1. Getting Started in Independent Game Development
With
Psychometric Studios Interactive, LLC 1

2. Who We Are:
Making games and art that make a statement, make you think, and keep you entertained.
Make Your Cognitive Wheels Turn
Introductions
What We Do
Our Mission Statement
Intro of each panelist, what they do during the day, what they do for PSI 2

3. So You Want to Make Games…
Getting Everything Legal
Be sure to talk with a lawyer and accountant!
Cost-effective websites to help you get started:
Legal Zoom
IRS.gov
Legal Match
Type of Business
Venture Capital Vs Crowd Funding Vs Personal Funding
You have an idea, and want to make a game…. Where do you go from here?
Making sure you’re legal-
Talk to a lawyer AND accountant to make sure everything is set up properly – websites to help you
Prevents you from getting in trouble with the government and lays the way to making money!
Decide what type of business you want to have:
LLC
Partnerships
Incorporation
This is why talking to both a lawyer and accountant are important! They will know which type of business model is best for your start up and how to set up contracts vs employment and pay rates
Venture Capital- Someone gives you money to start your start up, but expects payment in return- typically with interest. Basically a loan
Crowd Funding- good way to get people interested, but also typically has a time limit to raise funds and must be creative to keep people intersted
Personal Funding- comes from your own pocket. Have to be careful to keep business and personal funds separate to avoid legal woes! 3

4. Building Your Team Working Solo Working with a Team
Very difficult, but not impossible
Full creative control
No time limits or deadlines unless you want them
Little accountability
Easier to get everything done
Sound boards to bounce ideas off
Clashes may occur
Deadlines important!
Creative people with creative ideas!
Working alone is hard, but not impossible.
Many people have been successful at making games solo- however its very difficult, especially when you have another job to make the money to be able to make games.
Working solo gives full creative control, but no accountability to keep things moving
Its nice to have other people help keep you on track when you get stuck or lose interest
When working with a team, you have other people who are depending one you, so don’t mess it up for them, too, even if you’re the boss! You want to keep you team happy and wanting to work with you!
Spent 1 year struggling on own, built a team in 2 months, great progress! 4

5. Picking Your Development Tool
Many options are available
Varying levels of difficulty
Coding experience may or may not be required
Costs vary, though many are free
Consider you and your team’s capabilities when deciding
Consider scalability and support
You have an idea, and want to make a game…. Where do you go from here?
Making sure you’re legal-
Talk to a lawyer AND accountant to make sure everything is set up properly – websites to help you
Prevents you from getting in trouble with the government and lays the way to making money!
Decide what type of business you want to have:
LLC
Partnerships
Incorporation
This is why talking to both a lawyer and accountant are important! They will know which type of business model is best for your start up and how to set up contracts vs employment and pay rates
Venture Capital- Someone gives you money to start your start up, but expects payment in return- typically with interest. Basically a loan
Crowd Funding- good way to get people interested, but also typically has a time limit to raise funds and must be creative to keep people intersted
Personal Funding- comes from your own pocket. Have to be careful to keep business and personal funds separate to avoid legal woes! 5

6. Tips for Good Teamwork Time constraints
However long you think something will take, triple that. And then double it to be sure.
Development time will shorten as you gain experience as a team.
“When your body says ‘I’m done,’ you’re only 40% done.”
Have fun, but be professional!
Above all, communicate!
You have an idea, and want to make a game…. Where do you go from here?
Making sure you’re legal-
Talk to a lawyer AND accountant to make sure everything is set up properly – websites to help you
Prevents you from getting in trouble with the government and lays the way to making money!
Decide what type of business you want to have:
LLC
Partnerships
Incorporation
This is why talking to both a lawyer and accountant are important! They will know which type of business model is best for your start up and how to set up contracts vs employment and pay rates
Venture Capital- Someone gives you money to start your start up, but expects payment in return- typically with interest. Basically a loan
Crowd Funding- good way to get people interested, but also typically has a time limit to raise funds and must be creative to keep people intersted
Personal Funding- comes from your own pocket. Have to be careful to keep business and personal funds separate to avoid legal woes! 6

