the funding afterwards if it's successful. You learn skills by just utilizing what you know and learning as you go, so the earlier you start, the better you'll get by time you go to release.
From what I seen and know, you basically want to do marketing the entire time you work the game. Unless you have plans for a grand reveal at some point, you want to start as early as possible. If you wait too long, you can fall into the common indie trap of just forgetting to market till the end and then no one ends up finding out about your game by the time you release, which isn't very helpful to you.
I would encourage you to buy a course on the topic.
I missed it again 💀🤌
Aww man! That's not fun. Well, at least it can be rewatched!
Hello bro, my name is Favour Odoyo, I'm the founder of 7trace technology, I'm just starting out as an indie game developer, though, I'm also a 3D artist and a programmer (web and app), ..
I would want to know like, how much should I sell my game to a publisher?..
I just wondered and wanted to ask: How have YOU learned Unity? (please excuse my english)
Who are you addressing? I can answer for both myself and Thomas Brush : yes. Thomas used it to create Pinstripe, NeverSong(Once Upon a Coma), and just used it to create Twisted Tower.
EDIT : Wait, what the heck!? I miss-read your comment :D
I will now reply with this. I have learned it in a terrible way. But I know that Thomas learned Flash before Unity.
Sorry mate :D
@@BlindseekersOath No problem XD
@@naturelist ??? I have no idea what I was saying there. Lol it doesn't even look relevern to your question! I'm sorry!
I GOT THOMAS BRUSH COURSE FOR FREE LEL
25:21 r
Thank you once again! TO be honest, I have been a fool of game development for too long. I am 16 now, but I want to get real with the thing. Does anyone else feel the same way?
Goin on 10 years and I have yet to release a full original title. However I'm finally going to do so this December. It was a long road to get to the point where I feel my skills are all good enough to do this. I never wanted to release low quality jank. Not saying my game will be the GOAT but I feel its a great start.
Study, study, and study some more. Study your favorite/the best indie games, and emulate their quality. Not just for your games, but the packaging as well (cover art, steam page, itchio page, and your brand page). As a single dev you'll need to learn well not only how to develop, but polish also. Programming, graphic design, 3D modeling, texturing, environment design, lighting, and sound, are the main skills you'll need to make a good, profitable game. Its a LOT but its doable.
@@ZeroTraceOperative Yes. I have to be honest with you--I am scared of game dev. Not because I think it's impossible, but because I am afraid of the emotion surrounding it. There is wrong in relying on emotions. That fear is false, and I think it grips too many of us. I don't care any more--I will make a game, and I will make it good. I am happy to say that I don't care about what other people think I am. I am a game developer, and only God can stop that.
@@BlindseekersOath I'll be honest as well: it can be VERY stressful, but its self inflicted, as we are not obligated to anyone but ourselves when developing. But thats still a HUGE deal. Your reputation with yourself equates to confidence. Make promises to yourself, and dont break them. Keep your eyes on the prize, but be honest with yourself and the value of your game. Many devs get rose tinted glasses over their games, delusionally believing its better than it is. Happened to me with an old game I was working on that was doomed to fail and I couldnt see that with the rose tints on. I've learned from that and have humbled myself. Stay true, and God will lead you righteously.
Yeah, I'm 14 and making tons of games, but I'm waiting to be a legal adult to actually start making commercial games and having it as a job. Maybe that's not what u meant
What engine are you using?
Funny that one person (yes, I am talking about myself) can populate over 50% of the comments :D
EDIT : Getting ahead of myself, I only populate about 40% of the comments. I'm not worthy '_'
Here is the reality, I am employees short of being blizzard without the gross sex stuff. Coding doesn't make you a game designer it makes you a 3d graphic engineer. I am a director screen write lore master creature design weapon designer website designer and the list goes on. I need 3d graphic engineers, lore mechanics expansions the total package. I am to old and as my daughters illness gets worse we are out of time. I don't need school I need employees seeking long term profit sharing. Your videos lack so much substance as to the actual how. Here it the skinny you keep saying the truth and nobody but me seems to hear it. This video is marketing and what i need is a path to hiring people. Either small team generating a slice and or working to be the lead of the branch teams.