THE LEGAL STUFF
So, how exactly do you ensure you’ve started a game studio legally? If you’re in the United States, or live in a country with a similar legal system, it’s not that hard. In-fact, in the United States, you can start a business without really doing anything at all (just as long as you properly file your business’s taxes — I recommend getting a CPA when you do so!)
However, as a US resident, my experience starting a game studio relates to the various legal parameters that are acceptable in the United States. Things may differ for you depending on your state, country, province, etc. Additionally, please note that I am not a CPA or lawyer , so it’s important you contact a local CPA if you want 100% accurate information. When it comes to legalese, it’s pretty much impossible for a layman like me to be 100% correct. That said, I’ve created a video below to explain my understanding of taxes, LLCs, and starting your company legally. There’s a reason this video isn’t embedded in this course: the content should not be used as a foundational guide similar to the rest of this course’s content . Taxes and legal mumbo jumbo are an amorphous, ever-changing series of rules.
So, for absolute clarity, be sure you contact/hire a CPA or whatever the equivalent of a CPA is in your region! Hiring a CPA isn’t what you think: they aren’t employees. For me, I pay my CPA about a thousand bucks every year during tax season, and also have them handle payroll taxes every quarter.
That said, here’s the video giving my understanding of starting a business, legally! Enjoy!
Homework | Get Inspired!
GAME STUDY!
Take some time to simply watch the trailers below, and portions (if not all) of the Let’s Plays!
UNDERTALE
LIMBO
DEAD CELLS
STARDEW VALLEY
HOLLOW KNIGHT
THE BINDING OF ISAAC: AFTERBIRTH PLUS
PAPERS PLEASE
ENTER THE GUNGEON: A FAREWELL TO ARMS
DON’T STARVE: TOGETHER
CELESTE
BONUS: NEVERSONG
Workbook | Game Design Bible
CREATE YOUR GAME DESIGN BIBLE!
- Click the link below!
- Create a copy of the Google Doc by going to File ➜ Make A Copy
- Now you can type in your own Game Design Bible content as you wish!
TIPS
- Feel free to edit this as much or as little as you please! Just stay organized and clean.
- Feel free to download a PDF and print this bad-boy once you’re done editing!
- If you don’t have a firm grasp on Google Docs, here is a great tutorial.
Resource | Publisher Pitfalls
PUBLISHER PITFALLS WORKBOOK
- Click the link below!
- Feel free to download a PDF, or just bookmark this page as a reference!
- Please do not share this outside of the Full Time Game Dev community!
Resource | Indie Friendly Publishers
INDIE FRIENDLY PUBLISHERS
Download the list of indie friendly publishers! Remember, there are thousands of publishers, but this list is just my recommendations! You can always look around for more if you like.
Workbook | Publisher Outreach
PUBLISHER OUTREACH WORKBOOK
- Click the link below!
- Create a copy of the Google Doc by going to File ➜ Make A Copy
- Now you can type in your own content as you wish!
TIPS
- Feel free to edit this as much or as little as you please! Just stay organized and clean.
- Feel free to download a PDF and print this bad-boy once you’re done editing!
- If you don’t have a firm grasp on Google Docs, here is a great tutorial.
Workbook | Kickstarter Reward Estimator
KICKSTARTER REWARD ESTIMATOR WORKBOOK
- Click the link below!
- Create a copy of the Google Sheet by going to File ➜ Make A Copy
- Now you can type in your own data as you wish!
TIPS
- Feel free to edit this as much or as little as you please! Just stay organized and clean.
- Feel free to download a PDF and print this bad-boy once you’re done editing!
- If you don’t have a firm grasp on Google Sheets, here is a series of great tutorial.
Workbook | Kickstarter Reward Brainstorming
BRAINSTORM YOUR KICKSTARTER REWARDS!
- Click the link below!
- Create a copy of the Google Doc by going to File ➜ Make A Copy
- Now you can type in your own Kickstarter rewards as you wish!
TIPS
- Feel free to edit this as much or as little as you please! Just stay organized and clean.
