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[Konidias]

Doesn't 8-bit funding sort of clash with being an indie developer? I thought being indie sort of meant not being funded by outside sources...

If you're taking money from someone to fund your game, and promising them a percentage of the profits... That's pretty much the definition of outside investors. You're no longer independently run, you're relying on other people's money and they are relying on you to deliver some sort of return for them.

If it was just "donate money and we'll put you in the game and give you a t-shirt" then that would be fine... but I'm not so sure about the whole "give us money and you'll get a cut of the profits" thing. I'm not even sure how that would work out. What's to stop the developer from making up some random low sales numbers to not owe the donating party anything?

[Christian Knudsen]

How does outside investors clash with being indie? The outside investors aren't publishing the game nor do they have any say in the making of the game. Besides, it isn't built into 8BitFunding that donators get a percentage of any profits -- that's just what some projects are offering.

[Hayden Scott-Baron]

How does outside investors clash with being indie? The outside investors aren't publishing the game nor do they have any say in the making of the game.

You are committed to making the game, rather than maintaining the freedom to re-evaluate the project at any stage. If someone gets funding for a platform game and then decides to make it into a RTS for iPhone mid way through development, they haven't really fulfilled their promise.

It varies from case to case of course. A lot of these games are mostly done, so are unlikely to falter at this stage. Others, however, have barely started and are mostly just trying their luck.

[Christian Knudsen]

How is that different from offering preorders? Does offering preorders clash with being indie?

[Hayden Scott-Baron]

How is that different from offering preorders? Does offering preorders clash with being indie?

It really depends upon how far a project is completed, and of course it's a grey area. It would often be irresponsible to take pre-orders when a project is less than 75% percent ready for release. Most people make their game available for pre-order when the game is at least in a presentable, playable state.

[Netsu]

What's up with this 'being indie' crap anyway? I just want to make my own games and if there are ways to get money off them then it's even more awesome. Whether it's by selling it, preordering, 8bitfunding, licensing, whatever.

[Christian Knudsen]

Exactly. I just don't get how it "clashes with being indie" if you get outside investors. None of the 8 Bit Funding projects state that investors (donators or pre-orders, really) get any say whatsoever in the making of the game. Sure, they'll have expectations, but there are expectations as soon as you make a product for sale.

[Peevish]

All the terms of investment, all the perks, and all the responsibilities that come with getting funding are conceptualized, proposed, and defined by the person making the game. There is nothing more indie than that.

[Fallsburg]

Sure, they'll have expectations, but there are expectations as soon as you make a product for sale.

Don't tell Dan Tabar that.

[moi]

What's up with this 'being indie' crap anyway?

Well some people need to have a good justification for those 8 bit graphics they're trying to sell.

[Christian Knudsen]

Sure, they'll have expectations, but there are expectations as soon as you make a product for sale.

Don't tell Dan Tabar that.

Well, I didn't say those expectations are necessarily justified...

[Konidias]

What's up with this 'being indie' crap anyway? I just want to make my own games and if there are ways to get money off them then it's even more awesome. Whether it's by selling it, preordering, 8bitfunding, licensing, whatever.

Well considering this is a forum for "Independent Gaming Discussion" (as displayed in the forum title image), I would assume this 'being indie' crap was sort of what the forum is about.

[Netsu]

Well considering this is a forum for "Independent Gaming Discussion" (as displayed in the forum title image), I would assume this 'being indie' crap was sort of what the forum is about.

This doesn't explain what being indie is about though. And I think applying the term to gaming is almost as pointless as applying it to music.

[Paul Eres]

It really depends upon how far a project is completed, and of course it's a grey area. It would often be irresponsible to take pre-orders when a project is less than 75% percent ready for release. Most people make their game available for pre-order when the game is at least in a presentable, playable state.

if that is true, minecraft got rich off of being irresponsible then -- when it was first put up for presale it didn't have anywhere near 25% of what it has now

but anyway i do think that giving away a % in exchange for money is still mostly indie, so long as they have no creative say over how the game is done and as long as you aren't legally obligated to finish the game. i wouldn't recommend doing it though because i don't think 'money making more money' is a good thing to encourage.

[Hayden Scott-Baron]

Paul, did you miss the "presentable, playable state" part?  Offering a game for pre-order/sale in its current state is perfectly fair and quite different to saying that you'll potentially make a product in the next twelve months or so. In most of these cases the preview build is sufficient, such as Sophie Houlden's 'Lottie's Dungeon' game.