so I started my own video game studio

[LordSphinx]

I worked at Activision for more than three years, in a specialized QA department. From the sound of it, you probably imagine that either I was laid off or it must have been a horrible experience with no redeeming value and I am now making my own company out of spite.

And yet, that's quite far from the truth. I had a very good experience while working at Activision. I quickly raised to a lead position and was paid a very decent salary. My superiors were grateful for my work, and I could always tell them whatever problem I had with how things rolled, and even though things weren't always corrected (and usually weren't), at least I felt like they were listening to me. But when decisions are taken from even higher than my bosses, and sometimes higher than my bosses' bosses, so there wasn't much they could do. That's what you get for working in the biggest video game company in the world. And I worked on Call of Duty, Guitar Hero, Tony Hawk, Spider-Man and many other titles of less prestigious pedigree, so I can't say that I was working on bad projects.

But no matter how well my employer treated me, the QA division in Quebec, there were two things they couldn't do for me. I wasn't doing anything creative and meaningful, and I wasn't working for a company I could identify with. I'm another of those game designer wannabes. I stand against almost each and every decision that Activision, as a company, make.

So I started my own video game studio. 6 months ago, I've quit a well paying job where I felt appreciated and listened to, because I needed to contribute in a more meaningful way to the medium. Since then, I assembled a wonderful team of 5 developers and we are working on a modest title on Xbox Live Indie Games while I undertake the difficult task of finding the necessary funding to start the development on title of more ambitious scope.

And why am I telling you guys all this? Because I like the Escapist community, and I want to talk about it in details, if you guys are interested. There are quite a few things I aim to do differently, and I advocate a lot of the same principles that are explained by the wonderful crew at Extra Credit.

So, is there anything you'd like to ask to the CEO of Nine Dots Studio?

Oh and before I forget, we have a website and a facebook page ;-)

 

[zombiejoe]

So just wondering, if someone were to try to join a studio saying they wanted to write for a video game, what would they be looking for?

 

[Taxman1]

Best of luck, its always nice to see someone pursuing their dreams. Any details on that game of yours? Id buy it if it was for PC ( My only method of modern gaming). Also have you met Kotick? Is he as bad as we say he is?

 

[imagremlin]

First of all congratulations. It takes real courage to leave your permanent position on a company and start you own - I know, I've been there.

I would assume you have a fair grasp on the industry, so my first question would be, what do you see as the biggest challenge for a game studio startup?

 

[Moooo4me]

What kind of games are you going to make? Is there any advice you could give to someone who is hoping to own their own game studio one day?

 

[Giinjii]

What books and/or websites do you recommend for basic programming and PC hardware 101?

Also, are the 5 people you've hired people you are close to. If not, where did you find them.

Also (I know I know wrappin' it up) what software are you using for graphics and sound. Is it free? If not, do you think the amount of money spent on the software was worth the investment?

 

[drshoktopus]

I am also curious as to what games you are working on at the moment. I have always loved indie and exploratory games, and I applaud your bravery in striking out on your own. Break legs in the the industry!

 

[Judgement101]

......How is this not flagged as advertising yet?
Meh, whatever.
My Question: You guys sound retro, so what sort of games are you working on and when will they be released?

 

[LordSphinx]

What gametypes will you specialize in?

And what style? New style or Retrostyle?

Mostly, we will specialize in games that cater to educated gamers. Retro or not isn't really what matters. What counts for us is to offer a high customisation to our games, make sure that every player has an experience that is unique to them.

So just wondering, if someone were to try to join a studio saying they wanted to write for a video game, what would they be looking for?

I think that writing for video games is rarely something that can be done on a year long basis, and thus is more fitting as a contractor job. But some bigger studios are developing many different projects at the same time, so they can make the most out of someone with a permanent assignment to writing. From such a guy, they'd need a high productivity and a rich background. Someone who only write fan fictions, for instance, wouldn't cut it. I met a designer who was doing more of the writing, and he was writing plays. Someone who published a a few books would definitely get my attention more than someone who has never wrote anything on his own professionally.

