Kickstarter, 8Bit and other crowdfunding sites are awesome for funding “ideas”, but what about projects that have already made progress and have fans wanting to play them and support the developers? Alphafunding fills this void, as the basic purpose is we give fans early access to games which are not complete, but will be frequently updated, in return for their purchase. Developers win because the money allows them to make bigger and better things, and the players win because they get to feel good about themselves and help their favorites get the love and polish they need (whilst playing of course!).

-Scott Reismanis, Founder of Desura

Alphafunding basically means paying the developer for a game that is still in development, and in exchange get instant access to the (often buggy) game. All future updates are included when you alphafund a game(most of the time). Minecraft is the best known example of Alphafunding. People pay to play a game still in development, and Mojang gives out a new update every once in a while, adding more features to play with.

Desura, the STEAM for indie games — as it has been called, has recently launched a new project: Alphafunding. Desura users get to support indie developers in the development of the game, get regular blog updates about them and of course: get instant access to them. Desura users all around the globe are wildly enthusiastic about this, here are some comments on Alphafunding on Desura:

“Look at the clock, get the demo, look at the clock again.
Did you see how long you played?”
-Pogswarts

“Great initiative and good use of Desura. I will surely support some games this way over time.”
-Chriz_86

“Awesome. LONG LIVE INDIE GAMES!”
-Ennui

I couldn’t agree more. The games currently being alphafunded on Desura, can be viewed here. One of them is Project Zomboid, a review which can be found on IGM. To read about the recent burglary that seriously pushed the development of Project Zomboid back, read this article.
Scott Reismanis, Founder of DesuraNET(IndieDB, ModDB, Desura)

I recently had a chance to interview Scott Reismanis, the founder of Desura, about Alphafunding. In it, we talk about the why and how of Alphafunding. Give it a read, if you like.

DB, IGM: Me, Dale Beerling, IndieGameMag
SR, DNET: Scott Reismanis, founder of DesuraNET

DB, IGM: How well is the alphafunding on Desura going? Is it working out as you expected, or are there any problems?

SR, DNET: There are tons of digital distribution services which just do releases, which is cool but we like to do things a little different, “the indie way” I suppose you could say. If we can help some developers make better games and eliminate the hassle / stress of Paypal and other problems then that is win/win, after all, we want these people focusing their effort on making a great game. Plus, I feel we are all about bringing developers and players closer together, and having developers blog about their progress and then allowing fans the ability to play the alpha and see the progress is pretty cool I reckon.

DB, IGM: It sounds like you’re really focusing on helping the indie developers, but then why are there just a few games in the Alphafunding category at the moment?

SR, DNET:Handpicked because they are all a little different, all awesome, all alphas and well suited. We are going to be quite picky about who we choose for alphafunding, because like crowdfunding, it works best when you have fans and supporters ready and willing to help.

DB, IGM: Oh okay. Do you think that Alphafunding could be a big change in how (indie) games will be published in the future?

SR, DNET:Whilst it isn’t for everyone, I think you’d be crazy as an indie to not consider it. The way I see it is, it takes years to make a game, and then when you release, you get maybe a week of coverage in the form of reviews on other sites. To depend on that week to earn your money is a massive risk and any number of things can go wrong – especially as marketing usually isn’t a strength of developers. Imagine then, that over the 2 years you make your game, every time you post an update you have a chance to reach more fans and more sales? If you’ve got someone wanting to support your project you’d be crazy to ignore them – let them, because when you do eventually release in 6 months, they may have forgotten or missed the release. Besides, look at how damn well it has worked for Minecraft, Overgrowth, NS2 and others.

DB, IGM: I think we’ve covered most aspects to cover, so let’s move on! What else might we expect to see from Desura in the future?

SR, DNET:Essentially anything that is good for developers, good for our users and is different. Steam kicks ass, so we are just continually going to try different stuff. For example, right now Linux is a big focus of ours; as is alphafunding. We’ve got some cool stuff coming soon so I wish I could share more, but you will just have to wait and see.

DB, IGM: Too bad, I can’t wait! Anything else to say before we wrap this up?

