|
SelfTitled
|
 |
« on: July 22, 2015, 09:42:54 AM » |
|
So inspired by a Rami Ismail tweet and the replies he got, I was wondering - How long have you been making games for?
- How long before you sold a game you made?
- Did it make any money? (as in did it cost less to make than you got back)
any other comments you'd like to share about your time making games? Guess I'll go first How long have you been making games for? I've been making games for about 18 years now, made my first game in a program called Klick n Play. How long before you sold a game you made? I had been making games for about 16 years before I sold a game. It only sold about 150 copies though. Did it make any money? (as in did it cost less to make than you got back) Nope, not a penny. Released it on XBLIGs where you only get payed if you sell over a certain threshold, which I didn't. It struck me that I've been doing this a long time now and making money from it has never been a goal of mine, although it felt pretty cool to know somone was willing to spend money they had earned on a game I made. I was wondering what others thoughts on the matter are. |
|
|
|
« Last Edit: July 22, 2015, 09:51:13 AM by SelfTitled »
|
Logged
|
|
|
|
|
oahda
|
|
« Reply #1 on: July 22, 2015, 09:45:35 AM » |
|
don't you mean did it cost less to make than you got back
|
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
|
|
|
|
SelfTitled
|
|
« Reply #2 on: July 22, 2015, 09:49:46 AM » |
|
don't you mean did it cost less to make than you got back
Yes I do. I'll change it |
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
|
|
|
|
Oddball
|
|
« Reply #3 on: July 22, 2015, 11:24:48 AM » |
|
How long have you been making games for?
Over 25 years. It might be closer to 30, but can't remember exactly when I first started making games.
How long before you sold a game you made?
Sold my first game in Jan 2012 so it was about 20+ years before I did it for the money.
Did it make any money? (as in did it cost less to make than you got back)
It cost me about $1,500 to make, if you say I took no wage, and it's grossed about $300,000 to date. I suppose I've spent some money on it since release though. In total I've spent about $2,500 on the game.
|
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
|
|
|
|
del
|
|
« Reply #4 on: July 23, 2015, 06:59:20 AM » |
|
How long have you been making games for?
I've been doing it for 14 years, I didn't know I could until college. Sill, I know.
How long before you sold a game you made?
4 years in I got my first studio job. A year and a half later it shipped!
Did it make any money? (as in did it cost less to make than you got back)
I've been paid for paid jobs. I've made little money on my on projects, but nothing in the black(green).
|
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
Four Realms. Action RPG. Platformer. Animals. |
|
|
|
ProgramGamer
|
|
« Reply #5 on: July 23, 2015, 08:37:13 AM » |
|
How long have you been making games for?
I've been toying arround with things like game maker and blender for what feels like 8 or 9 years. I started around third or fourth grade and just graduated from high school, so that's about right, right?
How long before you sold a game you made?
I've never sold a game, but I released my first complete game this year for Ludum Dare, which I'm super proud of!
Did it make any money? (as in did it cost less to make than you got back)
Like I said, no selling games yet, so no profits. I'm not in debt at least, or not yet in debt...
|
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
|
|
|
Armageddon
Level 6
|
|
« Reply #6 on: July 23, 2015, 01:30:05 PM » |
|
How long have you been making games for?
About 10 years now since I started making HL2 maps and mods at around eight or nine in 2004/2005.
How long before you sold a game you made?
April of 2015 after modding wasn't cutting it.
Did it make any money? (as in did it cost less to make than you got back)
$44 dollars from itch.io and half of that is probably from family and friends. I'd say I still haven't made a game worth buying though. All the stuff I've sold so far is pay-what-you-want.
|
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
|
|
|
|
oahda
|
|
« Reply #7 on: July 23, 2015, 02:44:12 PM » |
|
Bah. I guess I'll bite as well.
How long have you been making games for?
In one way or another, ten years? There were also periods of wanting to focus on web and film in there, so I haven't exactly been devoting my life to becoming a professional game developer and it has mostly been a hobby. Then I did start a company (no longer have it) in 2011, but I did have to work other jobs during that time too.
How long before you sold a game you made?
Around 2012 and revised till 2013, I think. No longer up. Small mobile game.
Did it make any money? (as in did it cost less to make than you got back)
Technically it made money, yes. But it was barely a meal at a restaurant all in all. So in reality, no. I lost money.
|
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
|
|
|
Melon Mason
Level 1
|
|
« Reply #8 on: July 23, 2015, 08:08:26 PM » |
|
How long have you been making games for?
In terms of when I started building games in an engine, I can date it back to about 8 years.
How long before you sold a game you made?
A little over two years a go, in the form of an iOS app which then had small PC port on a couple of small game stores.
Did it make any money? (as in did it cost less to make than you got back)
It made about two and a half thousand over a period of about a year and a half. Still trickles in a couple hundred every few months. I made a solid profit, invested about $200 into it.
|
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
|
|
|
|
DXimenes
|
|
« Reply #9 on: July 23, 2015, 09:40:36 PM » |
|
I like this  - How long have you been making games for?
