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[Colin_Charteris]

Hi all!

I'm a software developer from Russia. I've developed a demo-version of a 2D point'n'click adventure game in my spare time. Now I want to offer it to the game publishers hoping they'll fund the further development of the game. I understand, that each case is considered separately, but maybe there is something like a more or less standard indie adventure funding range?

It would be a shame to ask for a completely minimal sum (in my case it's $2000) which will cover only the most necessary expenses and will lead to reducing the amount of levels/animations/etc just in order to not scare off the publishers, while those publishers may consider both $2k and $20k as not such a big deal in both cases (I think that $20k is a maximum amount of money that I'll need).

Also what do you think about my $2-20k range? Maybe $2k is too small in any case, and $20k is too much for an indie-adventure?

Thanks beforehand for your answers!

[quantumpotato]

Well.. how much $ do you need to finish the game?

[Colin_Charteris]

If I don't put any salary for me in the budget (so I stay on my current day job and will be developing the game in my free time), reduce the amount of content and stick to the most necessary expenses only, then I can make it with $2000, I guess. But maybe all that sacrifices are needless and maybe I can be so bold to ask for a bigger sum not fearing to scare off the publishers.

[quantumpotato]

If I don't put any salary for me in the budget (so I stay on my current day job and will be developing the game in my free time), reduce the amount of content and stick to the most necessary expenses only, then I can make it with $2000, I guess. But maybe all that sacrifices are needless and maybe I can be so bold to ask for a bigger sum not fearing to scare off the publishers.

Publishers aren't scared about spending money, that's their job. They're scared about not getting it back.
How much they're willing to spend depends on

Game concept
How far along it is
How much they think it will sale for, and how fast
External Factors (haloween themed near halloween = bonus)

You need to think about way more than the amount you need to finish the game.. and make a budget. "I guess" will not convince anyone to loan you money.

[MrTP]

It's pretty common that developers pitch their project with different scopes to a publisher, e.g.

• Scope 1 ('The minimum'): 20 Levels, 2 Player Characters, 3 Enemy Types, 15 Achievements (Budget: 5k)
• Scope 2 ('The mix'): 30 Levels, 4 Player Characters, 5 Enemy Types, 15 Achievements, Local-Coop-Multiplayer (Budget: 15k)
• Scope 3 ('The dev's wish'): 40 Levels, 5 Player Characters, 8 Enemy Types, 20 Achievements, Local- & Online-Coop-Multiplayer (Budget: 30k)

This way the publisher has a good basis for his decision and can internally discuss how big he wants the project (depending on his sales forecast).

BTW: You should get paid for developing the game, so please also add a salary to your budget. And please clarify with the publisher if/how/when royalties will be paid to you after releasing the game.

[motorherp]

The worst thing that can happen for you is to be trapped into a project without the funds to do it justice or the feeling that you're getting under-payed for your efforts.  Therefore don't be afraid to ask a publisher for too much money, they wont be offended and if they're interested in your game they'll make a counter offer. 

Work out how much you'll need for paying additional staff or purchasing all the resources you'll need to make the game to a quality level that you're happy with, then add on how much you'd like to be payed for your own time for the duration of the project, then triple the result and offer that first.  A little bit of simple back and forth with the publisher over funding can net you a lot more money for your work for a minimal amount of effort.  If the publisher is genuinely interested in what you're offering they wont be scared off by that, it's a process they go through all the time with other studios / developers.

[Grandlion1981]

The first thing you need to assess is the potential interest of publishers. There are a lot of games in production and you need to make sure you know which publisher could be interested and you should already probe their interest.

Publishers don't mind spending money on projects, the amount they are willing to spend depends on the Risks and the ROI of the project. Also your background and how confident they are about your capacity to finish the game will strongly influence the outcome.

[ryansumo]

Hi, I actually wrote a blog about this, so hopefully it will help.

http://www.squeakywheel.ph/blog/2016/6/18/how-political-animals-got-a-publisher-part-3

So generally speaking the others are correct.  Don't worry to much about what you're asking for.  Your range is perfectly acceptable for an indie game publisher.  What you should be concerned about it calculating how much money you NEED to make the game you want, then make a case to the publisher that they will earn that money back PLUS MORE. Your job is to make the publisher believe they can make some money out of your game.  If your cost estimates are reasonable, then they'll fund you.there is a chance they'll fund you. 

Good luck!

[Colin_Charteris]

Thanks for your help, it's really great!