如何才能成为一名独立游戏开发者？

作者：Alistair Doulin

你是否曾经想过要成为一名独立游戏开发者？你是否不想再受制于游戏发行商，或者你只是想借此进入游戏产业？不论你带着何种原因，可以说所有独立游戏开发者的目标都是制作出一款好游戏。我有很多游戏产业中的朋友最近都决定开始制作自己的游戏了。所以我想凭借自身的经验以及好友们（那些着手独立开发游戏并已经完成了一些独立游戏）的经验，阐述如何才能成为一名独立游戏开发者。

indie game dev(from indiegamemag.com)

这是否适合你？

独立游戏开发并不适合所有人。开发独立游戏的利润并不大，这就使得你还需要一份“正常工作”才能养活自己，同时你还需要在游戏开发初始阶段带着极低的报酬努力工作着。但是好处是，你将成为自己的老板（和项目经理），可以因此拥有更多的奖金报酬，并获得更多自己所创造的价值。

如果你对独立游戏开发充满激情，那么上述这些负面因素也许就不再那么重要了，但是我建议你还是要花些时间思考下。你必须清楚地知道独立游戏的开发时间，同时你还必须为自己设立明确的目标。我建议你最好能与之前做过这项工作的人交流下，他们会告诉你哪里会出现绊脚石，以及你在做了这个决定后生活会发生什么变化等。

设定具体而现实的时间表

很多独立游戏开发者在花了数个月甚至是数年时间开发游戏后，却因为失去了兴趣而中途放弃。为自己设定一些现实可行的目标将能帮你减少最糟糕的失败情况（即不能完成游戏的制作）。一直朝着一个明确的目标（如开始设计游戏，进行测试，最后发行）前进。主要的目标常由一些重要的小目标构成。最后这些小目标将被分解成为一个行动列表。当你闲暇的时候，你应该思考自己下一步要怎么走。这不仅能够帮你节省时间，同时也能为你在今后的发展过程中提供一个明确的方向。

组建一支优秀的团队

说实话，很少有游戏是仅凭一个人就发展起来。你的开发团队需要包含一些编程，设计，美工，音频制作，项目管理等领域的人员。即使你一个人拥有所有的技术，至少也需要另外一个人来帮你分担工作，以及更多的人来为你的游戏出谋划策，寻找“乐趣因素”。

你需要去寻找那些对游戏开发充满激情的人。对于独立游戏开发来说，激情比能力更重要。当你的成员们能胜任工作了，你就更需要去挖掘那个对自己工作充满最大激情的人。在开发初期和中期，独立开发者往往缺少足够的报酬，而这时能推动他们前进的最大力量便是激情了。

不要在游戏快完成且一切就绪的时候突然在团队里增加一个新成员。你需要的是一个至始至终完整的团队，这样才能让你们制作的游戏充满更多热情。

每个人都有自己的时间安排。所以你应该事先解决这个问题，让团队里的所以成员达成一致的意见。列出一个初步的时间安排表，让队员们能够心里有数，并因此更好地安排自己接下来的工作。

要有一份日常工作

绝大多数梦想成为独立游戏开发者的人都需要一份日常工作。你应该知道，如果你仅依靠存款来开发游戏，那么当这些存款用完的时候，你将不得不重新回到工作岗位上做一名全职员工，因为那时你已经身无分文无法养活自己了。

尽可能地找到一份待遇最好的工作，不论这份工作是多么无聊。你只要想想这份薪资能够短期赞助你的独立游戏项目即可。你也可以找到一份非游戏领域但是却能让你施展才能的高薪工作。程序员可以接手商务项目，美工人员可以成为自由职业者，设计师可以从事技术写手，项目经理也可以承担一些“普通”的软件项目。好好想想自己能做些什么工作，并尽可能地多花些时间在你的游戏上，因为你还需要为其开发支付很多成本。

学习项目管理

不论你喜不喜欢，都需要学会如何进行项目管理。在独立游戏开发团队里，很少会有一个专门从事项目管理工作的人，所以这一任务将合理分配到整个团队中。项目管理任务包括时间，计划安排，并确定这些安排是否合理。只有确立一个明确的目标，成员们才不会轻易失去方向和动力。敏捷开发（游戏邦注：是把一个大项目分为多个相互联系，但也可独立运行的小项目，并分别完成，在此过程中软件一直处于可使用状态）方法论（如迭代式增量软件开发过程）就是一个能帮助维持项目管理的好方法。

