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独立开发者应该掌握如何自主发行游戏

发布时间:2012-12-27 17:35:07 Tags:,,,,

作者:Richard Wilson

建立和经营一家可持续发展的新工作室不是一件容易的事。

GIC和TIGA的研究表明,在2008年至2011年之间,英国游戏界诞生了216家新的游戏公司,但倒闭的也有197家。

尽管工作室的“死亡率”如此高,但现在仍是建立初创企业的好时机。今天,自主发行商的选择相当多,因为支持独立开发者的平台比以前更多了,如App Store和Google Play,。

当然,与制作一款真正的游戏相比,开发过程需要具备更多条件。而这也是工作室最应该关注的地方,为了保证成功并得到维持开发的资金,工作室必须依靠营销、公关、广告、定位、漏洞测试、阶段评估、终端用户支持、税收和焦点测试等元素。

工作室常犯的第一个错误是,好高骛远。有多少能耐就应该做多少事。对于绝大多数新成立的工作室,组建完毕就马上开工制作AAA游戏,是不可能成功的。更明智的做法是,先利用开放平台,并不断积累信誉和储备资金才是真正有效的做法。

独立游戏开发是一个允许实验的领域。模仿《使命召唤》可能会让你感到失望;而做出新的尝试则有可能帮助你获得成功。

联络业界

确保你的游戏事业有一个正确的开端,这是非常重要的。TIGA(游戏邦注:这是英国游戏业的行业协会组织,其成员主要是独立游戏开发者、独立游戏发行商、独立发行的开发者、外包公司、技术院校等。)便能够帮助你做到这一点。我们当中有许多人是从事自主发行游戏的,在经营管理工作室方面的经验相当丰富:我们可以分享这种专业经验去帮助新兴工作室进行自主发行。TIGA为新工作室提供专业的建议,包括向其成员提供“自主发行指南”和提供培训服务。

TIGA(from escapestudios)

TIGA(from escapestudios)

我们还通过折扣来减少开发者的费用,实施游戏减税政策而减少游戏开发的成本。TIGA还会组织网上活动,帮助开发者们建立商业合作关系。

网络很关键。开发者必须与客户和其他开发者门保持密切的联系,这一点非常有益。网络还是挖掘创意和人才的重要手段,有了创意和人才,游戏才能成功。这就是为什么TIGA全年都要在个英国开展网上活动的主要原因。

这就导致工作室的第一个决定更加关键:在哪里建立工作室。位置的宣传非常重要——英国大多数成功的工作室都聚集在游戏创意圈周围,如吉尔福特、布莱顿、伦敦、敦提、爱丁堡、谢菲尔德、利兹市、纽卡斯尔、利物浦、曼彻斯特、剑桥、牛津、利明顿温泉镇和伯明翰等。

但有些独立开发者为了减少成本,而把工作室搬到卧室或书房里。这是最省钱的做法,并且不意味着你不专业。一个好的网站可以显示出你的专业。

免费博客软件使建立网站成了一件简单的事,因为你可以轻易地就通过社交网站,如Facebook和Twitter等发布游戏消息。你可以利用即时通讯、网络存储应用,如Dropbox和Sugarsync,与同事进行远程合作。

集体会议

无论你想得有多远,绝对不要埋头单干。这么做便意味着开发者独自呆在小房间,切断了与其他业内人的交流。要知道,与志同道合的人在一起是极其重要的。

网络的优势在于人们能够共享知识、想法,并进行合作。对于不得不在卧室和书房办公的小工作室来说,网络为他们搭建了一座沟通外界的桥梁。

像开发大会这样的活动也很重要。TIGA的活动便非常受欢迎。在“我们的平台战争:自主发行大会(Our Battle of the Platforms: Self-Publishing Conference)”上,开发者们可以自由地探讨自主发行所面临的问题或可能面临的问题。这个活动专注于不同平台的优势和制作跨平台游戏从早期开始所面临的挑战。

TIGA的游戏开发之夜也是一次盛大的聚会,其宗旨是学习和交流,让开发者们有大量时间互相认识,并交流自己总结出来的技术。

说到这里,意思很明白了:不要单干。当你开始新工作时,要向他人学习。交流、探讨、倾听和理解。你必须让别人知道你和你的游戏,并抓住每一个能够展示才华和创意的机会。

本文为游戏邦/gamerboom.com编译,拒绝任何不保留版权的转载,如需转载请联系:游戏邦

Start-up Special: How to self-publish your game

by Richard Wilson

Starting and building a sustainable new studio is no easy feat.

