How to get off the ground as a indie studio

[Ryzen4Life]

So me and my friend have started a game studio (Shockwave Games) and our making our first game.We have a story, are making the art. But a problem arose. I have a 6 year old hand me down macbook but need a new better pc for coding. So will any program or something such as Microsoft Indie Program as I'm a broke boy with only 300$ bucks in his pocket or if i could secure funding from kickstarter or something 

[mariushm]

No, you don't need a better pc for coding.

You can literally write code in Notepad if you want to.

 

They made Doom and Quake on Pentium level computers.

 

Or you could just make your own computer.

 

A Ryzen 2200g is 60-70$

A B450 motherboard is 60$

8 GB of memory (2x4) is 30-40$

A case is 20$

A psu is 30$

A ssd/hdd is 20$

 

There's your pc. Fits within 300$

 

If you want new:

Add later a second 8 GB stick, and a dedicated video card and you have a perfectly good system for making a game.

Then you can test your game on both an integrated graphics card (with their limitations) and a dedicated card that's more powerful.

 

PCPartPicker Part List

Type	Item	Price
CPU	AMD Ryzen 3 2200G 3.5 GHz Quad-Core Processor	$79.89 @ OutletPC
Motherboard	ASRock B450M-HDV R4.0 Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard	$64.89 @ OutletPC
Memory	Crucial Ballistix Sport LT 8 GB (1 x 8 GB) DDR4-2666 Memory	$31.99 @ Amazon
Storage	ADATA SU635 240 GB 2.5" Solid State Drive	$28.99 @ Amazon
Case	DIYPC MA01 MicroATX Mini Tower Case	$19.98 @ Newegg Business
Power Supply	SeaSonic S12III 450 W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply	$45.89 @ OutletPC
	Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts
	Total	$271.63
	Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-08-24 12:02 EDT-0400

 

 

 

[Ryzen4Life]

But i need a monitor + keyboard

[mariushm]

ffs dude... a keyboard is 3-5$ , same for a mouse.. you don't need super fancy stuff to develop a game. A monitor can be as cheap as 20-30$, just look up Craiglist or eBay for someone selling a 20-22" lcd monitor in your area. If you're lucky you may find even 24" monitors for cheap.

You want 20" or higher, because 19" and lower usually come only with VGA (lower image quality and new graphics cards don't output vga signals anymore so you'd then need 20-30$ hdmi or displayport to vga converters) and  are typically 4:3 resolutions like 1280x1024 and if you're developing games 16:9 or something closer to that is preferable. So you want something that has DVI or HDMI inputs besides VGA, to make it more compatible with modern video graphics cards.  

 

Even Newegg has refurbished monitors ... for example here's a 40.5$ 19" 1440x900 with DVI and VGA, HP L1945w:  https://www.newegg.com/p/0JC-0019-028W1?Item=9SIAAYZ9WX4183

I know I said look for 20" or higher, but this one has high resolution for 19" (and the aspect ratio is 16:10 which is good as you can test game in both 16:9 and 16:10 aspect ratios) and it has DVI so it will be compatible with modern video cards.

 

60$ gets you a 21" 1080p monitor with DVI and VGA, HP 21KD : https://www.newegg.com/hp-t3u85aa-20-7-full-hd/p/N82E16824276208?Item=9SIAKVU9PK2037

 

Just look for "Grade A" notation... that means just minor scratches on the plastic, the actual viewing surface is good without scratches or faults.  Grade B monitors may have scratches on the glass or may have stand missing (they were used with VESA mount on walls or stuff like that)

 

If you have a job, just borrow some money from your parents , friends, or maybe work with your bank to get a credit card where you could pay what you buy with your credit card in 3 or more monthly payments, without interest. Lots of banks offer this.

If you don't have a job, maybe find a part time job, work a few weeks at McDonalds or something and put some cash aside.

 

Jesus... what's with some people that are too lazy or can't be bothered to be inventive, to research alternatives, to find solutions to their problems... stop complaining and DO something.

 

 

 

[mariushm]

And if you want to be really cheap, you can build yourself a computer from previous generation parts. You'll lose the potentional for upgrades (that you have with AM4 socket) but it would be cheap.

Here's an example with eBay parts, assuming you're from US.

 

40$ AMD FX-6300 socket AM3+  : ebay link

 

48$ Asrock 880GM-LE FX motherboard : ebay link

or

55$ MSI 970A-G43 (better chipset, 4 memory slots, sata 6gbs, usb 3.0, better VRM) : ebay link

or

58$ (30$ + 20$ shipping) BIOSTAR TA970 (same as MSI) : ebay link

 

20$ Samsung 8GB DDR3 1600 Mhz : ebay link

 

19$ Deepcool Gammaxx cooler : ebay link

 

So total : 40$+19$+55$+20$ = 134$ for  cpu+mb+ram, around 40$ cheaper than the pc part picker config.