有许多不错的工具能够帮助你更好地进行项目管理，以下我将列举出其中几个：

Acunote（用于专案管理）

Jira（集项目计划、任务分配、需求管理、错误跟踪于一体的商业软件）

FogBUGZ（让BUG管理，修复一体化）

讲究现实主义

确保你所做的每件事都讲求实际性。总是追求完美将让你的游戏变成一个技术范本，而这正是玩家最不喜欢的游戏类型。人们会花钱购买好游戏而非好技术。当我在进行独立工作时，我总会让自己变成一个“实用主义分子”。给自己设定一个实际的目标并按照这个目标行动，才不会让自己陷入不必要的困境中。

不可低估时间和金钱投入

当你选择了独立游戏开发后，你将会发现自己不得不投入比预期更多的时间和金钱。我所知道的所有独立游戏开发者都投入了比自己预期还多的金钱和双倍的时间于游戏开发中。你需要不断调整时间安排，让你的时间安排表更加符合实际需要。当你的安排出现了变动，你需要让自己保持清醒，并确保所有的队员是否愿意按照安排继续工作。

我建议你们可以先估计下游戏开发所需要的时间和成本，并将这个数值乘以3。然后看看自己是否愿意投资这些时间和金钱于游戏中（并且你是否支付得起），或者你可以相对地缩小游戏的范围以缩小成本节约时间。

尽早确立游戏雏形

尽早确立一个游戏测试雏形。作为游戏开发者，你很难用客观的眼观去评判你的游戏，所以你需要参考其他人的观点。听取别人的反馈，并在别人认为你的游戏糟糕透顶时停止制作。花费数个月的时间制作一款低劣的游戏真的很没有意义。你可以不断创造出一些游戏模型，让其他人了解你的想法。

警惕游戏功能累赘的情况

首先找到一个有趣的元素，然后只制作需要的部件。因为你是一名独立游戏开发者，所以别人不会要求你制作出一款AAA级游戏。人们当然也不会对低价产品寄于过高的期望。很多独立开发者告诉我，他们曾经试图改变游戏功能，但却因此测底毁了原先的计划安排。尽可能地让你的游戏设计不要过于夸张，从小游戏做起，一步一步进行，那么你将有可能取得最后的成功。选择什么样的平台将帮助你确定是否能制作相对应的小游戏。

选择适当的平台

PC，iPhone和网页对于独立开发者来说都是不错的选择。不论你做什么样的选择，都是以报酬为代价进行的一种“风险投资”。电脑游戏都比较大，因此需要更大的风险，但是它却能为你赚得更多利润。对于第一次开发游戏的你来说，网页平台是个不错的选择，但是你可不要期望能从上面赚得大把金钱。

关于Flash小游戏的盈利问题仍有很多争议，不幸的是，这一平台现在看来还不大成熟。玩家们还没有准备好为小游戏掏腰包。

结论

所以，这篇文章可以说是帮助你准备成为一名独立游戏开发者的清单。这条道路极为漫长并艰难，但是却值得你付出一切的努力。集中于这个目标并并做出明智的决定，你将获得巨大的成功。

游戏邦注：原文发表于2009年11月2日，所涉数据和事件均以当时为准。（本文为游戏邦/gamerboom.com编译，如需转载请联系：游戏邦）

Guide To Becoming An Independent Game Developer

Have you ever thought about becoming an indie game developer?  Has your game company just gone under, sick of working for publishers or do you just want to break into the games industry?  Whatever the reason, one thing that rings true for all Indie developers is the goal of making a good game.  A lot of friends in the games industry have recently made the decision to “go Indie”.  I thought I’d write up my guide to becoming an indie game developer taken from my experience and the experience of friends both starting out and with completed independent games.

Is it for you?

Indie game development isn’t for everyone.  The pay is low, you typically need a “day job” and you need to work extremely hard for little reward at the beginning.  It’s not all bad though as you are your own boss (and project manager), the monetary rewards can be higher and the reward of creating something of your own is overwhelming.

If you’re passionate about making games then the negatives might seem inconsequential, however I’d recommend taking some time to think them through.  You need to be well informed about how long indie games take to develop and you need to be realistic with the goals you set.  My biggest advice is to talk to people who have done it before.  These guys can tell you where the stumbling blocks are, and give you a realistic view into what life will be like once you take the plunge.