SR, DNET: Virtually all of the alphafunded games are $5 to $10, all of them are awesome (guaranteed) so show them your support and purchase. It’s a cool initiative and something we’d like to see happen more and more.

DB, IGM: Okay, thanks for your time!

SR, DNET: Been awesome, thank you!

–

Thank you for taking your time to read this article, but if you’ve got more time, I’d like to hear your opinion on Alphafunding, so leave a comment and I’ll get back to you.

Read any of my other articles at: http://www.indiegamemag.com/author/grafixgfx/

The stereotype indie developer:  low on money, self-funded, small games with bad sound and ugly graphics. Of course we all know that the most developers already passed that stage, some don’t even start there. What I will be talking about in these series will be what kept them going and what inspired them to create games in the first place.

I’ll be interviewing dozens of game developers, from the small and new developers, to the big and experienced ones. In addition to their inspirations, I will also question them about the beginnings of their development time. How was it like? What has changed since then? What told them to keep going on with developing?

Chapter 1 –  Rolling into the business

Let’s take a look at what inspired some indie developers to start.. well develop!

“Since I was maybe 12, I always wanted to create something. I wrote poems, short stories, laws, created religions, designed animals, constructed languages and writing systems, composed music, and of course wrote computer programs. What I realized is that I’m not particularly good with any of them, except for software. And what is the ultimate type of software that includes everything mentioned above? Games, of course. In a game you can insert _any_ aspect of life, so you don’t have to limit your imagination.”- Németh  András

 “Making video games was my childhood dream.  My initial dream was to get a lot of schooling and eventually get hired in a giant studio and start making huge games.  Along the way I had several jobs, including one in the gaming industry.  I realized two things.  First, having a boss really sucks.  I’m
very self motivated and don’t need to be monitored all the time.  The second thing is that, when working in a big company, it’s the investors who decide what the game will be.  One day, I made a tentative budget and decided that it could be feasible to start my own indie studio.”-Bruno Beaudoin

Some people do it, because they can, and others do it to express themselves through a new medium. Games give you freedom to do anything you want, exactly the way you want to do it. Németh for example, he combined all the stuff that he used to do, and started developing games!

Bruno wanted to do things his way, he didn’t want to listen to a boss and investors who tell him what to do he wanted to make his own game ideas come true.

Going indie gives developers several advantages. They can think of their own games, let their own fantasy work. They can also decide themselves who to put on what task(assuming that those people want to work with you). The Indie Dream, it is called sometimes. Mainly because most developers can’t become a successful indie game developer.  They get stuck halfway, but some, the most dedicated, actually make it. And those people will  become the ‘indie idols’ of newer and younger people when they grow old in the business.

“I always liked games a ton but never thought it was possible to do them for a living till I got a job working with an indie studio called chronic logic in 2003, after losing my job as an animal control officer. My main lead into indie games was indie comic design, flash animation and interactive flash art, I did it as a hobby from 1999-2002 but never even realized what I was doing could be something I’d make a living off of.”Edmund, Team Meat

Tons of Indies start out doing something completely different, comic design, or flash animations for example. Through some side streams they find out that they can actually do something with it that makes money. Edmund, who is one of the people responsible for Super Meat Boy, is one of them. The love for games pulled him over the edge when he heard it was possible to design games for a living.

“I started making indie games since… Well, I make games since I was a child, back then it was just for fun, I did not knew that people did it for a living until I got it university, and stumbled into Tom Sloper’s site. (www.sloperama.com) where he explain in details how to get started as a Game Designer professional (although many of his advices also work for other parts of gamedev)”-Mauricio Gomes

Same goes for Mauricio Gomes, developer of Paddle Wars: Hit The Wall, he found out that making games for a living actually was possible by looking at someone involved in the process of game development.
–

If any (indie) game developers, artists, or musicians, or.. ??, anyone involved in the process of making games is reading this, please send me an email, or leave a comment telling me how you started out, or are still starting out. If you’d like a more in-depth interview, just tell me and I’ll get back to you!

And if you aren’t a developer artist, or… etc.., then I’d still like to hear your opinion on the first part of this article. Send me a message, email, comment below or w/e and tell me what you think could be better, or worse.

