Starting an independent gaming company can be a profitable venture. However, like any other business, it takes careful planning. Here are some tips on how to get started with your own gaming business:
- Don’t quit your job. Although you may be tempted to quit your job so that you can focus solely on getting your business up and running, it is generally a bad idea. Holding onto your current job can give you reliable income while you work on getting your business established during your off hours.
- Don’t get hung up on perfection. Waiting to launch your game until it is 100% perfect is generally a bad idea. Instead, create a minimum viable product (MVP) and get it out into the real world so that you can start getting feedback and making any necessary improvements. A lot of the important work is done in pre-production, so don’t skip on that – check out this post from Amiqus on the matter.
- Track your users. Pay attention to how users are interacting with your games. This can provide you with valuable information that you can use to improve them.
- Make your games available on more than one platform. Avoid falling into the trap of only making games for certain groups such as people on Facebook or people who own iOS devices.
- Figure out how to make money. Most games do well making money through advertising and by selling virtual goods. Keep up with advancements in the gaming industry such as the introduction of Facebook Credits so that you can leverage these programs to increase your revenue.
- Make it easy for people to play. Don’t charge an arm and a leg for your games. Instead, consider offering them for free. Also, make them as easy to download and install as possible.
- Leverage the power of social media. Social networks can be an incredibly powerful way to spread the word about your games. Not only can you share information about your latest developments but you can also encourage users to post as well. This can bring in additional players.
One way to think of it is that starting a gaming business is a lot like learning how to play an instrument. When you first pick up an instrument, you are bound to make mistakes. Nobody is an incredible player right out of the gate. However, as long as you keep practicing and keep putting stuff out there, you will eventually get better. Before you know it, you will be writing your own songs and developing an audience. Eventually, you can turn music into a full-time career. The process is almost identical to launching a gaming startup.