Dan Da Rocha from Toxic Games/Fiddlesticks Games talked about some of the ways he finds money for the production of his projects.
Dan Da Rocha from Toxic Games/Fiddlesticks Games talked about some of the ways he finds money for the production of his projects. Great look into publishers, angel investors and other sources of funding.
Introduction
I’m the Director at Fiddlesticks Games and Toxic Games. I started Toxic Games when I graduated from studying Computer Games Design in 2010. The most popular game to date is my first game, Q.U.B.E.
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With ot Without Publishers
Things have definitely changed in the past five years. It’s still possible to self publish but you really need to know what you’re doing and ensure you make the right contacts. Discoverability is a major issue now so this is why publishers are important again as they can curate content and deliver high quality games to their audience. They have all the right contacts and deep pockets to cover porting and marketing of the games. For indies starting out, scoring a publishing deal is perhaps the best way to go to ensure they get their name on the map. For indies who have established themselves, it’s possible to tap into their existing fanbase and contact list but exposure is still tough.
Angel Investors
Indie Fund is an angel-style investor and we had a great time working with them. In this particular case, their main goal is to help new developers get and stay financially independent. They look for a solid prototype of the game and a good business case.
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How to Get Funding
There are quite a few places to get funding for an indie game at the moment, which is good news. There are government grants, accessibility funding, publishers and previously successful developers who want to give something back.
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Budgeting
Be realistic with budgeting and have a buffer beyond the launch of the game, as you’ll need to support it with updates. An easy mistake is to be too short on your schedule. If you look at your current schedule and then double it, you’re looking at a time frame that’s more realistic. Also cut out things you don’t desperately need to make the game and think about ways of saving cost. When we made QUBE we rented an apartment and lived and worked there. This meant we could save cost on renting a separate home and an office space.