Trailer & Message

Hey, this is Darek, it looks like this is going to be a little different entry than usual. 

Probably a lot of people came here to see the Trailer - I won't disappoint you, this is what the full version of the Black Resin game could look like. Don't forget to like the video! ;)

Unfortunately, we will not see it soon, as we have not found a publisher. :(

Big Thanks

I would like to say a big thank you at this point to the fans on discord and itchi.io for their activity and fanart, to the developers for their feedback - especially Eric Chahi, who took his time to polish our pitch. Youtubers for the Letsplays of the prototype, which helped us improve the design. Publishers and investors who were willing to talk to us. I personally would also like to thank the team members, without whom neither the prototype nor this trailer would have been made.

Long journey

After the release of the prototype, both the game and we enjoyed good popularity. AlphaBetaGamer's video cranked out good numbers and the game made it to the Itch.io front-page. While we were tweaking the prototype, we had several options to choose what to do next. We decided to try our hand and find a publisher on our own.

In the meantime - thanks to the players of the prototype, their feedback and the reactions of YouTubers - we knew what to change and improve in the new version of the game. We started to build the foundation of the new version of the game. We designed the design document, Vertical Slice pipeline, we also changed the resolution of the graphics and new materials started to be created. 

After a while, we found that we had no idea about the business - how to talk to publishers and what to pay attention to when pricing a budget, etc. So we took the Digital Dragons Incubator course. Then we also focused on the trailer, which would prove that the full version of Black Resin is a completely new quality. After that course, we were already serious about talking to publishers, and we even found a company that everything would have worked out with, if they hadn't backed out of publishing indie games. 

It seems to me that we were doing well! Our pitch was used as an example at lectures in Lublin, the prototype became research material (at Solent Southampton University), and we even met Eric Chahi - the creator of Another World, DUST and Paper Beasts.

Conclusion 

As a team, we've gone through an interesting journey and learned a lot about the industry, and I myself have not only gotten better at animating and making levels after all this time, I've also learned how to present ideas to the public in a concise manner, and manage a team. Here are some thoughts I'm happy to share with other creatives.

• Talk to people in the industry - like a game and its developer? Talk, ask for feedback. People are willing to help, eager to share their knowledge and experience.
• If you are looking for a publisher, remember that they are looking at the budget, at your team, at the genre of the game and calculating the risk. Be sure that similar genre games will be reviewed on steamspy.
• I recommend Game Jams - it's an accelerated course in gamedev - they help verify how you collaborate with others and how others operate under time pressure. Even if the game doesn't come out, the lesson stays in your head!
• Being an indie is not easy, you have to commit 100% with the whole team, and give a lot from yourself, if you care about the game even publishers will appreciate it!
• It's better to release your first game with a low volume - don't go crazy with a big project and go through all the publishing formalities yourself, this way your second game has a chance to find a publisher and can be bigger - and we as authors have a proven team that survived the whole process to the end.
• Go beyond your expertise - don't be afraid of courses or training. You may find yourself very comfortable in something new, better understand other team members and as a result, for example, be a better designer.
• Difficult decisions - it is better to make some than to regret that you did nothing. Everyone makes mistakes and bad decisions will not be avoided, but it is forward movement!

If anyone is interested in my animations - want to know in detail about trailer or Black Resin’s concept art, I invite you to my refreshed portfolio:

https://www.artstation.com/darek_gawron

Music:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/zakaprov/

Programming:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/krzysztofzatora/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/hubert-welenc-a39563b2

Ex members:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/filip-hausman-9201559b/

https://pl.linkedin.com/in/ksawerykalicki

Cheers, Darek Gawron

Feel free to contact us in any form or write comments.

teamblackresin@gmail.com

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