Dan Menard - From Idea to Income: How to be successful at independent games

Dan's presentation will share personal stories about the trials and tribulations of being an independent game programmer or starting an indie game; in addition the talk will focus on the role of developing as team and how incubators and accelerators can help.

1. From Idea to Income How to be successful at independent games
2. Who is this guy? Daniel Menard Co-founder and CEO
3. Big Action Mega Fight!
4. First Cohort
5. Founded
6. Creative Expression
7. No Limitations
8. Innovation
9. • Creative expression • No limitations • Innovation • Push the industry forward The Indie Dream
10. • Entrepreneurship first • Probably won’t make you rich • ~90% of new companies fail The Indie Reality
11. Crowded Market
12. • Failure is part of the game • Passion alone isn’t enough • Releasing is only half the battle The Indie Reality
13. Financing Scope / Time Right project Right market Hiring Management Your Battlefields
16. • Puzzle-platformer Party of Sin
17. • Puzzle-platformer • Local coop Party of Sin
18. • Puzzle-platformer • Local coop • Steam release Party of Sin
19. • Puzzle-platformer • Local coop • Steam release • Originally meant for consoles Party of Sin
20. • Team of ~8 • Working remotely • Revenue share deal • Kickstarter Party of Sin
21. • 3.5 years • Part time • I quit my job in April 2012 • Released in December 2012 Party of Sin
22. • Decent reviews • Massive Steam sales • Profitable over time (~1 year) What we thought would happen
23. • Mixed reviews • Marketing and store placement not great • Mediocre sales • 98% piracy What actually happened
24. My career is over!
25. It’s okay to fail It is a necessary step toward success Most important lesson
26. • From Toyota • Ask “Why?” at least 5 times • Get to the root cause Five Whys
27. • Honest picture of our game and process • Mistakes we would never make again • Crankshaft Games Code of Conduct The great postmortem
28. • Is this going to be your hobby or your career? • Party of Sin started as a hobby • Must be accountable to your players • Constantly learning Professionalism
29. • Be clear on how you will make money • Pricing is complicated • Keep in mind the expectations of anyone giving you money Business Model
30. • Hire talented people you will trust Build a solid team
31. • Hire talented people you will trust Build a solid team Hire people when you know they’re the one
32. • Hire talented people you will trust • Good teams don’t need managers Build a solid team
33. • Hire talented people you will trust • Good teams don’t need managers • Give everyone a stake Build a solid team
34. • Hire talented people you will trust • Good teams don’t need managers • Give everyone a stake • Generalists Build a solid team Breadth Depth
35. • Keep an open mind • Share creative freedom, it will be good for you • Party of Sin was too centralized • Take feedback as an opportunity to learn • Acknowledge your weaknesses Leave your ego at the door
36. • Sustainable Development Work-Life Balance
37. • Sustainable Development • Eliminate crunch and burnout Work-Life Balance
38. • Sustainable Development • Eliminate crunch and burnout • Give people control over how they contribute Work-Life Balance
39. • Sustainable Development • Eliminate crunch • Give people control over how they contribute • Work-Life Balance Work-Life Balance
40. • Common pitfall: put everything you think is cool in your first game • Don’t fall in love with your project • What if you were paying someone? • Don’t build an engine unless you sell engines Mind your time / scope
41. • Think beyond just one project • Have a unifying vision • Most studios will not display it publicly • It’s important to stick out Studio Thinking
42. • You will be defined by the games you make • How you make those games is more important • Your first few will be bad • Focus on the process • Build your company culture Hit Driven Business
43. • Incubator program for mobile indie games in Montreal • Funding for 9 months • Mentorship from industry experts Execution Labs
44. Team Catalyst
45. Support Resouces
46. Mentorship • Amazing Network • Feedback all through the process
47. • Shared experience • Leadership / vision coaching • Someone on your side How Incubators Can Help
48. • Nurture your team • Be ready to learn • Speak out, give feedback • Think as a company, not a product • Evolve your process • Mind the schedule Make the best of incubator
49. • The Lean Startup by Eric Ries • Four Steps to the Epiphany by Steve Blank • Valve Handbook for New Employees • Ideas per Second by Nathan Marts (GDC 2013) • http://mashable.com/2013/02/28/indie-game-statistics/ • http://indiegames.com/2013/04/the_8_keys_to_indie_success.html • http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/ThomasSteinke/20130415/190484/Repon References
50. Thank You! www.doublestalliongames.com @dblstallion