That about wraps this part up, See ya’ll next time(..or not?)

The App Store has of course opened a huge market for the Indie developer to work towards. Just recently 148apps.com released findings showing that, compared to traditional media, the App Store has a much greater market share for new and unique titles than established brands.

This spells good news for gamers and Indie developers alike, but what is the more common experience on the App Store from the developer’s end, and can that lend itself to allow a developer to stay afloat monetarily? Well… Having talked with many other Indies and have seen the result of many an effort, those particular results haven’t looked all too appealing in the general case. Not all, obviously, but most.

There are of course many factors that can be the cause to have contributed to this, such as limiting to just the top 100 for browsing (no luck if your #101), lack of funds to burn for marketing or experienced talent, perhaps even just a poorly developed title with a bad idea. Regardless, I personally see the App Store as the modern day equivalent to the “California Gold Rush.” Sure, a lot of people made a good amount of money early on, but as more and more titles flooded the market, it’s now heavily over saturated.

Are you going to be able to stand out in that saturation? Do you have what it takes to duke it out with the various AA and AAA companies pushing things out to the App Store? Is there really a way to make a name for yourself on the App Store anymore?

Method 1: Use Established I.P.

One of the most exciting things that I have seen lately is the taking of previous open source Linux games, from “Battle for Wesnoth” to “Hedgewars”, and porting them over for sale on the App Store. It is rather interesting, thanks to the popularity of the Linux movement and its fan base (or any base with popularity for that matter), to watch how every major iPhone publication outlet, from AppBoy to TouchArcade are dying for previews, interviews, etc.

Really, if a developer can get their hands on something for which the popularity contest has already been decided in advance, established I.P. is a sure fire way to get recognized and make it to smooth sailing on that top 100 list.

Method 2: Copy-Cat

I’m not even joking. I wish I was, but there are a number of companies who actively go out of their way to copy-cat others (and they know who they are). Keep in mind that you can’t claim copyright infringement on ideas – you can only claim patent violations, granted you own the patent to that idea and have the cash to defend it in court (good luck).

Of course, copy-cats may not be the best in terms of P.R., but the App Store has spoken to a much different tune. From “Flight Control” to “Pocket God”, all major million dollar successes have been copy catted by others, some with great success.

When a copy cat App can exist on the top 100 board next to the same exact App (and sometimes at a higher price for no real value other than different graphics), it’s a real wonder why somebody just doesn’t spend their entire time doing this… Oh wait, they do.

Method 3: Sell the Shovel

Relating back to the gold rush analogy, one proven way to make some great income, and this is nothing new in the world of software, is to contract yourself out and make something on somebody else’s dime (i.e. sell the shovel). I’ve heard of some contractors, on the upper end, getting paid up to 150$/hour, although a more common figure I hear fluctuates between 25$/hour to 50$/hour.

Here’s the thing: don’t charge a fixed price (the client always wants more – charge them for it), don’t charge a percentage on gross income (if it is successful they’ll come back to you for updates), just build whatever and take an hourly wage from it. Let somebody else own all the risk, pay for all the marketing, and take all the money made from the six units sold in the end.

Of course, be aware that when working with a client, most of the time they will have zero software knowledge. Use this to your advantage, charge for your talents, but be aware of those who belong to the “let’s re-build Facebook, but with a slightly different UI” crowd. They exist in swarms of fail.

Method 4: Reviews

If you really want to see a neat way to make some money on the App Store, take advantage of the over saturation and dying need at exposure by charging for reviews and advertising. This is just simple supply and demand at work.

Think this doesn’t work? Just try taking a look at how much some key sites charge for advertising and review services (or even just the smaller gigs). Sure, some provide supposedly free reviews, but having been there done that, unless you pay them (either for advertising or some other form of bribery) don’t expect a word from them unless you have the next great game.

Unluckily, trying to get a good review site up and running isn’t going to land you a fancy new house or car, but, compared to only selling those six units after six+ months of intense labor, 30$ for an hour or two of work starts to look really enticing. Just ask a few developer teams who have done exactly that.

