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The Rise and Fall of the Lone Game Developer

471 points by putzdown 12y ago

jkscm 12y ago
Tell me if I missed it, but the chance to make a living as an independent game has increased, didn't? Companies get as big as their market will allow it. Saying no one can make a living from games anymore because of the big companies is like saying there can be no more start-ups because of Google and Facebook. The gaming market is big and fast. It's fine if you don't want to run anymore but there are a lot more other people in the race who have a chance of seeing the finishing line.
ddingus 12y ago
Retro is where it's at for lone developers. Systems are small, expectations low, challenges firm. I very seriously enjoy the retro scene today. It's possible for ordinary people to participate, even make games others will play and pay for. Homebrew. Completing that experience was one of those life checklist things. I had a great time and have learned a lot and was able to explore games on a technical level in an achievable way. Personally, I see this being cyclic. The big names and players will always be there. But little scenes pop up regularly, and those are a treat for those who go looking.
- simmons 12y ago
  Are there good sites for discovering these sorts of games? In the category of retro-style games for mobile platforms, it's an enormous chore to find anything good by just paging through the app stores.
  - alacritythief 12y ago
    You can find a lot of retro-style PC indie games on http://itch.io/ http://itch.io/, regarding mobile it's probably best to check out the forums or categories on mobile game review sites like http://toucharcade.com/ http://toucharcade.com/ .
    - ddingus 12y ago
      Agreed. I personally prefer retro on the older machines. One can play and code via emulation, which is quite good these days, or get some older gear and go that route. Both work for me. I enjoy the real gear for those machines I am familiar with and own. (Apple ][, Atari 8 bit, CoCo) Emulation is great for others. Emulation is good for coding either way. We get modern tools. There is a fun experience to be had working right on the hardware, but it's hard to put in the time. Emulation helps a lot with that.
  - ddingus 12y ago
    Good recommendation below. The other path is to visit sites and forums that focus on older hardware. New productions are frequent, emulation good, help at the ready.
danmaz74 12y ago
I'm floored that this post got so few upvotes. It's interesting and beautifully crafted.
- archagon 12y ago
  I feel that I see these types of posts come up every few months.
  - danmaz74 12y ago
    Yes the "argument" is not new at all, but the story is well told with good visuals. I just thought it deserved more :)
d357r0y3r 12y ago
I had a long stint with game development. Started contributing to MUD codebases as a teenager, later invested a lot of time in XNA and web games, although none of that work was particularly successful. As satisfying as that work was, I get as much satisfaction from writing Enterprise/B2B apps. The thing about game development is that, when you're years into it, it's just another app. Video game lovers especially start out thinking they want to do game dev and game dev only, but a great many of them would benefit from exploring what are thought of as "boring" areas of development. It's only boring if you don't like making software.
- TheCraiggers 12y ago
  >It's only boring if you don't like making software I think that's at least somewhat dependent on personality, and at least as much dependent on what sort of enterprise apps you're writing. Personally, there's only so much enjoyment I can extract from writing CRUD code at work, especially when I'm literally handed a multi-page document detailing exactly how the program is going to work, right down to pseudocode. I think a better comparison would be programming as a hobby versus job. I'm sure many game developers working at development houses like EA get burned out just like the guy working in the salt mines grinding out CRUD code. In both scenarios they lack a vested interest because creativity, in various amounts, is not allowed. Compare that to somebody writing 'boring' apps as a hobby where they have complete creative control. For me, programming is an art. It's a creative exercise. I'm much more vested when I'm allowed to flex that creative muscle. The kind of application doesn't matter as much as the amount of creativity I'm allowed. Your mileage my indeed vary though.
  - d357r0y3r 12y ago
    Fair points, I'm used to having some flexibility in my day to day. If you're being handed strict requirements that include implementation details, that could be a grind. My greater point would be that there's a lot of creativity that goes into developing good UIs, even for non-entertainment applications.
- fluffheadsr 12y ago
  this 1000 times.. started out wanting to make games, ended up just building everyday apps. I now work on an app used by hundreds of companies and some very big ones. It gives me great satisfaction although I'd still love to build the game I always dreamed of if I found the right group of people to do it with. The Fantasy Sandbox MMO market is begging for some love. Nothing great since UO or SWG:Pre-CU... Everything after WoW has been just flat out terrible attempts at stealing wow and its really hurt the market. The whole game development now is just about profit and not about creating original, amazing works of art like the early guys.
vparikh 12y ago
Maybe I am being a bit naive, but I don't think many of those games in the good old days were made with the intention of making huge profits. Most of the people were hobbyists who just had an itch to create the game they wanted to play - and they lucked out that a lot of other people wanted to play their game too. I think the state of the game market is good -- let the hobbyists of today create the game they want to play - and maybe it will make them a boat load of money. Or maybe they will be happy because they had their vision come true. Now the big corporations -- well they will just push whatever makes them money.
- smacktoward 12y ago
  > Maybe I am being a bit naive, but I don't think many of those games in the good old days were made with the intention of making huge profits. They weren't -- but the dream people had was that their games would generate enough profit that they could make a living making them. I read the post's message as being that they did, for a while, but those days have receded due to the collapse in what people are willing to pay for games. In a world where $0.99 for a game is considered expensive, it's hard to make a living making games unless you come up with some way to consistently make absolutely massive hits -- and that's a nut that nobody has ever cracked.
  - k__ 12y ago
    Some devs of the community around Photonstorm/Phaser seem to make a living with games. But it seems a different story. Most of them do mobile-mini-games they sell to sponsors and game-hubs, or they do some promotion games for companies.
  - wwweston 12y ago
    > but the dream people had was that their games would generate enough profit that they could make a living making them. Yep. And anyone who likes a game enough to think they'd enjoy something else the developer might make should hope the dev could make a living off it too. Otherwise, the dev will have to go back to the corporate IT salt mines, and you'll get whatever relative crumbs get produced in what we call "spare time," if that... and certainly not whatever their greatest work might have been. (Hope we're all paying for what we like!)
DaveSapien 12y ago
Excellent article! Though I'd say, somewhat, that it's still as difficult to make an engaging game as it's ever been. Just the bar has been lowered so much that poorer games are made by people with less ability. I like that anyone can make games now, some cool stuff has been made because of that...but yeah, as I said it is hard. I'm a pro and I've been made homeless because of lack of work (and a moral stance against predatory IAP's). I'm a damn fine developer, but that don't save you from the bottom line of what makes money.
archagon 12y ago
