Developing for Consoles as an Indie in 2015

Developing for Consoles as an Indie

in 2015 Sarah Sexton, Voxelles

Kevin Geisler, Young Horses

Before we begin…

Get upStand up

Come on put your hands up!

“May Be With You”

Why it’s OK to care about what we have to say: Sarah is a…

Microsoft Technical Evangelist The only games evangelist in Chicago

Unity Indie Game Developer Presented game at last ICG meeting

SheBuildsGames.com blogger Interviews with female developers

Voxelles: Women in Game Original member & organizer

Development Co-FounderInternet Famous

Why it’s OK to care about what we have to say: Kevin is a…

COO of his own company

Young Horses programmer & producer

Critically acclaimed indie game developer

DePaul University B.S., Computer Games Development

WAY MOREInternet Famous

Getting on Consoles as an Indie in 2015 Consoles are closed platforms. They demand quality over quantity

(unlike app stores).

To prove you are serious, you should:

Be a Registered Company or Sole Trader

Have a Static IP (Required for developer/publisher support websites)

Have a “track record”

Have a VAT or Tax number

“The Big Three”

XBOX ONE (Microsoft)

PS4 / PS Vita (Sony)

WiiU (Nintendo)Games are serious business.

What do you mean, “Track Record”? “One shipped game, three years’ experience.”

…More like guidelines than actual rules.

More of a way to ward off people that aren’t serious.

Console-makers want a legal business entity.

Sole Trader (Single Individual)

Corporation (Group)

C-corp

The corporation itself is a taxable entity

S-corp

The individual is a taxable entity

Partnerships

LLP (Limited Liability Partnership)

Nintendo and Sony seem to be more lax about track record than Microsoft.

Do I look like a businessman to you??

What’s this about a Static IP address?

For web security, Sony requires a static IP. A lot of indies can just use services such as Open VPN, through a server.

Sites like DigitalOcean.com let you rent out a virtual private server.

Microsoft requires two-step authentication, but does NOT require a static IP.

Nintendo only requires a single username and password to look at documents on their website. You still have to encrypt files uploaded, however.

Breaking Code: Dad-hat Hacker

The Process begins with…

Console-makers (Microsoft, Sony, Nintendo) expect simultaneous release across all consoles.

In the mind of the console-maker, if the features are the same, the release date ought to be the same.

Otherwise, there should be unique features to the platform to justify a late arrival.

Another work-around is simply renaming the game (example, “Gold Edition”)

What is the “Parity Clause”?

Your Name

Address

Website

Games already released

Expensive Items Required: Errors & Omissions Insurance

This covers Intellectual Property & Copyright violations, etc.

Using an insurance broker, the cheapest E&O insurance you might find could be to the tune of around $2,000.

Optional: Foreign Country Rating boards

To release in foreign countries, your game must be rated by the official ratings boards, PEGI (Pan-European Game Information).

This can also cost roughly $2,000, depending on the country.

United States requires ESRB rating, approx. $800

Maintaining your game’s website URL

Hardware (USB & video cables, etc.)

Video capture device for making a trailer

But I have a family to feed…

Microsoft

Apply for the ID@XBOX program.

If accepted, you receive two (2) XBOX ONE DevKits and a Unity Pro license for free.

This process may take several weeks / months.

Overwhelmingly large number of applicants

People often do not fill out the form correctly, so Microsoft cannot contact them

If you know someone in the ID@XBOX team who is willing to stick their neck out… ;)

If you know a Microsoft Evangelist, she may be able to help! ;)

Reach out on a monthly basis to Microsoft:

Send game-play videos!

Send a PC build! www.xbox.com/developers/ID

Xbox One

As an indie, it may be too late for the Xbox 360.

Parity clause:

Case-by-case

If not releasing cross platforms simultaneously, all console makers will want something special.

Kinect, special character model unique to that platform, a special name

www.xbox.com/developers/ID

Sony

As an indie, PS3 is still worth looking at if you’re using Unity.

Everything is negotiable. You can barter for what you need.

Timing

Exclusivity length

Marketing & funding

Pub Fund:

Sony doesn’t own your IP rights

You can get an advance on sales/royalties in exchange for limited platform exclusivity.

www.nohurdlesjustgames.com

PlayStation

Sony is the only platform who does actually demand:

an attached file proving that you are a registered company

an attached file describing the game you want to develop (for example, a GDD)

.PDFs are preferred

Sony requires a static IP address.

Response time from Sony is fast – only 1-2 weeks.

Sony generously doles out DevKits.

www.nohurdlesjustgames.com

Nintendo

As an indie, Wii is pretty much dead.

Apply for Nintendo’s Self-Publishing Program.

Choose the way you want to develop (or both):

Unity

Nintendo Web Framework

May take a month to get a response, or maybe none at all.

They loan DevKits for “1 year”

There is an opportunity to buy refurbished DevKits in addition to what you are loaned for about the cost of a PC.

www.WiiU-developers.Nintendo.com

Console Development Environment

SDK is downloaded from each company and installed.

DevKits are connected over a local network.

Visual Studio integration allows deploying to consoles and loading files from PC over the network, without explicitly making and pushing builds.

Tools available for profiling bottlenecks on Xbox and PlayStation platforms.

Additional tools are included for final packaging, which can be cumbersome.

Console Design Considerations

Naming and branding guidelines must be adhered to for release.(Proper names for buttons, proper usage of capitalization.)

Important visual elements must be within TV-safe margins.

User management and controller assignment edge cases must be thoroughly tested.

Requirements must be met for load times, warnings, and other issues related to maintaining general consistency on each particular platform.

Additional items like achievements, saves, leaderboards, generally require a fair amount of implementation time.

Community

If the console-makers don’t believe you have a good game, they will not be quick to get back to you.

If you show great promise as a developer, all 3 of these companies have opportunities to loan/give you their Dev Kit for free.

The Chicago games community is very supportive!! Indie City Games (obviously)

Chicago Unity 3D MeetUp

Indie City Co-Op + weekly Friday Indie Lunch

Voxelles: Chicago’s Women in Game Development

Chicago Gaming Union

International Game Developers Association (IGDA)

Indie Video Game Developer Association

Questions?

Thank you:

http://gamasutra.com/blogs/SlawaDeisling/20150223/237040/How_to_get_on_consoles_as_an_Indie.php

http://www.gamedevblog.com/sixty-second-shooter/

Kevin Geisler, Phil Tibitoski, & Devon Scott-Tunkin for consultation!

Fan artists for Octodad fan art!

Shameless Plugs:

Voxelles: Chicago’s Women in Gaming

SheBuildsGames

Chicago Video Game Law Summit

“Octodad: Dadliest Catch”

I Make Games Project YouTube Channel

Games for Everyone

Play for Change Lab at DePaul CDM