Today at Develop Conference, Capy’s Nathan Vella urged game developers to consider starting a studio with multiple people, rather than going it alone with the hope you can achieve the same sort of success story that often gets passed around. “The indie dream has become the expectation and the motivation,” he says. “Developers see the successes and believe they can do it too… I think you’re more likely to make a high quality game if you’re not working by yourself.” Putting a studio together rather than going it alone can help your outfit be more sustainable, he argues. Studios can potentially work on multiple projects at the same time, and can choose to take on co-development projects with other studios, or throw some time into side-projects. “People look at games like Braid and Minecraft and think it’s possible. It’s not,” he adds. “It’s super challenging to have high quality art, programming etc without lots of bugs.” “It’s extremely challenging to be that person. I think wearing many hats can ripple through your work.”
There are plenty of other advantages to being a studio rather than a solo venture too — most notably, if you have multiple talented people on your team, your chances of success increase. “The bar is high and getting higher,” says Vella. “More talented people make hitting the bar more likely.” Other advantages: “Being sustainable buys you time. Being a studio buys your focus… Being self-critical makes great games, and it’s easier to be self-critical in a studio setting… More diverse opinions make better games.” “Whatever independent development is now, studios need to make themselves sustainable,” he adds. “Ideal sustainability involves being able to mostly, or entirely, self-fund. Make a studio and be sustainable.”