How hard is it to sell software on your own?

[dirty_harry]

Hi first of all i'd just like to say i really respect you guys and your whole team for what you are trying to do.  I've followed you ever since you released the VGA version of kings quest 1.

I have thought many times of making my own 2D classic games and putting them out there for sale but i'm not sure about all the legal stuff.  The thing i'm most worried about is someone stealing my work and selling it for themselves.  To be protected do you have to buy a patent or something?  How much is that?

What hoops do you have to jump through before you can release something with peace of mind?

THanks

[GameDevChris]

Copyright automatically applies to any original work you create, so you don't need to obtain a special patent, particularly if you're making a game from a pre-existing genre or one that's based on a formulaic structure (which most adventure games are). If you want to register a trademark, that's a different story, though still entirely optional.

The biggest issue is general piracy. All developers, indie and mainstream alike, must contend with this menace. The best solution is to use a basic digital rights management system which allocates keys to paying customers, but isn't so complicated that it gives them trouble. Of course, if a game is popular enough, hackers are going to find a way past that. But pirates will always copy games, and there's not much that can be done about that. However, the vast majority of customers who are genuinely interested in the game will be willing to compensate your efforts.

The basic DRM solution is mainly intended to stop casual piracy. Say, someone copying the game for a friend. If they try to copy it, it'll simply revert back to the 60 minute trial mode. A lot of casual players don't want to risk messing around with broken pirated versions and so called keygens, which silently install backdoor trojans, keyloggers, worms, and viruses on their system, when simply paying the game's small asking price is a lot less hassle.

If you can make a game that people will enjoy, then it should start to sell itself. Start by submitting it to a few portals, and if it's well-received, that will lead to wider publicity, wider distribution, possibly with more offers coming in.

[dirty_harry]

Copyright automatically applies to any original work you create, so you don't need to obtain a special patent, particularly if you're making a game from a pre-existing genre or one that's based on a formulaic structure (which most adventure games are). If you want to register a trademark, that's a different story, though still entirely optional.

The biggest issue is general piracy. All developers, indie and mainstream alike, must contend with this menace. The best solution is to use a basic digital rights management system which allocates keys to paying customers, but isn't so complicated that it gives them trouble. Of course, if a game is popular enough, hackers are going to find a way past that. But pirates will always copy games, and there's not much that can be done about that. However, the vast majority of customers who are genuinely interested in the game will be willing to compensate your efforts.

The basic DRM solution is mainly intended to stop casual piracy. Say, someone copying the game for a friend. If they try to copy it, it'll simply revert back to the 60 minute trial mode. A lot of casual players don't want to risk messing around with broken pirated versions and so called keygens, which silently install backdoor trojans, keyloggers, worms, and viruses on their system, when simply paying the game's small asking price is a lot less hassle.

If you can make a game that people will enjoy, then it should start to sell itself. Start by submitting it to a few portals, and if it's well-received, that will lead to wider publicity, wider distribution, possibly with more offers coming in.

Oh ok...so piracy aside.  I can just develop a product and immediately start asking money for it?

Another thing I also was wondering was if I developed my product using windows or mspaint do i have to pay royalties to microsoft?  Or if I used a scanner to scan my artwork in do i have to pay the scanner company?   Sorry if i sound noob-ish.

[GameDevChris]

You don't have to pay any royalties or licensing to Microsoft to use those products because they're not included as part of your game. You'd simply need to own legal copies of any software you use to develop the game. If you use Theora for movies and vorbis/speex for audio then you can also avoid hefty licensing fees that you'd rack up using their commercial alternatives (i.e. DivX and MP3). Depending on which game engine you use, you may have to pay a licensing fee to the developer.

If you make a game that doesn't infringe on anybody else's trademarks or copyrights, then you can start selling it without any dramas. Although, making a game in itself it easier said than done. Also, for artwork, I expect that you'd want to use something a little more versatile than MS Paint, such as Adobe Photoshop.

[dirty_harry]

You don't have to pay any royalties or licensing to Microsoft to use those products because they're not included as part of your game. You'd simply need to own legal copies of any software you use to develop the game. If you use Theora for movies and vorbis/speex for audio then you can also avoid hefty licensing fees that you'd rack up using their commercial alternatives (i.e. DivX and MP3). Depending on which game engine you use, you may have to pay a licensing fee to the developer.

If you make a game that doesn't infringe on anybody else's trademarks or copyrights, then you can start selling it without any dramas. Although, making a game in itself it easier said than done. Also, for artwork, I expect that you'd want to use something a little more versatile than MS Paint, such as Adobe Photoshop.

Oh ok thanks..what about if i burn the game on Memorex CDs and when ppl buy a copy i mail the CD to them.  In that case I am using Memorex in my product and it is delivered to them so would royalties apply in that case?

Lol...i have a BS in Computer Science and am working on a Masters.  I am very well aware of the difficulty of making games.  Probably more than i should be.

[GameDevChris]

No, but you'd probably want to get a CD printing and duplication house to handle that process for you if that's the route you were going to take.

Releasing games on CD is not really the ideal way to go for indie developers, as if you don't sell out of stock you'll be left with a pile of inventory that's hard to move.  Making your game available as a digital download is by far the better option. This way, you have no inventory to maintain, you won't need to accumulate additional shipping & handling fees for your customers, nor personally send anything in the mail.

[dirty_harry]

No, but you'd probably want to get a CD printing and duplication house to handle that process for you if that's the route you were going to take.

Releasing games on CD is not really the ideal way to go for indie developers, as if you don't sell out of stock you'll be left with a pile of inventory that's hard to move.  Making your game available as a digital download is by far the better option. This way, you have no inventory to maintain, you won't need to accumulate additional shipping & handling fees for your customers, nor personally send anything in the mail.

Also I am very nervous about investing time into 2d adventure games.  Are they still a viable market?  Are people still willing to pay for them?  How can we compete in an ever growing 3d dominated playing field?

[GameDevChris]

2D adventures made as short to medium-length games and targeted at casual online portals can do quite well, as evidenced by Dave Gilbert's Blackwell series.

However, longer adventure games like Al Emmo are much more risky since they are very expensive to develop and there's no guarantee of making your development costs back, let alone profiting enough to make a livable income. Also, online portals may not want to take larger games on account of their larger filesize (or consumers may not want to download them for the same reason).

Developing shorter adventure games for a casual audience is the safest bet for someone who's starting out.

[dirty_harry]

2D adventures made as short to medium-length games and targeted at casual online portals can do quite well, as evidenced by Dave Gilbert's Blackwell series.

However, longer adventure games like Al Emmo are much more risky since they are very expensive to develop and there's no guarantee of making your development costs back, let alone profiting enough to make a livable income. Also, online portals may not want to take larger games on account of their larger filesize (or consumers may not want to download them for the same reason).

Developing shorter adventure games for a casual audience is the safest bet for someone who's starting out.

By the way what is an online portal?
How successful was the blackwell series?

[GameDevChris]

An online portal is a site like Big Fish Games.

As you can see, these sites offer a large number of casual games and some medium-length adventure games. And they all have 60 minute free trials. When a lot of portal sites agree to take your game, it provides exposure to a large audience and many more potential customers.