 

video card:

89$ + shipping : Saphire RX 570 4 GB (7 AVAILABLE)  : ebay link

92$ + shipping : XFX RX 570 (3 available) : ebay link

 

case and psu is best to buy from newegg or amazon or any retail store.. they're heavy and shipping would be expensive for regular users, shops do free shipping. IF you want absolute cheapest I would be comfortable with, there's a 40$ thermaltake smart 430w

From time to time, you can get psus from better brands with 10-15$ mail-in rebates, bringing the price down to below 40$.

So let's say 40$ + 20$ for case + psu.

So you end up with 134$ + 60$ +100$ for video card = 294$.... let's round it up to 300$ for everything except a hard drive, mouse, keyboard and monitor.

You can spend 20$ on a mechanical drive or a SSD. A 500 GB mechanical drive is less than 20$, and a 240 GB SSD is around 25-30$

[Ryzen4Life]

20 hours ago, mariushm said:

No, you don't need a better pc for coding.

You can literally write code in Notepad if you want to.

 

They made Doom and Quake on Pentium level computers.

 

Or you could just make your own computer.

 

A Ryzen 2200g is 60-70$

A B450 motherboard is 60$

8 GB of memory (2x4) is 30-40$

A case is 20$

A psu is 30$

A ssd/hdd is 20$

 

There's your pc. Fits within 300$

 

If you want new:

Add later a second 8 GB stick, and a dedicated video card and you have a perfectly good system for making a game.

Then you can test your game on both an integrated graphics card (with their limitations) and a dedicated card that's more powerful.

 

PCPartPicker Part List

Type	Item	Price
CPU	AMD Ryzen 3 2200G 3.5 GHz Quad-Core Processor	$79.89 @ OutletPC
Motherboard	ASRock B450M-HDV R4.0 Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard	$64.89 @ OutletPC
Memory	Crucial Ballistix Sport LT 8 GB (1 x 8 GB) DDR4-2666 Memory	$31.99 @ Amazon
Storage	ADATA SU635 240 GB 2.5" Solid State Drive	$28.99 @ Amazon
Case	DIYPC MA01 MicroATX Mini Tower Case	$19.98 @ Newegg Business
Power Supply	SeaSonic S12III 450 W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply	$45.89 @ OutletPC
	Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts
	Total	$271.63
	Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-08-24 12:02 EDT-0400

 

 

 

 

2 hours ago, mariushm said:

ffs dude... a keyboard is 3-5$ , same for a mouse.. you don't need super fancy stuff to develop a game. A monitor can be as cheap as 20-30$, just look up Craiglist or eBay for someone selling a 20-22" lcd monitor in your area. If you're lucky you may find even 24" monitors for cheap.

You want 20" or higher, because 19" and lower usually come only with VGA (lower image quality and new graphics cards don't output vga signals anymore so you'd then need 20-30$ hdmi or displayport to vga converters) and  are typically 4:3 resolutions like 1280x1024 and if you're developing games 16:9 or something closer to that is preferable. So you want something that has DVI or HDMI inputs besides VGA, to make it more compatible with modern video graphics cards.  

 

Even Newegg has refurbished monitors ... for example here's a 40.5$ 19" 1440x900 with DVI and VGA, HP L1945w:  https://www.newegg.com/p/0JC-0019-028W1?Item=9SIAAYZ9WX4183

I know I said look for 20" or higher, but this one has high resolution for 19" (and the aspect ratio is 16:10 which is good as you can test game in both 16:9 and 16:10 aspect ratios) and it has DVI so it will be compatible with modern video cards.

 

60$ gets you a 21" 1080p monitor with DVI and VGA, HP 21KD : https://www.newegg.com/hp-t3u85aa-20-7-full-hd/p/N82E16824276208?Item=9SIAKVU9PK2037

 

Just look for "Grade A" notation... that means just minor scratches on the plastic, the actual viewing surface is good without scratches or faults.  Grade B monitors may have scratches on the glass or may have stand missing (they were used with VESA mount on walls or stuff like that)

 

If you have a job, just borrow some money from your parents , friends, or maybe work with your bank to get a credit card where you could pay what you buy with your credit card in 3 or more monthly payments, without interest. Lots of banks offer this.

If you don't have a job, maybe find a part time job, work a few weeks at McDonalds or something and put some cash aside.

 

Jesus... what's with some people that are too lazy or can't be bothered to be inventive, to research alternatives, to find solutions to their problems... stop complaining and DO something.

