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| 24 APR 2005 at 8:06pm |
Orange_BratIntergalactic Janitor
Posts : 81
Joined: 4 APR 2004
Status : Online | It depends on the company and the quality of the games released. A smaller company or 1-person show will probably stand a better chance of long term survival.
[url=http://www.thedisenfranchised.com/]The Disenfranchised™[/url] - coming later
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| 24 APR 2005 at 8:09pm |
John_QuestDomeIntergalactic Janitor
Posts : 78
Joined: 21 JAN 2005
Status : Online | Well, one-person shows are not very effective. A 20, maybe 30-member company could finish the job quicker and maybe the result will be better. Yes, you're right ... it depends on the team and quality of their work.
John&&project-manager & game-designer&&QuestDome Interactive
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| 24 APR 2005 at 8:39pm |
David_QuestDomeIntergalactic Janitor
Posts : 51
Joined: 24 APR 2005
Status : Online | yes, i think that is right. Let's take The adventure Company for example. They are great developers but some of they're games really sucked because of spending not enough time in development. They had to do it to get more money at the begining, but i hope they will release better games in the future
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| 25 APR 2005 at 8:27am |
John_QuestDomeIntergalactic Janitor
Posts : 78
Joined: 21 JAN 2005
Status : Online | There are lots of companies in the same situation. The question is: "Will they rise again or will they stay the same?" ???
John&&project-manager & game-designer&&QuestDome Interactive
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| 25 APR 2005 at 2:49pm |
Steve IncePrivate Detective
Posts : 571
Joined: 7 NOV 2002
Status : Offline | Originally Posted By david_QuestDome (24 APR 2005 8:39pm)
yes, i think that is right. Let's take The adventure Company for example. They are great developers but some of they're games really sucked because of spending not enough time in development. They had to do it to get more money at the begining, but i hope they will release better games in the future
The Adventure Company are publishers not developers.
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| 25 APR 2005 at 4:35pm |
David_QuestDomeIntergalactic Janitor
Posts : 51
Joined: 24 APR 2005
Status : Online | Originally Posted By Steve Ince (25 APR 2005 2:49pm)
The Adventure Company are publishers not developers.
sorry, my bad. I was thinking about Microids.
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| 25 APR 2005 at 5:13pm |
John_QuestDomeIntergalactic Janitor
Posts : 78
Joined: 21 JAN 2005
Status : Online | Microids ...... Has anyone played Obscure???
John&&project-manager & game-designer&&QuestDome Interactive
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| 3 MAY 2005 at 6:52pm |
m0dsIntergalactic Janitor
Posts : 57
Joined: 25 FEB 2003
Location: UK
Status : Offline | Adventure games do not make millions, this is a well known and appreciated fact. One we have to live with. However, I have heard from a lot of commercial developers that they're surprised how well their games continue to sell 10 years or so later. Of course they are not selling in bulk, but there is still a certain and steady profit.
Is a company that releases only adventures profitable?
Possibly. But you have to be sure all these games have wide-appeal. A lot of adventure games these days focus in on niche markets, the diversity and difference of every player can make it difficult in this day and age to find a "majority" audience, in my opinion.
So the best way to go about this is to release a totally ORIGINAL adventure game!
Will it earn enough to cover all wages and still have enough for developing other adventures
This will all depend on the size of your team, whether you're working from home or in an office that needs rent paid etc etc. Initial calculations suggested to me that no, you won't be able to pay for all these things with the release of a single adventure game.
In the UK, employing 5 people or so to make a full game will cost a LOT. One employee should expect roughly £60-£100 a week. Up to £500 a month, so that is £2500 for 5 employees for one month.
I know that Mike Doak, who made The Adventures Of Fatman certainly didn't make back that much.
So I think you would struggle, but I'll be back later to talk more about ways I think this goal can be acheived
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| 3 MAY 2005 at 8:30pm |
John_QuestDomeIntergalactic Janitor
Posts : 78
Joined: 21 JAN 2005
Status : Online | Well .... I'm trying my best to make it. In Romania (headquarters - Bucharest) work-force is cheaper. So ... only programmers from my company will receive 700 euro, unlike other depts that earn 300-500 per employee.
But, unfortunately, I still have to agree with you that it will be hard to mentain the company on the "floating line".
John&&project-manager & game-designer&&QuestDome Interactive
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| 4 MAY 2005 at 7:04am |
Orange_BratIntergalactic Janitor
Posts : 81
Joined: 4 APR 2004
Status : Online | I think a small team or even the lone wolf have a better chance at survival because there's less overlead. If you're talking about a 20-30 person team(your numbers), then you're going to have to pay those people each a salary and also provide whatever other costs are associated in any normal business situation. It can also result in a less focused environment(or it is at least more likely to occur). I also wouldn't say a small team would result in the quality of work being less, but this circles back to the talent issue. It is important that a lone wolf be very focused and very organized. This will help the project from becoming stagnant and will hopefully result in it getting completed more quickly(knock on wood).
Pure adventures don't make anywhere near as much as "mainstream" titles but they do make some money I hear. A smaller, more focused team(or person) pays out less; thus they have a better chance of a higher net return over time if they cough up good games that get attention in all the right places.
[url=http://www.thedisenfranchised.com/]The Disenfranchised™[/url] - coming later
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| 4 MAY 2005 at 7:14am |
John_QuestDomeIntergalactic Janitor
Posts : 78
Joined: 21 JAN 2005
Status : Online | In my oppinion, small companies need an awful lot of time to finish a game like Grim Fandango, or Syberia. Even if they are talented, they will not solve some team-management problems (here comes the project-manager's role). My company is formed of talented friends who do this for pleasure, not for money. Of course, a monthly salary wouldn't harm them, and I will suply them this in the following months, as our project will evolve.
A good game has to compete with Syberia, Myst and other succesfull games. Since you work alone or with only 2 or 3 employees, you won't be able to finish a good game in a certain time-limit.
But .. hey! That is just how I'm thinking! Maybe I'm wrong. (I'm sure that I've done the best decision for my company)
John&&project-manager & game-designer&&QuestDome Interactive
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| 29 MAY 2005 at 5:45pm |
KAPIntergalactic Janitor
Posts : 64
Joined: 25 AUG 2004
Status : Online | Uhm....yes I think a company can get by just producing adventures...but why? So many stories in the world simply do not fit the adventure game genre. I think the story,atmosphere, and general tone of a game pretty much determine what type of game its going to be. I think a good foundation in understanding WHAT you want to present is the best course of action. A company needs to be dynamic and everchanging. Thats true for ANY industry and game deleopment is no different. Can a company survive on just adventures? Sure....as long as the story, atmosphere and overall gameplay match what an adventure game is known for.
One more thing....BIG difference between developers and publishers folks.....make sure you know WHO is actaully developing the game and WHO is distributing it. That way you can support a developer and not inadvertently define a game's content based on the publisher. TAC is a publisher...thier games are made by MANY different developers. UBI, again is a publisher although they do have in house development. And since Microids was purchased.....who knows....
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