Game Design, Programming and running a one-man games business…

The perfect indie game company

cliffski

2012

Here is my vision of positech industries in 2012.

There is one full time employee, and it’s still me. Most of the personal stuff relating to the core business is still done by me. It’s still me on twitter, writing this blog, and designing the games. It’s still me making the big business decisions, and I still own the company 100%

The Positech Engine is now much bigger than before, and takes up a larger chunk of each games source code. Some code is being written by contractors, such as all of the editors and mod tools.

The positech website is completely outsourced, with a web developer and designer paid to update and improve the site. The developer also doubles up as a server admin, and handles coding all of the php and database stuff required for positech’s games. Possibly the same person is a community manager, forum admin and moderator, and in charge of replying to tech support emails. Either the same, or another person runs showmethegames.com

Specially written client software handles all of the business data for everything, integrating sales data from all the different sales channels, and tying it in with multiple advertising agencies to produce simple, accurate charts showing how everything is going. Ad budgets and management is all handled automatically, occasionally emailing a contract artist to request some new variants of existing adverts to keep the campaigns fresh. Every single buyer of the game can be tied, as much as possible to the way they heard about my company or games.

A large portion (at least 25%) of the profit for the company still comes direct from sales to gamers, not through third parties.

Positech has multiple games selling on steam.

There is a contract assistant game designer who helps with level balancing and design, and some back story stuff. There is also an artist employed on a contract basis, but working probably six months a year. Pre-release testing is handled by a dedicated tester, employed on a contract basis. New games are tested out on actual gamers in meatspace, and they are filmed whilst playing the game so I can analyse facial expressions as they play.

Positech has diversified slightly, just in case, maybe by buying a part-share in a large wind turbine, or maybe buying some woodland, or investing in a non-games tech company.

Oh and I nearly forgot. I celebrate New Year 2012 by finally getting planning permission for solar panels.

HA!

like THAT is going to happen :D

7 thoughts on The perfect indie game company

  1. My vision includes a new expansion or two for GSB, and maybe a significant update (which would cost real $ to get) to the Galactic Conquest meta game to smooth out the balance issues and difficulty on new players.

  2. So you finally get permission to install solar panels in 2012 and then the world ends some time later that year. Irony… :)

  5. Heh, do your figures include word of mouth, cause thats how I heard about it. Dude across the hall was playing it, and within a day I bought it too. Like Kreb, I’d also still pay for more GSB.

  6. My vision involves fiery oblivion. The Mayans have foretold it, in 2012 all will be consumed by the fires of Armageddon… including Positech, sadly. :(

  7. Pingback: DevLinks: Inside Out « DIYgamer

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