Porter's World

The Power Is Yours

“The Power Is Yours!” is not only an awesome catch phrase of Captain Planet’s, it’s also a concept developers really need to understand. The most commonly asked questions by beginners in the flash game industry is, “How much should I sell my game for?”. While some people can help you estimate a price for your game, you should never let a sponsor do so, unless you are very close and have previous work experience with them. There’s a big issue in the game industry right now, game developers aren’t getting the right amount of respect for their hard work. There’s a hierarchy being shown to people that isn’t correct. Publishers and sponsors aren’t at the top of the food chain, developers need to stop acting like that’s the reality.

The first thing we all need to recognize, is that the flash game industry is new, very new. Yes flash games have been around a while, but it wasn’t until the last few years that it’s actually been recognized as a real industry. The young age of the industry is where the complications are coming from; wealth and greed are taking place, as they will in all industries. Those with money want more money, those supplying the fundamentals of that money aren’t getting their fair cut. Don’t get me wrong, there isn’t a fierce battle going on between developers and sponsors, not in the slightest really, but changes do need to be made, and current progress is proof of this concept.

I don’t know the exact dates of growth in the industry, I can however explain some huge growths in general that have happened over the last few years. There was once a time when people made flash games entirely for fun, there were no ads, and even no sponsorships. As we all know, sponsorships did indeed rise, and that was the beginning of where we are today. Everyone also knows of Mochi Ads, they’ve been around awhile now, and are a big name in the flash game industry. They weren’t always around though, or widely accepted for that matter. Once Mochi came around, there was an adaptation of allowing ads that didn’t happen over night. Users hated them, games and movies were voted down on portals such as Newgrounds, and so on, they simply weren’t welcomed. These days, you’ll find Mochi Ads all over the place, as well as other companies such as CPMStar; not only that, but these ads are actually widely accepted and not nearly as frowned upon as they once were. Ads aside, there was also a huge leap forward in the industry when performance deals were introduced. Performance deals allowed developers to get a significantly greater portion of the earnings on a game, compared to the usual upfront lump sum that basic sponsorships call for. For instance, if a game is in a performance deal and becomes the next hit game on the internet, the developer is going to see a lot of money, where as in a normal sponsorship deal, the original payment is about all they’re going to get, aside from a bit of ad revenue. In addition, there’s also the current battle (as of writing this) for microtransactions. For those unaware, microtransactions refer to the sale of in game items for real cash, a popular marketing model in free to play MMO’s that’s slowly making it’s way into the industry. It’s only a matter of time until this model is entirely accepted in the industry, but it’s up to us developers (or you the future developer) to fight the good fight. For more information on the fight on microtransactions, hear what Chris Hughes and a few other big names in the industry have to say over at the Way Too Casual Podcast (Skip ahead to 33:30 to get straight into microtransactions). With the above knowledge, we know that in the last few years we’ve gone from nothing, to sponsorships, to allowing ads, and now we’re getting into microtransactions. What does this mean for you specifically as a developer? A lot.

You may be a grade A developer, you may be someone new in the industry, or you may be somebody reading up on material thinking you want to join in, regardless of your status, we all hold equal power for the progression of this industry. For every developer that forgets that they are in control of their work, and not those looking to buy it, struggle is added to the change in this industry. Each and every developer needs to be educated on what is right and what is wrong, what options we do and don’t have, and what options we don’t, but should have. I’ll stress again that there isn’t exactly a war going on between sponsors and developers, but there is tension; as the Way Too Casual Podcast stated, the word “Microtransactions” definitely stings the ears of some, and that’s something that needs to change. If you’re a new developer, learn your rights, and practice them. If you’re an experienced developer, avoid selling your game for anything less than what you deserve, no matter what the circumstances; it may give you some extra cash quicker, but it slows down not only you, but the entire industry in the long run.

Strength In Numbers

I’d like to point this article specifically to any flash developer that does solo work, or even freelance work. An ongoing discussion among members concerning flash game development, is the question of if it’s better to work in a group, or alone. There are a few perks to each side, let’s go over them now and then I’ll elaborate with my professional opinion on the matter.

Working alone has it’s benefits for sure, especially if you’re a decent artist and programmer. The obvious bonus to working alone is that you don’t have to split the cash, all earning drop directly into your hands and you get to dream about what you’re going to buy between work sessions or while you sleep. The next benefit is the ability to work for yourself. You pick when you work, how much you work, and your reasons are your own, nobody can interfere except perhaps the wonderful world of responsibility if you’re doing this as a full time job. One of the more important, and definitely appealing aspects of working alone is that you make the calls. The artwork is as you call it, the design is nothing short of what you make it, you are your own limits.

Now on to the other option, working with a partner or even in a group. One of the most important feature in my eyes to this, is how fast you can work. You’re are able to pump work out at a rate that would look something like the following:

workRate = numberOfMembers*hours+bonus;

As an example, if you work 6 hours, your production is equal to that work time, multiplied by the number of members putting in those hours. Now you’ll notice I added “+bonus” in there, I’ll get to that in my closing opinion. Another positive feature to this work method is that you can have each member of the team excel in a certain ability, thus making your game above average, having great graphics, game-play, and whatever else it may contain that your team can contribute to. One additional, and very important aspect of working with others, is the ability to collaborate your ideas and build upon the original. The progress that can be made during the planning stages via this method is amazing.

If that wasn’t convincing enough, I’ll say it a bit more clearly, working in teams far surpasses that of which one can do alone. First off, yes you split the money, but you work faster as a group. The plus I mentioned in my above formula is the result of combing ideas. When you get together, you come up with ideas faster. You then gain motivation from seeing progress happen at a faster rate. This progress makes you work faster, see more results, thus spiraling you into a much faster development cycle than that of which can be reached alone. In the end you’re getting far more work done per hour if you stay focused and motivated, which is much more likely to happen in a group when others are there to motivate and support you. As mentioned your ideas are more successful and flushed out in a team, and you’re less likely to abandon the project due to a huge workload or lack of motivation, both of which are common among solo developers with a large project.

I’m sure by now you’ve seen my reasoning and would agree that working in a group far surpasses the likes of working solo. Time is saved, ideas are elaborated upon and it’s just all around more fun. If my words alone don’t convince you, look at some of the top games out there today, they’re all developed by teams of 2 or more, and that’s not about to change. The industry is calling for higher quality games, and teams are now forming to compensate for said changes. If you’re solo now and thinking about making the switch to a team, now is the time to do so. Get yourself a steady position with someone else or in an already established team. If you need a great place to find a partner or co-workers, I highly suggest heading over to FlashGameLicense.com and becoming an active member in the community, after all, that’s how I ended up a part of Epic Shadow Entertainment and writing this very article.