Spiderweb Software - On Selling Indie Games

[HiddenX]

Jeff Vogel eplains what you should keep in mind when selling indie games:

The Most Important Article On Selling Indie Games Ever!

Please don't pee in the pool I'm swimming in.

People really undervalue apologies. Almost everyone understands that sometimes things don't work out and nothing can be done now. An honest apology will defuse a lot of free-floating rage very quickly.
I have a tendency to get really wordy with these posts, so I'll say the good bits first and let you get on with your day.

I've been writing indie games for a living for 30 years now and so have been shipping them continuously for longer, as far as I know, than anybody else, ever. Along the way, I've learned a thing or two about a thing or two.

Here are the most timeless, fundamental things to know about this business (and any business as a small indie making music, books, and so on):

1. It is an incredibly challenging, competitive business. Success is very rare, and ruin is always one bad decision away.
2. We sell products that are often very easy to pirate and there is always extremely high-quality competition available for FREE. (If you want to make a living selling indie games, my first question is always, "Can you compete with FREE?")
3. Anyone who actually gives you their hard-earned money doesn't have to. Therefore, this person is a treasure and must be valued.
4. Our greatest weapon is that fact that people like us and want us to succeed. The small, independent creator, tinkering away in the garage, is an incredibly powerful archetype to tap into.
5. If you are an indie developer and act in a publicly obnoxious and insulting way towards our precious, precious customers (or worse, defraud them), you're not just hurting yourself, but you're hurting all indie developers.
6. Don't do that.

There. That was is. Quick, clean, and easy. Plus, true. Please feel free to return to your Normal Internet Business. (Which, the way things have been going lately, means caring about what is happening on Twitter way too much.)

[...]

Thanks Couchpotato!

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[Couchpotato]

Another good blog post by Jeff and I love the games he used for reference. Frankly it's bewildering how many games have flopped this year by well known studios.

 

[Carnifex]

Vogel knows the ins and outs of the industry, for sure. He's always insightful and it would behoove a few companies to pay attention to his comments.

 

[JDR13]

He might know the ins and outs of the industry, but he doesn't know how to make a game with decent production values. Still, I guess he's done ok.

 

[bkrueger]

He might know the ins and outs of the industry, but he doesn't know how to make a game with decent production values. Still, I guess he's done ok.

That's mean, but true.

 

[Morrandir]

He might know the ins and outs of the industry, but he doesn't know how to make a game with decent production values.

Perhaps he knows, but doesn't want to.

 

[HellRazor]

Even just upgrading the artwork would go a long way to improving his games. But he's steadfast against it, afraid that the additional cost would cripple his profit margin.

 

[Carnifex]

Nod, and I don't fault him for that. Others can simply vote with their wallets.

 

[Terry]

You have to admit, you don't last 30 years in any profession with out gaining some very good incite into how to do the job. As for his production values keep in mind it is not how much you make, in the end it comes down to how much you get to keep. I ran my own business for 30+ years and it always came down to this.

 

[Strafe]

I like his games a lot, and as I said before, is hard for small devs to give us great visuals, but they make it up to us with nice stories and great mechanics.
As for his ideas of the industry, he made quite a few speeches that were like, real from the hearth and clearly from experience. I really like this guy thinking and reasoning.

 

[Carnifex]

You nailed it perfectly, Terry. The bottom line is what matters from a financial point, the rest is all about the product itself, your friends/employees, and of course one of the most important elements, the customers.

 

[FurtiveNyctophile]

Logical, concise argument:

1. The indie game development business is highly challenging and competitive, with success being rare and ruin being one bad decision away.
2. Indie developers often face piracy and intense competition from free high-quality alternatives.
3. Customers who choose to pay for indie games should be valued as they don't have to do so.
4. The power of indie developers lies in their likability and the support they receive from people who want them to succeed.
5. Acting obnoxiously or defrauding customers not only harms the individual developer but also damages the reputation of all indie developers.

Logical, concise counterpoint:

1. While the indie game development business is challenging, success is possible through innovation and dedication.
2. Providing a unique and engaging experience can attract customers and mitigate the impact of piracy and free competition.
3. Valuing customers is essential, but it's equally important for customers to recognize the value and effort put into indie games and support developers.
4. While likability can be an advantage, the quality and appeal of the game itself are crucial for success.
5. While acting unprofessionally can harm an individual developer's reputation, it might not necessarily impact the entire indie developer community if others maintain professionalism and ethical behavior.

Well... yes? Am I missing something? I like Jeff's games a lot but recently his blog posts seem to be... very common sensical. One point he makes later on that I very much agree with... don't ignore letters from young fans. I'm 40-something years old and I wrote a handwritten letter to Piers Anthony when I was 13. He responded with a handwritten letter and I was absolutely smitten with the fact that an author could take the time out of his day to write back a kid a letter. I never contacted him again - I'm not that kind of fan - but I did become a voracious reader of his books and content, and to this day I find myself gifting copies of text and audio books he did. No. Not his Xanth stuff.

Maybe took him half an hour to an hour to write that letter back to me, but man did I appreciate it and it was very personalized to the questions I asked him and the issues going on in my life. Basically Jeff is restating that if you have a small or niche fan base, be nice to them. Good advice. I still like Jeff's games, too but I've never written him.

 

[Strafe]

Well, "common sens" seems to be something missing from the majority of main game/movie industry, maybe he tries to remind them of it...

 

[Carnifex]

Honestly, common sense seems like it went on permanent vacation sometime in the early eighties. Perhaps with the prolific advent of the computer industry, who knows.

 

[mercy]

I still have to finish Avernum 3, my party is at near game end dungeons. I still have to play Geneforge 1 - Mutagen.

 

[Carnifex]

Then you've plenty of Spiderweb goodness yet to experience!

 

[JDR13]

Then you've plenty of Spiderweb goodness mediocrity yet to experience!

I fixed that for you.

 

[Caddy]

I go away for a while and come back to yet another thread where the hair dressers and the taxi drivers of the rpg world know how to be perfect indie developers. Routine is comforting! Never change, RPGWatch

 

[JDR13]

I agree. Both of those are apt descriptions for Vogel. Good on you.

 

[Carnifex]

Some people like to set the world on fire, I prefer to cultivate a garden. Lots of green things and an abundance of shrubbery.