Hourences Posted January 13, 2009 Report Posted January 13, 2009 I think everyone wants to have creative freedom really, but it really isn't so easy to get. If it were, everyone would be doing so. Your best bet is to go into indie games, because that stuff you can sell. You do need a dedicated programmer for that, and that usually makes me give up on that idea If instead of making maps, you would invest the same amount of time into stand alone games, you would be able to sell those. And if you were to build up an entire library of those games, then it should become quite profitable after a few years. It is perfectly doable to make money out of custom maps, but only indirect money and will it be enough to live off? Prolly not, but it is not impossible either. I make money of whatever mod stuff I do because every time I release something for free, I am advertising myself basically, and that gets me other stuff. Opportunities, workshops, couple of people buying my books, and so on. That is where the money is, the indirect money. So instead of looking on how to cash in on levels, look at how to make your levels advertise whatever other thing that does make money. Levels are only the means... Just charging people money directly will never cut it. Quote
Nysuatro Posted January 13, 2009 Report Posted January 13, 2009 What about advertisement in maps :s I am not really liking the idea, but it's a possibility. You search for sponsors who want to invest in this, and then you got your money. Quote
kleinluka Posted January 13, 2009 Report Posted January 13, 2009 It would work with a commercial title (it's done all the time) but I doubt any company would be interested in spending money on advertising in a custom map. there are easier and better ways to make (more) money.. Quote
hessi Posted January 13, 2009 Report Posted January 13, 2009 It would work with a commercial title (it's done all the time) but I doubt any company would be interested in spending money on advertising in a custom map. there are easier and better ways to make (more) money.. regarding my economics course at university online advertising in games is a new way that addresses a specific group of the society that is hard to catch via TV or classic adds. since this is still a new idea we have to wait for coca colas first adds in a game (not talking about games that were made for the purpose of being an advertisement product) Quote
-HP- Posted January 13, 2009 Report Posted January 13, 2009 Another thing I wanna point out... Working on a gamedev company ain't a labor dictatorship or something. Obviously you don't have the same so called "creative freedom", some of you previously stated, but It's not like you don't need to be creative! Yes, you will have to follow rules. Yes, you will need to be faithful to the design doc, and to the visual style of the game you are working on, but jeez some of you are making it sound like It's a robot job! Of course, if you're working on a FPS, you can't transform it into a side scroller shooter, but as a part of the team it's your duty to be inventive, creative, etc. And yes, I do agree with Hourences. Making maps was always about "long run investment", make your portfolio better, gain experience, etc. If you really wanna make some extra bucks, do some 3DArtist freelance job, if you think you have enough free time to do it. there's shitloads of companies looking for outsourcing. Quote
Nysuatro Posted January 13, 2009 Report Posted January 13, 2009 And the rules are only there to organise a full team if I am right ? I don't have experience in the gameindustry, but sounds logical to me. Quote
Hourences Posted January 13, 2009 Report Posted January 13, 2009 In theory yes but it is not that black and white. You can run a team in a bazilion ways, each way impacts creativity differently, etc. Too much to go into right now. Short version: I can fully understand how you feel. Quote
kleinluka Posted January 13, 2009 Report Posted January 13, 2009 It would work with a commercial title (it's done all the time) but I doubt any company would be interested in spending money on advertising in a custom map. there are easier and better ways to make (more) money.. regarding my economics course at university online advertising in games is a new way that addresses a specific group of the society that is hard to catch via TV or classic adds. since this is still a new idea we have to wait for coca colas first adds in a game (not talking about games that were made for the purpose of being an advertisement product) yes but what you are explaining already exists in games today. Quote
dux Posted January 13, 2009 Report Posted January 13, 2009 Battlefield 2142 was one of the first games I ever saw with Adverts in it. Didn't bother me so much really as the maps were big and the Ad's placed well enough not to annoy you. Quote
Sentura Posted January 13, 2009 Report Posted January 13, 2009 Battlefield 2142 was one of the first games I ever saw with Adverts in it. Didn't bother me so much really as the maps were big and the Ad's placed well enough not to annoy you. i actually thought them cleverly placed; one of the very few games where it indeed was appropriate. Quote
Jetsetlemming Posted January 14, 2009 Report Posted January 14, 2009 Trying to charge for downloads is also against pretty much every mod/custom content EULA I know of. Certainly for Source. that was what i was thinking and yet fileplanet and many other sites weasel themselves out of this by charging for the "bandwidth" ! Fileplanet and those similar sites are deplorable, but what they charge for is download priority- you get to skip their artificial download lines and limits. The only thing on Fileplanet you can't get with a free account and patience are the exclusive open beta deals they occasionally sign with publishers (last one I remember was for Quake Wars). Quote
robert.briscoe Posted January 14, 2009 Report Posted January 14, 2009 @brisco yes i am also looking into selling assets on turbosquid and all their competitor websites in parallel. I think your best course of action would be to make your own site and sell them and get 100% of the profits rather than the greedy 50%+US tax that TS demands. Quote
Hourences Posted January 14, 2009 Report Posted January 14, 2009 Yes and then keep on making levels to advertise your site. You will not earn more than pocket money though. Unrelated, we should all start up a mapcore second life group, and make crap buildings there and sell them Cant be too difficult. Quote
Jetsetlemming Posted January 14, 2009 Report Posted January 14, 2009 Yes and then keep on making levels to advertise your site. You will not earn more than pocket money though. Unrelated, we should all start up a mapcore second life group, and make crap buildings there and sell them Cant be too difficult. A friend of mine codes up stuff for second life and sells them and makes enough money off of it to support buying games and running a website and server. Apparently it truly is piss easy to get people to pay for simple things in SL. Some of the stuff he makes is teleport pads. You can teleport natively in Second Life, his products just let you do it without having to use a menu, and they sell like hotcakes. Quote
robert.briscoe Posted January 14, 2009 Report Posted January 14, 2009 seriously it'd be an interesting experiment at least. cant be hard to beat that standard Quote
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.