Gaming, Anyone?
G'day kindred! I joined this community a few days back on a tip from my local SBDC. It's heartening to see so many passionate folks discussing and advancing their ambitions! I wrote this article to summarize mine, but here, I'll break it down backwards starting from our long-term objective.
Ultimately, we seek nothing less than a total private sector revolution. We aim to achieve it by instigating a surge of crowdfunded worker cooperatives. We aim to achieve that by offering start-up grants to nascent co-ops. And we aim to fund that by taking a chunk of the lucrative media market.
Phase 1: Produce and publish one video game; games are among the surest ways to turn 5-6 figures into 7+. The market is starved of new ideas, and market leaders are woefully corrupt. The industry needs more color and class, and Bifrost aims to bring it!
That's the plan in a nutshell. I can detail specific games, market research, financial projections, and moral stakes, but I'm still working to leverage that information to secure a revenue stream. Despite the struggle, I'm sure of this path: the gaming industry is just that vulnerable. The industries we'll target beyond it are only slightly less so ;P.
Anyone else tracking, exploring, or curious about potential gaming ventures? Bifrost could use more ambitious allies, but there's room for plenty more players!
This comment was deleted 6 months ago
Thanks for posting! Glad to have the input of an industry veteran =). The short answer to your question ("what do you want to do?") is make a freemium game: a fantasy beat-em-up with amazing animation, impactful combat, and a lean narrative. It'll be the first of many innovating across time-tested genres to add new mechanics to the medium.
I shared some of the research that inspired this plan in a response to another IndieHacker (Hacker?) above, but if you have specific points/questions re: observed realities, planned titles, target markets, etc., I'd be happy to learn and/or elaborate! There are definitely risks and challenges, and the long-term plan is audacious, but I feel these dire times demand nothing less.
This comment was deleted 6 months ago
G'day Jesús! Happy to share =). I appreciate your curiosity.
The hurdle we're facing is that early funding. It's necessary for the prototype, but most sources require a prototype if not a much longer history. Even so, I'm sure we'll succeed; our purpose has widespread support, and folk have proved willing to show it in funding.
This comment was deleted 6 months ago
You're tempting me onto my soapbox, sir! For brevity's sake, suffice it to say that emerging paradigms prize ambition over access. They demand disruptors who can ponder what's possible even as we discuss what's difficult. If you want to have that conversation, I'm here for it: you'll find I'm plenty aware of the barriers old powers have put in place.
Otherwise, I'm still grateful for your curiosity up to this point. I always enjoy a chance to show my work!
This comment was deleted 5 years ago
Thanks for checking out our content and sharing your perspectives! Sounds like you know your stuff. I'm gonna compartmentalize here to answer your concerns as succinctly as possible:
Yes! Specifically, a freemium fantasy beat-em-up with amazing animation, impactful combat, and a lean, high-stakes narrative. The prospect of expanding opportunities for a more varied community of creatives is the "why" of our ambition, but indeed, the game is the "what."
Regarding the profit potential of our projects: relevant SteamSpy and SteamDB figures researched under kind guidance from Recurver Game Design. Happy to share the results! Regarding market abuses/opportunities: a wide cross-section of journalists and YouTube pundits curating insights from industry insiders. I don't read the data as a guarantee, but it paints a compelling picture. I link to a couple of my trusted sources below.
You're right about this one! Indie darlings like Vanaheim and Hades, plus Eastern offerings like Genshin Impact, are still innovating on familiar concepts in compelling fashion. But in the mainstream (AAA) market, shooters, Soulslikes, sports, and open-world grindfests dominate. AAA games cost millions to make, though, so we're gonna start small. If we're prudent with our passion, I'll bet we start production on our first AAA release by 2026!
Sufficient crowdfunding can protect Bifrost against predatory publishers and keep us connected to the very people our tales intend to please. With their support, we can become, remain, and thrive as another alternative to abusive employers in gaming and beyond. The faster we grow, the more jobs we'll be able to offer in more fields with generous pay and comprehensive benefits. The talent we need will flock to that promise of stability: Google just proved it (and punished the devs for believing -_-).
Yessir! With the right allies, Bifrost will make games to delight, inspire, and sometimes, to terrify. We'll innovate like the best of indies while matching the mainstream for scale. There'll be hurdles for sure, but I don't believe it's impossible to plan for success: if Supergiant Games can launch one strong release after another, why couldn't we?
Thanks again for posting! I hope this clarifies our purpose and perspectives. If you wanna know more, feel free to reach out again =).