Maybe try relatively bugfree but with shortened story/less levels etc. That’s how both Subnautica games approached that and it’s a good approach at development too.
Indie publishers is a fast changing list. Keep yourself up to date with the following industry websites as they have news on new ones, and new initiatives by existing ones:
https://www.pocketgamer.biz (mobile, but do have stories about publishers crossing from/to PC)
https://www.mcvuk.com
And I’d always recommend trying your game in a Big Indie Pitch (they have separate ones for PC and mobile) when it is further on, many of which are now online: https://www.bigindiepitch.com
Win or not, a Big Indie Pitch will get you some contacts (some of the judges will be publishers), and you will learn a lot about your game from the reaction and feedback.
Define “prototype”. Is it fully working? Does it have some unique hook or unique art style? Can you show something working that clearly shows that it is interesting and unique? Do you have a team that can complete the project, or is that what the funding is for?
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In particular, I can only make something (a prototype) thinking about rare and collaborators. And even for that, I have a long way to go. Not even for my own portfolio, if not thinking about partnerships or ‘free lancer’, because I’m a certain age already. I encourage the younger ones to make their games as a portfolio.
Indeed, in fact, most of time “a demo” should be about a 90% complete game. My company is primarily a publisher for small and medium indie teams across console/pc/mobile. But, like most publishers, we typically don’t “help you make your game”. (sometimes platform ports, or polish as needed). We help you get it across the finish line, last stage funding and of handle distribution/publishing/marketing.
If you want to even get the interest of a publisher that might back you, your game needs to be solid, original on some level, GOOD and marketable. Importantly, It needs to pretty much done, may short a bit of later game content or something, but the core gameplay, game design and art design all need to be in place. Ideas/concepts will be rejected outright from most.
Sure there are rare occasions where things are structured differently, but is often teams/studious the publisher will have history with, or developers that have a track record.
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You can learn more here https://discussions.unity.com/t/874350
What have you demonstrated in that prototype do you think merits 200,000 euros and a publishing deal, exactly? In your own words. What about this do you think will provide a sufficient return on investment in a market already crowded with zombie survival games?
Like, to break it down…
- This is your first game ever, you’re likely not going to see a better personal cut than 10%
- Assuming a marketing budget on the publisher end of an incredibly low 35,000 euros, your game will have to recoup 235,000 euros before you start seeing returns
- Storefront cuts and taxes are going to eat about 50% of that straight up (again, I am being incredibly favourable here)
- I can’t really see this leading to a game costing more than 20 euros, meaning you’re going to have to sell over 30,000 copies of the game until you start seeing your actual money after publisher recouping costs. This would be a staggeringly success by most indie game standards
What about this do you think is going to be a game that will sell over 30,000 copies? Because that’s the absolute minimum it’d have to sell before a publisher would ever consider giving you 200,000 euros and covering an incredibly tiny marketing campaign.
edit: note that I am glossing over a LOT of other publisher costs. I am weighing these numbers in your favour to extremes some people would call absurd.
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You are about 0.01% of the way there. Forget about other peoples money and just focus on finishing the game yourself and selling it. THat is the first and most important step you can take towards eventually getting help from others.
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Yup, the previous two posts pretty much covered it. You are not remotely ready to talk to a publisher. You don’t have a team, a game, art or an interesting idea. At least not yet. And 200k won’t finish that game.
Think about it this way, you have what an average developer could knock out in a couple of days, what would your pitch to them have to convince them to invest?
Again, a publisher publishes games, they don’t invest in developers (with rare exception). You will need present a interesting/unique/marketable game that is ready to ship in a very short time.
keep working on your game, you don’t need money or a publisher at this point.
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Long story short, you have no team, nothing to show, and the game you’re trying to build has been done before multiple times.
For example, t his is Dead Nation, from 2011.
I heard a story of team ninja applying for funding for one of the Ninja Gaiden titles. The story said that they pr etty much presented a grayboxed level and untextured models, BUT all the core mechanics were already in and it was obvious what they were trying to achieve. Not sure if this is true or not.
P.S. Kinda hard to believe that Nioh 2 and Dead or Alive were done by the same team. Sorta similar to the time when I discovered that From Software developed Armored Core.
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I guess Unity is the Land of Dreams™
What Publisher Looks At 3fnaji
This is nowhere close to what a publisher needs. The only thing the publisher will see is a tiny bit of angrybots shooting.
If you look in the DOTS forum you’ll see something more publishable, like 10,000 of them coming at you, with multiplayer and open word, base building etc. That’s your competition.
Their risk increases for them the more unoriginal something is combined with a lack of previous published work.
The art doesn’t matter at all because it’s unused. It may as well be off asset store. This is a pre-pre-prototype. Camera flybys are common things a publisher ignores immediately. So they look at the tiny angrybots shooting bit and see… well, they see what hundreds of other indies already pitched.
At this point, and stage, it won’t even make it to mobile. I have to be harsh because it IS a harsh business. You need something original or outstanding or brilliant for people to give you money.
If you were SELF-publishing I would be really supportive and encourage you to wrap and finish it for mobile and switch. But going out grandstanding like you are, well reality bites, I guess.
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Stuff like this made in DOTS has publishers crawling over them. They don’t need to look for them. Although this began top down, that team decided to make it over-the-shoulder. That will prove to be costly for them to develop, but it’s their choice and I understand the madness behind that empowerment Unity can bring.
Even so, if you were able to demonstrate a working game with those numbers on reasonable hardware, you would be in the door for discussions.
But I guess that requires a strong programmer on the team. 200k would not be enough to hire a strong programmer and support to see it through the 2-3 years it would take - unless they are already on the team. You’d need a full team already to make a game of that scale within 3 years.
Therefore 200k is for what?
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For the pitch. I guess.
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Pay the team
Paying the team does not make any money for the publisher.
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What exactly is your costings breakdown and how long will it take? You need all that before a publisher asks “What can we do for you?”
Any kind of business needs full costings unless you’re basically the kind of maverick that can sign a legendary deal on the back of a napkin.
And those people are really far and few between.
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It is indicated where the money goes and the period. (12 months)
And, again, note that I’m being EXTREMELY generous here. You’d really be expected to sell past 50,000 copies to start turning any real profit, and I’d say probably around 100,000 for a super small scale publisher to feel “safe.” What about your game promises it’d sells that much? What is interesting about your game that other games don’t already do? What does your game do better than other games?
Because nothing in your pitch document from the other thread or any of your other posts covers this. At all.
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OK but how do you know it takes 12 months? Have you done it before?
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