Excellent video, thanks for sharing your experience. I self- published my first game on Steam 2 years ago and realized how difficult it is to gain any visibility. I'm now in the process of building a demo for my 2nd game (this time with Unity--I heard the same advice about game engines). I then plan to make a pitch deck and hope to pitch to publishers like you have. Best of luck to you on your game, it looks cool!
Very well presented, a lot of good bits in these 6 mins. I had never thought about that custom engines are risky for investors but working in the game industry since 7 years this absolutely makes sense to me, I just never thought about it from the investor's standpoint.
it's crazy to me that a custom game engine would be considered negatively. While I understand its increasing risks, to me it mainly demonstrates mastery and expertise.
If you had shipped games with this engine previously it would maybe be a somewhat lesser risk, but there is a long path from a "fun game that I can show off on my computer" to a "shippable game that runs on thousands of different machines, all with different drivers, input devices and display devices"
Using your own engine definitely makes you more impressive as a candidate to work for a studio. Successfully releasing a solo project with a publisher is a different story. The game could look good on the surface, but as far as they know it's a mess under the hood and will lead to headaches as they try to get it out the door. And they won't have anyone on their team that can help without (potentially) lengthy onboarding.
thanks for sharing. I have so far written to 2 publishers with a simple email. I didn't want to reveal much about my game, I just wanted to know how they would support me, especially financially. I didn't come across like a beggar. After 14 days I received an answer from both of them. I was surprised at the lack of professionalism. I heard from one of them that they could help me with the translation. no information about the financial. and he wanted me to send a pitch that I never sent. The other publisher said that my game didn't suit them, but that I should write to them for the next game. So to this day I don't know how many dollars a month they would be willing to pay, or whether they would even do that.
Publishers get tons of pitches everyday. You would need to reveal all the parts about your game that they would care about; things that would tell them how much to expect. The fact you got 2 for 2 responses is astonishing, especially without revealing much.
@@TimBeaudet But it could also be that a publisher uses the information from the pitch to pass it on to its own developers, if they run a studio themselves. I'll definitely create a pitch at some point, but before I give my ideas away to strangers, I'd like to make an initial contact to find out whether I can trust them. I would also like to determine whether the performance brings me an advantage or whether it just costs me money. I was definitely surprised by the 7/30 rating, but maybe they weren't serious either?
@@Eculeus007 Eh, ideas are not the hard part in game development, and even if five teams create a game around the same "idea" they will be five different games. If you're this concerned about trusting a publisher with your idea, don't get a publisher and go the self publishing route. Nobody is gonna shell out money for a vague idea,. I have no idea what you mean 7/30 rating, but- if you got 2 for 2 responses, negative or not, that is an amazing response rate, just do your thing.
I've been working on a game for a few months now, in unity. This is my first serious project I've decided to make after messing around with unity for about 6 years now. Needless to say, as a solo dev making a competitive multiplayer game, have a publisher or not is pretty much not a choice, the skills and cost required to maintain a server is simply too much for me alone. I know you say that I shouldn't be going in with that mindset but I simply don't see any other options. Although If I were to pitch, I do think I have a slightly higher chance of getting a publisher since multiplayer games with authoritative servers and rollback (in other words, cheater proof), are harder to make, and thus, rarer in the industry. Your video really put me in perspective, pitching a game require more research and effort than I thought. The percentages of publisher not interested seems is pretty high too. I'm not quite sure where to start once I'll get a fully working demo. I should obviously playtest this game a lot to polish the gameplay, but then what? Should I gather marketing material? Should I analyze how the gameplay truly feels in the game I made, since it's probably different from the actual game design I was targeting? Am I even experienced enough to even pitch a game?
You do have other options, perhaps not as fast or great as you desire but keep in mind that going with a publisher just to have a publisher will be more likely to land an unfavorable deal. Being able and WILLING to walk away is the only thing that will help you find a level partnership. The best option, imho, would be to save up from a day job. If you see significant promise, then perhaps a loan/debt or another investor could work; but these don't come without negatives and with debt you are taking a risk and should have a solid backup plan. You should definitely gather marketing material to put a pitch together and have a solid demo of the game to show with polished gameplay and graphics. I think analyzing how the gameplay truly feels is something you should be doing at the prototyping stage, and if you need to return to that before continuing then do so. You can't gain experience without doing things, so, sure you might not be experienced enough, but really how else will you get there? Just keep going and good luck!
