BIZ DEV // STUDIO MANAGEMENT | BETA
director, so perhaps we should look at developing a sequel to one of the Bitmap’s great games. Work-for-hire is a great option of financing
your team and getting valuable experience on the right platforms/genres. Any spare time can be used to design and develop your own IP. Approach publishers for work for hire, but the best option will often be the larger developers in your local area.
DON’T GIVE AWAY EQUITY LIGHTLY When you are starting-up you often need to raise capital. The problem is that your company is not worth much so any external investors will require a large slice of your studio. If you definitely need the external investment to implement your plans then go into it with your eyes wide open. Never give away control, so retain more than 50 per cent for the founders. You as the founders of the company have a clear vision and should be trusted to carry that out. Otherwise, why are they interested? After all, in those early stages it is the management team that they are investing in. At some stage you will need to raise
further money and to do that you will often need to give away more equity, so keep some back. Early investors can become less relevant, as the company outgrows them; in those circumstance you may need to buy them out to regain control.
Even if you are a small company
approaching a very large global corporation, if you have the right background, enthusiasm and idea anything is possible.
Simon Prytherch, Chromativity
Strategy Board and The University of Abertay in Dundee. The TSB run various competitions and you should check their site regularly; some will require collaboration with a university. Most importantly, look at the Smart scheme – formerly known as Grant for Research and Development. This has three levels of funding: Proof of Market (<£25k), Proof of Concept (<£100k) and Development of Prototype (<£250k). Abertay runs the prototype grant funding
for start-ups and small businesses. This gives a grant of up to £25k for developing a prototype of your own intellectual property, a great way to get funding for a game demo. Is it worth looking at crowdfunding models like Kickstarter? You need to have a strong following to have a good chance of success: a very experienced team that are well known for the type of game you are going to make, a famed personality at your studio, a brilliant pitch or video, a sequel to a fondly remembered game and a great idea. As an example, Mike Montgomery from the Bitmap Brothers is our development
DEVELOP-ONLINE.NET
DO NOT PUT ALL YOUR EGGS INTO ONE BASKET You need multiple revenue streams to survive the ups and downs of business. This ensures that if a game fails to sell as per your forecast, or if the project is cancelled, then you have other options.
Ideally a small studio needs at least three
sources of income at any one time to become robust and secure. Chromativity currently has in development a console title, a PC title and a smartphone/tablet title. We learnt the hard way. Last year we had
two major projects and both were cancelled. We will never again allow one or two projects to support the whole studio. I am continually looking at new
opportunities and making sure our dev teams have continuous work to keep revenue flowing. This is a full-time task for someone at your studio, usually the CEO/MD.
DON’T FORGET FINANCIAL PLANNING Budgets, cash flow, balance sheets and profit and loss might sound boring and send you to sleep, but it is so important that you pay attention to these things. After all, a business
has to make money or it does not exist. You want to concentrate on making great game, so recruit someone to do this for you – a financial controller or financial director. You will be surprised how much you will learn from them, and it will free you from the stress of the financial minutiae so you can concentrate on the bigger picture.
OWN IP The only real way to increase the value of your company significantly, is to own your own intellectual property. This can be games or underlying software technology, or preferably both. You will almost certainly need to do some work-for-hire to help with cash flow, but at the end of the day that only gives you short-term experience and cash. Keep working on your own games and technology in the background, so that one day you can reap the benefits.
CULTIVATE PARTNERSHIPS There is only so much a small developer can do with their limited cash and resources. Assistance from key partners will add to the production value of your game. These could be brands, people, other dev/service companies, publishers or investors. I will give you a couple of examples. We decided we wanted to make the
ultimate fitness title. It would not only use the latest Kinect and Move technology in your living room, but would track you wherever you went – the gym, for a run, cycling or just walking the dog in the park. We decided that Adidas would be a great partner for this and approached them directly. Fortunately for us they were also thinking along the same lines and Adidas miCoach for consoles was born. Even if you are a small company approaching a very large global corporation, remember, if you have the right background, enthusiasm and idea, anything is possible. When we wanted to make a new type of
football game for mobile, we wanted to add some authority. We approached Andy Gray and Richard Keys, as their voices give that quality feel to any football title. They have also been a great help in designing Fluid Football and have even invested into the project. Their recent Sony Academy Award for the Best Sports Radio Programme adds further impact to their involvement. My advice is to keep talking and
networking with people and other companies, especially developers and service providers from your county. If you want to make the best games then you need to collaborate with companies that provide code, graphics, scripts, audio, motion capture, localisation services, film production and data processing. Be creative, maybe they will accept a slice of your back-end rather than having to pay them up front. Or maybe, you can swap technology and services. To conclude, you should make plans, exploit your niche, get funding from multiple sources, keep control of your company, develop your own IP, cultivate partnerships and do not forget financial planning. Combined with your talent, enthusiasm and drive, this is all you truly need to succeed.
www.lightningfishgames.com
JULY 2012 | 41
A clear company strategy gave Chromativity a chance to work with Addidas on miCoach, says Simon Prytherch (above)
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