Method 5: Have cash to burn

Do I really need to say it? Yeah, I do. Having the cash to burn can buy you a great artist, good marketing, a talented programmer, etc. It is no joke, it’s real. I once read about a formula that applies to all sorts of products (and couldn’t upvote the original poster enough after I read it): worth = idea × implementation × marketing. Don’t think it works? When is the last time you paid money for a mediocre movie that you saw advertised for on prime time T.V.? Ever look up how much it costs to advertise on those spots?

Of course, that’s the world we live in. If you don’t know how to play the game, you won’t climb very high. Sad, but true.

Don’t get frustrated when your game doesn’t sell thousands of copies on day one.  There’s a lot of Indies out there who say, “My game has been out for a week and I still have no sales!”  Sometimes it’s because the game is lousy, but more often than not it’s because nobody knows about the game.  Marketing is paramount!

We have already talked about how to build buzz for the game while you’re working on it, but don’t just forget about your game after you release it.  Here’s a few marketing essentials.

Website – This was touched on in Lesson 2, but obviously creating a website and using it to interact with customers is a no brainer, so do it.

Email Blasts – If you don’t get the press to cover your game, then nobody will find it and you’ll be whining about your lack of sales.  After your game is done, think about your audience and target the websites, magazines, etc. that make sense to contact.  My overall advice for your email is to come across as a real human being.  The press is a lot more likely to actually read your email if you have a concise subject line, introduce yourself and talk about your game.  The gaming press gets blasted with press releases all the time that are impersonal and corporate.  You’re an indie developer so use your personality to stand out from the crowd.  If you don’t get a response from someone about reviewing or featuring your game, don’t lose hope either.  It is okay to send a follow-up email…just don’t go spam crazy.  Don’t ask if they’re interested in a review copy either; just send it!

Game Trailer – Creating a game trailer showing your game in action is a great way to garner interest and encourage downloads.  Be sure to send emails out about new trailers and post the video around the net.

Social Media – Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, etc. are all great ways to interact with fans, link to your website, announce promotions, give away free copies etc.  They’re great marketing tools that are free to use.

Newsletter – Collect email addresses through promotions and sneak peeks at your game.  Once your game is out, email these potential customers about your game release.  You can email these same potential customers about future games or upcoming promotions and discounts.

Forums – Register for appropriate gaming forums and provide links to your website and game demo in your signature.  Every time you post, there will be a way for readers to check out your game.

Attend Conventions – Attending IGF, GDC, PAX and other conventions are great ways to meet other game developers and gaming press.  Network and create partnerships so that you can market your game more effectively and build links and traffic to your site.

Advertising – Indies have had mixed results with paid advertising, but it’s worth mentioning that there are ways to pay for web traffic.  Some people have found that they can be very successful with pay-per-click and other low-cost advertising campaigns.

Don’t Give Up, but Don’t Go Overboard Either!

Marketing is a full time job.  Instead of sending one press release when your game is finally completed, think about sending a press release announcing your game, announcing the free public beta, and then finally announcing the game’s release.  Continue marketing your indie title with relevant announcements about game updates and more.  A good tip is to break up the monotony of marketing your game by doing only a few marketing tasks a day.

There’s no magic bullet to marketing an indie game, but if you’re personable and have an interesting product, you should be able to get some press coverage for your game.  Marketing is an ongoing process.  Stay with it and give your game time to grow.

Your game is done and now it’s time to make some money (hopefully). Instead of walking you through every possible combination of release scenarios, I am just going to outline some of the key release avenues that most indies utilize:

Self-Publish
If you’ve successfully been marketing your game throughout the development period, Self-Publishing and releasing your game on your website is a no-brainer. The advantage of selling downloads through your website is that you, the developer, collect the majority of each sale and have control over the website itself so that you can adequately support, feature, and sell your product. The disadvantage is that most indies have measly traffic and will not be able to reach their customers as effectively.