@@TimBeaudet Honestly, I don't care much about unfavourable deals. I'm a 16 year old student with enough money for my studies. I don't want to start spending my savings on this project. I've spend 0$ on it so far, so I've nothing to lose. The best thing that could happen is that I release a game that gets a lot of attention, that would probably help me get a job later. Anyways, thanks for the tips.
Thanks, and look up the "Boxlieter method" which boils down to looking at review counts and multiplying by some values to estimate it. It certainly is not 100% perfect, but you can get ballpark numbers.
@@TimBeaudet i got several game ideas just dont know how to pitch them to companies been working mainly on character designs and content thanks for the response appreciate it.
@@Reel_Real_Cullen_Mathews Well, you don't really just pitch an idea, and as far as how to pitch, I discussed the high-level overview of how to do just that, or at least how I went about approaching it.
Thanks for the suggestion, I noticed on export that it was more echo'y than normal. I don't know why that was as I made no changes, but will aim to do better!
I would also love to have more cars but I am not sure the value outweighs the cost to create. I would want each car to feel slightly different, but to do that would require a very, very, fine balance since all the levels have been created already. Maybe for Turbo Boom 2!
All i can say is thanks and I have a lot of questions regarding a indie or studio startup can you please help me in a chat, I cant even sleep properly thinking about those questions !
I wouldn't necessarily jump to changing your engine or approach just because a publisher denied you, but it is something to consider, and perhaps that is worthwhile for you. It is extremely important not to chase a publisher just for sake of having a publisher. They just need to mitigate their risks, just as we do.
I have this game idea I would like to give to fromsoftware. A detailed idea of a souls like game that only fromsoftware can develop the right way. Does anyone know a way I can reach them?
Hi Tim thanks for the video! It’s really helpful for us. The pitch deck link is broken. Can you please share the pitch deck with me. I need it for reference!!
A few reasons, first I've always enjoyed the technical side, but also it gives me full control over doing things how I want, complete ownership and not depending on other companies. Obviously it has downsides. I have two videos where I talk about the positives of building an engine ( th-cam.com/video/3L6EkTjbbvg/w-d-xo.html ) and the positives of using an engine ( th-cam.com/video/3L6EkTjbbvg/w-d-xo.html ).
I am a digital artist and I have a characters and a story that I am really passionate about. I do not know how to build games myself. I only have the idea. Can I still pitch an idea to a game developing company instead of a publisher?
BIRD ! (is your a bird a fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conure_veuve ?) By the way, a friend and I think your camera is moving too much ! Maybe slow it down and accelerating at some moment ? Thanks for the video
Tim: Talking about importance of publishers and how to pitch
Me: *P A R R O T*
I laughed. Monky is a great master.
Super well organized and presented, thorough and informative!!
Thanks, I'm glad you liked it!
The definition of positive thinking 5:08. Good luck with everything Tim.
Excellent video, thanks for sharing your experience. I self- published my first game on Steam 2 years ago and realized how difficult it is to gain any visibility. I'm now in the process of building a demo for my 2nd game (this time with Unity--I heard the same advice about game engines). I then plan to make a pitch deck and hope to pitch to publishers like you have. Best of luck to you on your game, it looks cool!
Very well presented, a lot of good bits in these 6 mins. I had never thought about that custom engines are risky for investors but working in the game industry since 7 years this absolutely makes sense to me, I just never thought about it from the investor's standpoint.
Yea it wasn't something I had considered until this lesson came in either! Glad to the experience can help others!
Thanks for sharing, this was so level headed and well done. Invaluable information for someone thinking about approaching publishers.
Great video, thanks.
As a side note, you look exactly like Michael Scott in his Lazy Scranton video (sans beard obviously). Love it.
Glad you enjoyed it!
This was really well explained! Thank you for this!
Glad you enjoyed it!
I would love to see the parrot making a video about game dev.
I think this is his video, I'm just his puppet.
it's crazy to me that a custom game engine would be considered negatively.
While I understand its increasing risks, to me it mainly demonstrates mastery and expertise.
It is the increase of risk and the decrease of publisher's knowledge, tools and integrations that would otherwise "just work".
