Feelings can’t fill your stomach. How difficult is it to make a good independent game in China?

In recent years, more and more independent games have become known to domestic players, and independent games have once become synonymous with game innovation.

"Monument Valley", "Trinity", "Limbo" and "Machinarium" have not only won very good reputations in the industry, but also obtained considerable revenue through major download platforms. Even alternative mobile games such as "Flappy Bird" have gained great popularity. However, looking at China, the road to independent game development is full of ups and downs and obstacles. Why are our independent games still in a state of sailing against the current?

Global situation of "independent games" (the darker the color, the better the situation)

Independent game developers also need to eat

For a long time, the outside world has positioned independent games as games that do not rely on investors or market users, but are made solely based on the independent will of the developers themselves. As independent game developers, they are not satisfied with the low-quality, culturally empty traditional games, but they are unwilling to bow to the existing game business model.

Under this cognition, the question arises: do independent game developers deserve to starve? In foreign countries, whether it is the social system, welfare, or the game market, players' payment attitude has developed and matured, the survival of game developers will not be threatened too much. On the contrary, in China, although we also have a large number of producers eager to develop games, it is not easy to rely on the income from a game to maintain the funds needed for development. Often independent games are not created for the purpose of "selling well". Foreign developers are not as hungry for the material benefits that games can bring as domestic developers. In China, the problem of "how to survive" is much more realistic than "how to have more fun".

A group of independent researchers worked with the Indie Megabooth team to conduct a survey of the independent game industry in Europe and the United States. The data showed that most of the funds of independent developers came from the sales profits of previous games, Kickstarter and personal savings, and the average household income of independent developers in 2015 was between 73,000 and 79,000 US dollars, which was higher than the average household income of 54,000 US dollars in the United States in 2014. In other words, the income level of most independent developers participating in the survey is higher than the average household income. Adequate sources of funds are the basic guarantee for individuals or teams to make independent games. Unlike Europe and the United States, most domestic developers regard independent game development as a low-cost startup to invest, which casts a utilitarian color on the game production itself.

As we all know, making a game involves many links: plot planning, numerical planning, dialogue planning, system planning, programming, QA, original painting design, scene design, prop design, UI design, sound effects designer, musician, and possibly dubbing, marketing and other work. These are not tasks that can be completed by one person alone. Most of the time, the development of independent games is done by a game team. Monument Valley, which is touted as a benchmark, was also created by a core team of 8 people at a cost of millions of dollars.

An independent game developer said, "What I want most now is someone to tell us, 'Don't think about the market, don't think about profit, just focus on making a fun game', just like UsTwo, which made Monument Valley, said to their game team. Now our first consideration is how to keep the company alive."

This is an era where even the best wine is afraid of being hidden in a remote alley

In addition to funding issues, the problem of domestic game development being overly dependent on channels and distribution also troubles game developers. The lack of a complete and mature independent game display platform has led to the reality that even good wine will not be appreciated if it is not well-known.

The existence of the two major platforms, App Store and Steam, makes foreign independent game developers more willing to make their own games, because they don't have to worry about their games being buried, nor do they have to spend more time on publicity and promotion. In addition, these platforms will also negotiate a revenue sharing ratio with independent game developers. Although the selling price is not expensive, the sales of independent games are actually higher than we think due to their excellent quality, novel gameplay and small capacity. For example, after "Battle Brick Theater" on the Steam platform was favored by players, its revenue reached 15 million US dollars in just one year.

Currently, Steam Workshop "Greenlight" is open to domestic users and developers, and some domestic independent games have also been recommended by players on this platform. However, in recent years, competition for independent games has become increasingly fierce, and it is not easy for a good game to get a good recommendation position.

Although the survival environment of domestic independent games is very difficult, we still need to see that more and more developers and teams are willing to devote themselves to independent games. They are more likely to export high-quality independent games in the form of individuals, small teams, and studios, and have made great efforts for the healthy and diversified development of the domestic game market. Especially in 2015, a considerable number of independent games have been released and recognized by players, such as "Mr. Pumpkin Adventure", "Dream Journey", "Carp", "Cat Battle", etc. Some games have also been launched on domestic game consoles.

"At present, the domestic independent game circle has no shortage of talent or sentiment, but lacks a mature and complete industrial chain, and there are few platforms for voices and capital attention and investment." The development path of independent games seems to be "small wins big", full of challenges and obstacles, but for the domestic game market, independent game developers also bear the important responsibility of improving the existing gaming environment.

Finally, here are the top ten suggestions that Derek Yu (who won the 2012 Independent Games Festival Innovation Award) gave to independent game developers:

1. Choose ideas with potential while also considering objective factors such as time and resources.

2. Start making the game. Remember not to leave it unfinished and finish the game.

3. Don't do unnecessary independent research and development of technology, don't think that game making tools or other fool tools are some kind of unprofessional methods. Remember, the important thing is the game itself.

4. Don’t underestimate the importance of game prototype, make sure to make it.

5. Make sure the core game mechanics are fun.

6. Choose good partners (or stick to working alone), and build a healthy work environment that takes care of physical and mental health, such as not (too much) blaming the failure of releases and promotions. If it is not completed, try to reduce the scale of the project, not increase it.

7. Build the drudgery into your schedule, don’t make excuses for starting over, and don’t resort to tricks like cutting corners on art.

8. It’s important to stay independent and understand that “indie game” doesn’t refer to a specific game genre or aesthetic style.

9. Learn to create opportunities and get rid of the idea that “business is a battlefield”.

10. Always remember that you are your work - understand and develop yourself.

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.