7 truths about indie game development

These posts are indicative of unrealistic expectations by new indies on the business of indie game development.

It’s not the first time I’ve seen people go into making indie games thinking that it would make them money immediately. I’ve watched people I know pouring their hopes, money and time into a game that doesn’t sell and then seen them give up shortly after. I've also talked to talented amazing people who have decided not to take the plunge because they are so scared that will happen to them.

To be fair stories of success and failure give a confusing picture to people starting out. It seems that either you will become a glorious indie super star or you will fall by the wayside and everyone will point and laugh at your game as the “failure”. It’s either doom and gloom or glory and fame, boom or bust. And there seems to be no one logical reason why it happens to one person and not another, it's often a bunch of reasons that some people spend a long time trying to deconstruct.

It is not a healthy way to view the early days of any business and it isn't a realistic representation.

I am a designer. I design websites, games, products and services. I have been running a freelance design business for 7 years, been an employee at several companies in industries ranging from IT consultancy to tourism to science. I’ve seen many different approaches to running businesses. I’ve seen different amounts and types of success.

A few years ago my husband and I set up our own games development business "Utopian World of Sandwiches". We work in our shed. I support him to work full time in the business. So I have given this a lot of thought...

We need more good businesses in the world. I believe a good business provides a sustainable, encouraging environment for its employees and creates meaning and value in people's lives with its products and services.

Indie game development will drive the future of games. Indie game developers will be the ones to take games beyond what we know, to create truly innovative and interesting experiences. There are indies who are starting out now who will be the business leaders of the games industry in 10-20 years. We are already seeing a rise of indies, we will see more.