If you had shipped games with this engine previously it would maybe be a somewhat lesser risk, but there is a long path from a "fun game that I can show off on my computer" to a "shippable game that runs on thousands of different machines, all with different drivers, input devices and display devices"
@@kulman4295 THIS.
Using your own engine definitely makes you more impressive as a candidate to work for a studio. Successfully releasing a solo project with a publisher is a different story. The game could look good on the surface, but as far as they know it's a mess under the hood and will lead to headaches as they try to get it out the door. And they won't have anyone on their team that can help without (potentially) lengthy onboarding.
The birds just chillin 😂❤
the birb on your shoulder is a great addition to an already interesting talk
Thanks, Monky is a good master.
Thanks for sharing
You're welcome!
thanks for sharing. I have so far written to 2 publishers with a simple email. I didn't want to reveal much about my game, I just wanted to know how they would support me, especially financially. I didn't come across like a beggar. After 14 days I received an answer from both of them. I was surprised at the lack of professionalism. I heard from one of them that they could help me with the translation. no information about the financial. and he wanted me to send a pitch that I never sent. The other publisher said that my game didn't suit them, but that I should write to them for the next game.
So to this day I don't know how many dollars a month they would be willing to pay, or whether they would even do that.
Publishers get tons of pitches everyday. You would need to reveal all the parts about your game that they would care about; things that would tell them how much to expect. The fact you got 2 for 2 responses is astonishing, especially without revealing much.
@@TimBeaudet
But it could also be that a publisher uses the information from the pitch to pass it on to its own developers, if they run a studio themselves. I'll definitely create a pitch at some point, but before I give my ideas away to strangers, I'd like to make an initial contact to find out whether I can trust them. I would also like to determine whether the performance brings me an advantage or whether it just costs me money.
I was definitely surprised by the 7/30 rating, but maybe they weren't serious either?
@@Eculeus007 Eh, ideas are not the hard part in game development, and even if five teams create a game around the same "idea" they will be five different games. If you're this concerned about trusting a publisher with your idea, don't get a publisher and go the self publishing route. Nobody is gonna shell out money for a vague idea,. I have no idea what you mean 7/30 rating, but- if you got 2 for 2 responses, negative or not, that is an amazing response rate, just do your thing.
that Quaker parrot is so cute 😍😍
So you got a publisher or not?
I've been working on a game for a few months now, in unity. This is my first serious project I've decided to make after messing around with unity for about 6 years now. Needless to say, as a solo dev making a competitive multiplayer game, have a publisher or not is pretty much not a choice, the skills and cost required to maintain a server is simply too much for me alone. I know you say that I shouldn't be going in with that mindset but I simply don't see any other options. Although If I were to pitch, I do think I have a slightly higher chance of getting a publisher since multiplayer games with authoritative servers and rollback (in other words, cheater proof), are harder to make, and thus, rarer in the industry.
Your video really put me in perspective, pitching a game require more research and effort than I thought. The percentages of publisher not interested seems is pretty high too. I'm not quite sure where to start once I'll get a fully working demo. I should obviously playtest this game a lot to polish the gameplay, but then what? Should I gather marketing material? Should I analyze how the gameplay truly feels in the game I made, since it's probably different from the actual game design I was targeting? Am I even experienced enough to even pitch a game?
You do have other options, perhaps not as fast or great as you desire but keep in mind that going with a publisher just to have a publisher will be more likely to land an unfavorable deal. Being able and WILLING to walk away is the only thing that will help you find a level partnership. The best option, imho, would be to save up from a day job. If you see significant promise, then perhaps a loan/debt or another investor could work; but these don't come without negatives and with debt you are taking a risk and should have a solid backup plan.
You should definitely gather marketing material to put a pitch together and have a solid demo of the game to show with polished gameplay and graphics. I think analyzing how the gameplay truly feels is something you should be doing at the prototyping stage, and if you need to return to that before continuing then do so. You can't gain experience without doing things, so, sure you might not be experienced enough, but really how else will you get there?
Just keep going and good luck!
@@TimBeaudet
Honestly, I don't care much about unfavourable deals. I'm a 16 year old student with enough money for my studies. I don't want to start spending my savings on this project. I've spend 0$ on it so far, so I've nothing to lose. The best thing that could happen is that I release a game that gets a lot of attention, that would probably help me get a job later.