Best of luck, its always nice to see someone pursuing their dreams. Any details on that game of yours? Id buy it if it was for PC ( My only method of modern gaming). Also have you met Kotick? Is he as bad as we say he is?

I haven't met him, but I talked with people who did. They never said anything good about him. They haven't said anything bad either, but... not saying anything good seemed like a statement in itself.

First of all congratulations. It takes real courage to leave your permanent position on a company and start you own - I know, I've been there.

I would assume you have a fair grasp on the industry, so my first question would be, what do you see as the biggest challenge for a game studio startup?

The biggest challenge is the money. I gathered 15000$ and that's far from being enough. I know that most studio tries to get just enough money to build a prototype and then start looking for a publisher. But I want to be my own publisher, to make sure I have the freedom necessary to be innovative. So instead of looking for 80k, I am trying to figure out how to amass 500k. That's half a million. In the eye of most investor, I am just a young idealist of 24 years old. Convincing them that giving me money will mean getting a lot more money will be *very* hard. Building a good business plan is a very difficult task, but it is a must to be taken seriously by these people who mostly talk in numbers and not in nice principles.

What kind of games are you going to make? Is there any advice you could give to someone who is hoping to own their own game studio one day?

My first advice is to gather a stupid amount of information on anything closely related to your market. Second, start working on your plan as soon as you can, even if you don't intend to do it soon. If you want to talk more about it, you can send me a PM and I'll tell you more of what I've learned so far.

What books and/or websites do you recommend for basic programming and PC hardware 101?

Also, are the 5 people you've hired people you are close to. If not, where did you find them.

Also (I know I know wrappin' it up) what software are you using for graphics and sound. Is it free? If not, do you think the amount of money spent on the software was worth the investment?

I am not a programmer, so I can't tell you anything about books. For the 5 people in my team, which don't even have a salary yet, none of them were really that close to me. I went to events held by the IGDA or by game development schools and talked with the people there. To build a network, there is no secret trick: you must just be able to start talking with people you don't know and make them trust you. Eventually, the word starts spreading locally that a new alternative to the sucky studios around is coming up, and they start sharing your dreams. That's something very powerful.

I am also curious as to what games you are working on at the moment. I have always loved indie and exploratory games, and I applaud your bravery in striking out on your own. Break legs in the the industry!

For our current title, there is a glimpse of information on our website.

Thanks everyone for your interest, that's giving me a #$%?load of energy to keep working hard!

 

[gigastar]

Any chance you could release on PSN too?

 

[Dirty Hipsters]

Would you give me a job?

 

[BlindMessiah94]

snip

First of all good for you! Second of all, careful with advertising on here. Though your intention seems fine enough, I know the mods don't take kindly to advertising of any kind on the forums. You were smart to not post a link on here, better to PM people that express interest.


Anyhoo, my advice is watch Extra Creditz, and maybe even email them. They have actually been quite responsive when I've emailed them the past few times, and seem to really genuinely care about people in this industry.

Also you hiring? I worked on a game's music last year and it was a lot of fun

 

[Fiz_The_Toaster]

Congrats and I hope that this turns out well for you, it takes a lot of guts to leave that kind of position and do your own thing.

I wanna get into the sound design and audio portions of games, I've always been fascinated by it, so I was wondering how I would get into that field. I'm already an audio engineer, but I'm not quite sure how to get into the game aspect of that.

 

[LordSphinx]

......How is this not flagged as advertising yet?
Meh, whatever.
My Question: You guys sound retro, so what sort of games are you working on and when will they be released?

I won't lie, I have a lot to gain from gaining exposure on this website. But my interest in discussing the matter seriously is genuine, and I think there is nothing wrong in talking directly with my audience. I even offered Escapist to write a weekly column on the many obstacles of starting out a video game company in such a competitve field.

