Posted March 27, 2022 by Rithm Gaming
#risk #analysis #cost #funding #support #community #emotions
And welcome to another dev log. In this log I wanted to talk about risk. For whatever reason, whenever I come across a new indy dev, my nosey self wants to know how they are funded. What life did they come from and what are they doing now? Are they moonlighting? A hobbyist? How are they supporting this endeavor?
In this blog I will tell all when it comes to financials, and share some feelings regarding risk. Buckle up, it's going to be a bumpy ride.
Well I'm Michael Feldman. I'm a game designer. Though this was not always the case. From summer of 2019 to November of 2021, I was freelancing, doing Unity stuff. Before that I was also doing unity stuff, full time, for a year. In neither of these roles was I doing design. Just development.
You may be thinking, whoa, this guy must have saved up the big bucks after working doing Unity for 3 years... Incorrect! I have saved up about enough for 6 months worth of living and development + 2 months of emergency scramble for a job money.
At this point, I've put everything on the line and I'm giving this project my all with the goal of learning as much about game design as I can, and making what some might call, a good game.
I'm aiming to make something big, but not too big. I'd like to make a splash in the puzzle platformer / adventure game space. I estimate it will take about 1.5 years to do this with the first 6 months devoted to building up something that wins investment dollars.
Naturally there is a big risk that the game does not secure those dollars, and thus a risk analysis takes place.
Here are the key components to a risk assessment according to my friend Chris:
In my case the probability of success is low, but the cost of failure isn't too huge. I don't have kids or a house. I am in decent health (knock on wood), and so if the project doesn't get funded, the cost is basically to figure out a new job, and decide whether or not to continue developing Avian Brain. Others don't necessarily suffer, or risk their own well being. The risk is fairly contained.
The reward is essentially that I get to continue the journey of learning, and potentially find a career path that works for me and fosters the passion I have for game development.
In this case the reward is sufficiently high, and the cost is sufficiently low, given the low probability of success. There's some way this could be formulated mathematically, but I leave that to the reader.
Though I've written about financial risk, emotional risks are also real. This type of endeavor is very emotional, and either way the cookie crumbles, I think it's important to make some emotional preparations, for what it's worth.
"Because the sage always confronts difficulties, he never experiences them." - Tao Te Ching
Below are my responses / preparations for both challenges.
If funding falls through:
If funding comes in:
I think the biggest thing that has carried me to this point, and through tremendous fire and flame is a support network. My family is on my side, and understanding of the risk, though it was not easy to get them on board in the beginning. I have a few friends who help just by being friends. I can bounce ideas, get feedback, or just talk about stuff other than the game.
Also finding a community of gamers and game developers is invaluable. Whether that's a local IGDA chapter, friends from game jams, or folks one meets in a coffee shop, there is strength in community.