Personally, I'd like to think that the good games will still rise to the top. Monument Valley wasn't a fluke; it's a game based entirely about the art and the content, rather than stale one-off game mechanics that could be cloned in an afternoon. It got noticed because it was deep and unique. (Did they even do any marketing?) I've rarely found a game with that same level of quality that got no attention[1]. Most of the time, whenever somebody complains about their games getting no sales and I look at the stuff they've made, I see games that are fun and clever, but very one-note. Like, you can already see how the rest of the game is going to go just by looking at a screenshot. That's not a bad thing, but I don't think it's the kind of stuff that sells anymore. (With obvious viral exceptions that occur unpredictably every so often.) Whereas with a game like Monument Valley, you want to get in and explore it because every single level is unique. Several years back, the developers of Sword and Sworcery talked about how their business model was entirely about chasing the long tail rather than aiming for the mass market. It paid off wonderfully for them, and I think — I hope! — it still makes sense. [1]: Hey! If you liked Monument Valley, you should totally check out Windowsill. Short but gorgeous. Listed as an inspiration by MV's developers. Demo in browser: http://windosill.com http://windosill.com
- Sevores 12y ago
  Deep and unique? It’s like a mashup of Naya’s Quest [1] and Fez [2] (or Crush or Super Paper Mario). [1]: http://terrycavanaghgames.com/nayasquest/ http://terrycavanaghgames.com/nayasquest/ [2]: http://fezgame.com http://fezgame.com
  - archagon 12y ago
    Have you played it? It's like watching an animated movie. There is negligible repeated content, at least as far as the art and levels are concerned. Unlike 99% of iOS games, I felt as satisfied in level 1 as I did in 10. (And in fact, some of the best content is in the last few levels.) Everything feels alive and dynamic, from the crows to your friendly neighborhood totem. I even felt feelings. In an iOS game. Can you believe that?!
    - 12y ago
33W 12y ago
I believe that the niche of the lone game developer is in the bleeding edge. The two examples given show this: a mode of computing was created, individuals made games, then were pushed out. The individual proves the viability for the larger groups who do not want to commit the time or treasure to a venture that will not survive.
taeric 12y ago
It is odd to read this just after checking for updates on http://blog.thimbleweedpark.com/ http://blog.thimbleweedpark.com/. Otherwise, this is no different than any other medium, is it? Content curation is hard. Pretty much period.
omg_ketchup 12y ago
We're rising again. We're just building VR software instead of mobile games.
- sago 12y ago
  One person dev will rise every time there is a new viable games platform. Because such platforms will initially have low market penetration, small customer bases, and be high risk for larger developers. But as soon as those platforms are established, one person teams will be eaten alive by others. VR is primed to be a game tech. You can maybe do some interesting stuff now, when the only hardware out there is a few hundred thousand dev-kits. But if the Oculus launch goes okay, the production values needed to compete will very quickly take it out of one-person territory. Of course, there are always new tech. But for every platform that turns into money, there are many that are dead ends. Many single person devs who crash and burn because they are early to a party that never starts. I developed WAP games. I know this :)
- deleted 12y ago
  [deleted]
- _random_ 12y ago
  Quality 3d assets are very expensive.
dirkk0 12y ago
"For the lone game programmer that day has already arrived. Twice." If one sees 'the art of lone game programming' as a genre then this might be true. One successful lonely game programmer leads to a gold rush of many lonely game programmers digging the iKlondike for gold. But I am pretty sure that there is always room for the brilliant idea that no one can grasp when you pitch it. I personally would have talked Notch out of the idea for Minecraft with the usual arguments (blocky graphics, not state-of-the-art, there's no real goal, etc pp). And when I played it, I was like - omg, I could have done that. There always will be a lonely (game) programmer doing something extraordinary that you didn't think of in the first place or even despised. And then there is the next Notch, and I will again say - omg, not again. And some of us have big ideas and don't dare to join the art of lonely game programming.
- _pius 12y ago
  But I am pretty sure that there is always room for the brilliant idea that no one can grasp when you pitch it. You're right, but I don't think the author would claim otherwise. The article is not about the possibility of breakout success, but about lone, reasonably skilled game developers being able to make a consistent living. Not the same thing.
  - dirkk0 12y ago
    I see, and I agree, you have a point. I still stand to what I wrote , because I think it is important to stress that it is important to follow your ideas, even if their odds might be low. Being downvoted is somewhat ironical on a meta level.
- sago 12y ago
  Except that the myth of the one-idea-making-a-fortune is mostly that. A myth. Minecraft, as incredible as it was, wasn't the only game of its kind. People routinely underestimate the role of luck in these things. There is room for the one great idea. But the point is that the minimum production values on the platforms that sell that idea has risen beyond one person now. As it did in the 16-bit era in the late 80s and early 90s. I thought it was interesting that Monument Valley made it into the list at the end. Made by a graphic design agency, not a bedroom coder.
nshunter 12y ago
Good Article. I'm actively trying to move out of the industry (or into a company that has more opportunity connected with non-games) now after almost 10 years in. I'm fortunate that my skills are way more transferable than the majority of game developers (I build and lead SaaS teams), but it can be a bit of a slog to actually shift gears. Games are a place to be if you're really passionate about it or you feel like there's another hill to take. In general tho, there are much more meaningful things you can do with your life (like raise kids). So I'm on the hunt for a job that lets me continue to build awesome products while have the ability to see my kid on a regular basis (not just 6 months out of the year).
- mingmecca 12y ago
  I've done what you're attempting to do, and your instincts are right: there are much more interesting and worthwhile things outside of the game industry, including kids. It might be arrogant to say, but game developers are ninjas compared to the rest of the dev world. Doing complex AI/graphics/networking at 60fps is a hell of a lot harder than a typical CRUD app. I'm glad for my time in the game industry because it sharpened my skills and made the rest of my life a cake walk. But, I wouldn't want to go back due to the exploitation I see in it.
zinxq 12y ago
Remove barriers to creating something and the market tends to devolve towards, well, marketing. Anyone can write a book now - and get it to market. It's never been easier technically to write anything including games. And app markets take away much, if not all, challenges of go to market. Such markets are destined to get flooded and to (reliably) get noticed in such a market, you need a marketing budget.
ANTSANTS 12y ago
More like, the iOS app store gold rush ended. The indie dev scene is thriving on PC. Stop throwing your time and money away developing for a platform overwhelmingly used by people that don't really care about your games, that are looking for brief distractions while they wait in the checkout line, and by and large refuse to pay even a dollar for the privilege. Don't blame the industry because you avoided the platform used by people that actually buy games, play them for hours a day, tirelessly promote the good ones on message boards and amongst their friends, and will actually appreciate the effort you put into your work. Also, Donkey Kong was not created by a "lone game developer." Miyamoto may have designed Donkey Kong by himself, but he had entire team of contract developers at his disposal. http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/134790/the_secret_history_of_donkey_kong.php?print=1 http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/134790/the_secret_hist... http://gdri.smspower.org/wiki/index.php/Company:Ikegami_Tsushinki http://gdri.smspower.org/wiki/index.php/Company:Ikegami_Tsus...