Anyways, thanks for the tips.
Wow, this is a great experience :D Can you share how you could know the number of units sold of the other games similar to your?
Thanks, and look up the "Boxlieter method" which boils down to looking at review counts and multiplying by some values to estimate it. It certainly is not 100% perfect, but you can get ballpark numbers.
@@TimBeaudet Thank you for sharing that :D
question, did you sign an nda? or is it needed?
I suspect an NDA would be used with most publishing deals, it is a common and standardized contract that serves both parties.
@@TimBeaudet i got several game ideas just dont know how to pitch them to companies been working mainly on character designs and content thanks for the response appreciate it.
@@Reel_Real_Cullen_Mathews Well, you don't really just pitch an idea, and as far as how to pitch, I discussed the high-level overview of how to do just that, or at least how I went about approaching it.
Great video ! Maybe you could improve the audio quality next time ?
Thanks for the suggestion, I noticed on export that it was more echo'y than normal. I don't know why that was as I made no changes, but will aim to do better!
How to write an email to publishers ?
This Is super cool, id like ti see more cars
I would also love to have more cars but I am not sure the value outweighs the cost to create. I would want each car to feel slightly different, but to do that would require a very, very, fine balance since all the levels have been created already. Maybe for Turbo Boom 2!
Love the Jazz Hands
Better than butterfingers!
All i can say is thanks and I have a lot of questions regarding a indie or studio startup can you please help me in a chat, I cant even sleep properly thinking about those questions !
I had this problem too. using cocos creator prevented me from getting a publisher. I guess I will need unity next time.
I wouldn't necessarily jump to changing your engine or approach just because a publisher denied you, but it is something to consider, and perhaps that is worthwhile for you. It is extremely important not to chase a publisher just for sake of having a publisher. They just need to mitigate their risks, just as we do.
did you end up publishing with noodle cake studios? if so I have some questions for you, as we too are considering them to publish our game.
looking at the steam page looks like his own studio is the publisher, not a 3rd party
3 years and the game is still not released? Why?
Because it was put on hold for logistics and has not been the focus point for a variety of reasons. It will come.
@@TimBeaudet Ok, good luck :)
I have this game idea I would like to give to fromsoftware. A detailed idea of a souls like game that only fromsoftware can develop the right way. Does anyone know a way I can reach them?
Could have just said in the first 30 seconds, use a reliable engine and we'd have all saved 5 minutes.
Hi Tim thanks for the video! It’s really helpful for us. The pitch deck link is broken. Can you please share the pitch deck with me. I need it for reference!!
Thanks for letting me know, some files moved around and the link broke! It has been fixed now and should work for you.
@@TimBeaudet thanks tim
Good info tho
The pitch deck can be found here: tyrebyt.es/turbopitch
Please who published your game?
The video states this, but I didn't work with a publisher as of this time.
@@TimBeaudet but what publisher did you pitch your game turbo boom to?
@@TimBeaudet please I'll like to know the publisher I haven't seen any for the past 6 months
Nice video, why did you decide on using a custom engine?
A few reasons, first I've always enjoyed the technical side, but also it gives me full control over doing things how I want, complete ownership and not depending on other companies. Obviously it has downsides. I have two videos where I talk about the positives of building an engine ( th-cam.com/video/3L6EkTjbbvg/w-d-xo.html ) and the positives of using an engine ( th-cam.com/video/3L6EkTjbbvg/w-d-xo.html ).
I am a digital artist and I have a characters and a story that I am really passionate about. I do not know how to build games myself. I only have the idea. Can I still pitch an idea to a game developing company instead of a publisher?
OG MASK STUDIO! We are upcoming developer, and we just finished making our first game, with unreal engine 5.. can u help us get a publisher.
The tips I left in the video are the best I've got. Make a pitch deck, search for publishers of your type of game, and see if they are interested!
hi i found your youtube :)
Hello there, didn't know it was hiding from you, hope you enjoy!
And I wondered why no good games was coming out
drop it on the Nintendo Switch
GGWPGL
BIRD !
(is your a bird a fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conure_veuve ?) By the way, a friend and I think your camera is moving too much ! Maybe slow it down and accelerating at some moment ? Thanks for the video