Portals
Before you release your game on your own site, it’s probably a good idea to contact some portals and see if they would be interested in selling your game. What’s a game portal? Well, it’s a site that collects a bunch of games and sells them through a unified website. Some prime examples of portals are: Valve’s Steam, Big Fish Games, Impulse, Reflexive/Amazon, Real Arcade and Direct2Drive. Every portal is different with different audiences and some even act as publishers. There are exclusive and non-exclusive deals and tons of other particulars that I won’t get into. Generally, getting on portals is a good thing since your game will be in front of new eyes. However, since a developer has less and less control over their game’s price on a portal, it is usually best to sell your game at a premium on your own site initially and then boosting your game’s sales by releasing on several portals over the next year. Some deals may be too good to turn down though.

Publisher
If you want to go Retail, you’ll almost definitely need a publisher. Publishers can also help get your game on a whole bunch of other distribution channels and portals. Publishers certainly help give a game the backing power of a larger company but it comes at a price. Publishers are often going to take a cut of sales. That’s the cost of using them and harnessing their marketing power. There are some horror stories out there of publishers who don’t pay royalties or don’t support your game at all. Generally, it’s good to request a marketing action plan and an upfront payment to make sure they mean business.

During the final stages of your game’s development, you should start putting together a release schedule, contact portals, distributors, and publishers and plan out your game’s release. Remember to use press releases and solicit reviews. Send a press release announcing your game’s release date about a month out and then send out review copies. Send out another press release announcing your game’s release on your website (or portal) and be sure to keep sending out releases when your game is available on new websites or distribution channels. Scream about your game’s release from a mountain top and be consistent and persistent. Dedication will result in press coverage which will help get your website visitors and your game demo downloaded.

Keep in mind that it’s a task in and of itself to get people to visit your website and actually download, install and play your game demo. Don’t get frustrated when you don’t sell thousands of units on Day 1. Remember that your game is not the next Halo and people haven’t been talking about it for months on end. Work to create excitement prior to release. Use player and reviewer quotes, put gameplay footage up on YouTube, and try to create excitement and inform people about your big indie game release.

More importantly, keep it up after the release. In the final lesson of this guide, we’ll touch on how important it is to continually market your game and push sales.

Don’t expect me to cover every facet of the process, especially hiring and interviewing. Instead expect me to share some experience based knowledge that has been gained from having done this before. Perhaps that knowledge can help you brave the flames better.

Everybody wants to make games… sorta…

In my last Developer Corner article I briefly touched upon the notion of game development being maximum input for minimal output (the opposite of playing games) and this point holds very true when you observe a contributor’s work ethic beyond the first week of hire.

Pro Tip 1: Everybody wants to make games – you will not find any shortage of people more than willing to help out, especially those with no prior experience – but you can’t escape the fact that making games is work. Don’t be surprised when a lot of so called interested parties, especially those who are on an unpaid or delayed paid basis, suddenly fizzle out and stop contributing after the first few days of euphoria.

Once these folks find out that games are a lot of work, it becomes incredibly hard to find people who are understanding and willing to stick it out to the end. My experience has been fraught with several people who were ecstatic to have been hired, but bail after meeting “actual work.” Luckily there are a few tricks that you can use.

If it takes time and effort, it has value.

The reality of the world and something that indies have a hard time realizing is that people are more reliable if they are being paid. I’ve seen a lot of so called “open & democratic” projects come and go over the years, but the reality is that a project with a healthy amount of authoritative rule paired with rewards and punishments, especially monetarily, receive major boosts in work ethic and efficiency.
Now, please don’t think I’m saying that these “open & democratic” projects don’t work; I am just saying “money talks, bullshit walks.”

The thing that Indies must wrap their minds around, and this is equally the case in game design itself, is that value is defined by time and effort.

[This Content is Exclusive for Insider]

Indie Fund is accepting submissions. After looking over their submission requirements, their definitely looking for cool, weird and original games. So if you’re pitching a Match-3 or other established genre, keep walking. My guess is that the games that end up getting funding will be pretty experimental and in line with a lot of the creative games that the indies behind the funding created themselves (Braid, World of Goo, Blurst.com, flower, flOw, etc.). The good news is that it sounds like the funding will be pretty generous (around $100k or so) and you’ll keep control of your intellectual property. It’s great to see these indies giving back to the indie community.