- vlunkr 12y ago
  I think you're right. I know I've lost faith in mobile gaming because for every fun game I've played I've deleted 20. I'm sure there are good games out there, but how can you find them in a sea of garbage and flappy clones? On the other hand, Steam has plenty of great Indie games (selling for more than one dollar!) with plenty of reviews around so you know what's good.
  - petercooper 12y ago
    Sites like http://toucharcade.com/ http://toucharcade.com/ used to be good for discovery, although I'm finding them less useful as time goes by. There really should be a weekly or monthly publication where only the most interesting and gripping mobile games are covered.. preferably ones without ridiculous ads, nickel and diming, and all the rest.
- munificent 12y ago
  > The indie dev scene is thriving on PC. Back when I was a console developer at EA, the ambient wisdom was that the money was falling out of (non-online) PC games in large part because of piracy. Is that not the case? Do you happen to have numbers on what the PC game industry is like? How much of this is because of Steam?
zackmorris 12y ago
I dabbled in shareware games for roughly 20 years. I had high hopes for making a revolutionary game and my ship coming in like Notch, but what I found was that making a game was never the difficult part. It was always about funding - making rent each month, affording food, etc. It was also about telling people no, because the closest people around me were often the most demanding of my time and energy, even going as far as telling me what I should be working on. I failed utterly on both fronts. I found (and still find) most games deeply underwhelming, especially when they get high praise for their creative gameplay or plot, because those are the easy parts. Very few games also have solid engineering like Minecraft. That solid engineering is so elusive, so expensive, that it’s effectively out of reach on an indie budget. The only thing left is cookie cutter games like Angry Birds, which I categorize as the first thing that would come out of any medium. So if all you have is eggs you make an omelet, if all you have is leaves you rake them, if all you have is a physics engine you throw things. It’s no wonder that the profit for something anyone can make either rapidly approaches zero or goes into the stratosphere on its own fame like Paris Hilton, creating the illusion of value for an industry that would otherwise have none. Then I watched a talk by (as I recall) Jason Fried of 37 Signals, who made the rather astounding point that the way to earn a profit is to make something people want and sell it for money. This was after the dot bomb when people were still chasing eyeballs, I wish I could find the video. It was one of the prime motivators that got me to quit my soul-sucking job and flip broken computers for a year, and then get into contracting. It finally hit me that people make money doing all kinds of things because people want them, and I didn’t have to suffer the grind in my life any longer, because to work so hard at something people aren’t willing to pay for is the very definition of futile. Sooo.. I may make another game. I may sell it at the exorbitant price of $5, $10 even $20. I may not even give away a free demo. All of the other free, ad-based, casual, social games of the world can keep playing house, and bless them for doing so. But people will always want the real games, and I know that because I would be willing to pay for one, should one come along. I’m thinking that in this case, if Apple and other companies have really created a race to the bottom economy for games and other apps, then nature will “find a way” and create more of an egalitarian way for developers to earn an income, perhaps from crowdfunding sites like Kickstarter, but more likely from guilds, co-ops and to be quite frank a collective approach that takes the enormous wealth produced by the industry and uses it for something more productive than the hypervaluation of startups. As far as I can tell, we’re on the verge of total blah just like in 2000 and if everyone doesn’t wake up, history is about to repeat itself. If we glorify success and ignore wasted potential, the next thing we sell that people are willing to pay for could very well be a side of fries.
NateG 12y ago
What is true is if you chased the mobile game craze there was a small window where little indie games had traction. A well developed indie game (I would call it an exception at this point) can still gain traction in today's app stores but it is rare. It is true that with the increased supply of games three things have happened. First, the amount of terrible games one must slog through to find a gem has increased. Second the number of gems has also increased which in turn keeps raising the bar of what a "gem" is. Third a race to the bottom began and player's expectations changed and what they are willing to pay with it. The real culprit and difference than the days or yore or even just five years ago is exposure and marketing costs. I run a small indie studio and our game Pit of War[1] is a very niche game (a PvP, character building, gladiatorial strategy game with text and still images. You don't get much more niche than that!) and we've found great success by managing our resources well and not chasing the latest craze be it flash, facebook, mobile, or what have you. We chose to keep the game on the web and keep full control over it instead of having to pass a judgment committee, or handing over 30% of our revenue to some platform. I found a niche that I enjoyed and had little competition and then built a game and a community around it. That last part is critical these days. I'm sure many of you have heard about "A 1000 true fans"[2], and it very much applies here. If you are using a F2P business model it is your bread and butter. In 2010-2012 everything was awesome and then something happened in late 2012, early 2013. The user acquisition costs skyrocketed. In the last five years I've seen CPA costs increase 300%-600%. I spent time in Japan and knew some people at an ad agency there that mainly caters to mobile game companies and the CPA on those networks was averaging 700-800 yen (about $7-$8), with peak prices hitting 5,000 yen ($50) when Japanese companies paid out the yearly bonuses to their employees. Five years earlier CPAs were around $1.50 and less. The price increases on their networks have mainly been fueled by four or five companies like Supercell, GREE, DeNA etc. This is where the fairytale ended for a lot of indies and small studios hoping to make a living. It is a rare game that can pay those kinds of marketing costs and remain profitable. My recommendation to anyone looking to get into indie game development would be to find a niche you enjoy and be the best in it. Build a community around it. Learn how to utilize an ethical F2P business model and last but certainly not least, have fun. [1] If you are curious about what can be accomplished with a web based niche game you can check it out here: http://www.pitofwar.com http://www.pitofwar.com [2] http://kk.org/thetechnium/2008/03/1000-true-fans/ http://kk.org/thetechnium/2008/03/1000-true-fans/
neovive 12y ago
There is an interesting documentary on Netflix "Indie Game" that chronicles a few indie developers. It does a good job showing the emotional struggles and difficulties in developing and bringing a game to market.
- JetSpiegel 12y ago
  Jesus fucking Christ, no! Please, no!!
VLM 12y ago
OP mentions the rush of the 48 hour competition, I think OP might also like: http://www.onegameamonth.com/ http://www.onegameamonth.com/ My new years resolution was to participate this year. Naturally, its the 13th and I haven't even started for this month. But I'll try, maybe this weekend.
Kiro 12y ago
Have a look at Steam top 100 and you'll see loads of games made by lone developers. I think it's a great time to be an indie game developer!
- teamonkey 12y ago
  It's definitely a great time to be those indie game developers.
  - Kiro 12y ago
    I'm not one of them and I'm having a great time.
drawkbox 12y ago