- Feel free to download a PDF and print this bad-boy once you’re done editing!
- If you don’t have a firm grasp on Google Docs, here is a great tutorial.
Workbook | Kickstarter Video Brainstorming
CREATE YOUR KICKSTARTER VIDEO OUTLINE
Click the link below!
- Create a copy of the Google Doc by going to File ➜ Make A Copy
- Now you can customize this outline as you wish! Be sure to make it your own, and be honest !
TIPS
- Feel free to edit this as much or as little as you please! Just stay organized and clean.
- Feel free to download a PDF and print this bad-boy once you’re done editing!
- If you don’t have a firm grasp on Google Docs, here is a great tutorial.
Workbook | Kickstarter Outreach
KICKSTARTER OUTREACH WORKBOOK
- Click the link below!
- Create a copy of the Google Doc by going to File ➜ Make A Copy
- Be sure to personalize your emails using this workbook!
TIPS
- Feel free to edit this as much or as little as you please! Just stay organized and clean.
- Feel free to download a PDF and print this bad-boy once you’re done editing!
- If you don’t have a firm grasp on Google Docs, here is a great tutorial.
Workbook | All-In-One Contacts List
THE ALL-IN-ONE CONTACTS LIST SPREADSHEET!
Use this spreadsheet when compiling all contacts for Publishers/Kickstarter Creators/Press Members/YouTuber! Boo ya!
- Click the link below!
- Create a copy of the Google Sheet by going to File ➜ Make A Copy
- Now you can customize content as you wish!
TIPS
- Feel free to edit this as much or as little as you please! Just stay organized and clean.
- Be sure to stay up to date on all outreach! Taking detailed notes is super important!
- You can use this Google Sheet with Merge Mail!
- If you don’t have a firm grasp on Google Sheets, here is a great tutorial.
Workbook | Beta Testing Questions
CREATE YOUR BETA TESTING QUESTIONS!
- Click the link below!
- Create a copy of the Google Doc by going to File ➜ Make A Copy
- Now you can adjust the content as you wish!
TIPS
- Feel free to edit this as much or as little as you please! Just stay organized and clean.
- Feel free to download a PDF and print this bad-boy once you’re done editing!
- If you don’t have a firm grasp on Google Docs, here is a great tutorial.
Workbook | Beta Testing Outreach
BETA TESTING OUTREACH
- Click the link below!
- Create a copy of the Google Doc by going to File ➜ Make A Copy
- Now you can personalize content as you wish! Remember, be honest and kind in your emails!
TIPS
- Feel free to edit this as much or as little as you please! Just stay organized and clean.
- Feel free to download a PDF and print this bad-boy once you’re done editing!
- If you don’t have a firm grasp on Google Docs, here is a great tutorial.
Create Your Trailer | Part 1
INKS TO RESOURCES
Step 1 | Record Your Game!
Download OBS or Download Streamlabs (The Prettier OBS!)
Step 2 | Find An Awesome Song!
Find a song on Musicbed! Or, write your own song! Or, consider finding a free song on Newgrounds Audio! Just be sure to attribute the artist and read the license information. Freesound.org offers free tracks as well, although I’ll admit I’ve found better options on Newgrounds Audio!
Step 3 | Edit Your Footage!
Download Adobe Premiere or Download Final Cut Pro (Apple only)
Resource | The Steam Cannon Ball Checklist
THE STEAM CANNON BALL CHECKLIST!
If you haven’t downloaded the checklist yet from the previous section, here you go!
- Click the link below!
- Create a copy of the Google Doc by going to File ➜ Make A Copy
TIPS
- Feel free to edit this as much or as little as you please! Just stay organized and clean.
- Be sure to cross things out after you complete them! Format ➜ Text ➜ Strikethrough
- Or feel free to download a PDF and print this bad-boy and write notes on it and scratch things out during launch!
- If you don’t have a firm grasp on Google Docs, here is a great tutorial.
