Gaming How To Start Your Own Games Studio, Pt 3

http://www.bit-tech.net/gaming/2008/06/15/how-to-start-your-own-games-studio-pt-3/1

Introversion's Mark Morris outlines the next stage; you've got an idea and a prototype, but what's next? Approaching a publisher, of course - but is that the right path for your game and what can a publisher do for you anyway? Mark discusses the pros and cons of indie distribution.

 

Thank you. I'm hopefully going to university soon to do Computer Science: Games and Virtual environments at Newcastle University, and eventually I'd like to develop games for myself. I've had a few ideas for games that I had about this time last year and I've been investing a lot of time into planning how I could develop them with a small team and get them to the market. These columns have been enormously helpful to me, this final one particularly. So thank you Mark and bit-tech, you've really helped me out a lot

 

I think that maby steam with the new Steamworks might be a good way to publish your games. And i includes some functions that you don't need to create yourself then. Including Anti-Piracy and -Cheating.

 

I reacon making mods for an existing game would be good way to get into that type of thing if youve never done it before.

 

I've considered that and while never done a full mod I've made about 5 maps for Unreal Tournament 3 using excellent tools and guides provided with the collectors edition of the game, and it's taught me quite a lot about the balancing issues that arise with making a multiplayer map. But however much you mod a game I've found your still restricted to the boundaries set by the original developer as to what the game can be, for example you could never make a good adventure game from the unreal 3 engine as it's designed for shooters only, and only REALLY heavy code altering could change that, and you'd probably be breaking the law doing so. For that reason I've never considered a full mod of a game, as it would never be the game I wanted. (Yes, it was good advise, but I'd rather jump in two feet first was the gist of that! )

And in reply to Millusdk, Steamworks is definitely the way I'd like to eventually publish, I think Valve are (as Carlsberg would say) probably the best company in the world, and after the phenomenal success of Audiosurf (I hear it outsold the Orange box in February) I'd love to do the same kind of thing.

 

Newcastle Uni?

Awesome, I'm off there in September to study Chemical Engineering.