I think the lone developer, or lone lead developer as it truly is now, is still viable. It is probably better this thinking is out there though. Most games are a small team or require assets of many developers nowadays. The land rush is over but gaming is still the biggest draw. Most projects we work on are in house or contract and they have a couple or few people on teams. Sponsored games and advergames were also the money makers with flash gaming and will be with WebGL and more. Internal IP or titles also help pad revenues and transitions. Gaming is big in agency promotions. Gaming is bigger still in mobile. It is very difficult no doubt but even a single developer is more like a team now with things like Unity/Unreal/Cocos2d-x/etc as the engine team, asset stores for many things, contractors for art/audio/design/development and plenty of markets to get into. The age of the from scratch lone developer is over, but there is just as much opportunity as ever for teams of 1-5 or so.
georgeecollins 12y ago
I have made games for almost twenty years and only one thing has been a constant: People always say it is a terrible time to make games, and a terrible time start a game company. I'm not saying it isn't hard now, or the odds are aren't against you. But its easy to look back on past successes of twenty years ago and forget that most people were failing then too.
programminggeek 12y ago
The lone game developer may or may not be a myth, but like many creative pursuits, over time there might very well be 1,000 little game developers blooming, some of which will be quite lovely and people will appreciate, but most will just be ignored. That's not all bad either. Not everyone should make a AAA game. Some of my fondest memories of games are of the NES games I played as a child. They are still some of the most basic and fun games to play.
zanny 12y ago
This reminds me - that developer shortage that the big SF companies keep going on about, needing h1b indentured servants working a third under market value to fill positions - ever consider how there are a billion iOS games made every day in a hugely saturated market? You know, thousands of developers and dev companies not making any money. Probably good at what they do if they are upstarting their own projects like that. Might consider working for you if you aren't fixing wages for a decade.
overgard 12y ago
You know, I really want a good new game that actually captures my interest. I mean they happen, I still love those games, but I feel like we're over supplied with junk, and undersupplied with genuinely interesting games. I'm hungry and there's a mcdonalds on every corner, but I can't find a restaurant with a gourmet chef. I have so many unplayed steam games right now. Tossed some money on a hope, and after a few minutes realized it wasn't going to work out. I think the thing that bothers me about this sort of "woah is the small guy" viewpoint is it's like "oh no the brilliant little artists got crushed by the corporations and the me-too hacks". You know what, fuck that bullshit. Most games right now are asinine. And I mean even the indie wunderkids and the pretentious art games. Here's the problem: nobody knows how to do this shit very well yet. It'll happen, eventually. They're learning, but it's not really very good right now. I mean people try really really hard. They deserve some success. But as far as the results go, most of them aren't that interesting. I want good games.
laex 12y ago
What do game devs think about gamejolt.com, where ad-revenue is shared amongst the developers ?
knappador 12y ago
I dunno about the fall part. I went into the market headlong with a stripped down concept called Reduce on the Play Store and came out with a job before I could even complete feature additions =D It never fails to pay to build something.
MrBra 12y ago
Am I the only one seeing a bit of delusional attitude in this article? Kickstart your ass off with a great game idea and you'll get paid what you deserve while still working by your passion. But wait I am not going to believe the author doesn't know about Kickstarter...
arvinjoar 12y ago
A great game developed by a lone programmer I seldom see mentioned is "Haven & Hearth". It's developed by a (faux) company called "Seatribe", which actually consists of two people, but only one of them (Fredrik Tolf AKA loftar) does the programming while Björn Johannessen is responsible for the game assets. It's pretty cool actually and they'll be releasing a 3D version of it at some point[1]. It's basically a survival MMO with permadeath, and hence a lot of cool stuff has emerged, like world wars and geopolitics, complete with player-run and protected trade hubs and so on. In the game there's no official carebear zones though, but if you kill another player you leave a scent that can be tracked, allowing rangers to exact justice. You also leave scents for vandalizing stuff or stealing things within staked "claims". No game experience can beat the rush of adrenaline one gets when fighting for one's life in H&H, where you might irrevocably lose a character you've been building for a month or more, and where you get to take away that same thing from the person attacking you. It's amazing. [1] = http://www.havenandhearth.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=37974 http://www.havenandhearth.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=3797...
- Raphmedia 12y ago
  I'm pretty damn impressed. I clicked that link expecting to see some half assed runescape copy. That game actually looks like fun, and the graphics are great... !
graspee 12y ago
12 hours until Avernum 2 hits steam. http://store.steampowered.com/app/337850/?snr=1_7_7_151_150_1 http://store.steampowered.com/app/337850/?snr=1_7_7_151_150_... A remake of a remake; all games made by one man. The second era of the bedroom coder is far from over and you can still make money from it without resorting to cheap, nasty, free2play tactics.
- HolyHaddock 12y ago
  Jeff Vogel is great, and I've been playing his games for over half my life. But he's written similarly themed blog posts himself: http://jeff-vogel.blogspot.co.uk/2014/05/the-indie-bubble-is-popping.html http://jeff-vogel.blogspot.co.uk/2014/05/the-indie-bubble-is... Part of the reason he can still do it is that he's been doing it for so long, and has a loyal long term audience quite happy to buy a new Spiderweb game because it's a new spiderweb game.
deleted 12y ago
[deleted]
fluffheadsr 12y ago
funny i learned to program as a kid in highschool so that I could one day make games. I'm now a full time software developer completely self taught, no overhead of a expensive CS degree i didn't need, and I've never even made pong. The closest I came was building tic tac toe. Somewhere along the lines I got hooked on stealing shit from people on AOL and just got pulled away from the thought of games and never looked back. Ultima Online in my opinion was the climax of online MMO's. Someone needs to build a true sandbox fantasy MMO. CCP has proven that a sandbox done properly will bring in the crowd and keep the doors open. Someone do it!! I've tried multiple times however to build/find a team to work with and the team is never dedicated enough to complete even the most simplest of things.
- outworlder 12y ago
  > Someone needs to build a true sandbox fantasy MMO. CCP has proven that a sandbox done properly will bring in the crowd and keep the doors open. This is why I had high hopes for World of Darkness.
  - fluffheadsr 12y ago
    wasnt that done by funcom though or one of those companies? They've shit the bed with all of their latest MMO's.. Age of Conan was suppose to be amazing too and was a true snooze fest. All these games have become a grind fest.. kill 8 rats, yadda yadda.. i want a real sandbox to build a castle whereever i want.. I had huge expectations for darkfall too, but Aventurine is a joke of a company.
InfiniteRand 12y ago
It's hard to get people to give you money for something you are willing to do for free. Enjoyable creative pursuits tend to be like that for those who are not superstars
jeffreyrogers 12y ago
Since the article talks about hobby development, I want to plug Handmade Hero [1], which is a really cool series of youtube videos (still in progress) of a full, production quality game being built from scratch in C by one person. This was my first exposure to game programming and its really fun to watch along with the videos, plus the guy making them is fairly opinionated about best programming practices, so you pick up so more general skills as well. It's been featured on HN before, so many people have probably seen it, but if you haven't, it is definitely worth checking out. [1]: http://handmadehero.org/ http://handmadehero.org/

