Hello friends. I was just wondering, I was thinking of starting a hobbyist project for this summer, working with some friends I have on Facebook. I was wondering, do hobbyist games, especially MMOs, get made and out there to the mainstream market? Is it a good idea to try and go indie at this time, or am I wasting my time?
Do hobbyist games ever "make it"?
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I'm no expert...but from what I can tell, there is no better time to release an indi game, with Steam making it so easy and all.
If you're thinking of creating a video ame and don't know what Steam is, maybe you need to do a little more research before embarking on your hobbyist adventure, heh.
http://store.steampowered.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steam_(software)
Some of them do reasonably well. Good luck and have fun!
http://store.steampowered.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steam_(software)
Some of them do reasonably well. Good luck and have fun!
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Well, I've been putting all of my effort into creating an indie game lately. Right now I am just doing an hour-long game that serves as a prologue to the main one.
I have been making it for this contest:
http://contest.rpgmakerweb.com/
I'm using RPGM VX Ace, by the way. I'm sure that isn't what you'd want to go for, seeing as how unless you work very hard to customize EVERYTHING, there is a good chance people wouldn't want to buy it. It's mostly used as a non-commercial venture.
Anyway, to parrot the sentiments above, Steam is excellent. The Indie market is actually quite huge. A number of gamers I know have found some of the best games on the market as Indie games on Steam. Hell, they've beaten AAA titles sometimes.
Like this one, that was in the running for Game of the Year Awards from several places (and actually won, but mostly in Indie categories of course) and despite many big releases still had recognition for its excellence- and that was the year Mass Effect 2, Mortal Kombat 9, Fable 3, Arkham City, and Skyrim came out.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/To_The_Moon
I have been making it for this contest:
http://contest.rpgmakerweb.com/
I'm using RPGM VX Ace, by the way. I'm sure that isn't what you'd want to go for, seeing as how unless you work very hard to customize EVERYTHING, there is a good chance people wouldn't want to buy it. It's mostly used as a non-commercial venture.
Anyway, to parrot the sentiments above, Steam is excellent. The Indie market is actually quite huge. A number of gamers I know have found some of the best games on the market as Indie games on Steam. Hell, they've beaten AAA titles sometimes.
Like this one, that was in the running for Game of the Year Awards from several places (and actually won, but mostly in Indie categories of course) and despite many big releases still had recognition for its excellence- and that was the year Mass Effect 2, Mortal Kombat 9, Fable 3, Arkham City, and Skyrim came out.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/To_The_Moon
Do you play many games, gambit? You should check out the indie ones on Steam and buy a few, get some idea of what small groups of people and hobbyists are capable of. I will say, though, that it's going to be a crazy amount of work. Worth it, but definitely hard work.
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It's particularly unlikely for MMOs, unless you are including things like browser-based 2D social gaming sites. On the other hand indie phone games, web/flash games, and board games become popular on a pretty regular basis.
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That is an even weirder question than "Can I succeed at writing novel as an amateur."
I'm sorry, don't want to think I'm putting you down, but it really is a weird question.It's good that you have friends to help you though. But forget about the MMO idea. You're basically asking "can I and my group of friends who have never made a game succeed in making a big block buster Hollywood studio production." MMOs are BIG and need hundreds of millions of dollars to make.
That is an even weirder question than "Can I succeed at writing novel as an amateur."
It's good that you have friends to help you though. But forget about the MMO idea. You're basically asking "can I and my group of friends who have never made a game succeed in making a big block buster Hollywood studio production." MMOs are BIG and need hundreds of millions of dollars to make.
Not entirely true. Look at the Command & Conquer series. It started in Westwood Studios in the mid-90's only to be bought out by EA games and is a massive worldwide hit. Small things can grow large with the right mindset and passion.
True!
Though, Westwood wasn't going up against WoW, a game that has eaten multiple games of equal or greater size, money and advertising scale for breakfast.
There's no such thing as a hobbyist MMO. The first 'M' stands for massively, as in tons of players, tons of work by tons of people, tons of money and tons of upkeep.
I think what you mean is RPG, in which case the market is the same as it always is - very competitive and super saturated. That being said, there's always room for something new and cool. Depending on your platform of choice, you should definitely look to a third party engine, like Unity or Unreal 4 (both are free or have very cheap entry level options) to get you started.
Good luck!
I think what you mean is RPG, in which case the market is the same as it always is - very competitive and super saturated. That being said, there's always room for something new and cool. Depending on your platform of choice, you should definitely look to a third party engine, like Unity or Unreal 4 (both are free or have very cheap entry level options) to get you started.
Good luck!
Well, that is an excellent point. However, he can learn from their growth and hopefully make something that reaches for the same type of caliber.
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No, 1990s game making was very different both in scale and in ambition. The basic ambitions are just much higher now.
It can be comparable to Hollywood in a way; in the 1920s you could have four guys spin some reels and make massive world-wide hits because film technology was very limited in scope and ambition. By the time of the 1950s, it wasn't really possible for those four guys to do anything of scale.
The same is true with game making. The 1990s were like Hollywood in the 1920s. Right now, game making is in the midst of the big studio era with many of the same problems of exploitation and such.
