André Bernhardt 08.04.15

Use more twitter: @Indie_advisor

• Introduction – who am I?

• What´s an indie game developer?

• Indie games perception

• 2 Challenges!

• Takeaways

1997 JanOkt1998

Jul2000

Apr2002

Jan2004

Okt2005

Jul2007

Apr2009

Jan2011 2012/13

1/8/20041/1/1997

Retail business:

PC / console

Online/ Mobile

Games

2012/15

Business

Miramagia (2012) (New Business)

Rail Nation (2012) (New Business)

Travian (2011) (New Business)

Goal United (2011) (New Business)

Crash Time III (2009) (New Business)

Football Genius: The Ultimate Quiz (2009) (New Business)

Crash Time II (2008) (New Business)

RTL Biathlon 2009 (2008) (New Business)

Winter Sports 2: The Next Challenge (2008) (New Business)

Mystery of Whiterock Castle (2009) (New Business)

Ion Assault (2009) (New Business)

Knigge: Spielend zum guten Benehmen (2009) (New Business)

Winter Sports 2: The Next Challenge (2008) (New Business)

World of Goo (2008) (New Business)

Marketing

RTL Racing Team Manager (2008) (Product Management)

WorldShift (2008) (Product Managment)

Anno 1701: Dawn of Discovery (2007) (Marketing)

Biathlon 2008 (2007) (Product Management)

Crash Time (2007) (Product Management)

Winter Sports: Ultimate Challenge (2007) (Product Management)

1701 A.D. (2006) (Marketing)

Public Relations

Anno 1701: Dawn of Discovery (2007) (PR)

1701 A.D. (2006) (PR)

ParaWorld (2006) (PR & Marketing)

Quality Assurance

RTL Racing Team Manager (2008) (Add.Testing)

1701 A.D. (2006) (QA Testers)

ParaWorld (2006) (Testers)

Knights of Honor (2004) (Testers)

Chaser (2003) (Testers)

Die Gilde: Gaukler, Gruften & Geschütze (2003) (Testers)

http://www.mobygames.com/developer/sheet/view/developerId,139870/

http://grumpygamer.com/what_is_an_indie

Inclusive way:

“Small team OR self-funded/not backed by a major

publisher OR adhering to the established indie

aesthetic”

“Snobby definition”:

“Small team AND self-funded/not backed my a

major publisher AND adhering to the established

indie aesthetic”

https://greymattergaming.wordpress.com/2013/07/17/the-publisher-developer-money-go-round-and-the-boom-of-the-indie-industry-part-ii/

http://blog.monumentvalleygame.com/blog/2015/1/15/monument-valley-in-numbers

http://bit.ly/1grGeZB

http://thegamebakers.com/money-and-the-app-store-a-few-figures-that-might-help-an-indie-developer.html

http://pixel-pub.de/post-mortem-katzenjammer-wie-kitty-jumpr-im-appstore-unterging/

„Bis zum heutigen Tag haben wir sagenhafte 167,52 € Einnahmen durch Verkäufe generiert. Durch

Einblendung von Werbeanzeigen wurden 2,95 € generiert, dabei muss jedoch erwähnt werden dass

wir zur Zeit nur Werbung in der kostenlose Android-Version anzeigen und das auch noch sehr

sparsam. Dem gegenüber stehen Ausgaben in Höhe von ca. 345 € für Softwarelizenzen, Assets und

Kleinkram.“

http://www.gamasutra.com/salarysurvey2014.pdf?_mc=AD_HS_LE_G14MRKEE04

7.344.819

5.637.175

5.467.522

5.343.619

5.251.485

4.391.968

4.078.405

3.900.148

3.858.968

6.857.156

Pokemon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire (3DS)

Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare (PS4)

Dairantou Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS (3DS)

Grand Theft Auto V (PS4)

FIFA 15 (PS4)

Destiny (PS4)

Mario Kart 8 (WiiU)

FIFA 15 (PS3)

Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare (XOne)

Minecraft (X360)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_best-selling_PC_games

100.000

125.000

300.000

300.000

600.000

1.500.000

2.440.076

3.858.968

3.900.148

4.078.405

4.391.968

5.251.485

5.343.619

5.467.522

5.637.175

6.857.156

7.344.819

Rules!

World of Goo iPad

Ridiculous Fishing

Shovelknight

Legend of Grimrock

Sword & Sworcery

Monument Valley

Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare (XOne)

FIFA 15 (PS3)

Mario Kart 8 (WiiU)

Destiny (PS4)

FIFA 15 (PS4)

Grand Theft Auto V (PS4)

Dairantou Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS (3DS)

Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare (PS4)

Minecraft (X360)

Pokemon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire (3DS)

4 $

5 $

15 $

3 $

5 $

3 $

15 $

http://forums.tigsource.com/index.php?topic=35689.0

http://blog.monumentvalleygame.com/blog/2015/1/15/monument-valley-in-numbers

http://cheesetalks.net/humble/

http://www.ludicious.ch/friday-19-september-2014-day-one/

PRICE

Demand

Revenue opportunity

Marketing opportunity

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Price_discrimination

• Retail (Assassins Creed X, CoD X,

etc.)

• Digital Distribution (Steam)

• In-Game Advertising (Fifa)

• Advertgames (Americas Army)

• “Try Before you Buy” / Trialware /

Shareware,

• Episodic Entertainment (Telltale),

• Skill-Based Progressive Jackpots

(Poker),

• Subscription Model (WoW)

• Micro-Transactions (Travian, etc.),

• Sponsored Games / Donationware

(serious games, games for good,

charity games),

• Pay per play / Pay as you go / Pay

for Time,

• Player to Player trading of Virtual

Items (Steam Trading),

• Sell Access to your Players (like

lead generation, special offers etc.),

• Freeware (get lots of users),

• Loss Leader (focus on your real

goal),

• Peripheral Enticement

(Skylanders),

• Player to Player Wagering

(GameDuell),

• User Generated Content (letting

users make endless new content),

• Pay for service (Storage, Private

server, Cloud stats: CoD Elite,

Minecraft Realms),

• Rental,

• Merchandise (Angry Birds),

• Pre-Sell the Game to the Players

(Prison Architect, Minecraft).

Overview of (actual) business models

„Business Model Generation“ http://amzn.to/XKPrSB

http://venturebeat.com/2015/03/03/crossy-road-earns-3m-in-revenue-from-unitys-video-ads/

http://powellgroupconsulting.com/2014/11/14/discoverability-its-not-just-for-app-stores-any-more/

http://www.pocketgamer.biz/metrics/app-store/

http://bit.ly/1jRr5BB

http://bit.ly/1grOJUq

https://www.youtube.com/user/jacksepticeye

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/153Rz_TPwZ36HVg9-Mhvej7gSuWM5BTv3VKxRWYTTZHM/edit#slide=id.g3a2bac6a8_015

www.indiecake.com

www.getsocial.im

http://de.slideshare.net/reinouttebrake/product-overview-getsocial-gdc15

Solve these two problems while developing game ifyou want to stay independent!

• Care about monetization in the beginning!

• Think about discoverability and your community!

And don´t forget: You always have to make an awesome game to be successful at all!

http://www.gamesweekberlin.com/

http://www.globaltopround.com/

@Indie_advisor

andre@indieadvisor.de

de.linkedin.com/in/andrebernhardt/