Some time ago, I met an English speaking anime producer and introduced him to my favorite anime. We figured out that it is severely undervalued by the market based on the mismatch between its cult following and actual fanbase size (you know, very few anime have hours long YouTube essays dedicated to them), so we decided to start a spiritual successor to both capitalize on an underrated idea and indirectly advertise the original show. I had an idea to develop a video game first, to (maybe) later adapt it into actual anime.
My plan is as follows:
1. Attach some JP seiyuu and animators into the project through the producer's connections
2. Develop a gameplay demo & trailer with them
3. Drop it on a crowdfunding platform, attract people with their favorite JP talent
4. Raise enough $ to cover the entire development cost, including developers more competent than me (lol)
Now, there are two problems I'm facing:
1) the guy disappeared. He is probably just too busy - previously, he couldn't reach out back for weeks, and he also couldn't meet the animator who connected us too for a while. However, the fact is, we haven't been in touch for a while. Probably the best way to get him back is to throw money at him, but
2) I need to pay the producer, seiyuu & animators even for a demo, and unfortunately can't afford it personally. I probably can generate some assets with AI but posting it as demo is a suicide and also loses the whole seiyuu + animators selling factor.
What do I do?
I have a great investor friend who can help with much more than just money, but he doesn't have bandwidth for me right now.
A realistic option would be to develop a demo (even with stupid AI) and contract a publisher, but I'd rather take money from some private investor to retain more control over the project.
Identified extremely undervalued niche. How to secure upfront capital?
Publishers don't really fund ideas anymore, as far as I know. They fund teams. They probably don't have a problem understanding your pitch, but what they really want to know is that you can actually pull off the project and have the design & planning skills required, as well as the technical expertise on the team that's needed to make something good.
Part of identifying a great business idea is the feasibility check. Making your own game and aiming to also potentially make an animated TV show out of it is too ambitious for someone who can't even make a demo alone. Identifying opportunities also means knowing whether you personally can even grasp that opportunity.
Also, just a personal opinion, but games have a completely different way of storytelling than books or movies or TV series do. Characters in games can't be as deep as in other types of stories, and you also need to adjust for the player's gameplay choices. If you want an investor, you better do a market analysis, cost & effort estimation, and some high level design direction sketch first. You need to demonstrate that you are equipped with the knowledge and skills required to lead this project, otherwise, you are not qualified to receive the money for it. Ideas alone aren't worth anything.
RmbRT said:
Making your own game and aiming to also potentially make an animated TV show out of it is too ambitious
I was thinking the same thing. Is the big idea the anime, or the game? Which one is the byproduct rather than the product? Pitch the one, and keep the other in the back pocket.
RmbRT said:
If you want an investor, you better do a market analysis, cost & effort estimation, and some high level design direction sketch first.
And for traditional investor involvement, you, indie1producer, will need to inject 25% of the funds yourself. Gotta have skin in the game.
RmbRT said:
You need to demonstrate that you are equipped with the knowledge and skills required to lead this project
Or that you have a stellar person lined up to lead it.
Part of identifying a great business idea is the feasibility check. Making your own game and aiming to also potentially make an animated TV show out of it is too ambitious for someone who can't even make a demo alone.
Oh, actually, I believe that my programming skills would allow to develop at least the demo. The problem is that it will be 100% AI with no participation of real artists and voice actors. I can create something viable but completely lose on the distribution part because of AI (nobody will want to play it).
Identifying opportunities also means knowing whether you personally can even grasp that opportunity.
A while ago, I came to a conclusion that since nobody else seems to be doing anything, it has to be me who will do everything. So far, I have successfully pitched this to an independent investor (I didn't know him before pitching to him) and a veteran producer. I don't have anyone else who'd be able to do this, so I believe I have the skills and the persistence to continue.
If you want an investor, you better do a market analysis, cost & effort estimation
I did. My market research went as far as writing an original story just to test whether the target audience will like it or not. They did.
You need to demonstrate that you are equipped with the knowledge and skills required to lead this project, otherwise, you are not qualified to receive the money for it. Ideas alone aren't worth anything.
I came to a conclusion that conducting convincing market research and selling your ideas is already a skill that most people don't have. I guess I already have more skin in the game than many people out there, lol. Either way, I am now busy developing a demo for the game to demonstrate my other skills, though I expect to outsource this process later to someone cooler.
I was thinking the same thing. Is the big idea the anime, or the game? Which one is the byproduct rather than the product? Pitch the one, and keep the other in the back pocket.
Actually, the anime was the first idea that came up to my mind. I had an idea to develop the game later, and finally decided that it is worth it after discussing with the producer, as a way to cement the IP and secure another revenue stream.
Or that you have a stellar person lined up to lead it.
Oh, that's a no brainer, I planned to outsource most of the work either way.
Either way, guys, thanks for advice, I think I'll develop the demo and try to reach out to someone who may know the people I need. Arigato gozaimasu!
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