Great video. I'm a 62 year old clown who has been gaming since Pong came out in '75 or 76. Because I'm an idiot, I decided to make a self-funded game. We are (my grandkids help out with ideas and cold-blooded criticism) 2.5 years and nearly $30,000 USD into this. I have no clue how to make a video game but I am not afraid to piss away money (something I picked up from my ex-wife). I have bought store assets, had custom made assets created and run through multiple Unity devs. I have a playable demo of a low poly shooter with 10 maps but with no name. The only part I have done other than paying people is work on the maps. With help from the grandkids I modify demo scenes (thanks Synty and others). We just finished our first map from scratch. We bought assets and created our own map instead of using a demo scene. It was actually fun but it likely will not make it into the game. I have bought hundreds of assets (629) and spent $1,000.00's on devs to actually build the game and make it playable. Setting up the LLC & paying the Steam fee were the cheapest expenses. I can't imagine I will get my money back but I was OK with that from day one. If you really want to make a game I suggest you learn as much as you can about working in whatever engine you choose. I can manipulate demo scenes and pay people, that's it and that isn't enough. Trust me, (and my financial advisor) that is not how to make a viable video game especially if you want your money back or any kind of profit. Please be capable of doing more stuff yourself than I am. At my age I'm not learning how to code or any such thing but paying someone else to do that stuff is mighty expensive. At the rate we are going, I expect this game will be released by my grandkids the day after I die. Best of luck with your game dev dreams.
Thank you for sharing this! When you said you hired multiple game developers, does it mean that none of them were skilled, so you had to fire and re-hire? Because from my interactions with clients, they told me that they had bitter experiences with developers.
@nikhil-kulkarni 1 quit because they couldn't stand dealing with me because I don't know anything about game development and they thought I asked too many questions. They didn't want to answer questions. I fired another one because they refused to document what they worked and kept telling me most of what they did I couldn't see when playing around in dev build. Third guy has been outstanding. They answer my questions and account for their time I know what they are working on at all times. They also don't whine about all the stuff they need to fix because I always screw around with demo scenes with my grandkids. I hope this guy stays around until we're done with this madness.
@@MNfightingsaintsgaming Thank you for responding and sharing your experience! It seems that finding a good developer is like finding a needle inside a haystack. Wishing you good luck for your game!
Around $1,200, including courses, assets, and software licenses. The only thing missing is the Steam page art and some voice acting. I hope to recover some when I start to make dev logs, and will reinvest in the game.
One thing to not forget is the cost for running a business entity. Your goal is to deliver your game to thousands of customers, you absolutely want to have a limited liability company. Brings in some cost for setting up the company depending on where you live and running costs like accounting. Like, I don't mind rolling my own engine, but rolling my own accounting is where I draw the line. Been there, isn't something you want to take on if you don't know exactly what you're doing AT ALL.
I have spend at black friday arround $35 for character and bodyparts models (each model was just from 50cent but not more than $7), now I got enough characters for more than 10 games. All other enviroment assets that I own was as "free for this month" available, now is my assets collection in theory many thousands worth. Very important when it comes to assets are: 1. the license that you get, best are extended license or professional license .... always ready before you spend money 2. get informations about the creators, search videos of them in that they make or talk about their products 3. be careful not to use stolen or copyrighted assets like models or music, that means no Star Wars, Disney, Marvel, DC, Super Mario, ... etc 4. compare the prices on many stores, it's possible to save in some cases even over $150 for just a single 3d model
I probably spent too much on Unity assets for my game RoadHouse Manager. I have 227. No idea how much I spent but probably 2-3000 CAD I'd guess. I'm a solo dev who isn't much of an artist though, so most objects in my game are from purchased assets. I also now have almost every conceivable system asset that I need to make the game as I want it made. One huge good thing I found on assets though, and the whole reason why I chose Unity over Unreal when starting my game, was an amazing Unity humble bundle I got. It was like something like 60 assets for 30 bucks, or something. Was a terrific kick start to my program as I basically taught myself Unity at that time, so all the assets were a good guide on how to get stuff done. My game will unlikely make enough to cover my costs but that's fine for me, my main goal is to make a really fun game with a new design, the sort of game I wish existed but doesn't yet.
