► Learn Game Dev (Get 25% off with code LETSGAMEDEV): www.fulltimegamedev.com/ ► Learn 2D Art (Get 25% off with code LETSGO): full-time-game-dev.teachable.com/p/2d-art-pro ► Get my 2D Game Kit Free: www.fulltimegamedev.com/free-game-kit
Thanks for sharing your knowledge and experiences on the subject. I'm a solo dev and have self published a couple small games/apps on the play store but intend to publish a serious piece on Steam for PC in (hopefully) about a year. You generously pointed out some stuff to look out for, but I was also hoping you might cover what benefits a publisher provides and what kind of differences they can make versus a self publisher. BTW, just learned about you from your talk with Tim yesterday. It was definitely more of a... introspective talk than I was expecting lol but still very good. Keep up the great work!
I feel lucky being able to see this video. I have graduated from college and my first job is working in a Steam publisher. I thought the things happened there are fantastic but actually not. I found my boss was a totally businessman instead of a game lover who wants to let more wonderful games be exposed to the public. Our team who is responsible for signing different games always has a different attitude with him. But in the end, you have to listen and follow his words. It’s awful, that’s not the right and proper way to treat games even I admit that selling games does have it economic side. What I learn most from this video is, as a publisher , you should or you are supposed to tell the developers honestly the reason why you choose his game and how much effort you would devote to his work. It’s not about the result, the result you have for making profits, it’s about your attitude, your beginning of why you choose to be the publisher. Thank you very much.
You really got me inspired to start making games again. Felt really crest fallen after i found out that publishing and selling a game yourself here in south africa can get you 10 years in jail. Its possible to 'register' and self publish but the bribes alone cost more money than i have ever made in my life. Looking forward to participating in game jams in the future. Thanks you for the motivational videos
Hey Thomas, it was a great video. I am almost in the verge of completing my game, so I wanna find the right publishers for my game. Any chance you can list down a few of the good indie game publishers? I know you mentioned Armor Games and Serenity Forge. Any others?
You channel is super insightful. Thanks for the generosity with your advice. You may have already said this in another video, but at what stage of a project do you get a publisher involved in your work?
really good video Thomas! Hope someday you can make a video of how to find a good publisher and pitch to them! Thanks for all these high-quality videos!
I just had my first meeting with a publisher and I've prepared myself by watching this video :D All points mentioned helped me save my a**! Thx a bunch and nope - I'm not gonna sell that IP ;) Great video man!
I'm curious. How are you sure you are getting paid right? When you get a publisher, they're the ones that publish your game? How does that work? How will they share the sales numbers of your game?
I am thrilled I found your channel. Our studio has made all the mistakes you are warning everyone about. So just a part of the dialogue we had with the "publisher" after we found a lawyer and struggled our way out of the contract: "What do you mean you want out? I am not allowing it! You are like a bitch who isn't sleeping with me after I bought her dinner." The guy looked at me right in the eye, standing over my head, while yelling.
I would personally just say ,,Fuck it! I don't need a fucking publisher!" When there's something I can't simply do without a publisher, I simply won't do it. For example, right now, I couldn't distribute my games to any platform except for Windows 10 computers, unless I signed a deal with a publisher who could distribute the games to more platforms. This is why, right now, I only make games for Windows 10 computers. I don't need a fucking publisher, because there's many websites specifically made to host games by individuals or small studios without a proper company.
Hey Thomas, Can you share a sample Ideal Contract write up (if you have any) with correct terms for Developer Protection? I believe it will help all IndieDevs a tonne.
I dunno though, if a company wants to just buy up a load of games in the hope that one is successful I'll be happy to take the $30,000 advance while keeping my IP rights...
Wouldn't it be much better to just publish your game yourself (e.g. get it on steam) when you're an indie game dev? What's the benefit of having a publisher? Is it because they are advertising your game?
Ok if we follow your instructions, you said "hit subscribe!" an even number of times which means after hitting it exactly that many times, we will be unsubscribed...