A bulk of your indie development time will be spent on coding and programming your game. Putting in all your features, designing levels, debugging the game, updating graphics, and inputting sounds and music is a major portion of indie development, but don’t think that just because your game runs and plays from start to finish means that its ready for release. You should spend about the same amount of time perfecting your game’s design and features that you spent coding the thing. Going thru the game with a fine toothed comb, working out all the blemishes and adding production value goes a long way. If you are finished programming and have finished graphics, sound, etc. in there, then it’s time to start the following:[This Content is Exclusive for Insider]

Whether your game fits into an existing genre or is something entirely unique doesn’t really matter. What matters is that you think about your potential customer before you write a line of code. You’ll also want to take into consideration your coding experience. The good news is that if you’re already a proficient coder, you can start writing your game and pretty much port it anywhere. But this is a beginner’s guide and most Indies aren’t really hardcore assembly line type coders.

Most indie game developers use some sort of engine or software to code and create their games. There are tons of choices and they all have their pros and cons. Here is a breakdown of some of the most popular choices starting with the platforms considered to require the least amount of programming language up through the most technical and programming heavy choices:

RPG Maker: Free
Pros: Free and gets you designing the game quickly
Cons: Windows PC only, RPGs Only, Lack of Flexibility

I’ve never used RPG Maker since I’ve never made an old school Japanese style RPG, but it’s very proficient at creating a unique RPG. RPG Maker is free and makes creating maps, characters, and events very easy without any real gameplay coding. Obviously the drawback is that it’s not very flexible – it makes only RPGs and you don’t have any control over the gameplay mechanics. If you’re thinking about an RPG, this tool does substantially streamline the process though.

Game Maker: Free, Pro Version $25
Pros: Cheap solution, Easy to Use interface, Great for 2D games
Cons: 2D games only, Only Windows PC Platform

Game Maker is a great choice because it’s cheap, great for 2D games, and offers a nice and easy point & click /drag & drop user interface. You don’t need to code a thing and can make any type of 2D game. Plus GM has some great flexibility in the optional advanced mode. This solution focuses on Game Designing rather than Game Coding, which is really nice. The major drawback for Game Maker is that it builds games for Windows PC only and is restricted to 2D.

The Games Factory 2 / Multimedia Fusion 2: $59 – $369
Pros: Great for 2D Games, Easy to Use Interface, Java/Mobile enabled, New Features in Development
Cons: Developer version is expensive, Originally Built for Windows Only Development, Framerate Issues

Multimedia Fusion 2 is very similar to Game Maker in that it has an easy to use point and click user interface and event editor. You can pretty much make any type of 2D game with MMF and there’s a ton of 3rd party extensions that can be added into the engine. Multimedia Fusion has also recently been Java enabled, allowing you to create games for mobile devices and allowing you to port to Mac and Linux. There’s also Hardware Acceleration and Flash Export in the works. The problem with MMF2 is that to get the full set of features, you have to shell out for the Developer version. It can also be difficult to develop for Linux and Mac since MMF was originally built for Windows Only Development.

Adobe Flash/Air/Flex: $699+
Pros: Online standard, 2D/3D Games, All Computer Platforms, Other Revenue Streams Available, Great for Animation, Tons of examples/resources
Cons: Expensive, Coding/Scripting Language must be learned, Steep Learning Curve

Flash is the standard for online web games. Flash is incredibly flexible and allows an indie developer to sell their game as a downloadable for PC, Mac or Linux or generate cash thru licensing, sponsorship, or online advertising of a web-based game. If you make an ad-supported flash game there’s great opportunities to get it onto a ton of free flash game portals. Marketing a free flash game is somewhat viral andrelates to the quality of the game. It’s relatively easy to get your game on a ton of flash game sites, so if people like it and keep playing it – you can earn some nice advertising loot. You can always sell the game online at places like Flash Game License. Flash is an excellent animation tool and offers the flexibility to do 2D or 3D games. The problem with Flash is that there is a learning curve and its user interface and scripting language almost guarantees that you’ll be purchasing some books. Flash takes a significant monetary and time investment to get the hang of before your game will hit the top spot on Newgrounds. However, I believe it to be one of the most flexible tools available to an indie developer. Adobe Flex and AIR just further enhance Flash’s set of features.