471 points by putzdown 12y ago

jkscm 12y ago

Tell me if I missed it, but the chance to make a living as an independent game has increased, didn't? Companies get as big as their market will allow it. Saying no one can make a living from games anymore because of the big companies is like saying there can be no more start-ups because of Google and Facebook. The gaming market is big and fast. It's fine if you don't want to run anymore but there are a lot more other people in the race who have a chance of seeing the finishing line.

ddingus 12y ago

Retro is where it's at for lone developers. Systems are small, expectations low, challenges firm. I very seriously enjoy the retro scene today. It's possible for ordinary people to participate, even make games others will play and pay for. Homebrew. Completing that experience was one of those life checklist things. I had a great time and have learned a lot and was able to explore games on a technical level in an achievable way. Personally, I see this being cyclic. The big names and players will always be there. But little scenes pop up regularly, and those are a treat for those who go looking.

simmons 12y ago
Are there good sites for discovering these sorts of games? In the category of retro-style games for mobile platforms, it's an enormous chore to find anything good by just paging through the app stores.
- alacritythief 12y ago
  You can find a lot of retro-style PC indie games on http://itch.io/ http://itch.io/, regarding mobile it's probably best to check out the forums or categories on mobile game review sites like http://toucharcade.com/ http://toucharcade.com/ .
  - ddingus 12y ago
    Agreed. I personally prefer retro on the older machines. One can play and code via emulation, which is quite good these days, or get some older gear and go that route. Both work for me. I enjoy the real gear for those machines I am familiar with and own. (Apple ][, Atari 8 bit, CoCo) Emulation is great for others. Emulation is good for coding either way. We get modern tools. There is a fun experience to be had working right on the hardware, but it's hard to put in the time. Emulation helps a lot with that.
- ddingus 12y ago
  Good recommendation below. The other path is to visit sites and forums that focus on older hardware. New productions are frequent, emulation good, help at the ready.

danmaz74 12y ago

I'm floored that this post got so few upvotes. It's interesting and beautifully crafted.

archagon 12y ago
I feel that I see these types of posts come up every few months.
- danmaz74 12y ago
  Yes the "argument" is not new at all, but the story is well told with good visuals. I just thought it deserved more :)

d357r0y3r 12y ago

I had a long stint with game development. Started contributing to MUD codebases as a teenager, later invested a lot of time in XNA and web games, although none of that work was particularly successful. As satisfying as that work was, I get as much satisfaction from writing Enterprise/B2B apps. The thing about game development is that, when you're years into it, it's just another app. Video game lovers especially start out thinking they want to do game dev and game dev only, but a great many of them would benefit from exploring what are thought of as "boring" areas of development. It's only boring if you don't like making software.

TheCraiggers 12y ago
>It's only boring if you don't like making software I think that's at least somewhat dependent on personality, and at least as much dependent on what sort of enterprise apps you're writing. Personally, there's only so much enjoyment I can extract from writing CRUD code at work, especially when I'm literally handed a multi-page document detailing exactly how the program is going to work, right down to pseudocode. I think a better comparison would be programming as a hobby versus job. I'm sure many game developers working at development houses like EA get burned out just like the guy working in the salt mines grinding out CRUD code. In both scenarios they lack a vested interest because creativity, in various amounts, is not allowed. Compare that to somebody writing 'boring' apps as a hobby where they have complete creative control. For me, programming is an art. It's a creative exercise. I'm much more vested when I'm allowed to flex that creative muscle. The kind of application doesn't matter as much as the amount of creativity I'm allowed. Your mileage my indeed vary though.
- d357r0y3r 12y ago
  Fair points, I'm used to having some flexibility in my day to day. If you're being handed strict requirements that include implementation details, that could be a grind. My greater point would be that there's a lot of creativity that goes into developing good UIs, even for non-entertainment applications.
fluffheadsr 12y ago
this 1000 times.. started out wanting to make games, ended up just building everyday apps. I now work on an app used by hundreds of companies and some very big ones. It gives me great satisfaction although I'd still love to build the game I always dreamed of if I found the right group of people to do it with. The Fantasy Sandbox MMO market is begging for some love. Nothing great since UO or SWG:Pre-CU... Everything after WoW has been just flat out terrible attempts at stealing wow and its really hurt the market. The whole game development now is just about profit and not about creating original, amazing works of art like the early guys.

vparikh 12y ago

Maybe I am being a bit naive, but I don't think many of those games in the good old days were made with the intention of making huge profits. Most of the people were hobbyists who just had an itch to create the game they wanted to play - and they lucked out that a lot of other people wanted to play their game too. I think the state of the game market is good -- let the hobbyists of today create the game they want to play - and maybe it will make them a boat load of money. Or maybe they will be happy because they had their vision come true. Now the big corporations -- well they will just push whatever makes them money.

smacktoward 12y ago
> Maybe I am being a bit naive, but I don't think many of those games in the good old days were made with the intention of making huge profits. They weren't -- but the dream people had was that their games would generate enough profit that they could make a living making them. I read the post's message as being that they did, for a while, but those days have receded due to the collapse in what people are willing to pay for games. In a world where $0.99 for a game is considered expensive, it's hard to make a living making games unless you come up with some way to consistently make absolutely massive hits -- and that's a nut that nobody has ever cracked.
- k__ 12y ago
  Some devs of the community around Photonstorm/Phaser seem to make a living with games. But it seems a different story. Most of them do mobile-mini-games they sell to sponsors and game-hubs, or they do some promotion games for companies.
- wwweston 12y ago
  > but the dream people had was that their games would generate enough profit that they could make a living making them. Yep. And anyone who likes a game enough to think they'd enjoy something else the developer might make should hope the dev could make a living off it too. Otherwise, the dev will have to go back to the corporate IT salt mines, and you'll get whatever relative crumbs get produced in what we call "spare time," if that... and certainly not whatever their greatest work might have been. (Hope we're all paying for what we like!)