2 key things: Funding and visibility. A good publisher will go to trade shows, use inside contacts with journalists and influencers, etc. to make sure people are aware your game exists. They can also cover development costs. Some even have developers that can help complete the game. There are also the publishers that just do the bare minimum to get the game up on various platforms. Gotta do research and talk with people who have used the publishers you're looking at to determine if they're worth it.
I am just about to finish my first android game that i plan to release,do i really need a publisher or running some ads on insta/facebook will be enough to get some downloads?
Hard to say. I want to release my first game for free. It's should have much content, but be small, no big story, high rendered cutscenes, dozens of dialogue options. Instead I use the tools open to allow for much content such as Scriptable Objects in Unity allowing me to simply make a new gun and just assign damage, spread, force, model, animations etc. Once i've made the Scriptable Object script once for a weapon I never have to do that again, i'l be able to repeat it with new stats and everything so that's more gameplay for less work on your part. How is that not awesome?!
Siddharth Singh no ads won’t be enough. I’m not saying you need a publisher, but you need significant exposure to get a reasonable amount of downloads.
The only real problem with capitalism is that people don't get that capitalism requires ethical responsibility. That's why you end up getting these shotgun companies that fund a thousand games and hope one is their golden lotto ticket. But that's not actually a real service, and they're generally not straightforward about what they're doing, which is strictly anti-capitalistic. Any good capitalist company will take responsibility, see the need of developers and aim to provide a helpful service at a cost. Because they know, if they do their job right, they'll make money. Companies playing the lottery vs companies that actually provide a service. Sadly, these lottery companies give good companies and even capitalism itself a bad reputation, but luck tends to run out, so it's fortunate for future developers that the bad company you worked for went out of business. That's how markets are supposed to work, good companies flourish while bad companies eventually run out their luck or get such a bad reputation people just stop working with them. It's crazy that people don't even realize that the founding civics of our economy are based on ethics and morals. The term was literally coined in a book titles "the theory of moral sentiments". If we had a proper education system people would understand this and we'd have a lot less bad actor companies out their. Thank goodness you were able to get your IP back. Your dad is awesome for helping you through that, and good on you for not giving up hope on publishers after that bad experience
He didn't, he's talking about gross. But the explanation about the split was a bit weird. I think he means a 50/50 split of gross revenue after Steam, which is not exactly gross revenue, but what it means is the publisher won't deduct undisclosed expenses from the revenue.
Whatever I'm feeling passionate about, I'll make a game on. So right now I'm super passionate about cults. They fascinate me. So I think I'm gonna make a game about it.
Liked and commented. Are you happy now? :) Doing my own project right now, how do I keep doing it without being distracted (been grinding on destiny 2 for a week :D).
if you don't feel like creating anything, commit to doing it for at least 5 minutes at the bare minimum every day. The hardest part is starting. Advice from Blender Guru, its been working for me.
Devolver digital Double file productions Focus home interactive Adultswim Team17 Please give a signal if these are bad publisher... I want a hint.. I am gonna pitch a publisher Soon
Also... I hit subscribe and hit the bell every time you told me to, but for some reason, it just kept subscribing and then ubsubscribing me... I'll hit the subscribe button 12 more times and see if that works.
HV Gaming no. Many indie games are self published. It is just easier to port games to different platforms with help of a publisher and there is also a financial support from a publisher.
► Learn Game Dev (Get 25% off with code LETSGAMEDEV): www.fulltimegamedev.com/
► Learn 2D Art (Get 25% off with code LETSGO): full-time-game-dev.teachable.com/p/2d-art-pro
► Get my 2D Game Kit Free: www.fulltimegamedev.com/free-game-kit
This is the most rewarding video I’ve watched concerning game development all year
Words can’t express how thankful I am
Hyper Indigo awesome thank you!
Man, I don't know if I could ever sell my IP, because to me that's like selling a piece of my soul.
Exactly!
