Burning Ambition Part 1: Start burning your dreams into reality

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Burning Ambition Part 1: Start burning your dreams into reality

by Christopher Buckner on Feb 27, 2008 at 11:00 AM

gamertell burning ambition logo “Burning Dreams into Reality” is Burning Man Studios’ motto and, frankly, there couldn’t have been a better one. Burning, kicking, screaming and clawing is what a independent studio has to do if they have any hope of getting noticed, pickup or funded in any way.

So, what makes a company a company then? Is it millions of dollars for production? A large team of workers? Or having a physical building which to call your own? These are all things that we think of, or hope to achieve one day. The truth is, that most independent gaming companies don’t have these luxuries. The question really is, do these things define you as a company?

Well, they certainly help, but they do not define a company.

In this industry, in order to have any measure of success, you will have to do all the leg work your self, at first. While there are billions of dollars being made worldwide every year in the gaming industry, that is by no means a reason for investors, governments or publishers to give out large sums of cash for ideas. The lessons of the Internet crash in the late 90’s proved one thing, and that is you must first show your worth to anyone that might wish to give your company or game any capital.

There are really only three things that anyone hoping to create their own game company should do first. All the big dreams and talk mean nothing if these three things aren’t meet.

1. Form the company.

Don’t say you have a company in name alone. Spend the money, time and effort to actually get your company down on paper. Some countries, such as the United Kingdom, might require you to have a premises for your company. Others might want you to jump through hoops and do a little dance before you are official. Regardless, it is important to get your company grounded and legal. This, even at its smallest level can prove, not just for any future investors, publishers or team members that you exist but also to your self that you are ready and willing to fight for your dream.

2. Build your intellectual property.

It isn’t good enough just saying that you have the next great first person shooter or MMO locked away in your head. It isn’t even good enough to have a few dozen pages writing down of what you want to do. If you are going to start your own company or just work on a small game, you have to make sure that your IP is in check. Take the time, even if it takes months (and it will) to develop your game idea fully. You’ll need bibles, design documents, character sheets, level design, music write-ups, (all of which can often reach thousands of pages) before you ever ask anyone for a dime. Don’t think you can do it your self either. If you are not a writer, don’t try to be one. Find someone that has the skill and knowledge to developer the story and ideas into a single, or multiple documents. (We’ll go over more of story and IP development in our section about this in the coming weeks)

3. The Team

Perhaps the most common mistake that anyone will make is believing that because you have hired 30 people in two months, that is all you’ll need to develop your game. The sad truth is, while most of the people that join your project will be excited at first, most, if not all, will loose interest and leave for a number of reasons. Everything from work, school and life in general will break your team apart in time. Even if there is cash involved, people will still depart the project. This is unavoidable, so what should you do?

The Team doesn’t really apply to how many people you have, but really only should apply too those that are most devoted, have something to gain or at stake in the project/company, and willing to work their asses off. If you find these people, (and good luck) even if it is just you and one other person, they’ll be the one’s responsible for the company or game becoming a reality.

These as I have said, are the three main things that you should first focus on before you ever take that grand leap of faith into the unknown. At the very least, if you have completed all three of these steps, you should know one way or another if your dream of making it your own company or game, will ever happen.

Read all 10 weeks of “Burning Ambition: How to make your mark on the videogame industry:”