As for your question, we aren't necessarily retro, but being a hardcore gamer since as long as I remember, there are a lot of design philosophies that will influence our games. Although I have nothing against such titles, I don't want to make games in pixel arts with minimalistic approaches. There are already enough of those on the market in my opinion.

I think that on the other hand, there aren't enough well polished 3D games on the XBLIG channel, so that's what our first project will be.

 

[LordSphinx]

Any chance you could release on PSN too?

From what information I gathered, it is very rare for PSN titles to be profitable. I'd have to be very lucky to strike a deal with Sony to gain the exposure of companies such as ThatGameCompany with their Flow and Flower titles. Good for them that they got it, but I think that I'll first give a try on Microsoft's side. They are very welcoming to developers and I found them surprisingly easy to approach. besides, it is very hard to develop for the Playstation and the team isn't very experienced, so I see it as an additional risk.

Would you give me a job?

Hard to say! =P

snip

First of all good for you! Second of all, careful with advertising on here. Though your intention seems fine enough, I know the mods don't take kindly to advertising of any kind on the forums. You were smart to not post a link on here, better to PM people that express interest.


Anyhoo, my advice is watch Extra Creditz, and maybe even email them. They have actually been quite responsive when I've emailed them the past few times, and seem to really genuinely care about people in this industry.

Also you hiring? I worked on a game's music last year and it was a lot of fun

Thanks for the advices, I'm trying to be careful but being the enthusiastic CEO of the company makes it hard to not sound like an advertiser! And besides, I do intend to contact them, but I want to have a little more to show beforehand.

Finding good music composers is pretty hard, and I intend to hire a full time sound designer/composer before the end of the year. I'd have to hear what you do before offering anything of course, but I'll definitely listen to your portfolio if you send it to me Aside from that, you'd have to be willing to move out to Quebec, and speaking french or intending to learn the language would definitely help (but isn't a must).

Congrats and I hope that this turns out well for you, it takes a lot of guts to leave that kind of position and do your own thing.

I wanna get into the sound design and audio portions of games, I've always been fascinated by it, so I was wondering how I would get into that field. I'm already an audio engineer, but I'm not quite sure how to get into the game aspect of that.

I'm not an expert on the subject, but from what I gather, if you're an audio engineer you probably already have the qualifications to work in the industry. Maybe it's now time for you to work on your networking: find a local IGDA chapter, talk to people, check up the local news for events from the studios near you, roam on forums and you'll eventually start building a network that will help you get noticed by someone. Also, have a business card ready. Don't shy away from sending your resume when there are job openings and don't shy away from talking with people. You have nothing to lose. And don't only talk to people that hire: talk to everybody. That fellow student could very well get a job before you, and then give a recommendation for you once he's in.

 

[gigastar]

Any chance you could release on PSN too?

From what information I gathered, it is very rare for PSN titles to be profitable. I'd have to be very lucky to strike a deal with Sony to gain the exposure of companies such as ThatGameCompany with their Flow and Flower titles. Good for them that they got it, but I think that I'll first give a try on Microsoft's side. They are very welcoming to developers and I found them surprisingly easy to approach. besides, it is very hard to develop for the Playstation and the team isn't very experienced, so I see it as an additional risk.

Fair enough, what about Steam if the game you make can be properly ported to PC?

 

[kaioshade]

snip

Anyhoo, my advice is watch Extra Creditz, and maybe even email them. They have actually been quite responsive when I've emailed them the past few times, and seem to really genuinely care about people in this industry.

Also you hiring? I worked on a game's music last year and it was a lot of fun

They actually responded to you? I have been trying to get their attention for a while. no dice.

 

[gigastar]

Actually, ive read the whole thread and it still hasnt been mentioned just what kind of genre youre going into.

Ive picked up that youre doing a game in 3D, which is ok, but what genre are you doing?