Want to make a game? Go on then. Five years ago, it was tough to get a game a market. Only the major publishers with relationships with retailers across the globe stood a chance. Now things have changed. One person studios, two person teams and small groups are all making a living making games on a growing variety of platforms: iOS, Facebook, Steam, browsers, Unity, and more. It’s not easy, and there’s no guarantee of Minecraft-style success. But if you want to get into the games industry, you should start by making games. And who knows, you might be able to make a living from it sooner than you think. I originally presented this at the public sessions at Edinburgh Interactive on 11th August 2011. http://edinburghinteractive.co.uk/public-programme

1. Nicholas Lovell GAMESbrief Edinburgh Interactive Entertainment Festival August 11th 2011 Breaking into the game industryJUST DO IT!

2. Nicholas Lovell, GAMESbrief Author, How to Publish a Game Director, GAMESbrief Clients include Atari, Channel 4, Channelflip, Firefly, IPC, nDreams, Rebellion and Square Enix @nicholaslovell / @gamesbrief

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5. Why do You Want to get into games?

6. I want to work in the games industry because: It’s my major hobby Games are cool I want to make pots and pots of money It’s better than becoming an accountant It sounds like a laugh, just playing and making games all day All my friends are doing it I just want to make games. I’d do it for free if you didn’t pay me

7. The future of the games industry It’s in three parts* * See http://www.gamesbrief.com/2010/10/the-future-of-the-games-industry-its-in-three-parts

8. A disclaimer This is what I believe Not everyone agrees with me Form your own view

9. Part 1: the blockbuster The big are getting bigger Red Dead: 11m units MW2: 15m units in first two months MW: 14.4m units Yet jobs are going: 5,464 gross games industry jobs lost in 2010 Disney, Activision Blizzard, THQ, Sony, Atari, Crytek – all have made cuts in 2011 There is room for, perhaps, 5-7 major publishers

10. Part 2: the persistent world Persistent worlds are “games as a service” They are never “done”. The team never packs up and moves on They launch with a smaller feature set; they are tweaked and iterated and adapted They are TV, to the blockbuster’s film

11. Part 3: the indie These are not businesses that drive investors wild These are about teams of 1-15 people, making a living making games This wasn’t possible 5 years ago Now it is + you might get lucky

12. Which way is the industry going? Games in boxes peaked in 2008

13. YOUR future in the games industry

15. Interesting

17. Why does making a game matter? Starting something is hard Finishing it is much harder There’s more to a game than a prototype Challenges overcome: Teams QA Publishing Outsourcing Fear Making a game shows initiative and guts. If you don’t do it, don’t be surprised if breaking into the industry is tough

18. YOUR future in the games industry profitable ^

19. How to make money from an indie game To make a game: It used to cost $10m you needed a publisher It used to require relationships with GAME you needed a publisher It used to involve a marketing budget as big as the dev cost you needed a publisher It used to require vans and men in brown overalls to deliver boxes to warehouses you needed a publisher Now you don’t need a publisher

20. The sources of revenue Direct Indirect Sell the product Display advertising Sponsorship Subscriptions Premium features Offers and rewards Virtual goods Skill gaming

21. Jobs a publisher did – and that you now need to do instead Sales: Getting money from your customers, directly or indirectly Marketing: Telling potential customers that your customers exist and making them want to buy it Distribution:Getting code from your computer to your customers’ devices Finance: How can you pay for all of this

22. Conclusion If you want a decent shot at getting a job in the games industry, you need to be making games now If you are making games now, why not think about how to make money from them? A finished game beats a prototype beats a portfolio of piece work beats a CV A game that generated revenue is best of all

23. Thank younicholas@gamesbrief.comFollow my blogwww.gamesbrief.comBuy my booksEIEF80 (until Friday 5pm)