7. Easy Options GameMaker: Studio Stencyl 2D games
Little-to-no coding required
Drag-and-drop
Free version (w/ watermark) available
Multiplayer games
EX: Hotline Miami
2D Flash games
Drag-and-drop
Incredibly simple
No coding required
Complex projects may not be possible
“Building with LEGOs”
EX: Impossible Pixel
Working alone is hard, but not impossible.
Many people have been successful at making games solo- however its very difficult, especially when you have another job to make the money to be able to make games.
Working solo gives full creative control, but no accountability to keep things moving
Its nice to have other people help keep you on track when you get stuck or lose interest
When working with a team, you have other people who are depending one you, so don’t mess it up for them, too, even if you’re the boss! You want to keep you team happy and wanting to work with you!
Spent 1 year struggling on own, built a team in 2 months, great progress! 7

8. Medium Options RPG Maker Unity 3D 2D role playing games
Scripting only required for complex operations
Free with cheap (often on sale for under $100) pro version
Non-tradtional RPGs hard to do
EX: To the Moon
2D and 3D games
Code in C#, JS, or Boo
Extensive asset store
Free version available
Can develop on PC, Mac, and Linux
Can make builds for just about any platform
EX: Gone Home
Working alone is hard, but not impossible.
Many people have been successful at making games solo- however its very difficult, especially when you have another job to make the money to be able to make games.
Working solo gives full creative control, but no accountability to keep things moving
Its nice to have other people help keep you on track when you get stuck or lose interest
When working with a team, you have other people who are depending one you, so don’t mess it up for them, too, even if you’re the boss! You want to keep you team happy and wanting to work with you!
Spent 1 year struggling on own, built a team in 2 months, great progress! 8

9. Hard Options Unreal Engine CryEngine 3D games Need to know C++
Now free with 5% royalties after earning $3000/quarter
Can build for just about anything anymore
Top-notch graphics
Easy debugging
EX: Gears of War
3D games
Beautiful weather and environmental effects
Supports all major platforms
Need C++ knowledge
Non-FPS titles difficult
Royalty free, but costs $50 - $150 per month
EX: Crysis 3
Working alone is hard, but not impossible.
Many people have been successful at making games solo- however its very difficult, especially when you have another job to make the money to be able to make games.
Working solo gives full creative control, but no accountability to keep things moving
Its nice to have other people help keep you on track when you get stuck or lose interest
When working with a team, you have other people who are depending one you, so don’t mess it up for them, too, even if you’re the boss! You want to keep you team happy and wanting to work with you!
Spent 1 year struggling on own, built a team in 2 months, great progress! 9

10. Other Options Cocos2D Construct 2 Marmalade Game Salad Source 2
Lumberyard
Fail Fasts are games or projects you make quickly to explore ideas, tools, and techniques without the concern of it being a success
If working with a team- lets you see the strengths and weaknesses of each member, where and with who they work best, and can be used as a learning experiences
Don’t use your best ideas on a fail fast!
BUT, feel free to put them out there for free or low cost 10

11. Other Useful Tools Adobe Creative Cloud
Photoshop, Illustrator, and Audition will see heavy use
Create nearly every asset you’ll use
Blender
Open source tool useful for creating 3D models and textures
Slack, Trello, Skype, Dropbox, etc.
Keep your team connected and organized
Fail Fasts are games or projects you make quickly to explore ideas, tools, and techniques without the concern of it being a success
If working with a team- lets you see the strengths and weaknesses of each member, where and with who they work best, and can be used as a learning experiences
Don’t use your best ideas on a fail fast!
BUT, feel free to put them out there for free or low cost 11

12. Fail Fasts: What Are They?
Quick games or projects
Don’t worry about it being a break-out hit
But if it is, that’s awesome!
Learning tools and experiences
Fail Fasts are games or projects you make quickly to explore ideas, tools, and techniques without the concern of it being a success
If working with a team- lets you see the strengths and weaknesses of each member, where and with who they work best, and can be used as a learning experiences
Don’t use your best ideas on a fail fast!
BUT, feel free to put them out there for free or low cost 12

13. Quick Shot Art and Concepts
Some of our quick shot concepts and music, with a quick turn around 13

14. Making Games Accessible
Colorblindness
Dyslexia
Special fonts for dyslexic players 14

15. Making Games Accessible15

16. Getting People Involved
Social Media Presence
Keep people interested with sneak peeks and information
Get involved with your fan base!
Networking
Get out there and socialize!
Make friends with others in the industry. They might have helpful tips!
Have Fun! 16

17. Where to Find Us: PsychometricStudios.com
Facebook.com/psychometricstudios
Twitter.com/psi_llc 17