Article from: BBG
Author: 怪物马戏团
we attended the Weplay Exhibition. The vibe there was amazing, featuring Chinese domestic indie games and console games.
I met some ingenious indie games producers in the indie game section. Their eye-catching game style attracted players’ attention at the first sight. Among these producers, I interviewed an interesting bro about his indie game production story.
He is NPC, the producer of card game— Endless Voyage. I knew him by serendipity from a post they released in NGA before this exhibition.
The post was so pure and simple that I found it very amusing: NPC asked a question, he have invested over million in indie game, how many purchases could pay back his investment? As he might probably sink his knees on the washboard if not.
First from left: NPC
As for a two-year production game, one million has done little support. This folksy post has attracted attention in NGA. I decided to make contact with this indie game producer on WePlay exhibition, knowing that they will participate in this event.
Q: Hi, may you introduce your team and yourself?
NPC: There are three members in our development team, I am a planner, the others are programmers. We also hired a part-time operational manager for publicity. We outsourced the art and sound effects as we did not hire any designer initially. We failed to hire designers for the lack of proper office. We worked, ate, lived at one programmer’s apartment, it was a joyful time.
Initial work environment
Speaking of this, NPC told me a rough story. Since they couldn’t afford the high art payment of market and ex-colleagues, they resorted to students and users on art’s website.
When they realized the need for desingners
As they got the final drafts, they recognized the inconsistency with current characters’ art style and UI. They realized the urgent need for a chief designer. And for several misses of the deadline and an interior argument among those amateurs. We had to seek help from friends and proper art outsourcing.
This fumble led to the inconsistency and unrefinement in the game art style. Yet they have no money to fix it.
Q: According to your post on NGA, you spent one million yuan in this game. Yet mere one million yuan investment for a two-year indie game is not enough usually. Is that the real case
NPC: Yes, that is true. But the human cost was not included. Our development team is underpaid, so we actually spent one million yuan, yet the project cost is way mor higher. We haven’t expected it would take so much time and money but it is worthy.
The cost of publicity is also high
Q: I heard that you didn’t do any market research before the project?
NPC: Indeed. Data-driven is essential for a project. But we are hardcore TCG&DBG players ourself, we believe in our taste in this genre.
Q:Gossip has it that the heroine took protocol as your wife?
NPC: Not really, in light of her characteristic, outlook and behavior. But it is named after my wife. That is the charisma of indie games. It is quiet free.
I couldn’t make indie games without my wife’s support, rumor has it that I had a sugar mommy. The former post has mentioned that I must kneel on the washboard if the investment couldn’t pay back. Back then, the producer of Amazing Cultivation Simulator, laughed at me, saying that I was the only producer that could gain forgiveness simply by kneeling on the washboard after losing one million yuan.
Well, that’s sort of a joke. I mean that family support is very critical in making indie games.
Q: Did you encounter anything tough in the procedure?
NPC: We didn’t meet any unique difficulties, we were faced with common indie game’s issues like underfunding, family incomprehension. To some extent, the delay made people around us lose trust in the project .
The food for us three was queit rough
We are faced with sterner test due to the COVID-19. We couldn’t work together since we had no entrance to the community in the beginning of the year, we had to make voice conferences everyday. And there were less players in WePlay. Well, we couldn’t change the fact, all we should do is surmount difficulties. 2020 is a specially bitter year, yet we almost get past this rough patch.
Q: Is there anything happy?
NPC: Happy things can be numbered. We are happy and content for the support from players concerning our original gameplay, the approval from thousands of players in the beta version. We gain recognition on INDIENOVA. Those are the driving force of our cause.
Players make their unique playing tricks that we have never expected. They get trapped in the plot I meanly set. Hahaha, that gives me great amusement!
Q: How do you relieve pressure of investment?
NPC: It is difficult to make our money back. It is not realistic to get as much salary as we used to from our first project since we were highly paid before. We have great expectations for it, and cushion for the blow by the way. We rely our next project on the pay back. Please feel assured that we won’t stop update unless worst comes to worst.
gain some recognition in game industry
Q: How do you think of Chines indie games?
NPC: In dismay. We are in the predicament: for the lack of investment, the quality of games are low, which leads to thin opportunities of paying back. It raises questions like if our project unworthy or we are short of channels to cash in? I’ve kind of been wrestling with how to break the ice.
Q: Lastly, may I please know how do you think of your game or how do this project mean to you?
NPC: Well, it is like our son, it carries the gene of us three. We devoted our time, energy and money to it. It carries out our characteristics, life attitude and games attitude. I named the heroine after my wife, guess how I value this game, hahaha.
The indie games environment in China is stressful, despite some optimistic changes in recent years. Producers are still struggling through the pay-back line, most of them are below the line, and even more leave the project half way.
Before the WePlay exhibition openning, NPC posted a photo of its indie games area and bantered that maybe it was the poorest games developers gather.
Under such dismal environment, any ideal pursue is faced with great challenge, producers like NPC bear tenacity and unique resilience.
Actually, even a rough and simple game consumes over one million yuan investment. And an ingenious and novel mechanism relys on numerous designs and technology, an original story is faces with closer examine.
Those successful little games are tip of the iceberg, they are the survivals among remains. Many ingenious ideas compromises with reality.
Such miracles are numbered
The bitter environment won’t get any better if there’s no daring pioneer. Their causes have become the beacon, and players are nurturing indie games industry.