DaveSapien 12y ago

Excellent article! Though I'd say, somewhat, that it's still as difficult to make an engaging game as it's ever been. Just the bar has been lowered so much that poorer games are made by people with less ability. I like that anyone can make games now, some cool stuff has been made because of that...but yeah, as I said it is hard. I'm a pro and I've been made homeless because of lack of work (and a moral stance against predatory IAP's). I'm a damn fine developer, but that don't save you from the bottom line of what makes money.

archagon 12y ago

Personally, I'd like to think that the good games will still rise to the top. Monument Valley wasn't a fluke; it's a game based entirely about the art and the content, rather than stale one-off game mechanics that could be cloned in an afternoon. It got noticed because it was deep and unique. (Did they even do any marketing?) I've rarely found a game with that same level of quality that got no attention[1]. Most of the time, whenever somebody complains about their games getting no sales and I look at the stuff they've made, I see games that are fun and clever, but very one-note. Like, you can already see how the rest of the game is going to go just by looking at a screenshot. That's not a bad thing, but I don't think it's the kind of stuff that sells anymore. (With obvious viral exceptions that occur unpredictably every so often.) Whereas with a game like Monument Valley, you want to get in and explore it because every single level is unique. Several years back, the developers of Sword and Sworcery talked about how their business model was entirely about chasing the long tail rather than aiming for the mass market. It paid off wonderfully for them, and I think — I hope! — it still makes sense. [1]: Hey! If you liked Monument Valley, you should totally check out Windowsill. Short but gorgeous. Listed as an inspiration by MV's developers. Demo in browser: http://windosill.com http://windosill.com

Sevores 12y ago
Deep and unique? It’s like a mashup of Naya’s Quest [1] and Fez [2] (or Crush or Super Paper Mario). [1]: http://terrycavanaghgames.com/nayasquest/ http://terrycavanaghgames.com/nayasquest/ [2]: http://fezgame.com http://fezgame.com
- archagon 12y ago
  Have you played it? It's like watching an animated movie. There is negligible repeated content, at least as far as the art and levels are concerned. Unlike 99% of iOS games, I felt as satisfied in level 1 as I did in 10. (And in fact, some of the best content is in the last few levels.) Everything feels alive and dynamic, from the crows to your friendly neighborhood totem. I even felt feelings. In an iOS game. Can you believe that?!
  - 12y ago

33W 12y ago

I believe that the niche of the lone game developer is in the bleeding edge. The two examples given show this: a mode of computing was created, individuals made games, then were pushed out. The individual proves the viability for the larger groups who do not want to commit the time or treasure to a venture that will not survive.

taeric 12y ago

It is odd to read this just after checking for updates on http://blog.thimbleweedpark.com/ http://blog.thimbleweedpark.com/. Otherwise, this is no different than any other medium, is it? Content curation is hard. Pretty much period.

omg_ketchup 12y ago

We're rising again. We're just building VR software instead of mobile games.

sago 12y ago
One person dev will rise every time there is a new viable games platform. Because such platforms will initially have low market penetration, small customer bases, and be high risk for larger developers. But as soon as those platforms are established, one person teams will be eaten alive by others. VR is primed to be a game tech. You can maybe do some interesting stuff now, when the only hardware out there is a few hundred thousand dev-kits. But if the Oculus launch goes okay, the production values needed to compete will very quickly take it out of one-person territory. Of course, there are always new tech. But for every platform that turns into money, there are many that are dead ends. Many single person devs who crash and burn because they are early to a party that never starts. I developed WAP games. I know this :)
deleted 12y ago
[deleted]
_random_ 12y ago
Quality 3d assets are very expensive.

dirkk0 12y ago

"For the lone game programmer that day has already arrived. Twice." If one sees 'the art of lone game programming' as a genre then this might be true. One successful lonely game programmer leads to a gold rush of many lonely game programmers digging the iKlondike for gold. But I am pretty sure that there is always room for the brilliant idea that no one can grasp when you pitch it. I personally would have talked Notch out of the idea for Minecraft with the usual arguments (blocky graphics, not state-of-the-art, there's no real goal, etc pp). And when I played it, I was like - omg, I could have done that. There always will be a lonely (game) programmer doing something extraordinary that you didn't think of in the first place or even despised. And then there is the next Notch, and I will again say - omg, not again. And some of us have big ideas and don't dare to join the art of lonely game programming.

_pius 12y ago
But I am pretty sure that there is always room for the brilliant idea that no one can grasp when you pitch it. You're right, but I don't think the author would claim otherwise. The article is not about the possibility of breakout success, but about lone, reasonably skilled game developers being able to make a consistent living. Not the same thing.
- dirkk0 12y ago
  I see, and I agree, you have a point. I still stand to what I wrote , because I think it is important to stress that it is important to follow your ideas, even if their odds might be low. Being downvoted is somewhat ironical on a meta level.
sago 12y ago
Except that the myth of the one-idea-making-a-fortune is mostly that. A myth. Minecraft, as incredible as it was, wasn't the only game of its kind. People routinely underestimate the role of luck in these things. There is room for the one great idea. But the point is that the minimum production values on the platforms that sell that idea has risen beyond one person now. As it did in the 16-bit era in the late 80s and early 90s. I thought it was interesting that Monument Valley made it into the list at the end. Made by a graphic design agency, not a bedroom coder.

nshunter 12y ago

Good Article. I'm actively trying to move out of the industry (or into a company that has more opportunity connected with non-games) now after almost 10 years in. I'm fortunate that my skills are way more transferable than the majority of game developers (I build and lead SaaS teams), but it can be a bit of a slog to actually shift gears. Games are a place to be if you're really passionate about it or you feel like there's another hill to take. In general tho, there are much more meaningful things you can do with your life (like raise kids). So I'm on the hunt for a job that lets me continue to build awesome products while have the ability to see my kid on a regular basis (not just 6 months out of the year).

mingmecca 12y ago
I've done what you're attempting to do, and your instincts are right: there are much more interesting and worthwhile things outside of the game industry, including kids. It might be arrogant to say, but game developers are ninjas compared to the rest of the dev world. Doing complex AI/graphics/networking at 60fps is a hell of a lot harder than a typical CRUD app. I'm glad for my time in the game industry because it sharpened my skills and made the rest of my life a cake walk. But, I wouldn't want to go back due to the exploitation I see in it.

zinxq 12y ago

Remove barriers to creating something and the market tends to devolve towards, well, marketing. Anyone can write a book now - and get it to market. It's never been easier technically to write anything including games. And app markets take away much, if not all, challenges of go to market. Such markets are destined to get flooded and to (reliably) get noticed in such a market, you need a marketing budget.

