Hardware
Computers
An
electronic device which is capable of receiving information (data) in a
particular form and of performing a sequence of operations in accordance with a
predetermined but variable set of procedural instructions (program) to produce
a result in the form of information or signals.
Cost:
Varies
Peripherals
Printers, Mouse, Monitors, Keyboards, and hardware in
general.
Cost: Varies
Dev kits
A
software development kit is
typically a set of software development tools that allows the creation of
applications for a certain software package, software framework, hardware
platform, computer system, video game console, operating system, or similar
development platform. The following quote is the criteria for receiving Xbox
One developer kits: “Developers with an approved concept for Xbox One
will receive two dev. kits, free of charge. Developers creating Universal
Windows Apps for Xbox One will be able to test them using retail Xbox Ones
starting after the second half of 2015.” -
http://www.xbox.com/en-GB/Developers/id
Cost:
Varies, $500 ~ $2500
No
fees for neither PS4 nor Xbox One.
Software
UDK
UDK is a free version of the commercially
available Unreal Engine which allows professional and indie developers alike to
work with industry tools to create stunning 3D games.
Cost:
Free
Unity
Unity is a
cross-platform game engine developed by UnityTechnologies and used to develop video games for PC,
consoles, mobile devices and websites. First announced only for OS X, at
Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference in 2005, it has since been extended to
target more than fifteen platforms.
Cost: Free (with
less features) OR $75 a month/$1500.
Game Maker
GameMaker is an easy-to-use programming environment
that anyone, middle school-aged and older, can use to make their own video games. A basic version, called GameMaker Lite, can be downloaded free of charge
from its publisher, YoYo Games, and is available for both
Windows and Mac operating systems.
Cost:
Free
Maya
Autodesk Maya, commonly shortened to Maya, is a 3D computer graphics
software that runs on Windows, OS X and Linux, originally developed by Alias
Systems Corporation (formerly Alias. | Wavefront) and currently owned and
developed by Autodesk, Inc.
Cost:
£145 monthly / £365 quarterly / £1160 annually / £2900 perpetually
Publishing
Steam Greenlight
Steam Greenlight is a system that enlists the community's help in picking some of the new
games to be released on Steam. Developers post information,
screenshots, and video for their game and seek a critical mass of community
support in order to get selected for distribution.
Cost:
£70
ID@Xbox
ID@Xbox (Independent Developers @ Xbox) is a program by Microsoft allowing independent video game developers
to self-publish titles for Windows and the Xbox One
home video game console.
Cost: Free
PSN
PlayStation Network, officially abbreviated PSN, is an entertainment service
provided by Sony Computer Entertainment for use with the PlayStation family of
video game consoles, Sony tablets, smartphones, Blu-ray players and HDTVs.
Cost:
Free. Although, you can buy PlayStation Plus, which varies in price. On PS4, in
order to play online, a PlayStation Plus subscription is needed.
IOS
IOS is an operating system used for mobile devices manufactured by Apple Inc. Cost:
Free
Android
Android is an open-source operating system used for smartphones and tablet
computers.
Cost:
Free
Finance
Self-financing
Self-financing means that you have “your own project or firm
and you generate your growth capital from your own income, and you don’t have
any external sources at all – such as lenders or/and investors.” http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/self-financing.html . “If
you fund/develop a game which turns out to be great then publishers will queue
up to sign it and the financial returns will be greater because you took all
the risk. Of course if the game isn’t great then you may end up with a finished
product that no one will sign.” http://www.obscure.co.uk/articles-2/funding-for-game-projects/ .
Advantages:
-
You don’t have to share anything with anyone. For
example, you won’t have to give control to shareholders, their opinions don’t
matter for business decisions.
Disadvantages:
-
You may have insufficient capital to reach desired
economies of scale, and it’s harder to start and keep the business going.
Indie
funding
The safe way of publishing your game. Indie games are zero
budget (or self-funded in some cases). The developers only spend their spare
time making their first game, and if it succeeds, they then go full-time on the
next projects – although, if they don’t succeed, they go back to the initial
plan.
Indie fund
“Indie Fund is a funding source for independent developers,
created by a group of successful Indies looking to encourage the next wave of
game developers. It was established as a serious alternative to the traditional
publisher funding model.” - http://indie-fund.com/about/
GamesLab Development Fund
“GamesLab is a dedicated programme of
support & investment for Indie Game Companies.” - http://gameslab.creativeengland.co.uk/
Crowd
funding
Crowd funding is
the practice of funding a project or venture by raising many small amounts of
money from a large number of people, typically via the Internet.
Kickstarter
“Kickstarter
is a new way to fund creative projects”. Where you can create projects that
have to do with films, games, music to art, design and technology.
IndieGoGo
IndieGoGo is an international Crowd funding web site. “Indiegogo allows people to
solicit funds for an idea, charity, or start-up business. Indiegogo charges a
5% fee on contributions.” - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indiegogo
Grants
“Funding may also be possible via local
grants or tax breaks. These are usually limited to specific regions and many
won’t be available for creative projects.” - http://www.obscure.co.uk/articles-2/funding-for-game-projects/
Unreal Dev Grants
“$5,000,000 development fund to provide
financial grants to innovative projects built in and around Unreal Engine 4.” https://www.unrealengine.com/unrealdevgrants If the creation succeeds, they succeed.
Publisher
Publisher
funding is an option for larger games and/or if you’re not going to publish it
yourself or use other ways to publish your games. Although, it’s quite hard to
get a Publisher to sign you – you need a good team, demo and presentation to
convince them as well as industry experience. This is because they don’t like
to take risks as it would only be prejudicial for them.
Publisher
funding is good because they are the ones that pay to publish your game – they
take the risk. The disadvantages are that they pretty much own your idea and
your game, as well as the bigger cut of the profits (if there will be any)
Companies
like EA (Electronic Arts) or Bethesda are well known publishers,
easily capable of doing million dollar deals.
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