mid_gen's Launch a Game Studio Thread
- Thread starter mid_gen
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Good luck dude, keep us updated!
Well, good news, the new thumbnails are doing the business. Some Youtube nerd stats incoming.
The key metrics with your thumbnails is the CTR (click-through rate), the % of people that actually click on your video when they see the thumbnail. As you can see from these charts from the first two vids....the uptick on both is from when I changed the thumbnails to the one with the shot of me. Youtubers are just wild about seeing people, which I guess isn't a surprise with all the AI slop around these days. Good news for future videos, the algorithm should give me a better run now with the improved CTR.
7% seems to be the magic number, if the algorithm can keep finding an audience that returns 7% CTR, it'll keep pushing the thumbnail at people. Dip below that and the algo views will tail off, and you'll be left depending on links or searches.
But for now, I finally have some time to start building my prototype. Getting the project setup and first bits of framework code....finally getting back into actually making the games.
The key metrics with your thumbnails is the CTR (click-through rate), the % of people that actually click on your video when they see the thumbnail. As you can see from these charts from the first two vids....the uptick on both is from when I changed the thumbnails to the one with the shot of me. Youtubers are just wild about seeing people, which I guess isn't a surprise with all the AI slop around these days. Good news for future videos, the algorithm should give me a better run now with the improved CTR.
7% seems to be the magic number, if the algorithm can keep finding an audience that returns 7% CTR, it'll keep pushing the thumbnail at people. Dip below that and the algo views will tail off, and you'll be left depending on links or searches.
Yes, the chats! Well, I can't be too specific...but my initial plan was...try and get a single game out as a one-man band, using freelance work for funding as necessary, and then expand to take people on and build a studio. But seems there's enough demand out there that if I can get the right people, then forming that team now could be a possibility. I.e. not just being a solo freelancer, but a proper studio with a full team to provide services. Been sending a lot of messages and have some face to face meetings tomorrow. Early days but think there's good way forward here.
But for now, I finally have some time to start building my prototype. Getting the project setup and first bits of framework code....finally getting back into actually making the games.
I have not touched Unreal Engine at work in a few years. It's custom AAA engines now in my job. What made you go for the former rather than the latter? Practicality and wanting to focus more on doing the actual game rather than spend 90% of your time doing (and burning money for it) the engine and the type of game you are going for?
I do tend to browse the D3D12 and Vulkan source in UE from time to time to see what they are up to in it next.
I do tend to browse the D3D12 and Vulkan source in UE from time to time to see what they are up to in it next.
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Why not a custom AAA engine? Because I don’t have a few million quid and a team of engine programmers to build one
Unless you’re doing something very simple, the economics of building your own engine aren’t going to make sense for the vast majority of developers. If you’re a AAA you’ve already got your own engine and engine team.
Unreal is fine, it’s no better or worse than various proprietary engines I’ve used (except Anvil which is ****). I don’t need to spend the time or money rolling my own engine, Unreal will work fine for all but the most niche cases, and the benefits of the industry knowledge out there are not to be sniffed at…..very easy to find Unreal services.
Recorded episode 3 today….bit of a themed one. This one is ‘Why I Quit AAA’….so a short update, then a chat/rant from me about the state of the AAA industry…don’t swear as much as I thought I might so only a little bleep sound fx needed 
Have actually started on the first game too, but that will be more for next week’s update.
Have actually started on the first game too, but that will be more for next week’s update.
Episode 3 up. Funny as I was sat there editing this video where I **** Ubisoft off, and I see the news popup that they're closing more studios and cancelled a bunch of projects (almost certainly including the doomed one I was working on until last year). Not a surprise.
Speaking of **** ups....I just realised I forgot to register for corporation tax and PAYE, so I'm not getting paid this month
Oops.Oh, let me know what you think of the editing....I was a bit more aggressive in the cuts this time to make it flow a bit quicker. Sometimes I find this a bit annoying but hopefully keeps people a bit more engaged rather than waiting for my pauses.
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Soldato
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I haven't watched the video so my feedback may be dickish rather than useful, but I can't stand it when there are endless tiny cuts. Normal speec isn't like that...I find it jarring
I think it's super annoying when people remove the normal pauses between sentences, so speech turns into a relentless monologue. I've tried to just cut out some of the dithering and umm-ing, as I don't script these vlogs and just wing it. Tried to do it in moderation so it just flows a bit better, as I also can't stand watching a YouTuber who just drags everything out for ages before getting to the point.
Soldato
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It's a trade-off, bit weird to watch all the cuts, but better for listening to while doing other stuff, not like I was really watching you walk anyway. Whatever helps you deliver decent vlogs without taking up too much time I guess.