Been doing solo dev casually for a good few years now and the grind is real 😅 I realise that a little investment will be required if I want to successfully continue game dev without draining my soul 😂
Another great video. I'm enjoying going back and watching these. So I haven't finished calculating this years expenses. But I believe from 2021-2023 I spent on average $10k per year. I got some custom software, a new PC, some custom assets, some custom music bought quite a few Unreal marketplace assets to study and learn from. The highest cost is paying the tax man every year when I report these expenditures. So I would say that in total I am somewhere between $27-$40k if we assume 2024 matches the $10k average. Maybe this year was cheaper, I won't know till I'm done inputting everything. Do I expect to break even? Hard to say right now. I have enough audience that if a small percentage of them converted to sales then I am 100% breaking the $1000.00 in sales barrier. That's just from word of mouth and people watching me build my game. Hopefully next year we have a good kickstarter and I make this the best version of this game that can possibly be made and I won't really worry about breaking even and just enjoy that I made some badass art that I set out for people to enjoy. But there is a lot of work still left to do. I'll get on that after I take some downtime to recharge.
I spent the money for the steam store page, and so far made back ~$2000. For a very niche game with a very specific target audience, I am happy with the results. Next game will have broader appeal, hoping it will be well received!
How much have I spent on making a game? Nothing, I've never released a game. How much have I spent on assets for games I tell myself I'll make one day? $2500 over three years... Those Flash Sales man...
This is good. Yeah. We can do it all on our own. But what are the good places to spend a little money to maximally increase potential sales? Capsule art, etc. These little things are great to point out for sure
Another great video and i agree with over buying assets(I haven't bought one yet but saw others buying like crazy), I think if someone doesn't have a good focus they could easily fall into traps of buyings assets and spending more time just playing around with them. I am looking at 7-8k euros full expenditure for opening ltd company, music, sfx packs, localization(it's text heavy game :/) and some for marketing. Art and coding, I am ok with that :)
I know you are reading these and I know you think this genre is trash, but please look into games like Into the Radius and Z.O.N.A Project X VR. I did my research and they actually make enough money to sustain their games. I've played the first and really enjoyed it. The 3D inventory management and survival scavenger aspects really had an impact on me. The second one is made by a single developer. I know my chances are still slim, but the kind of game I want still isn't there but I see fragments of it. I want to put it all together and make something I'm proud of. Computer Science degree takes a lot of my time, but I am confident that in 4 years I can do it and I will prove it!
Hm, maybe 250 so far? Most of it on Humble, of course (a few courses to learn how to make anything with Godot, a music and sound bundle, a few other asset bundles). Only problem is for a while there was constantly something else i was asked to do and i lost all motivation to actually work on a game ...
I've currently spent about 1200$ which includes tutorials, assets, steam fee. I try to buy assets that can be reused later like my localization asset. Its my first game so most of my expectations are only about learning in general. So I'm not sure if I'm getting any of it back at some point. But thats okay.
Just commissioned some guy for $10 chiptune bgm. Its my first commission 😅. Because I dont have any music skills so instead of learning Bosca Ceoil or something, time to make someone do it for me.
To add, one game has recouped the Steam fee, and during the end of year sale a second will. One hasn't released yet (coming out next year), and two have released and will never earn back the Steam fee. I still consider myself a n00b, having been developing games "seriously" for less than two years.
@@skippyzk I like your question; how much your time is worth is actually very complicated and most people will probably have their own perspectives on it (which I like!). My perspective is: In a way, your time is only worth what others are willing to pay for. A $20/hr, full time job is willing to pay that amount, but only for 40 hours each week. This of course does NOT mean that your remaining hours past 40 are worthless. But let’s say that you’re a programmer at this $20/hr company. Your programming skill is worth $20/hr to this company, but your art skill might not be as developed and you could struggle to find even one person willing to pay you $15/hr for providing artistic services. If I have 15 hours of programming I need to do and 15 hours of art… but only have 20 hours to complete my game… I might consider paying someone up to $20/hr for 10-15 hours of art since the code I can deliver in that timespan is so much better than the art I could deliver in that same time. Hopefully, this approach will make the best possible game within my budget within the allowable time period. I don’t want to pay someone $100/hr for 10-15 hours of art because then it would take me 5x that time in programming at my day job to make that up if the game flops.
Great video. I'm a 62 year old clown who has been gaming since Pong came out in '75 or 76. Because I'm an idiot, I decided to make a self-funded game. We are (my grandkids help out with ideas and cold-blooded criticism) 2.5 years and nearly $30,000 USD into this. I have no clue how to make a video game but I am not afraid to piss away money (something I picked up from my ex-wife). I have bought store assets, had custom made assets created and run through multiple Unity devs. I have a playable demo of a low poly shooter with 10 maps but with no name. The only part I have done other than paying people is work on the maps. With help from the grandkids I modify demo scenes (thanks Synty and others). We just finished our first map from scratch. We bought assets and created our own map instead of using a demo scene. It was actually fun but it likely will not make it into the game. I have bought hundreds of assets (629) and spent $1,000.00's on devs to actually build the game and make it playable. Setting up the LLC & paying the Steam fee were the cheapest expenses. I can't imagine I will get my money back but I was OK with that from day one. If you really want to make a game I suggest you learn as much as you can about working in whatever engine you choose. I can manipulate demo scenes and pay people, that's it and that isn't enough. Trust me, (and my financial advisor) that is not how to make a viable video game especially if you want your money back or any kind of profit. Please be capable of doing more stuff yourself than I am. At my age I'm not learning how to code or any such thing but paying someone else to do that stuff is mighty expensive. At the rate we are going, I expect this game will be released by my grandkids the day after I die. Best of luck with your game dev dreams.
