13. Network Analysis – Co-creation No point in competingwithtriple A developers Usergeneratedcontent Minecraft - createsomethingunique- push boundaries- take risks- explore and experiment Indie game developershavelimited budgets, rely on wordofmouth and pr Minecraftestablished fan base prior to release, allowedalphatesting, now a communityofcloseto 4 million users/testers4 Result: viral advertisement, media exposure, co-createdcontent(feedback, user suggestions, bug reportsetc) Co-creation in network Game engines, like TGE (Torque game engine), that charge $100 for the source code "World domination through collaboration", help and stand up for Indie game developers, instead of selling their engine for $500,000 like id's Quake engine5
23. Russell Carroll, Founder of Game Tunnel, Indie Games Review magazine:“Flash games have become very popular. Indie I think is still viable through the downloadable parts of the consoles, and if they cross-over well enough in the casual markets. Some indie games, like hard core strategy and RPG fill a niche that isn't filled otherwise, so they will continue to do well I believe. Indie as a general broad term I believe is going through some growing pains.” 7
Difficult market/business, find ways to get paid that don’t affect the game pricePrices are dropping, price-war between games portals, everyone lowering the barAlternative to these portals; portals that don’t force developers to sell their work for a pittance; steam, xbox live marketplace, playstationstore, app store, android market etc.Usually around a 30/70 splitFreeware: constantly remind users on the game website or in the game to donatethrow in incentives to encourage donation like DLC's or even merchandise (or charge for)Try parts of the gameCombination ofabove
Brand-awareness
because of said passion and dedication, indie developers have to be unique, explore and experiment (can take risks, no publisher restricting them etc)one result of this is increased use of user generated content -> MINECRAFTMarkus Persson, creator of Minecraft, thousands of testers while game was still in early development (alpha phase)massive community, lots of feedback, not only spreading the word but helping developing the game (co-creating, bugs, suggestions etc)--in a way there exist a lot of co-creation of value with the user as soon as the game gets release on any marketplace, the snow ball effect applies, the more you sell the more the word will spread and the higher up the game will end up on different lists and the more purchases you get.
As difficult as it is to maximize profit as an indie game developer, the indie game community will sustain itself in the industry due the unique energy and innovation independent developers bring to game creation. While indie game developers will never gain revenues similar to video game giants like Nintendo and Sony, their contribution to revolutionizing video game will ensure that this industry remains on the cutting edge of technological advancementbut that the US has a slight advantage because the awards are usually held there
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