itch.io

What is your story?   What are your ideas?

I  assume since most of the games here are horror games, then shock value or gore    will be your number one answer.

But for me,   I would say great music, hidden secrets,  cool effects,   a good battle system,  interesting story   and intriguing characters.

Wow, looks like most people are working on their games alone.   For me, I  work on the art and music, but I  also hire talent for programming and some of the art.    I  couldn't do EVERYTHING alone!

I  like your Peaceful Garden!   Would you be interested in writing a song like that for my game, Torin the Turtle?   https://ronaldaam.itch.io/playturtlegame

For the record, I believe with enough   money you can buy just about anything.   Talent, creativity, assets, marketing, exposure, fans, etc.   So I believe that money is the only real difference between a mainstream game and an indie game.

What separates these two aside from money?     My question is, with enough money does an indie game become mainstream?  Why or why not?

If my post lacks description, it's because I do not code.   My project has literally been me creating 3D models and animations, purchasing  background images and hiring coders.   I  am not able to hire anymore, so I  am looking for collaboration.

Looking for programmer(s) to help make my game Torin the Turtle a better prototype.   

https://ronaldaam.itch.io/playturtlegame

I need work on the fighting, the overall gameplay, and pacing of the game.    Looking to collaborate to make this game shine!!

A few questions:

1. How big is your dev team?   Is it just you?    

2.  Are you working with friends?   People you met in a game jam?    People you hired? AI?

3.  Who owns the game?    If more than one person is working on it, how do you determine payment?

4.   Who controls the content?   How are decisions made?  Do you vote?

Ok, cool, well thanks for trying it :)   In the end, I hope to show that not all turtles are bad, lol!   Take that Mario!!

night scene

The game has been updated with more of a story now.   It is too large for a browser, so it's a downloadable exe.

The prototype is basically not playable on Chrome.

I updated the game with the latest version being a downloadable executable file.   Check it out and let me know your thoughts, thanks!   Everything should work now.

first what in the  depth of the internet is this thread

It was a thread about making money to build an awesome game.   I spent a lot of money on my game and I  need donations to continue it, but without a following, I  get no donations, so it was about how to create a following, to get donations to continue building my game.

My game is based off of Secret of Mana, arguably the coolest game ever made imo.    For an indie dev to compete, it will probably take millions.

The thread evolved from there.

second, I know I am making it worse

...

third, I dont have a opinion. my opinion(oh well.. i do got one) is:...

?? 

fourth, Dear Torin the Turtle, your game isnt that type of good, the game idea is weak till now and, i am confused by the really good looking 3d and 2d assets. but the mixture makes me feel uncomortable playing it. 

The final game will be all 3D.   Since I do not code, I have to pay someone to code features in my game.   I  work on the artwork and music.  Since it will take so much money to get the game right,  I am looking to make a comic first and build the story and characters there. 

Thoughts?

I don't code so I  don't know.   But is there software or something to help organize how your game works?

In art, you storyboard your animation before you make it.   Is  coding like that?

Thanks!

If I  were you, I  would make a discord about this and meet people that way.    Also go to gaming conferences and networking events.

Also you are not getting a following because your game is not indexed. This prevents itch.io algorithms and search engines from displaying the game.

Interesting!  How do I  index my game??

I have been working on my game, Dualspace. I have 33 reviews with a 4.64 average and over 2k views, but still not a single donation

But are you asking for donations?  Do you have a kickstarter or a gofundme?

https://ronaldaam.itch.io/playturtlegame

Ok, just watched the first few minutes of that video.   She had to become a content creator/influencer  as a NECESSARY EVIL to promote her game.

Yeah....that's something a lot of people want  to avoid doing.    Again, I think the answer comes down to money.   You need a budget, a large budget, to  pay influencers to play your game and tell others about it.   Unless you want to do what she did.

Should coding really not be your thing, the idea with the comic is good. Publishing web comics is rather cheap and therefore low risk.

That's  the direction I'm headed now.   I bought a tablet, and I'm going to make a web comic.    My dreams for a video game are far too great for my budget.   And I really cannot code and fixing bugs drives me nuts.   I just don't think that way, and it's so much faster to hire someone who does, and enjoys it.

Now I'm working hard on telling the story in an entertaining way.   My drawing is so-so (very average) so I'm really going to have to nail the story and hopefully that will catch on and I can raise funds for the game.

Secret of Mana was an amazing game mainly because of the music, the battle mode and the animations.   The story was ok, but not as memorable as the things I mentioned.    It's a classic because of how it plays and sounds.     I'll be writing music for the comic to help tell the story.  Hopefully that will make it stand out.   

Thank you!

But I am serious, if I can find a really successful open source game (like on the level of Zelda or something) then I would make Torin the Turtle open source.   It's easier than trying to raise money for it.

The rhythm in Secret of Mana was made with the harpsichord.   I  use that same rhythm on the guitar in my song.   The rest I  made up.   But in the final game, I'll replace it with an original song.   This is a prototype, and just a head nod to a game I have idolized since I was a child.

"If you work an a story, that might be interesting."

I  have a story

I cannot code well, so I hire coders to make the game.   I  can compose music, model and animate 3D, and direct the art of the game, but that's about it.   I  would be willing to make the game open source if I  could see more examples of successful open source games.  

Torin the Turtle is the only turtle that can change his shell.   The project is very ambitious, not a hobby but a hope to make it mainstream.   But I  think I should have scaled it down to a simpler game that I  can complete, like I  mentioned in another thread.   

Money buys talent.   That's why I believe it really fixes *most* things, if you know how to manage it.

I  am not convincing people to spend a lot of money in donations.   The people that like my game want it for free, and I cannot spend any more of my own money making and improving my game.    So I have decided to scale back and either make a comic book with my characters or a much simpler game that is fun and easy to play.

I think  a simple game or a comic can inspire more people and grow a following, and I think it is necessary to have a following to gain any type of donations.

Btw,  I only used the harpsichord   from Secret of Mana, the melody is my own ;) 

Super Mario, Donkey Kong, Pac Man, Angry Birds...Flappy Bird, they all started with a simple humble game then they grew.     Looking at today's modern games can be very intimidating.    Those games cost millions to make and have large crews working on them.   But I still think there is room for simple gaming.   

That's what I  have learned from working on my game.     Don't try to make a RPG or anything grand to start with.   Think small, simple, and fun.     And don't put a lot of money into the development, put more into marketing.   Then build from there.    Do you agree? 

Here is a track I wrote  as a remix to Mirage Saloon on Sonic Mania.  Thoughts?

Worked hard on this one, this version is my favorite.

Hello, I am working on a game called "Torin  the Turtle".   This is a prototype, and I am looking for funding to further develop it.        https://ronaldaam.itch.io/playturtlegame

Thanks for making this thread and I hope you like my game :)

playturtlegame.com

Look at this:   https://www.givesendgo.com/HelpChud

What did  this person do to warrant  $170,000  in donations?     So,   I guess   to   raise funds   for my game,   I   should run around being a racist asshole  huh?     People have funds for that   I  guess

If you're doing this as a hobby, I can understand low investments.  I   should have said in the    OP   that I   want to do this as my career, that's why I   sold my car.

1. Would you do it?

2.   How would you do it?

3.   Would you lose creative control?

4.   What  size royalty would  you expect?