The Business Side Of Game Development

I talk about the business issues and concerns of running a game company.

[inevgames]

This is really the thing that game designers fear the most

[Murihey]

Regarding office - you can look into being remote-first. It's not panacea, but it solves a whole bunch of issues described in the video and lowers your overhead.
The flip side of it is:
- You're likely going to need to adjust your process heavily around remote communication
- You will need to figure out how to do remote IT support
- Your version control, build farms etc. would need to be located somewhere in a data center or cloud provider.
- You'll probably need to cover some of the costs for electricity, home office supplies etc.
I guess there are also other issues that I haven't run into, since I've only done this with 5 people at this point.

[View]

This is absolutely crucial information, Tim. Especially the piece on protecting yourself/company in this time of indie development growth.

Keep up the good work!

[IndusRiverFlow]

Good video. Touches on an important part of game development that most of us gamers do not see.

[metarenegade]

5:53 I helped my friend start a dog grooming business a few years back, and this is so real. The "corporate veil of security, " does so much for your mental health. If you want to start your own business, you have to be the type of person who can handle someone walking up to you and telling you everything you've built is at risk of falling apart. That didn't turn out to be true, but for the first year my friend constantly had panic attacks and anxiety because of this, and they actually did have to come to legal bat on some occasions. For instance, they ended up going to court with a previous employer over a non-compete clause, but won the case. They also had a huge and messy legal feud with the co-owner, who they mostly beat out in the court, but then had to build a whole new business from scratch after that.

I will say that, 4 years later, they have a very thick skin about being threatened with legal action, and it rarely phases them now. I still go to them for business advice.

[WastelandChef]

People underestimate this, but no matter how good of an idea or game you have you have, you’re gonna have to do this one way or another. Great insight as always!

[_ok]

Been loving your videos Tim, being in the Industry can be kinda lonely, trying to communicate with people all the things that can go on, especially when it’s not a smooth development. I listen to your videos and it’s like this treasure trove of things that I relate too, or am interested in. So thanks Tim!

[TheRealJackArthur]

Tim, this video was super helpful. As a young business owner your experience is gold. Thank you.

[vaniellys]

I love the long pause at 5:30 ! Tim trying to figure out how to explain without giving any details. 😂

[Jaqinta]

Hi Tim, correct me if i'm wrong, but i think that in some of your videos i'm summarizing what you said that, you've been have more confort zone for being an Employee rather than being a Employer, it's like you can focus on your profession much more if you work as a Employee . ( might be understand the situation completely different )

I've read some articles or maybe some videos about Steve Wozniak that he simply said that "rather than being one of the administrator of Apple, i would prefer to become employee" . He likes
to do his stuff much more than rather working on management stuff. Maybe you have kinda same feelings as him or maybe completely assuming wrong about that .

[mandisaw]

In the US, the Small Business Administration (SBA) offers a mix of online info & in-person assistance to start or maintain your small business. Depending on where you are, State & local gov'ts and private Chambers of Commerce may also have resources available. All free 💜

Even if you're solo, a lot of the business-admin stuff is common across industries. I've found a lot of useful info via books/channels related to home business, professional licensed services (common self-employed careers like accountant, plumber, etc), and our fellow media-arts folks like indie writers, musicians, actors, crafters, etc.

Been running my games+apps business for nearly 14yrs now - every year there are tons more free resources available to learn from.

[anyanyanyanyanyany]

4:34 This is actually basic economics 101 that I learned in high school, not in the US though, but elsewhere. Asset protection is a good reason why having a partner and incorporating might work better, even if the required initial investment might be higher as well.

[imcharming]

In most companies there’s a nice lady who does all the headachey stuff that no one else either wants to do, knows how to do, or both 😂

[Gosurfdammit]

Honest question: where did the money come from to hire offices, hire a team and give you enough runway to build your visions into reality?

[SethzeGuy]

Thanks you so much, answered some of the questions I had.

[hameruson]

Building my first game in my free time, appreciate your insights!

[BobPoekert-nmsr]

One solution to HR, insurance, payroll taxes, etc is to use a PEO (like trinet or deel). If you're a small company it might not even be more expensive than doing it yourself since you're effectively collectively bargaining alongside all of the PEO's other customers. Also if you're remote and you have employees working in multiple states if you're arranging insurance, etc yourself you have to do that separately for each state, but if you use a PEO they take care of it. Some PEO's even let you hire people internationally (eg: Deel does).

[LTPottenger]

Why it makes sense for indy developers to make a working game first, then get artwork and market. But ironically this way of doing things gets one millionth the support as a couple cool looking art doodles and grandiose promises.

[BigAbuelaEnergy]

Hiya Tim!

As an instructional designer that works on eLearning and developing in-person training, I’m inspired by game design principles like effective tutorialization and the potential of tabletop style role play to improve engagement in content that’s usually the bane of any workplace — it’s an exciting place to be since most corporate training stinks.

On the topic of the business logistical side of things, I’m curious about your experience with how training is incorporated into game development workplaces — think onboarding, on the job training, coaching, workshops, and/or corporate mandated training (in eLearning and/or classroom settings).

As much as I’m curious to learn what may have qualified as “not bad” in that genre, I’d be just as open to your critical thoughts on training experiences, too.

Cheers and thanks for offering some of your little gray cells to us up-and-comers!

[tjrobertson]

Thank you for convincing me never to start a game studio 😂. I'm feeling much better about being a solo dev after watching this