Torque 2D/3D Engines: $100 -$300
Pros: Incredibly powerful, Impressive graphics, Flexibility, 2D or 3D Games, Content Packs ($), All computer platforms and can port to iPhone, Wii, Xbox, and more, Good Level and Graphics Editor
Cons: Documentation is poor, Must learn TorqueScript, Helpful to have C# or C++ Knowledge, Separate 2D and 3D versions

Torque is really the solution that sits somewhere between the strictly coding options below and the point & click options above. You’ll need to learn TorqueScript in order to actually code your game and take care of all your events, but you’ll be able to drag/drop game objects and design levels in a pretty good and intuitive user interface. Best of all, once you code your game you can pretty much release it on any platform – iPhone, Wii, Xbox. Torque is very impressive graphically and has built in particle effects and other graphical goodies. It’s annoying that the 2D and 3D versions are different and that you have to pay more for the source code, Torsion editor, content packs etc. Object Oriented Programming Knowledge is certainly helpful and can give you unlimited flexibility with the engine. The biggest downfall of Torque is that the documentation is poor. There are some decent tutorials to build specific games, but none of the documentation lays out everything about TorqueScript’s idiosyncrasies very well. If you want to learn how to code, but want some visual assistance laying game objects out, Torque is a good solution.

BlitzMax / Blitz3D: $60-$100
Pros: Built for Windows, MacOS, and Linux, 2D or 3D Games, Cheap Multiplatform Option, module customization, GUI package ($), Streamlined coding/debugging
Cons: Have to learn Blitz BASIC coding language, No visualization of graphics, levels, etc.

I have tried out the BlitzMax Demo but never really used the program. There are a lot of Indies out there that swear by it though. It is certainly flexible and offers a nice streamlined coding and debugging platform, but you’ll have to learn Blitz’s scripting and BASIC coding language. BlitzMax is the first solution on this list that has no visualization of the game space, your graphics, levels, etc. It’s purely a coding environment and that will make it difficult for beginners.

XNA Game Studio: Free – Creator’s club $99/year
Pros: Xbox and PC Platforms, 2D & 3D Games, Easily get on Xbox Community/Indie Games, Cheap, XBLA sales are Great!
Cons: Requires C# programming knowledge, Microsoft Only – absolutely no Mac or Linux, Xbox Community Games Sales have been Poor, Microsoft Certification can be expensive for XBLA

XNA Game Studio Express is free from Microsoft and has some decent tutorials, videos, forums, and documentation to get you started coding your very own Windows or Xbox game. Like BlitzMax, XNA Game Studio is pretty much all code – there are no game visualizations to help you along the way. If you’re considering doing a hardcore action type game, this is certainly something worth downloading and trying out. You’ll need to be dedicated since you’ll need to learn Programming in C# to use XNA, but you can make any type of game that you can imagine 2D or 3D. It’s great that you can make a game for Windows with the software for free and then signup for the Creators Club and work at getting your game on Xbox. The bad news is that PC games require a lot higher requirements when made with XNA and additional installations (.net framework, C# redistributable, etc) which can frustrate customers. There’s also no way that Microsoft is going to support Mac or Linux OS in the future. The good news is that your game is easily ported to Xbox! Well, you can easily get on the Community/Indie Games Channel, but games have been selling poorly there…the most popular downloads being controller massage programs. If your game is really well produced and of a high quality, you can attempt to go the Microsoft Certification route for XBLA, but it’s expensive and time consuming. It is where the money is though.

There’s really way too many options to list here. Unity recently went free and Unreal Engine has adjusted its pricing too. There’s certainly the pure programming route (C++, Java, etc.) too. If you’re not a programmer, you’ll certainly be more successful staying near the top of the list, though Flash is an excellent starting point. Ultimately, whichever coding platform you choose will affect where you can take your game when it’s finished. Mac and Linux are consistently ignored by developers and Indies have seen that they have significantly higher sales and conversion rates from these users (though there are less of them). If you’re just starting Indie Game Development, it’s probably best that you stick to computers and keep the flexibility of some of the other choices in mind.