Hooked on your channel man, im an indie dev of 25 yrs, but still learning a lot from you, thanks.. so much fun watching it all too
Thanks for sharing your knowledge and experiences on the subject. I'm a solo dev and have self published a couple small games/apps on the play store but intend to publish a serious piece on Steam for PC in (hopefully) about a year. You generously pointed out some stuff to look out for, but I was also hoping you might cover what benefits a publisher provides and what kind of differences they can make versus a self publisher. BTW, just learned about you from your talk with Tim yesterday. It was definitely more of a... introspective talk than I was expecting lol but still very good. Keep up the great work!
CWD I'm interested in this too except my PC game is farther away than a year lmao
I feel lucky being able to see this video. I have graduated from college and my first job is working in a Steam publisher. I thought the things happened there are fantastic but actually not. I found my boss was a totally businessman instead of a game lover who wants to let more wonderful games be exposed to the public. Our team who is responsible for signing different games always has a different attitude with him. But in the end, you have to listen and follow his words. It’s awful, that’s not the right and proper way to treat games even I admit that selling games does have it economic side. What I learn most from this video is, as a publisher , you should or you are supposed to tell the developers honestly the reason why you choose his game and how much effort you would devote to his work. It’s not about the result, the result you have for making profits, it’s about your attitude, your beginning of why you choose to be the publisher. Thank you very much.
if they are paying strippers 4 ma game at least invite me gosh...
If it was at a party for Caroline, chances are it was a male stripper though
Beat me to it haha
Lesson: Don’t buy strippers
You really got me inspired to start making games again. Felt really crest fallen after i found out that publishing and selling a game yourself here in south africa can get you 10 years in jail. Its possible to 'register' and self publish but the bribes alone cost more money than i have ever made in my life. Looking forward to participating in game jams in the future. Thanks you for the motivational videos
Hey Thomas, it was a great video. I am almost in the verge of completing my game, so I wanna find the right publishers for my game. Any chance you can list down a few of the good indie game publishers? I know you mentioned Armor Games and Serenity Forge. Any others?
You channel is super insightful. Thanks for the generosity with your advice. You may have already said this in another video, but at what stage of a project do you get a publisher involved in your work?
Thanks for being so honest. Love your channel.
hey thank you for posting all these videos! very glad to hear some insight from an experienced developer!
All I’m hearing from this video is to publish your own game. 😉 Seriously, though, great info as always, Thomas!
really good video Thomas! Hope someday you can make a video of how to find a good publisher and pitch to them! Thanks for all these high-quality videos!
I just had my first meeting with a publisher and I've prepared myself by watching this video :D All points mentioned helped me save my a**! Thx a bunch and nope - I'm not gonna sell that IP ;) Great video man!
Thanks for sharing your experience. Hope your next ones are hits.
Brilliant video. Thanks for sharing your experiences.
Artists have the hardest time of it! You are spot on.
Thanks dude, about to start a games design studio company next Friday with someone and this stuff is very useful
Any lucky?
I'm curious. How are you sure you are getting paid right? When you get a publisher, they're the ones that publish your game? How does that work? How will they share the sales numbers of your game?
I am thrilled I found your channel. Our studio has made all the mistakes you are warning everyone about. So just a part of the dialogue we had with the "publisher" after we found a lawyer and struggled our way out of the contract: "What do you mean you want out? I am not allowing it! You are like a bitch who isn't sleeping with me after I bought her dinner." The guy looked at me right in the eye, standing over my head, while yelling.
Holy shit... But I guess it's not surprising that that seems perfectly reasonable to this kind of person...
This is why I'd never make deals with publishers: Because I wouldn't risk this
EDIT: The only publisher I want is me
I would personally just say ,,Fuck it! I don't need a fucking publisher!"
When there's something I can't simply do without a publisher, I simply won't do it.
For example, right now, I couldn't distribute my games to any platform except for Windows 10 computers, unless I signed a deal with a publisher who could distribute the games to more platforms.
