[casual_games] Startup

[Joe Pantuso]

Luke,

There are probably as many answers to this as there are studios out there.
(BTW, I forwarded your email to my partner who is in NZ but not on this
list.  He'll probably want to chat directly and see what you are up to and
if there is any synergy with us.  We're always interested in people in NZ.)

I'm sure other members of this list will have lots to share.  I've been
through a few scenarios.  My first foray into game development I was being
supported by my wife.  Good situation if you can get it.  We later founded a
studio that was a joint venture between my company (lots of IP) and another
company (lots of money).  My current company has been self funded the past
couple years due to a nice pile I made selling my prevous (non-game)
company.  We've reached the point where we'll be going after VC to grow to
the next level though.

Getting money is easy if you already have something with good progress to
show.  It is very difficult to get money for a concept.  Ideas are easy,
execution is hard.

"Don't quit your day job" is frequent advice.  However if you are serious
about heading out on your own there is nothing like a looming financial
deadline to prod you along.  "Going for broke" is a much stronger motivator
than trying to squeeze in real projects during the hours you aren't working
for a pay check.  You are likely much better placed in NZ to live without a
salary for awhile than somone in California for example.

Reality Check:

Make sure you want to do this for the right reasons.  The games industry is
a bad place to try to make any serious money.  I had to go into the security
biz for 8 years to make my nest egg and then I came back to games.

A book I recommend reading is "The E Myth".  This book does a good job
covering the reality of skilled people (engineers, programmers, bakers,
whatever the specialized skill may be) who set out to create their own
business around it, the pitfalls to watch out for etc.  I'll let the book
speak for itself.

Cheers,
-J


On 12/7/05, Luke Munn <lukeanddan at clear.net.nz> wrote:
>
> Hi there,
>
> I've been researching the casual games space for the last couple of
> months, and am contemplating starting up a studio or collaborating with
> others to design some games. Was wondering if any individuals or small
> studios out there had any stories of how they started up. In particular,
> it seems there would be at least several months running without
> revenue before a game could be produced. Do studios get investors to
> help with this, or beg, borrow, work other jobs, etc?
>
> Cheers,
> Luke
>
> Auckland, New Zealand
> _______________________________________________
> Casual_Games mailing list
> Casual_Games at igda.org
> http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/casual_games
>
>
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