Thank you for sharing this! When you said you hired multiple game developers, does it mean that none of them were skilled, so you had to fire and re-hire? Because from my interactions with clients, they told me that they had bitter experiences with developers.
@nikhil-kulkarni 1 quit because they couldn't stand dealing with me because I don't know anything about game development and they thought I asked too many questions. They didn't want to answer questions. I fired another one because they refused to document what they worked and kept telling me most of what they did I couldn't see when playing around in dev build. Third guy has been outstanding. They answer my questions and account for their time I know what they are working on at all times. They also don't whine about all the stuff they need to fix because I always screw around with demo scenes with my grandkids. I hope this guy stays around until we're done with this madness.
@@MNfightingsaintsgaming Thank you for responding and sharing your experience! It seems that finding a good developer is like finding a needle inside a haystack. Wishing you good luck for your game!
I just dropped $260 on assets yesterday for our game.
The cost of following your dreams has always been the same.
It costs you everything you have.
Accurate.
Unironically cool and very yoink-able.
This is turning out to be true.
Perfect timing! About to start making games officially in January. Awesome video!
Around $1,200, including courses, assets, and software licenses. The only thing missing is the Steam page art and some voice acting. I hope to recover some when I start to make dev logs, and will reinvest in the game.
One thing to not forget is the cost for running a business entity. Your goal is to deliver your game to thousands of customers, you absolutely want to have a limited liability company.
Brings in some cost for setting up the company depending on where you live and running costs like accounting.
Like, I don't mind rolling my own engine, but rolling my own accounting is where I draw the line. Been there, isn't something you want to take on if you don't know exactly what you're doing AT ALL.
I have spend at black friday arround $35 for character and bodyparts models (each model was just from 50cent but not more than $7), now I got enough characters for more than 10 games.
All other enviroment assets that I own was as "free for this month" available, now is my assets collection in theory many thousands worth.
Very important when it comes to assets are:
1. the license that you get, best are extended license or professional license .... always ready before you spend money
2. get informations about the creators, search videos of them in that they make or talk about their products
3. be careful not to use stolen or copyrighted assets like models or music, that means no Star Wars, Disney, Marvel, DC, Super Mario, ... etc
4. compare the prices on many stores, it's possible to save in some cases even over $150 for just a single 3d model
my mental health, me finacial stability, my self esteem...
And sanity...
Some social life, some physiological (+ psych), but those aren't even close to costing your spirit when your X years big game is dead cold on arrival.
I probably spent too much on Unity assets for my game RoadHouse Manager. I have 227. No idea how much I spent but probably 2-3000 CAD I'd guess.
I'm a solo dev who isn't much of an artist though, so most objects in my game are from purchased assets. I also now have almost every conceivable system asset that I need to make the game as I want it made.
One huge good thing I found on assets though, and the whole reason why I chose Unity over Unreal when starting my game, was an amazing Unity humble bundle I got. It was like something like 60 assets for 30 bucks, or something. Was a terrific kick start to my program as I basically taught myself Unity at that time, so all the assets were a good guide on how to get stuff done.
My game will unlikely make enough to cover my costs but that's fine for me, my main goal is to make a really fun game with a new design, the sort of game I wish existed but doesn't yet.
Been doing solo dev casually for a good few years now and the grind is real 😅 I realise that a little investment will be required if I want to successfully continue game dev without draining my soul 😂
Another great video. I'm enjoying going back and watching these. So I haven't finished calculating this years expenses. But I believe from 2021-2023 I spent on average $10k per year. I got some custom software, a new PC, some custom assets, some custom music bought quite a few Unreal marketplace assets to study and learn from. The highest cost is paying the tax man every year when I report these expenditures. So I would say that in total I am somewhere between $27-$40k if we assume 2024 matches the $10k average. Maybe this year was cheaper, I won't know till I'm done inputting everything.
Do I expect to break even? Hard to say right now. I have enough audience that if a small percentage of them converted to sales then I am 100% breaking the $1000.00 in sales barrier. That's just from word of mouth and people watching me build my game. Hopefully next year we have a good kickstarter and I make this the best version of this game that can possibly be made and I won't really worry about breaking even and just enjoy that I made some badass art that I set out for people to enjoy.