Dialogue System
In the event you want to add dialogue to your prototype, which I highly recommend, I suggest jumping on over to the Unity Asset store and taking full advantage of the Pixel Crusher’s Dialogue System. I recommend an asset, as opposed to programming from scratch, simply because a dialogue system is a beast completely on its own. Sure, I’ve programmed them myself for both Pinstripe and Zero Deaths, however, I found that something as robust as this asset is difficult to pass up. Be sure to use the Unity Asset Store promo code sent to you email for 10% off this asset!
One of the primary reasons I recommend this asset as opposed to so many others, is simply the fact that Pixel Crusher’s offer some of the best, step by step tutorial videos for using this asset. You can begin your journey in mastering the asset using their video tutorials.
Assignment: Finalize Your Game’s Style/Colors
For this assignment, I want you to mess around with the lighting, materials, post-processing, whatever! This is an essential part of the creative process, and it can result in a treasure trove of inspiration and ideas. Remember, you will make many more games after this, so don’t worry about messing things up!
Hints: Don’t know what to adjust? You could try these things:
- Try changing the post processing (set the saturation to -100 in the color correction panel for a black & white experience).
- Try adding a Retro Post Processing effect to give it that extra low-res pixelization. Click on Add Effect… at the bottom to find it.
- Mess around with the directional light color, rotation angle, and shadow strength.
- Change the skybox material color tint, and afterwards remember to press Generate Lighting in the Lighting tab.
Once you’ve completed your assignment, please click Complete and continue above! Assignment: Add at Least 5 Points of Interest
For this assignment, I want you to dive into the Unity Asset Store and add 5 random “points of interest” 3D models that fit into our dystopian, nature-based game. I think abandoned-anything will work, along with old crates, fences, rusty sci-fi structures, etc.
You can also search for free assets in places like TurboSquid, OpenGameArt, and CGTrader.
Don’t forget to modify the materials/textures to fit our retro PlayStation look. Usually it doesn’t take more than changing the texture size and the filter mode.
Once you’ve completed your assignment, please click Complete and continue above!
Assignment: Add at Least 5 Points of Interest
For this assignment, I want you to dive into the Unity Asset Store and add 5 random “points of interest” 3D models that fit into our dystopian, nature-based game. I think abandoned-anything will work, along with old crates, fences, rusty sci-fi structures, etc.
You can also search for free assets in places like TurboSquid, OpenGameArt, and CGTrader.
Don’t forget to modify the materials/textures to fit our retro PlayStation look. Usually it doesn’t take more than changing the texture size and the filter mode.
Once you’ve completed your assignment, please click Complete and continue above!
Assignment: Write a Script
For this assignment, you will write a short script! If you have no idea where to start, here’s an essential tip: test your game and walk around while the music is playing. My best story ideas come to me while listening to music and wandering the environment, and I think it will help you too.
Don’t get scared about writing something, it doesn’t have to be long or perfect. You just need a beginning paragraph to introduce the player into this mysterious world, and an ending paragraph as a reward for finishing the game. Of course more voice overs for character building and exposition can be a good thing, but don’t stress too much about it, this is a game made in a week after all!
If you still don’t know where to start, get creative! Find a public domain poem that fits the emotion you’re going after and have that be part of your script. Anything will do!
Once you’ve completed your assignment, please click Complete and continue above!
Final Exam: Have a Friend Play Your Game
If you make a game and no one can play it, is it actually any fun? That’s the question philosophers have argued about for generations, but regardless, playtesting is crucial for your final product. You will learn about so many necessary additions that you would’ve otherwise missed. Find someone you truly trust like a significant other or a sibling to really dive in and give you their honest thoughts. A stream of consciousness is even more useful since you can hear what they’re thinking as they’re playing.
You can also share your game on the GDU Discord server and ask someone to play it there! Also, don’t take offense to constructive criticism. Even rude criticism usually has a kernel of truth that can help you improve the game somewhat. Of course, we’re not looking for perfection, but just the bare minimum to make your game a pleasant experience.
After you’ve had someone play your game (and you’ve recorded your notes and observations), press Complete and continue !