As a web dev I totally feel your point about sinking loads of time into something which never launches. Even when something does launch it doesn't live very long anyway until it's acquired, retired, or replaced. For my ~20 years of work pretty much nothing I've built is in prod use currently. Some people have made hundreds of millions in the process, but not me ofc.
As a web dev I totally feel your point about sinking loads of time into something which never launches. Even when something does launch it doesn't live very long anyway until it's acquired, retired, or replaced. For my ~20 years of work pretty much nothing I've built is in prod use currently. Some people have made hundreds of millions in the process, but not me ofc.
Well that last video is doing the business, the algo seemed to be struggling at first finding the audience, but it seems to have got there and I've blown through 100 subs overnight, rapidly climbing, and it's compounding as people watching one video are watching the others. Good signs!
Kinda tweaked my back last night climbing, and the missus is busy all weekend, so I'm just going to push this prototype as far as I can over the weekend ready for the update next week.
It's not sustainable what I'm doing at the moment, doing 5 days a week on this fintech contract, and doing the Youtube and game development around it, really need to cut back the fintech hours soon or I'm gonna burn myself out.....but it's just hard to turn off the money tap! Need to bite the bullet and get on with it.
I did have a bright idea last night....as I alluded to in the last video, a big motivation for me is to create an in-person working environment again, and I've been thinking about the sums when it comes to hiring a dedicated room at the co-working space. I've spoken to a few Indies around, and most of them are just skint, and I'm not sure what the chances are of me being able to find people willing to share the cost......
Then I thought....what if they don't pay for it? It's not a huge amount of money, £1200 a month for a 4 person room (ish). I don't mind paying a chunk of it for myself......but what if I could create a kind of indie incubator program, and get some sponsors (including my company) to pay for the space, and award the space to local developers to collaborate and get their games off the ground? I think the idea has legs....
Kinda tweaked my back last night climbing, and the missus is busy all weekend, so I'm just going to push this prototype as far as I can over the weekend ready for the update next week.
It's not sustainable what I'm doing at the moment, doing 5 days a week on this fintech contract, and doing the Youtube and game development around it, really need to cut back the fintech hours soon or I'm gonna burn myself out.....but it's just hard to turn off the money tap! Need to bite the bullet and get on with it.
I did have a bright idea last night....as I alluded to in the last video, a big motivation for me is to create an in-person working environment again, and I've been thinking about the sums when it comes to hiring a dedicated room at the co-working space. I've spoken to a few Indies around, and most of them are just skint, and I'm not sure what the chances are of me being able to find people willing to share the cost......
Then I thought....what if they don't pay for it? It's not a huge amount of money, £1200 a month for a 4 person room (ish). I don't mind paying a chunk of it for myself......but what if I could create a kind of indie incubator program, and get some sponsors (including my company) to pay for the space, and award the space to local developers to collaborate and get their games off the ground? I think the idea has legs....
Soldato
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I can't remember where I saw it, but an alternative could be that you give them the space for "free" but take a (small) chunk of what they make. So you end up with royalties from their incubator.
...I remember where I saw it actually
Silicone Valley TV show
Soldato
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Look up a place called c4di in hull, maybe you can replicate that.
Yeah that looks cool. The coworking space I'm using is pretty interesting, it's actually run by an architecture & design firm, who basically bought up a much larger office than they needed, and run the coworking as a side hustle...seems to work well for them.
The channel is really taking off now...exciting times! New subs every time I refresh the page.
Still reading and watching, I'm especially interested in the YT channel side of things. It seems nowadays that documenting journeys like this intelligently and authentically can actually lead to being a bigger success than the original destination itself.
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The algorithm can do some very unsuspecting crazy things, it's a wonder people's lives change instantly once they get the exposure.
Finally had my first day actually sat able to focus on building something. So refreshing to just sit down and make stuff rather than all the meetings and drama of AAA 
Whiteboxed it at first but saw a decent asset pack for £11 so nabbed that to use as a placeholder.
I haven't actually talked much about this first game, will do in the next vlog, but FTL meets Homeworld probably sums it up.
Anyway you lucky people, here's a video of day 1's progress. (Unlisted so it's not public on the tube)
Whiteboxed it at first but saw a decent asset pack for £11 so nabbed that to use as a placeholder. I haven't actually talked much about this first game, will do in the next vlog, but FTL meets Homeworld probably sums it up.
Anyway you lucky people, here's a video of day 1's progress. (Unlisted so it's not public on the tube)