Welcome to my blog where I share my experience running a small company developing indie games.
The typical picture of a game studio has changed, with solo developers and tiny teams making an impact in the market. Bit By Bit Studios is an example — we’re run by one person, developing games with frequent collaborators.
By sharing data along with stories of struggles and opportunities, I aim to help others find their own path to success in the commercial games market.
Why should I listen to you?
Perhaps my experience will inform yours. I’ll tell you about myself and you can decide:
- I helped ship major titles on Wii, PS3, PSP, Facebook gaming, iOS, and Android during five years at a mid-sized studio.
- I’ve been indie since 2012 and have about $300,000 revenue in 10 years of business (whether that’s a lot or a little depends on your perspective).
- As for my personal life, I’m in my mid-thirties, live in the USA, and have a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science. I balance being a work-from-home game developer with having a family life (wife and two kids).
Here are the different tasks I manage for my business and games:
- Business Admin: Legal, Payroll, Accounting, Taxes.
- Project Management: Scope, Task Tracking, Version Control.
- Marketing: Social Media, PR, Advertising, Community Management, Kickstarter.
- Personnel: Art Direction, Music Direction, Pay/Bonus Structure Negotiation.
- Programming: Gameplay, Tools, Optimization, CI/CD.
- Design: Systems, Economy, Gameplay.
- Art: UI, Technical Art.
- Writing: Lore, Dialogue, World-Building.
- Sound: Sound Design, Implementation.
- Video: Video Editing, Trailer Production, Livestreaming.
Sean is sharing his experience trying to earn a living making indie games.
Since 2012, he has run Bit By Bit Studios from his home and has published 1 game, ran 2 Kickstarters, and made ~$300K revenue.
His next game is currently in development.