This is why, right now, I only make games for Windows 10 computers.
I don't need a fucking publisher, because there's many websites specifically made to host games by individuals or small studios without a proper company.
Hey Thomas, Can you share a sample Ideal Contract write up (if you have any) with correct terms for Developer Protection? I believe it will help all IndieDevs a tonne.
Why do people dealing with Steam call themselves "Publishers"? They are just mediators, who cut your revenue.
Dude are a life saver awesome advice :)
" Your game is gonna be paying for strippers" LMAO bro you killing me here
you should really not blame yourself for getting swindled, they had bad intentions
Billy's Balls - What a classic game. Belly laughed on that one! lol
this is very valuable information, thank you thomas for sharing
I dunno though, if a company wants to just buy up a load of games in the hope that one is successful I'll be happy to take the $30,000 advance while keeping my IP rights...
10:50 I think this is something everyone needs to hear, there's great people out there and you just gotta find them
@Scott Isitt hahaha, well played
@RavenOfCode Well, the example he gives at 4:33 is definitely worth listening to, as well. 😛
@Scott Isitt sorry I meant this timestamp 4:20
RavenOfCode 10:41, actually. You put the time stamp before they say it, not after. 🙂
Really nice advice. Thanks
Wouldn't it be much better to just publish your game yourself (e.g. get it on steam) when you're an indie game dev? What's the benefit of having a publisher? Is it because they are advertising your game?
"your game is gonna be paying for strippers is what I'm trying to say" :)
I just love the random "Hook" scenes explaining what you're talking about.
Bro you should do some publishing. Get some Clip-Sharers together, and spread the word on good games.
Ok if we follow your instructions, you said "hit subscribe!" an even number of times which means after hitting it exactly that many times, we will be unsubscribed...
Make sure my game isn't paying the strippers for the publisher xD
How do we approach a game publisher ? Do we email them ?
*Runs to quickly acquire Billy's Balls I.P.*
I didn't know video games could by strip... I mean cake
And I thought the only reason to make games in the first place was to pay for strippers ...
You killed me at 12:05 lol
I LOLd so hard
Ok so do the publishers have a say in the what is put in the game? Such as micro-transactions
depends on the contract you sign
What does a publisher do these days when you can submit these games yourself?
2 key things: Funding and visibility. A good publisher will go to trade shows, use inside contacts with journalists and influencers, etc. to make sure people are aware your game exists. They can also cover development costs. Some even have developers that can help complete the game.
There are also the publishers that just do the bare minimum to get the game up on various platforms. Gotta do research and talk with people who have used the publishers you're looking at to determine if they're worth it.
Awesome!!! Smooth video.
I am just about to finish my first android game that i plan to release,do i really need a publisher or running some ads on insta/facebook will be enough to get some downloads?
Hard to say. I want to release my first game for free.
It's should have much content, but be small, no big story, high rendered cutscenes, dozens of dialogue options.
Instead I use the tools open to allow for much content such as Scriptable Objects in Unity allowing me to simply make a new gun and just assign damage, spread, force, model, animations etc.
Once i've made the Scriptable Object script once for a weapon I never have to do that again, i'l be able to repeat it with new stats and everything so that's more gameplay for less work on your part. How is that not awesome?!
Siddharth Singh no ads won’t be enough. I’m not saying you need a publisher, but you need significant exposure to get a reasonable amount of downloads.
What is the game title that you've signed that bad deal with?
I dont think he can say, he kinda mouthed it but i couldn't tell.