To make a game today, like an RPG, you need quite a large team or artists, to begin with. And here's how artists fare in today's business. This is about Rhythm & Hues, a VFX studio in the film business. But it also describes the game business, because it's the same for artists there. Two of the best games of later years, Fallout: New Vegas and Dishonoured were massive worldwide hits, but the studios that made them lost money. Triple A studios are falling all over the place. CCP, which has the cash cow of Eve Online, recently cut 20 per cent of its staff.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lcB9u-9mVE
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So, as someone who's been making games as a hobbyist for a while now, I'll give you a bit of my experience (and just what I've seen around).
Firstly, making an MMO - While I respect the idea, realize it will be significantly harder than making almost any other kind of game. It'll be an interesting venture, and you'll learn a lot, but it will be difficult. If you and your team are incredibly dedicated and sufficiently skilled in networking and the like, you may be able to come out with a project, but it will take time and money. It won't be easy. Also (unless you do something truly unique), it won't be able to compete with a lot of the MMOs out there already. They're very well established, and most of the MMO fan base is pretty well dug into whichever game they like best. Do not dive into an MMO as your first game, and don't expect to sell any copies. Try a few single player ones first, just to get a feel for it all.
As for just generally "Can I make it as an Indie?" Well... sorta. It depends on your definition of making it, really. There are a lot of indies out there. I know a few personally. It's hard to get noticed, and once you do - it's hard to keep an audience. The big success stories you hear are pretty rare, it's a bit like winning the lottery. For most indies, "making it" means getting enough revenue to either fund your next game, or to convince a publisher that they should fund it.
In short, here's a set of blunt truths:
- If you don't know what Steam is, you have some work to do just getting familiar with the industry.
- Start with simple, not an MMO, it's very ambitious and there's a good chance you'll get frustrated and never finish.
- Don't expect to get some life changing amount of success from it. Making it in the gaming world requires a whole lot of stars to align, and more often than not you simply won't get noticed.
I don't want to deter you - you never know where the next great game lies, maybe it's yours. You know what you're capable of, and there's no harm in trying. Making games can be absolutely wonderful. Go for it, have fun! Just don't quit your day job.
Firstly, making an MMO - While I respect the idea, realize it will be significantly harder than making almost any other kind of game. It'll be an interesting venture, and you'll learn a lot, but it will be difficult. If you and your team are incredibly dedicated and sufficiently skilled in networking and the like, you may be able to come out with a project, but it will take time and money. It won't be easy. Also (unless you do something truly unique), it won't be able to compete with a lot of the MMOs out there already. They're very well established, and most of the MMO fan base is pretty well dug into whichever game they like best. Do not dive into an MMO as your first game, and don't expect to sell any copies. Try a few single player ones first, just to get a feel for it all.
As for just generally "Can I make it as an Indie?" Well... sorta. It depends on your definition of making it, really. There are a lot of indies out there. I know a few personally. It's hard to get noticed, and once you do - it's hard to keep an audience. The big success stories you hear are pretty rare, it's a bit like winning the lottery. For most indies, "making it" means getting enough revenue to either fund your next game, or to convince a publisher that they should fund it.
In short, here's a set of blunt truths:
- If you don't know what Steam is, you have some work to do just getting familiar with the industry.
- Start with simple, not an MMO, it's very ambitious and there's a good chance you'll get frustrated and never finish.
- Don't expect to get some life changing amount of success from it. Making it in the gaming world requires a whole lot of stars to align, and more often than not you simply won't get noticed.
I don't want to deter you - you never know where the next great game lies, maybe it's yours. You know what you're capable of, and there's no harm in trying. Making games can be absolutely wonderful. Go for it, have fun! Just don't quit your day job.
So, as someone who's been making games as a hobbyist for a while now, I'll give you a bit of my experience (and just what I've seen around).
Firstly, making an MMO - While I respect the idea, realize it will be significantly harder than making almost any other kind of game. It'll be an interesting venture, and you'll learn a lot, but it will be difficult. If you and your team are incredibly dedicated and sufficiently skilled in networking and the like, you may be able to come out with a project, but it will take time and money. It won't be easy. Also (unless you do something truly unique), it won't be able to compete with a lot of the MMOs out there already. They're very well established, and most of the MMO fan base is pretty well dug into whichever game they like best. Do not dive into an MMO as your first game, and don't expect to sell any copies. Try a few single player ones first, just to get a feel for it all.
As for just generally "Can I make it as an Indie?" Well... sorta. It depends on your definition of making it, really. There are a lot of indies out there. I know a few personally. It's hard to get noticed, and once you do - it's hard to keep an audience. The big success stories you hear are pretty rare, it's a bit like winning the lottery. For most indies, "making it" means getting enough revenue to either fund your next game, or to convince a publisher that they should fund it.
In short, here's a set of blunt truths:
- If you don't know what Steam is, you have some work to do just getting familiar with the industry.
- Start with simple, not an MMO, it's very ambitious and there's a good chance you'll get frustrated and never finish.
- Don't expect to get some life changing amount of success from it. Making it in the gaming world requires a whole lot of stars to align, and more often than not you simply won't get noticed.
I don't want to deter you - you never know where the next great game lies, maybe it's yours. You know what you're capable of, and there's no harm in trying. Making games can be absolutely wonderful. Go for it, have fun! Just don't quit your day job.
This is a wonderful set of truths that should help OP. I like the idea of not making an MMO to begin with. I would say to make something like Neverwinter Nights as that had a firm storyline and was easily maneuverable.
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