Research conducted by GIC and TIGA shows that between 2008 and 2011, 216 new games companies entered the UK games industry, but there were also 197 closures.

Yet despite the high studio mortality rate, this is a great time to begin a new venture. Self-publishers today have considerable choice, with the number of platforms that cater well for independent developers, from the App Store to Google Play, being greater than ever before.

Certainly, there is more to development than producing the actual game. While this is the most important focus for a studio, to ensure success and to secure the funds to continue development, a studio needs to rely on a mix of marketing, PR, advertising, localisation, bug testing, age ratings, end user support, taxation and focus testing.

One of the first mistakes a studio can make is to be over ambitious. You really need to work within your means. Starting a games company and dashing headlong into creating a triple-A title is not going to be possible for the vast majority of new studios. Making use of open platforms and building a reputation and cash reserves is usually more sensible, and this can work to your advantage.

Independent games development is a space in which you can experiment. Try to take on Call of Duty and you’re likely to be disappointed; produce a quirky title that brings something new to the gaming space and you are likely to be far more successful.

START AS YOU MEAN TO GO ON

Ensuring your games business gets off to the right start is crucial. TIGA can help. Many of our members are self-publishers and have considerable experience of owning and managing a studio: we can share this collective expertise to help new start-ups that are self-publishing. TIGA provides professional business advice for new start-ups, including our Self-Publishing Guide to all of its members and a mentoring service.

We also reduce developers’ costs via discounts and are working to secure an effective Games Tax Relief which will reduce the cost of games development. TIGA also organises networking events to enable developers to build business relationships.

Networking is crucial. Developers need to reach out to customers and to each other and being in close proximity helps enormously. Networking is vital for tapping into fresh ideas and talent which can help make a game a success, and it is why TIGA stages networking events across the UK throughout the year.

This makes one of the first decisions a studio will make even more crucial: where to base your company. Location can be important, with the most successful studios being based around the creative UK clusters of games studios that can be found in Guildford, Brighton, London, Dundee, Edinburgh, Sheffield, Leeds, Newcastle, Liverpool, Manchester, Cambridge, Oxford, Leamington Spa and Birmingham.

But some independent developers decide to cut costs and set up their company in a bedroom or home study. This is often the cheapest route and it does not mean you have to compromise. It is easy to present a professional front with a good website.

Free blog software makes setting up a website a trivial task and it is easy to get the message out about your game via social network sites such as Facebook and Twitter. You can work together with colleagues remotely using instant messaging, Dropbox and Sugarsync.

PLENUM DOUBT

Whichever route you decide, the crucial thing is not to operate in a vacuum. The danger is that developers stay in those small rooms and don’t talk to other people in the industry and that is because being around like-minded people is of the utmost importance.

Networking offers the advantages of sharing knowledge, ideas and engaging in collaboration.  Networking can be the bridge for small studios which have to set up in a bedroom or home study.

Events such as the Develop conferences are important. TIGA’s events prove popular. Our Battle of the Platforms: Self-Publishing Conference was a day which discussed the issues facing those already self-publishing or considering it. It focused on the benefits of different platforms and the challenges involved in creating a cross-platform game from an early stage.

TIGA’s GameDev Nights are also great get-togethers where the emphasis is on learning and networking, with ample time for people to get to know other developers and understand the skills they have which may prove useful for your own venture.

The message is clear then: don’t operate in isolation. When you start your new business, learn from others. Network, talk, listen and understand. You need to make both yourselves and your games known and seize every opportunity to showcase both your talent and your creative endeavours.(source:develop-online)


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