Pinstripe amazing game
AMAZING TIPS
The only real problem with capitalism is that people don't get that capitalism requires ethical responsibility. That's why you end up getting these shotgun companies that fund a thousand games and hope one is their golden lotto ticket. But that's not actually a real service, and they're generally not straightforward about what they're doing, which is strictly anti-capitalistic. Any good capitalist company will take responsibility, see the need of developers and aim to provide a helpful service at a cost. Because they know, if they do their job right, they'll make money. Companies playing the lottery vs companies that actually provide a service. Sadly, these lottery companies give good companies and even capitalism itself a bad reputation, but luck tends to run out, so it's fortunate for future developers that the bad company you worked for went out of business. That's how markets are supposed to work, good companies flourish while bad companies eventually run out their luck or get such a bad reputation people just stop working with them. It's crazy that people don't even realize that the founding civics of our economy are based on ethics and morals. The term was literally coined in a book titles "the theory of moral sentiments". If we had a proper education system people would understand this and we'd have a lot less bad actor companies out their. Thank goodness you were able to get your IP back. Your dad is awesome for helping you through that, and good on you for not giving up hope on publishers after that bad experience
Correct my points Tom! If you like
Didn't he switch up the gross and nett part? The publisher should get paid from the net revenue, shouldn't they?
He didn't, he's talking about gross.
But the explanation about the split was a bit weird.
I think he means a 50/50 split of gross revenue after Steam, which is not exactly gross revenue, but what it means is the publisher won't deduct undisclosed expenses from the revenue.
Yes, I am confused about that too and had to watch it twice to see if I missed something
Where's two more points in the end that you will only tell your patrons :P
The video is actually not cropped
Is it the only youtuber that can do a video in one run
Samuel Mraz You man cut? There were a few cuts.
if strippers are being paid, can i be there and can this be in canada?
Ahhh I only hit the bell to make you stop repeating that but you kept going. Guess I'll just get notified of great content from now on, geeeze~
For some reason i have a urge to hit subscribe and to hit the bell
15:26 Why did we sign a deal with Nanovation?
Where do you get the ideas for your games?
Whatever I'm feeling passionate about, I'll make a game on. So right now I'm super passionate about cults. They fascinate me. So I think I'm gonna make a game about it.
the guy that didnt play it was steam right ? xD
This is just an ad for armory games 🤮🤮
Liked and commented. Are you happy now? :)
Doing my own project right now, how do I keep doing it without being distracted (been grinding on destiny 2 for a week :D).
if you don't feel like creating anything, commit to doing it for at least 5 minutes at the bare minimum every day. The hardest part is starting. Advice from Blender Guru, its been working for me.
#THIS #IS #CRAZY Super Epic !!!!!!!!!!!!!!
So I hit subscribe, and the bell everytime you said, and now I'm unsubbed and don't get any notifications :(
How's you day hope it's good I am having a great day I just publishd my first mobile game
COD YUNG GOD congrats!
I hit the subscribe and hit the bell :D
Is it known as voodoo or lionstudios now
Billy’s Balls hahaha
Devolver digital
Double file productions
Focus home interactive
Adultswim
Team17
Please give a signal if these are bad publisher... I want a hint.. I am gonna pitch a publisher Soon
So how did it went?
Also... I hit subscribe and hit the bell every time you told me to, but for some reason, it just kept subscribing and then ubsubscribing me... I'll hit the subscribe button 12 more times and see if that works.
hey did either of you get an email from Happy Tube? Do you advise me to work with them?
lol I've already hit the bell!
Internet Protocol?
💯
What is the background music in the video?
what about VOODOO can they get me to troubles ???
@Badis Kefi Yea sure add me NiqhtFire#0001
@Barış catch me on discord?
@Badis Kefi I just sent my prototype now. I'm waiting for CPI test.
@Barış congrats :) tell me more
I’m going to work with them :c
I'm 18 and thanks
whats with the amount of hook clips? did you just finish watching hook?
I little OCD at the end there no?
Rob Fndz hahah
Do you need publisher to publish your game ???????
Nope! But it helps especially when you need funding or support with marketing
HV Gaming no. Many indie games are self published. It is just easier to port games to different platforms with help of a publisher and there is also a financial support from a publisher.
I think u need to shave😁 at least your moustache..
haha its fine
saiful issam I’m gonna keep growing our creeper style