I currently put no money in this company (Heck, it's even a geocities site. http://geocities.com/zixouh) Have one successful game, and updates happening all the time. I'm sure I could make more and more projects in due time with the materials I have now, but do you think I should put some money in and upgrade some of my materials? For example: 1:I use free copies of dev tools and such. 2:Thinking of purchasing a domain, so that doesn't really count on my question. 3: I have a small, but reliable team that could make mediocre games, but never one that would ever go on the market. So basically, my question is if I should keep my plan how it is, get more members (Possibly meaning paying them, of course) or just give it up now?

Exactly what is it you want to do? - being vague is not going to help but more info possibly would.

One thing I'd recommend is that you buy some web space for your site and project. Geocities has download limits which could really put off potential users of your project. If you purchase some hosting and invest some time in building an attractive website which advertises your games (for example screenshots are good) then people will take your company more seriously. Other than that, I don't really think you need to spend a lot - there's ways of advertising for free (google, word of mouth, giveaways, etc).

1) To buy tools you would need a rate of return to make it worth the investment. If you purchase a 1,000 software license, you need make enough from the project, to get that back with interest, and some on the side. Why spend money if you won't make it back.

2) If you have a successful record, of completing projects this is a plus when dealing with publishers. Also, sponsors are more likely to sponsor you if you have completed games, and have an executible. With a website, and some downloadable games someone might want to sponsor you.

Quote: Original post by Zixouh
I currently put no money in this company

I think it's great that you've gotten this far, and I'd keep up what is working while exploring carefully laid plans based on your market study of the games you can produce.

It's clearly a really challenging design and business balance to come up with a simple, successful game you can build well enough to distribute and earn actual acclaim with.

That kind of market credibility is what I would try for first. One of the areas I've always liked is the 'advertising game' approach, which you might be able to put together pretty quickly and well to earn the repute so necessary to convincingly selling yourself, which is really what it is going to come down to.

You kinda want to be in a place where the last thing you produced and got recognition and strong (most of this aspect of the job will be yours) distribution. Think of yourself as a door to door salesman when it comes to personal distribution, personal selling and marketing of your product. If you aren't thrilled now about walking the soles of your shoes off selling your work, then think about how much fun your title is, and go back to the drawing board and improve it, if you can't improve it as much as you can in the original master design.

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(Heck, it's even a geocities site. http://geocities.com/zixouh) Have one successful game, and updates happening all the time. I'm sure I could make more and more projects in due time with the materials I have now, but do you think I should put some money in and upgrade some of my materials?

Well first, you are up with some material about your work , and a link is a link is a link, so use it in your marcomm to leads you generate in your shoe leather burning activities.

Practice and polish your pitch, so the final game release is as polished and enjoyable as you can make it, I think you already know that, but just wanted to indicate how you can use the type of fun you created to describe more alliteratively in your personal selling contacts when you are burning shoe leather.

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For example:
1:I use free copies of dev tools and such.

This is total grass roots, and it's working, so keep it up. Look for the transition point that defines genuine business interest from contacts and just networking.

Remember when people approach you with their ideas for you to develop for them instead of developing the games you might find more fun to make, keep the price tag high.

If screenwriting has taught me anything, it's that spec writing drives the whole market down for every writer. So no spec programming, and if you can build it and are sure they will like what you make to their specs, get really as high as rates as you can.

If they are serious about getting their money's worth, they will be all over you, so they expect quick and efficient service for their money, so expect that kind of relationship; they want to hear about progress every day for the first few weeks of the job at least. It depends on what you negotiate.

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2:Thinking of purchasing a domain, so that doesn't really count on my question.

I'm gonna kinda go against the grain of conventional thinking elsewhere and say wait on the web design publication, but get started early on the web design, because it's your primary free tool and representation at the low cost end of the scale. It has to be a minuet then symphony perceptually, so users of your web drill down pleasantly.

I've always felt that pulbishing the web to the internet for public view was a marketing phase activity. As such, it technically comes after production is complete or nearly so. And, it's good to have a little intrigue about the game built in steps leading up to and trailing continuously after release.

Begin to train a marketer/network support skill underneath you, as you will need to have free time for design production quality management, but as president or whatever title you give yourself, all the major responsiblities and calls must be yours.

Since you have done so much so far, it seems you are doing quite well so far, and really it's about keeping up the things you've been doing and selectively adding more. As much automation as you can build underneath your business handling is really the point where design turns to business, so keep both dev and business activities balanced for your own endurance.

If I were to promote my web, I'd be out with little printed (nicely, with awesome design) literature cards for your brand with maybe a digital sample for them to take home and stick in your computer, maybe like a mini-DVD or CD, your choice.

Every tech outlet retail you can think of go there. Walk the phonebook is the old school axiom when it comes to your company and it's success. You are going to be, as the head of the organization, the public person all who are on the dev team defer to when it comes to client handling.

Take that responsiblity right out of their hands right away, and then do it all well. They will love you for it because you are repping them so professionally.

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3: I have a small, but reliable team that could make mediocre games, but never one that would ever go on the market.

Then go for the team understanding that, "hey, we are all here together, let's just plan and do this one thing and see where it goes, and produce a great little product. Sometimes that alone will lead somebody to your team with an idea or opportunity they will enjoy taking.

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So basically, my question is if I should keep my plan how it is, get more members (Possibly meaning paying them, of course) or just give it up now?

Tune your design spec to actual human resources, and put that on the table to your existing team and say, "If we want to do this project, we have to have those resources." Be really open project info with them, so they can recruit other team members, and be honest with them about what you can spend, and where you think you want to spend it and where they think it should be spent.

If everyone comes down to the pay alone, you know what view of commitment your team partially has, and you'll have to work on potential value thinking with them, so even if they get a fixed amount up front, they still get a fixed amount back end, which is really the only thing you can offer still within your current controls extending your value proposition.

Set milestones to compensation, so if, say, like an independent filmmaker, if you don't have enough money to do a whole project, how far can you get down the road on the right project in measurable production success for what you can spend, even if it does come down to the team settling for the most they can get up front, which is the primary position to negotiate.

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