Starting indie game company, how to start, how to progress and how to launch?

Njepolo

Does indie companies are like software startups?
I  really want some day to start my own indie game company, when i get some proper experience. And i can't imagine how hard is to make a game that people will want and love to play. My only concern is funding. Software startups get funding from VC, usually it started by one or two guys working side by side, like coding and designing, this usually takes couple weeks to months. Except for games, i am not sure if VCs guys throw money in indie companies at all. And games usually takes 2-3-4 years to make and released. that is 5x-10x longer than making apps for iPhone/Android.

I am also interest of Riot Games. How they get started and got the initial funding to work before they released LOL? 

Gaming industry is fragile, like working long hours, cheap labor, unstable and crunch time. And i really want somehow to change that, by opening own company and doing things that is positive and have work-life balance.   

My questions are: 
1.How to get funding for indie game? Is there any people or firms that actually fund games? I know there is Indegogo and Kickstarter and i lots of people get successful funding campaign.
2.Should i start first solo, and make something, before i ask people to join me?

Usually my weakness is coding/programming. 

Chimp

Hey man,

It's a big topic with a lot of ways to tackle it, but I'll share my thoughts as a guy that's done it.

Initial funding can come from many places in many ways, but honestly I would start with savings. Without a number of games under your belt, you've neither the clout to get a good deal, or the experience not to fuck up the dev, or the fortitude to deal with the pressure that it can bring. 

I would suggest pausing on the company vision for now, until you have a programmer and some more experience. Go solo for a while, get 5-10 small but complete games under your belt (release them under a psuedonym - you don't need your horrible first tries tarnishing your image).

If the games are of the right scope, that should take about 1-2 years. Forget originality at that stage, just bang out all the classic games that everyone does and cut your teeth. do a minimal, inoffensive art style.

Start with 2D one-screen games. Do a few of those, basically start in the late 80s, rip off a few basic arcade games. Move on to early 90s snes type stuff, eventually maybe move up to 3D with n64 scope. By that time you will start to be getting a feel for what you can really do (it doesnt matter if you can do AAA visuals for example, it matters what you can ACTUALLY do when there's a whole game to make as well as all the peripheral jobs like marketing, accounting etc etc)

Save the original design for when you're experienced enough to see why nobody else has done whatever it is yet, and save the original IP for your proper start later. Just take archetypal designs and recreate them to understand why they did what they did. When you've done a bunch of those, and hopefully generated a nice pile of cash and some great peers, start thinking about the company and your grand vision. 

These simple one screen games will teach you how to finish games, how to market games and how you have no idea how much you don't know yet. They will also introduce you to other peers who you may end up joining forces with for your future company. 

Fail fast, but fail safely. Take your time. Learn your craft properly before you take the big leap, because you don't want to break your legs on landing and die on the mountainside. Starting a company-proper, especially with any thoughts about getting funding in, is a big undertaking, go PROPERLY indie first on a shoestring budget and fuck up there first.

Best of luck dude, feel free to keep asking questions here too!

JordanN

I think if you're going indie, I think you need to understand that what you're really doing is going into a business.

For example, even before you create your first art asset, what is your equipment? Do you even have access to professional software like 3DS Max or Mudbox or are you using free or "Indie tailored" ones like Blender or Gimp?

Next is location. Will you try and rent out an office or will you get started in someone's basement (no offense to those who started there).

I know everyone says they want to make games and it's their passion and there's nothing wrong with that. But I feel like what we want for the game industry, can't be divorced by the actual reality of what sacrifices are made to get there.

Marshkin

It's interesting - Riot didn't get their funding until 2008 (VC funding). Before then, if I'm reading between the lines, it looks like they were self funding. Covering the costs of development of their first demo to travelling around to pitch it (unsuccessfully) to publishers.

Most Indy studios start off self funded. Even ones started on the credit of established game developers tend to require significant personal capital investment to get off the ground. Some start off doing contract games for others before working on their own personal projects. 

Some have started off by doing it as a side project alongside regular work. Those tend to be your IOS/Android titles done by small 1-2 people teams.

Marshkin

Njepolo said:

 And i can't imagine how hard is to make a game that people will want and love to play.  

... It is hard. It is really hard.
Please go and work in a games studio before trying to go indy. I do think you mean well, but I think you need to get a bit a reality check before you set off in this direction. If it was that easy, we'd all be knocking 90+ metacritic games out of the park. 

sacboi

A cautionary Note:

From personal experience in an unrelated field, prior too launching anything conduct some thorough research on the 'in's-'n-out's' of your product, be it market or otherwise whilst attaining a level of competency working with this medium plus when time and money permits enrol in a small/micro business course. Don't eventually end up as a statistic i.e: "three out of five businesses/startup's  fail in the first three years of trading" make an informed decision based on clarity, not one based upon looking through a pair rose coloured glasses because not only running a business venture of any description is an extreme challenge at the best of times let alone maintaining a viable degree of momentum is an absolute f'ing mind f*ck in and of itself.