Set Concrete, Realistic Milestones

Many indie games are killed by a lack of interest after a few months or years of development.  By keeping your goals realistic and achievable you are reducing the chances of failing in the worst way, by not completing the game.  Always have one primary goal you are heading towards (e.g. alpha, beta, release).  The primary goal should be made up of smaller, measurable goals (e.g.  implementing level 5).  Finally these smaller goals should be broken up into a constant “to do” list.  If you have any spare time, you should know exactly what you should be working on next.  This cuts down on procrastination and helps you have a clear direction for the coming days and weeks.

Find a Great Team!

Realistically, there are few games that can be created by a single person.  Your team needs to cover all the bases – programming, design, art, audio, project management.  Even if you have all these skills, having at least one other person will half the amount of work you have to do and double the number of people contributing to game ideas and “finding the fun”.

Find people who are passionate about game development.Passion trumps ability when it comes to independent games.  As long as the team member is good at their job, it’s more important to find someone who’s passionate then the very best in their field.  The lack of short and medium term rewards from indie game development means the team will be rely on their passion to make it to the end-game.

Don’t expect to “fill the gaps” at the end of a project by slotting someone in once everything else is done.  You need a well rounded team from the outset so all areas of the game get enough love and attention.

Different people have differing levels of time they can invest.  Work this out up-front and all agree on your level of commitment.  Roughly schedule the entire game so everyone is area of expectations and can commit to the duration of the project.

Get a day job

Most people will need a “day job” to pay the bills while they live the dream of being an indie developer.  Be careful if you plan on living off your savings as they disappear quickly, and there’s nothing worse than having to go back to working full-time because you ran out of money.

Find the highest paid job you can, no matter how boring.  Think of it as a short-term solution to the problem of funding your own indie game.  You can probably find a higher paid job outside the games industry by looking at similar industry that also use your talents.  Programmers can take on business contracts, artists can go freelance, designers can become technical writers and project managers can work on “normal” software projects.  Use your imagination and focus on having as much time as possible to work on your game while still paying the bills.

Learn project management

Love it or hate it, project management needs to be done.  Indie teams rarely have one person dedicated to project management, and so the task is shared throughout the team.  This includes scheduling, planning and making sure they are met.  A great way for people to lose focus and motivation is not have a clear plan for the project.  Look at one of the many agile development methodologies (e.g. scrum) as a great way to keep from bogging down in project management.

There are plenty of great tools available to help with project management, here are a few I’d recommend looking at:

Acunote

Jira

FogBUGZ

Get pragmatic

Be pragmatic in everything you do.  Aiming for perfection will give you a great tech demo that no one will buy.  People will pay for a great game, not great technology.  Since working for myself I’ve stepped into what I call “Fanatical Pragmatism”.  Do the absolute minimum required to achieve your current goals without digging yourself into a corner.

Overestimate time and money

Everything always takes longer and costs more than you expect when you turn indie.  All the indie developers I know have spent far more money and have taken over double the time they first expected.  Constantly update schedules to keep a realistic target for your milestones.  When the schedule starts to slip, be realistic and evaluate if everyone is happy continuing.

My recommendation is to estimate how long the game will take to create and how much it will cost and multiply these values by three.  Either you’ll be happy working on the game for this long (and can afford to) or you need to cut back the scope of the game.

Make constant playable builds

Aim for a playable prototype as early as possible.  It’s difficult to be objective with your own game, so you need to reply on other people’s opinions.  Listen to their feedback and stop if your game is no good.  There’s no point spending months developing a game that’s no good.  Constantly create playable demos and show everyone you know.

Keep it small and watch feature creep

Keep the design tight and focussed.  Find the fun parts first and build only what’s necessary.  You’re an indie developer so people won’t expect a AAA title.  Aim for a lower price point and people’s expectations will be lower.  All the indie developers I’ve spoken to have had major feature creep causing their schedules to blow out.  The smaller you can start your design out, and keep it that way, the more success your project will have.  Your platform choice will help you keep things small…

Pick the right platform

The best choices for an indie developer are PC, iPhone and web.  The specific choice comes down to risk versus reward.  PC games are generally larger and therefore higher risk, however they also have a greater chance of making good money.  Web games are particularly good for a first game, just don’t expect to make much money.

There is a lot of debate at the moment about monetizing flash games and unfortunately the platform still seems a little too immature.  People just aren’t prepared to pay for a flash game.  There are numerous ways around this (like micro-payments), LostGarden has a great series on this.

Conclusion

So this is a general list of things to prepare you for becoming an independent game developer.  It’s a long, slow slog, but it’s worth the effort.  By staying focussed and making intelligent decisions as you go you’ll put yourself in a great position. （source:doolwind）