But there is a lot of work still left to do. I'll get on that after I take some downtime to recharge.
Somewhere between 1 and 2K, and it isn't anywhere near what I would need to complete the game the way I had planned.
Good advice there.
[don't ask me to check my Asset store purchases... ]
Probably like 2000 on assets, steam, music
I spent the money for the steam store page, and so far made back ~$2000. For a very niche game with a very specific target audience, I am happy with the results. Next game will have broader appeal, hoping it will be well received!
How much have I spent on making a game? Nothing, I've never released a game. How much have I spent on assets for games I tell myself I'll make one day? $2500 over three years... Those Flash Sales man...
Men and games.
Women and shopping.
Devs and shopping game assets.
This is good. Yeah. We can do it all on our own. But what are the good places to spend a little money to maximally increase potential sales?
Capsule art, etc. These little things are great to point out for sure
Another great video and i agree with over buying assets(I haven't bought one yet but saw others buying like crazy), I think if someone doesn't have a good focus they could easily fall into traps of buyings assets and spending more time just playing around with them.
I am looking at 7-8k euros full expenditure for opening ltd company, music, sfx packs, localization(it's text heavy game :/) and some for marketing.
Art and coding, I am ok with that :)
The original title of the video had me worried
I know you are reading these and I know you think this genre is trash, but please look into games like Into the Radius and Z.O.N.A Project X VR. I did my research and they actually make enough money to sustain their games. I've played the first and really enjoyed it. The 3D inventory management and survival scavenger aspects really had an impact on me. The second one is made by a single developer. I know my chances are still slim, but the kind of game I want still isn't there but I see fragments of it. I want to put it all together and make something I'm proud of. Computer Science degree takes a lot of my time, but I am confident that in 4 years I can do it and I will prove it!
Everything...
-Thanos/GameDeveloper
Hm, maybe 250 so far? Most of it on Humble, of course (a few courses to learn how to make anything with Godot, a music and sound bundle, a few other asset bundles). Only problem is for a while there was constantly something else i was asked to do and i lost all motivation to actually work on a game ...
I've currently spent about 1200$ which includes tutorials, assets, steam fee. I try to buy assets that can be reused later like my localization asset.
Its my first game so most of my expectations are only about learning in general. So I'm not sure if I'm getting any of it back at some point. But thats okay.
I’m over 30k USD spent on my game - magnetite games if you are curious
Me too, and I haven't even figured out a name yet.
Just commissioned some guy for $10 chiptune bgm. Its my first commission 😅. Because I dont have any music skills so instead of learning Bosca Ceoil or something, time to make someone do it for me.
Interesting. I spent about $200 on my first game, and between $1000 and $2000 for each of the next four after that.
To add, one game has recouped the Steam fee, and during the end of year sale a second will. One hasn't released yet (coming out next year), and two have released and will never earn back the Steam fee. I still consider myself a n00b, having been developing games "seriously" for less than two years.
I spend like 1400$ on my new PC to make games, I pushed my laptop to its limits, so yea
Learning Blender and unreal engine 🚂
if you have a good enough game you have to put it anywhere including consoles.
Kindly remove or reduce that woofer like sound while editing or recording the video. ❤
Technically you can make an indie game totally for free, except you will have to pay with a lot of your time
What do you think you should price yourself at? I would say $20/hr minimum
@@skippyzk I like your question; how much your time is worth is actually very complicated and most people will probably have their own perspectives on it (which I like!).
My perspective is: In a way, your time is only worth what others are willing to pay for. A $20/hr, full time job is willing to pay that amount, but only for 40 hours each week. This of course does NOT mean that your remaining hours past 40 are worthless.
But let’s say that you’re a programmer at this $20/hr company. Your programming skill is worth $20/hr to this company, but your art skill might not be as developed and you could struggle to find even one person willing to pay you $15/hr for providing artistic services.
If I have 15 hours of programming I need to do and 15 hours of art… but only have 20 hours to complete my game… I might consider paying someone up to $20/hr for 10-15 hours of art since the code I can deliver in that timespan is so much better than the art I could deliver in that same time. Hopefully, this approach will make the best possible game within my budget within the allowable time period.
I don’t want to pay someone $100/hr for 10-15 hours of art because then it would take me 5x that time in programming at my day job to make that up if the game flops.
I would say 0.30$ - 0.70$ @@skippyzk
@@skippyzk no less than what you would be making full time in the field you were most currently working at and surviving on.
Literally said clarified and elaborated on the beginning of video more than once. Wouldn't have raised an eyebrow were this was just a quote.