Independent Production Guide

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Independent game developers frequently face a few challenges; one of them being promotion and distribution of their products. Without the financial support of a development or publishing contract, independent games rely on viral promotion and fair, affordable distribution platforms to distribute and market their titles. This guide reviews a series of independent game publishers, distributers, and public relations management sites for numerous platforms in order to provide an overview of requirements and financial expectations for each.

All services selected for this list accept independent games and distribute them through a single or multiple portals. These portals can exist as a service built natively in a console or platform, or as a web service that acts as a distribution center. There must also be a potential for revenue for the independent game when distributed through the service, although the service itself does not need to provide the revenue model.

Console Distribution Services

Console distribution services provide a powerful set of platforms for new developers. The addition of an Internet connection to all modern consoles has provided the ability for developers to make smaller downloadable games, which allow independent developers the opportunity to either find a small publisher or attempt to self-publish. Budgets for distribution are very small for these platforms, as developers can reach a console audience without going to a distribution plant and working with a retail brick-and-mortar store.

Each of the major consoles in 2011's market is represented here: the Xbox 360 allows developers to place content on either Xbox Live Arcade® or Xbox Live Indie® (each with different submission requirements), the Playstation 3 and the Playstation Portable both utilize Sony's PlayStation®Network, the Nintendo DSi (sorry, DS/DS Lite owners!) allows developers to use the new DSiWare®, and the Nintendo Wii allows releases on WiiWare®. Each of these platforms offers a different target market and demographic and requires a different development strategy.

If you or your team is planning on a console release but a physical unit seems like too much of a cost, these distribution platforms are the place to go. Look at each platform's data in order to determine the best fit for your game.


Personal Computer Distribution Services

PC development is still as popular as ever, and is a fantastic place to bring depending on the development team's goals. PC games tend to range from indie to AAA, and the distribution platforms are willing to work with developers of any size as long as the games are of a certain level of quality.

Certain genres are well-suited to the PC, as the availability of keyboard and mouse allows players a level of control and flexibility that is difficult to get with a console controller. Traditionally, first person shooters and real time strategy games perform best on the PC, though FPSes are beginning to move to console for a variety of reasons. There is a die-hard collection of gamers in the target demographic for these genres, though, that intend only on playing on PC.

The biggest advantage to the PC is the unlimited platform available: self-distribution is always an option if the development team is looking to release for free rather than sell. The experimental and indie markets and demographics are also strongest on the PC. Finally, the simple online store and community benefits of distribution platforms like Steam, which also has a large install base, allows games to sell virally through word of mouth as well as via impulse buys.




Online Distribution Services

Online distributions and web games have become extraordinarily popular in the last decade. As the world has acquired faster and faster web connections and has become used to a constant connection, people spent more and more time online. When somebody becomes bored online, they look for short-length games. This is where the online and web market comes into play.

Many web-based games are developed in Flash, as it is installed on most of the web-capable computers in existence. Moreover, it provides a common platform across the various operating systems somebody may be running and requires no install ahead of time. Instead, developers must find a solution for hosting their own content, as it is typically not locally stored on the player's PC.

Games utilizing these services tend to be either casual, social, or both. Facebook has combined the power of social networks with the power of casual gaming, and has opened the market up to people who would not even consider themselves to be gamers at all. Revenue tends to come from one of two sources: advertising/sponsorships associated with the game and microtransactions. Most of the games on these platforms are free to play, and the market willing to pay up-front for these games rather than as they are playing is significantly smaller. Developers are advised to heed the culture of free web games and offer premium pay-content within as a source of monetization.


Mobile Device Distribution Services

The advent of the Apple iPhone has brought smartphones with applications to the hands of millions in America and beyond as the country has slowly caught up to the rest of the world's phone technology. While mobile games have always been large in some parts of the world, such as Japan, this helped games to break into the American market as well -- a practically untapped resource with plenty of money. The market of people who own these phones are often technologically-savvy people who are always on the go, and the need for entertainment is very powerful for them.

As these devices are fairly advanced and the application stores are fairly simple, it has become commonplace for owners of these phones to have a large collection of applications. This market is always looking for new product, and they are very likely to impulse buy at the small prices seen on these platforms. On the other hand, a high price on an application will make any phone owner think twice. A common strategy in the mobile market is to push as many units as possible.

Each major operating system on these so-called smartphones has its own distribution platform, each with its own different requirements for submission and development languages. Major applications tend to release across all of these platforms in order to reach the largest market possible, but a small development team would be best focusing on a single piece of hardware to create a compelling experience and then potentially considering a port to other OSes later, as the resources required to develop for all of these phones at once is significant.

While Java-based standalone applications on SymbianOS and others are still under development, this guide focuses on the newer technology rather than the older. There are, however, plenty of resources for these Java-based phones and there still exists a market.



Online Guides & Information

Game Design & Development Guides

Flash Game Guides

Silverlight Game Guides

Other

Game Engines

This is a list of game engines that can be used to ramp up independent development. Click on each for more details about usage and licensing.

Game Development Tools and Libraries

This is a section which describes a set of tools and libraries which are quite helpful when working on games.

Mods

This is a brief overview of mods and mod resources.

Analytic Tools for Tracking In-Game Events

Something that a lot of people don't know about many online analytic tools is that in addition to web stats, they offer a way to track arbitrary events from within an application. This section provides a summary of available tools as well as suggestions for how to utilize them properly.

Asset Acquisition

Need some content? These resources could be just what you need.

Promotional Resources

Independent game developers rely on free or inexpensive third party solutions to not only distribute their games, but for the promotion of their titles as well. Some of the portals listed above may support the promotion of game titles, but it is important for independent game developers to recognize and embrace other means of promoting their titles. These websites are available to help developers promote their titles through publications or reviews.


About This Guide

The initial design and data for this guide was created by the 2009 Rochester Institute of Technology Graduate Class in "Business and Legal Aspects of Game Development" taught by Professor Stephen Jacobs.

The student team who did the work for this project was led by Colin J Doody and Joshua Gilpatrick; additional contributors were Matthew Bozarth, Andrew Galante and Nicholas Korn. The information within was culled from various Internet resources that were freely available from 12/08-2/09. The team attempted to get direct input from the listed companies but were unsuccessful. The accumulated content was added to this wiki in April and May 2009 by Dean Ganskop. Neither the students, the Professor, nor RIT bear any responsibility for the information provided within.

The current version of this guide has been redeveloped in January 2011 by the following year's class. The student team consisted of the following: Brian May, Richard Pospesel, Bert Wierenga, Alex Shick, Alex Lifschitz, Brian Murphy, Dan Wilson, Dave Wikman, Eric Baker, Marissa Gomes, and Mohamed Farhan Abd Rahman.

The previous version of this guide had been redeveloped in February 2010 by the previous year's class. The student team was: Heather Arbiter, Jay Austin, Brad Blankenship, Ari Check, Mike Dapiran, Sela Davis, Mike Ey, Chip Hilseberg, Jon Lobaugh, Mike Moore, Eric Moreau, Kelley Piering, Joe Pietruch, Kapish Rawat, Nicholas Wilsey, and Josh Wilson. Other contributors include Darius Kazemi, and Stephen Jacobs.

Some developers and organizations were contacts with varying amounts of response, but quite a bit of information is confidential or unavailable. Please feel free to update and improve this guide as time goes by so it can become a high-quality resource for independent developers.

For more information, or to comment on the guide, feel free to contact Stephen Jacobs via e-mail: itprofjacobs at gmail dot com.

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