ANTSANTS 12y ago

More like, the iOS app store gold rush ended. The indie dev scene is thriving on PC. Stop throwing your time and money away developing for a platform overwhelmingly used by people that don't really care about your games, that are looking for brief distractions while they wait in the checkout line, and by and large refuse to pay even a dollar for the privilege. Don't blame the industry because you avoided the platform used by people that actually buy games, play them for hours a day, tirelessly promote the good ones on message boards and amongst their friends, and will actually appreciate the effort you put into your work. Also, Donkey Kong was not created by a "lone game developer." Miyamoto may have designed Donkey Kong by himself, but he had entire team of contract developers at his disposal. http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/134790/the_secret_history_of_donkey_kong.php?print=1 http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/134790/the_secret_hist... http://gdri.smspower.org/wiki/index.php/Company:Ikegami_Tsushinki http://gdri.smspower.org/wiki/index.php/Company:Ikegami_Tsus...

vlunkr 12y ago
I think you're right. I know I've lost faith in mobile gaming because for every fun game I've played I've deleted 20. I'm sure there are good games out there, but how can you find them in a sea of garbage and flappy clones? On the other hand, Steam has plenty of great Indie games (selling for more than one dollar!) with plenty of reviews around so you know what's good.
- petercooper 12y ago
  Sites like http://toucharcade.com/ http://toucharcade.com/ used to be good for discovery, although I'm finding them less useful as time goes by. There really should be a weekly or monthly publication where only the most interesting and gripping mobile games are covered.. preferably ones without ridiculous ads, nickel and diming, and all the rest.
munificent 12y ago
> The indie dev scene is thriving on PC. Back when I was a console developer at EA, the ambient wisdom was that the money was falling out of (non-online) PC games in large part because of piracy. Is that not the case? Do you happen to have numbers on what the PC game industry is like? How much of this is because of Steam?

zackmorris 12y ago

I dabbled in shareware games for roughly 20 years. I had high hopes for making a revolutionary game and my ship coming in like Notch, but what I found was that making a game was never the difficult part. It was always about funding - making rent each month, affording food, etc. It was also about telling people no, because the closest people around me were often the most demanding of my time and energy, even going as far as telling me what I should be working on. I failed utterly on both fronts. I found (and still find) most games deeply underwhelming, especially when they get high praise for their creative gameplay or plot, because those are the easy parts. Very few games also have solid engineering like Minecraft. That solid engineering is so elusive, so expensive, that it’s effectively out of reach on an indie budget. The only thing left is cookie cutter games like Angry Birds, which I categorize as the first thing that would come out of any medium. So if all you have is eggs you make an omelet, if all you have is leaves you rake them, if all you have is a physics engine you throw things. It’s no wonder that the profit for something anyone can make either rapidly approaches zero or goes into the stratosphere on its own fame like Paris Hilton, creating the illusion of value for an industry that would otherwise have none. Then I watched a talk by (as I recall) Jason Fried of 37 Signals, who made the rather astounding point that the way to earn a profit is to make something people want and sell it for money. This was after the dot bomb when people were still chasing eyeballs, I wish I could find the video. It was one of the prime motivators that got me to quit my soul-sucking job and flip broken computers for a year, and then get into contracting. It finally hit me that people make money doing all kinds of things because people want them, and I didn’t have to suffer the grind in my life any longer, because to work so hard at something people aren’t willing to pay for is the very definition of futile. Sooo.. I may make another game. I may sell it at the exorbitant price of $5, $10 even $20. I may not even give away a free demo. All of the other free, ad-based, casual, social games of the world can keep playing house, and bless them for doing so. But people will always want the real games, and I know that because I would be willing to pay for one, should one come along. I’m thinking that in this case, if Apple and other companies have really created a race to the bottom economy for games and other apps, then nature will “find a way” and create more of an egalitarian way for developers to earn an income, perhaps from crowdfunding sites like Kickstarter, but more likely from guilds, co-ops and to be quite frank a collective approach that takes the enormous wealth produced by the industry and uses it for something more productive than the hypervaluation of startups. As far as I can tell, we’re on the verge of total blah just like in 2000 and if everyone doesn’t wake up, history is about to repeat itself. If we glorify success and ignore wasted potential, the next thing we sell that people are willing to pay for could very well be a side of fries.

NateG 12y ago

What is true is if you chased the mobile game craze there was a small window where little indie games had traction. A well developed indie game (I would call it an exception at this point) can still gain traction in today's app stores but it is rare. It is true that with the increased supply of games three things have happened. First, the amount of terrible games one must slog through to find a gem has increased. Second the number of gems has also increased which in turn keeps raising the bar of what a "gem" is. Third a race to the bottom began and player's expectations changed and what they are willing to pay with it. The real culprit and difference than the days or yore or even just five years ago is exposure and marketing costs. I run a small indie studio and our game Pit of War[1] is a very niche game (a PvP, character building, gladiatorial strategy game with text and still images. You don't get much more niche than that!) and we've found great success by managing our resources well and not chasing the latest craze be it flash, facebook, mobile, or what have you. We chose to keep the game on the web and keep full control over it instead of having to pass a judgment committee, or handing over 30% of our revenue to some platform. I found a niche that I enjoyed and had little competition and then built a game and a community around it. That last part is critical these days. I'm sure many of you have heard about "A 1000 true fans"[2], and it very much applies here. If you are using a F2P business model it is your bread and butter. In 2010-2012 everything was awesome and then something happened in late 2012, early 2013. The user acquisition costs skyrocketed. In the last five years I've seen CPA costs increase 300%-600%. I spent time in Japan and knew some people at an ad agency there that mainly caters to mobile game companies and the CPA on those networks was averaging 700-800 yen (about $7-$8), with peak prices hitting 5,000 yen ($50) when Japanese companies paid out the yearly bonuses to their employees. Five years earlier CPAs were around $1.50 and less. The price increases on their networks have mainly been fueled by four or five companies like Supercell, GREE, DeNA etc. This is where the fairytale ended for a lot of indies and small studios hoping to make a living. It is a rare game that can pay those kinds of marketing costs and remain profitable. My recommendation to anyone looking to get into indie game development would be to find a niche you enjoy and be the best in it. Build a community around it. Learn how to utilize an ethical F2P business model and last but certainly not least, have fun. [1] If you are curious about what can be accomplished with a web based niche game you can check it out here: http://www.pitofwar.com http://www.pitofwar.com [2] http://kk.org/thetechnium/2008/03/1000-true-fans/ http://kk.org/thetechnium/2008/03/1000-true-fans/

neovive 12y ago

There is an interesting documentary on Netflix "Indie Game" that chronicles a few indie developers. It does a good job showing the emotional struggles and difficulties in developing and bringing a game to market.

JetSpiegel 12y ago
Jesus fucking Christ, no! Please, no!!

VLM 12y ago

OP mentions the rush of the 48 hour competition, I think OP might also like: http://www.onegameamonth.com/ http://www.onegameamonth.com/ My new years resolution was to participate this year. Naturally, its the 13th and I haven't even started for this month. But I'll try, maybe this weekend.

