To be, or not to be…

Yes, that is indeed the question but I’m not going to break into Hamlet or any other Shakespearean quotes. Life however throws things at you from time to time that makes you wonder, and needless to say, quote the obvious and contemplate which is the best course of action?

As I’ve wrote in the past, I’ve wanted to start a games company since an early age, but for all I had the drive and passion back then, I didn’t have the capital or the contacts back then to do anything about it.

Roll on some 20+ years and a new opportunity arises that could finally see that dream become a reality, the question is, what is the best way to approach it and where will that opportunity take me and those that I get involved with?

Previous posts have seen me waffle on about the journey I’ve taken that has practically led me full circle back to what I originally wanted to do, but realistically, I wish I’d been able to cryogenically freeze myself some 10+ years ago, so that I could be woken at a time when this opportunity came about, as I feel at 39 that I’m a bit long in the tooth to be doing a complete U-Turn and trying out something completely different, yet on the flip side of that, I’ve spent some 16 years managing studios and the last 6 years running a business so I guess all that experience could come in handy somewhere along the lines.

So what’s with the to be bit?

Earlier this month, Train2Game announced a new incubator project that they’re working on which will eventually see many new games studios start up, while other students will have the opportunity of finding their way into existing game studios and companies on placement schemes that could ultimately lead to full time employment.

For myself this could be a great opportunity as I have the premises for students, I have previous company management experience and as far as I’m aware I’ve been relatively successful in being able to command a good working symbiosis between team members, unlike some places I’ve worked at before where it was effectively every man for himself, so the prospect of building an in house team within these 8 walls could definitely be a possibility, if I have the right pitch and the right team of guys behind me.

But where do I begin?

I’ve already got a business, a client base and a defined skill set that goes hand in hand with their requirements and I would have to put in a serious plan to redistribute those clients, especially the web clients that I have at present, rather than just turn around and tell them “I’m shutting up shop, you’ll have to find another supplier, have a nice day!”. Somehow I don’t think that would go down too well and to be perfectly honest it’s not something I really want to do.

At the same time I’ve also done a lot of game graphics, sprites, backgrounds, models, concept art and worked on a number of projects with other students of Train2Game which, had they all been paying customers I’d be laughing all the way to the bank. Sadly this has all been free services to those people in the interest of building up both my personal portfolio and helping them to realise their game concepts, but I’m sure something will come of it all eventually.

Then of course there is the other, MAJOR consideration for any small office based games studio. Other than the obvious fact that companies can come and go depending on the quality of their latest release, unless you’re a massive affair that can absorb the failure of one game with the success of another, a poorly received title for a small company could be the death of them, and as such, would the overheads of having an office coupled with paying wages to the team be a worthwhile venture, or would it be better to have a 9-5 job that you’re not overly interested in, but which gives you the peace of mind that your basic bills are covered while you work on your game project in your spare time, with either a local team that you meet up with somewhere, or a dispersed team that communicates via skype, msn, email and telephone?

To be perfectly honest, my brain is completely fried at the moment trying to contemplate which plan of action would be for the best. Ultimately I would love to see my current offices become home to a games studio, but without the security that comes from having regular income, a solid game project would have to be put in place that would qualify for the funding required to help see the team and the company survive until release. Then of course it would be a nervous situation to see how well the game was received and whether its success would cover the original investment and continue to generate enough revenue for the team/company while they work on the next title.

I think it’s time I had a chat with some indie groups out there to see just how they’re going about it, and then see how best to move forward with my company project.