I guess I've been "making games" since I was 8. I tentatively invented card games and made it's cards in "pixel art" using Paint in my Windows 3.11. I started to understand what actually was making a game when I started using RPG Maker 2000 and participating in my country's communities very actively. I never finished an RM game though. My PCs always crashed and I needed to format them. Guess it was a terrible time to have a curse  - How long before you sold a game you made?
I got an internship at Nano Studio, a local company that made advergames. They kept the company running and got me paid. Does that count? The first game I made with my current team that actually made money, though, was Knights Inc. We made it for Super BR Jam, a charity game jam and, together with the other games on the jam of course, it raised R$ 63000, which was worth around USD 31500 at the time(now it's 21k). - Did it make any money? (as in did it cost less to make than you got back)
Nothing got back to us. It all went to charity, and we're happy for it We've made a mobile commercial version of it aftewards as an experiment with mobile and to learn Unity. We launched it and it has been paying for our website's servers and our domain for the last 2 years. |
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
|
|
|
Keops
Level 6
Pixellin' and Gamedev'n
|
|
« Reply #10 on: July 25, 2015, 05:07:24 PM » |
|
I'll try this, sounds interesting. - How long have you been making games for?
I don't remember when I started, I first worked on small compo games for fun, then I worked as a freelance 2D artist for mobile games (paid job) and I'm currently working on my first "serious" project. I've been developing concepts on and off for a long time, I estimate at least 10 years. - How long before you sold a game you made?
Still haven't sold a game. I hope this changes with my current project, Operation Hardcore (www.operationhardcore.com) - Did it make any money? (as in did it cost less to make than you got back)
I'll answer this later, when I release.
Thanks for sharing! |
|
|
|
« Last Edit: July 26, 2015, 06:09:56 AM by Keops »
|
Logged
|
|
|
|
|
J. Kyle Pittman
|
|
« Reply #11 on: July 25, 2015, 07:56:47 PM » |
|
How long have you been making games for?
I've been making games professionally since 2007, but I started teaching myself to program to make games when I was about five or six years old, so...let's say 25 years.
How long before you sold a game you made?
If you count games I worked on in the AAA industry, my first shipped title was in 2008. But of the indie games I've designed and developed myself, Super Win the Game last October was my first commercial release.
Did it make any money? (as in did it cost less to make than you got back)
Not yet. It's possible it might eventually recoup its costs in the long run, depending on its performance in future sales or bundles, but it's still a long way off. I don't have exact figures, but I would estimate the cost was around $45,000 (cost of living plus expenses to showcase the game at regional events -- higher too if you consider time spent on unfinished prototypes that eventually led to that game), and I've pocketed somewhere around $15,000 so far, after fees and taxes and whatnot.
|
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
|
|
|
|
MrBones
Guest
|
|
« Reply #12 on: July 26, 2015, 10:28:06 AM » |
|
How long have you been making games for?
I'm still pretty young, 17, but I've been making games since fifth grade. Lots of experiments with python, C++, Java and C# with books from the library, and also with engines like RPG Maker and Game Maker. The best thing I made back then was probably a poorly networked MMO ORPG that could support around 6 players.
How long before you sold a game you made?
I've done paid work on other people's games that have been sold if that counts. If it doesn't, none yet, but Double Death should be released later this year.
Did it make any money? (as in did it cost less to make than you got back)
I'll answer this when I release it. Some of the games I helped worked on didn't do bad though, even though some were released for free since I tend to get hired almost soley for Visual Novels.
|
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
|
|
|
|
Will Sykes
|
|
« Reply #13 on: July 27, 2015, 05:59:41 AM » |
|
How long have you been making games for?I started working properly in the games industry 16 years ago when I left uni. But I actually made lots of games before then and released them for free as public domain on Amiga. How long before you sold a game you made?Again, I actually sold some games as a child, I made a rude joystick waggling track and field clone called "Rumpy Pumpy" and sold if to friends at school. professionally as a grown up, I worked on many games before having the confidence to try and sell my own game (15 years in the industry and released my first self published game last year) Did it make any money? (as in did it cost less to make than you got back)I would not say that I made enough money to cover my development costs (3 months my salary). However, that project was very much an experiment, my next project will be the true test
|
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
|
|
|
|
hexdie
|
|
« Reply #14 on: July 27, 2015, 08:36:02 AM » |
|
How long have you been making games for?
For about a year now. I dabbled a bit before then with different frameworks/engines but it's been a year since I've started really trying to make and finish games.
How long before you sold a game you made?
I have yet to even try to sell a game. I mostly do this on the side and just getting feedback has been my main priority.
Did it make any money? (as in did it cost less to make than you got back)
Nope. Like I said, this is a side thing for me now and I'm not totally concerned with making money at the moment.
|
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
|
|
|
|
JWK5
Guest
|
|
« Reply #15 on: July 30, 2015, 07:19:36 PM » |
|
Long enough to drive myself insane, not long enough to actually finish one.
|
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
|
|
|
|
Player
