I was just curious as to how many Indie Developers fund or have funded their own projects directly out of their own wallets?
I notice there is a striking majority of developers (at least the ones who contact me) who desires to spend not a single penny on game development. Many who decide (or cannot) spend more than a hundred or so, etc.
This isn’t to look down on anyone or brag or anything, just a simple curiosity. I always strive to achieve high quality in my game, which means either working hard (which includes learning AND mastering skills I do not have) or paying elsewhere for it. Development costs have already exceeded a few thousand, and among those who do this casually and not so much as a business, I am wondering if this is common? This especially applies to those of us without artistic talent or complex knowledge in a variety of areas dealing with graphics. After all, if you don’t want to pay a penny, you have to become quite talented at Texturing, Modeling, Animating, Light Maps, and so much more! Complex software alone can take years to truly master-- in only one area!
For that which I cannot do to the point of AAA quality (Model) I look to cheaper alternatives in relation to time and quality, but since I have to fund it myself it also has to be as cheap as possible! Very hard when quality is almost always directly related to price. Great artists aren’t cheap!
For that which I can do, I judge if it’s worth it for me. For every moment I spend animating a character model or messing with a rig, it’s one less moment programming or designing-- and it hurts. Thankfully, I found Mixamo, a producer of AAA quality animations re-targeted to any character, for an astronomically low price. Those animations which Mixamo doesn’t have must be animated or I have to hire an external animator, and whew that’s pricey! For texturing, I find creating them to be extremely time consuming, so I buy most of my textures relatively cheap, and then spend significantly less time editing them to my liking. I find it MUCH cheaper AND great quality to use multiple textures together with some nice photoshopping to produce what would otherwise be an expensive result (hiring someone to make them from scratch, or doing so myself consuming time).
Unity3D being free, is definitely a plus, and the amazing resources Unity3D has (for free and paid) are just phenominal.
In fact, I’d like to take this moment to thank each and every person who has designed, programmed, or created any Art Assets or Software/Script Packs for Unity3D. If it weren’t for people like you, then people like me who fund game development out of their own pocket wouldn’t be able to do so! It’s people like you who bring power to the little guy, and that is something I am VERY grateful for.
Also, since I’m thanking people, those on the forums or on Unity Answers also deserve a huge thanks, as they help “the little guy” learn and accomplish that which they need to do for themselves. Education is so important!
With that said, I’d just like to say that it’s amazing how cheap even the more expensive indie assets are. When I ask around and find out I can get a RPG full of professional voice acting that won’t cost me 10’s of thousands of dollars? I am so happy. When I hear of animators willing to give me Pixar quality for under 100’s of thousands, it is a blessing. And what would we ever do without Script Packs like 2D Sprite renderers for a 3D Unity? My goodness, it would be pricey!
Oh, and even though I don’t use it, Frogame’s Warrior Commoners pack. What a great way to create a game or prototype one for a price one can “easily afford”.