Kiro 12y ago

Have a look at Steam top 100 and you'll see loads of games made by lone developers. I think it's a great time to be an indie game developer!

teamonkey 12y ago
It's definitely a great time to be those indie game developers.
- Kiro 12y ago
  I'm not one of them and I'm having a great time.

drawkbox 12y ago

I think the lone developer, or lone lead developer as it truly is now, is still viable. It is probably better this thinking is out there though. Most games are a small team or require assets of many developers nowadays. The land rush is over but gaming is still the biggest draw. Most projects we work on are in house or contract and they have a couple or few people on teams. Sponsored games and advergames were also the money makers with flash gaming and will be with WebGL and more. Internal IP or titles also help pad revenues and transitions. Gaming is big in agency promotions. Gaming is bigger still in mobile. It is very difficult no doubt but even a single developer is more like a team now with things like Unity/Unreal/Cocos2d-x/etc as the engine team, asset stores for many things, contractors for art/audio/design/development and plenty of markets to get into. The age of the from scratch lone developer is over, but there is just as much opportunity as ever for teams of 1-5 or so.

georgeecollins 12y ago

I have made games for almost twenty years and only one thing has been a constant: People always say it is a terrible time to make games, and a terrible time start a game company. I'm not saying it isn't hard now, or the odds are aren't against you. But its easy to look back on past successes of twenty years ago and forget that most people were failing then too.

programminggeek 12y ago

The lone game developer may or may not be a myth, but like many creative pursuits, over time there might very well be 1,000 little game developers blooming, some of which will be quite lovely and people will appreciate, but most will just be ignored. That's not all bad either. Not everyone should make a AAA game. Some of my fondest memories of games are of the NES games I played as a child. They are still some of the most basic and fun games to play.

zanny 12y ago

This reminds me - that developer shortage that the big SF companies keep going on about, needing h1b indentured servants working a third under market value to fill positions - ever consider how there are a billion iOS games made every day in a hugely saturated market? You know, thousands of developers and dev companies not making any money. Probably good at what they do if they are upstarting their own projects like that. Might consider working for you if you aren't fixing wages for a decade.

overgard 12y ago

You know, I really want a good new game that actually captures my interest. I mean they happen, I still love those games, but I feel like we're over supplied with junk, and undersupplied with genuinely interesting games. I'm hungry and there's a mcdonalds on every corner, but I can't find a restaurant with a gourmet chef. I have so many unplayed steam games right now. Tossed some money on a hope, and after a few minutes realized it wasn't going to work out. I think the thing that bothers me about this sort of "woah is the small guy" viewpoint is it's like "oh no the brilliant little artists got crushed by the corporations and the me-too hacks". You know what, fuck that bullshit. Most games right now are asinine. And I mean even the indie wunderkids and the pretentious art games. Here's the problem: nobody knows how to do this shit very well yet. It'll happen, eventually. They're learning, but it's not really very good right now. I mean people try really really hard. They deserve some success. But as far as the results go, most of them aren't that interesting. I want good games.

laex 12y ago

What do game devs think about gamejolt.com, where ad-revenue is shared amongst the developers ?

knappador 12y ago

I dunno about the fall part. I went into the market headlong with a stripped down concept called Reduce on the Play Store and came out with a job before I could even complete feature additions =D It never fails to pay to build something.

MrBra 12y ago

Am I the only one seeing a bit of delusional attitude in this article? Kickstart your ass off with a great game idea and you'll get paid what you deserve while still working by your passion. But wait I am not going to believe the author doesn't know about Kickstarter...

arvinjoar 12y ago

A great game developed by a lone programmer I seldom see mentioned is "Haven & Hearth". It's developed by a (faux) company called "Seatribe", which actually consists of two people, but only one of them (Fredrik Tolf AKA loftar) does the programming while Björn Johannessen is responsible for the game assets. It's pretty cool actually and they'll be releasing a 3D version of it at some point[1]. It's basically a survival MMO with permadeath, and hence a lot of cool stuff has emerged, like world wars and geopolitics, complete with player-run and protected trade hubs and so on. In the game there's no official carebear zones though, but if you kill another player you leave a scent that can be tracked, allowing rangers to exact justice. You also leave scents for vandalizing stuff or stealing things within staked "claims". No game experience can beat the rush of adrenaline one gets when fighting for one's life in H&H, where you might irrevocably lose a character you've been building for a month or more, and where you get to take away that same thing from the person attacking you. It's amazing. [1] = http://www.havenandhearth.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=37974 http://www.havenandhearth.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=3797...

Raphmedia 12y ago
I'm pretty damn impressed. I clicked that link expecting to see some half assed runescape copy. That game actually looks like fun, and the graphics are great... !

graspee 12y ago

12 hours until Avernum 2 hits steam. http://store.steampowered.com/app/337850/?snr=1_7_7_151_150_1 http://store.steampowered.com/app/337850/?snr=1_7_7_151_150_... A remake of a remake; all games made by one man. The second era of the bedroom coder is far from over and you can still make money from it without resorting to cheap, nasty, free2play tactics.

HolyHaddock 12y ago
Jeff Vogel is great, and I've been playing his games for over half my life. But he's written similarly themed blog posts himself: http://jeff-vogel.blogspot.co.uk/2014/05/the-indie-bubble-is-popping.html http://jeff-vogel.blogspot.co.uk/2014/05/the-indie-bubble-is... Part of the reason he can still do it is that he's been doing it for so long, and has a loyal long term audience quite happy to buy a new Spiderweb game because it's a new spiderweb game.

deleted 12y ago

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fluffheadsr 12y ago

funny i learned to program as a kid in highschool so that I could one day make games. I'm now a full time software developer completely self taught, no overhead of a expensive CS degree i didn't need, and I've never even made pong. The closest I came was building tic tac toe. Somewhere along the lines I got hooked on stealing shit from people on AOL and just got pulled away from the thought of games and never looked back. Ultima Online in my opinion was the climax of online MMO's. Someone needs to build a true sandbox fantasy MMO. CCP has proven that a sandbox done properly will bring in the crowd and keep the doors open. Someone do it!! I've tried multiple times however to build/find a team to work with and the team is never dedicated enough to complete even the most simplest of things.

outworlder 12y ago
> Someone needs to build a true sandbox fantasy MMO. CCP has proven that a sandbox done properly will bring in the crowd and keep the doors open. This is why I had high hopes for World of Darkness.
- fluffheadsr 12y ago
  wasnt that done by funcom though or one of those companies? They've shit the bed with all of their latest MMO's.. Age of Conan was suppose to be amazing too and was a true snooze fest. All these games have become a grind fest.. kill 8 rats, yadda yadda.. i want a real sandbox to build a castle whereever i want.. I had huge expectations for darkfall too, but Aventurine is a joke of a company.

InfiniteRand 12y ago

It's hard to get people to give you money for something you are willing to do for free. Enjoyable creative pursuits tend to be like that for those who are not superstars

jeffreyrogers 12y ago

Since the article talks about hobby development, I want to plug Handmade Hero [1], which is a really cool series of youtube videos (still in progress) of a full, production quality game being built from scratch in C by one person. This was my first exposure to game programming and its really fun to watch along with the videos, plus the guy making them is fairly opinionated about best programming practices, so you pick up so more general skills as well. It's been featured on HN before, so many people have probably seen it, but if you haven't, it is definitely worth checking out. [1]: http://handmadehero.org/ http://handmadehero.org/