Month of Learning is Done

So the month devoted to learning is finally up! I've certainly learned a lot about flash and AS3, and there's lots more to go. But I have a firm grasp of the basics and that will do for this next leg.

So a 5 second break for a pat on the back...



...And back to business.

So yesterday was rather mixed. I talked to some indy game developers yesterday and was honestly very elated on how well some were able to do. It really does confirm that now is a good time to get into it. I was also warned about this being a bit of a bubble. I honestly hadn't thought about that before, but yes I could completely see it. But even if it is a bubble it doesn't mean you can't or won't do well, or that things will come crashing down. You just have to know what sources will dry up when a bubble pops. And what you can rely on.



Two sources I see could be dangerous in a bubble would be:

1.) Ad revenue
2.) Venture capital.

If you rely on either 100% when a bubble would pop those would be the first to go. I think ad revenue is great, and I personally don't like having to go for venture capital unless very necessary. There's always plenty of strings attached. While I hope to profit from ad revenue, I'm not aiming to make it the primary stream.

Instead I'm hoping to rely on people, donations and micro transactions. That is to say, if you can pay off your game by people themselves willing to pay, you are insulated against a sudden shortage of ad capital, or venture capital. Thats where I intend to aim.

The Somewhat Bad News

So I figured a medival fantasy sort of "assault" type game would be rather unique enough on its own. And then I find this while surfing the internet:
Play it here.

When I first started it and was playing it, I got a bit concerned. It's fantasy, it's assault. Frankly the graphics are going to be better than mine most likely. But as I played through thats about where the similarities ended. This is a defend your castle type of scenario. I'd recommend you try it out actually. The link to play it is just below the picture.

While it's "similar" to the first game I'd like to do. My first game is a test bed more than anything else. And the plan for it is indeed different. I'm actually happy this came out. You have the benefit of both hindsight and seeing what worked and what didn't work.

So thats it for now. Tomorrow, I'll either post a revision to the Reclaimate document, or a showing of what the game is like so far. I may do the latter as I may only showing screenshots for development for the next month. We'll see for tomorrow.