 

 

 

I was aware of the option but import things and I live in a third world country with really no good deals so it's new or nothing. And im younger than 16

[mariushm]

So is it really my fault for assuming you're in US, if you don't SPECIFY the country in your profile? Is it a state secret to say your country?

There are always options even in 3rd world countries, and there's ways to make money even as a 16 years old person. For example the first thing that comes to mind would be getting paid to put adverts and flyers in people's mail boxes, or work in a mall or big retail store to give samples to customers, or work in some store/warehouse part time putting products on shelves.

16 years old should be old enough that you'd be allowed (with parents' permission maybe) to work part time (4-6h a day or something like that) or even full time. Go work as a picker in apple gardens, or other fruits, daily worker, whatever...

 

There should also be forums and various local sites (craigslist, ebay clones) where people put listings for sale so you could just call and meet and buy products with cash, or exchange a product with something (barter) ... I'm in Romania... wouldn't call it 3rd world country but it's not exactly 1st world, and I could still hassle just fine and get a pc.

You could even be a jerk and look up listings where people donate old hardware... answer to them and build a system with those donated parts and then sell the system for some cash... add value to something and re-sell.

 

You have 300$ in your pocket... you can do wonders with that much money. People made full length movies with $15k and made millions.

 

[Ryzen4Life]

21 hours ago, mariushm said:

No, you don't need a better pc for coding.

You can literally write code in Notepad if you want to.

 

They made Doom and Quake on Pentium level computers.

 

Or you could just make your own computer.

 

A Ryzen 2200g is 60-70$

A B450 motherboard is 60$

8 GB of memory (2x4) is 30-40$

A case is 20$

A psu is 30$

A ssd/hdd is 20$

 

There's your pc. Fits within 300$

 

If you want new:

Add later a second 8 GB stick, and a dedicated video card and you have a perfectly good system for making a game.

Then you can test your game on both an integrated graphics card (with their limitations) and a dedicated card that's more powerful.

 

PCPartPicker Part List

Type	Item	Price
CPU	AMD Ryzen 3 2200G 3.5 GHz Quad-Core Processor	$79.89 @ OutletPC
Motherboard	ASRock B450M-HDV R4.0 Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard	$64.89 @ OutletPC
Memory	Crucial Ballistix Sport LT 8 GB (1 x 8 GB) DDR4-2666 Memory	$31.99 @ Amazon
Storage	ADATA SU635 240 GB 2.5" Solid State Drive	$28.99 @ Amazon
Case	DIYPC MA01 MicroATX Mini Tower Case	$19.98 @ Newegg Business
Power Supply	SeaSonic S12III 450 W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply	$45.89 @ OutletPC
	Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts
	Total	$271.63
	Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-08-24 12:02 EDT-0400

 

 

 

 

3 hours ago, mariushm said:

ffs dude... a keyboard is 3-5$ , same for a mouse.. you don't need super fancy stuff to develop a game. A monitor can be as cheap as 20-30$, just look up Craiglist or eBay for someone selling a 20-22" lcd monitor in your area. If you're lucky you may find even 24" monitors for cheap.

You want 20" or higher, because 19" and lower usually come only with VGA (lower image quality and new graphics cards don't output vga signals anymore so you'd then need 20-30$ hdmi or displayport to vga converters) and  are typically 4:3 resolutions like 1280x1024 and if you're developing games 16:9 or something closer to that is preferable. So you want something that has DVI or HDMI inputs besides VGA, to make it more compatible with modern video graphics cards.  

 

Even Newegg has refurbished monitors ... for example here's a 40.5$ 19" 1440x900 with DVI and VGA, HP L1945w:  https://www.newegg.com/p/0JC-0019-028W1?Item=9SIAAYZ9WX4183

I know I said look for 20" or higher, but this one has high resolution for 19" (and the aspect ratio is 16:10 which is good as you can test game in both 16:9 and 16:10 aspect ratios) and it has DVI so it will be compatible with modern video cards.

 

60$ gets you a 21" 1080p monitor with DVI and VGA, HP 21KD : https://www.newegg.com/hp-t3u85aa-20-7-full-hd/p/N82E16824276208?Item=9SIAKVU9PK2037

 

Just look for "Grade A" notation... that means just minor scratches on the plastic, the actual viewing surface is good without scratches or faults.  Grade B monitors may have scratches on the glass or may have stand missing (they were used with VESA mount on walls or stuff like that)

 

If you have a job, just borrow some money from your parents , friends, or maybe work with your bank to get a credit card where you could pay what you buy with your credit card in 3 or more monthly payments, without interest. Lots of banks offer this.

If you don't have a job, maybe find a part time job, work a few weeks at McDonalds or something and put some cash aside.

 

Jesus... what's with some people that are too lazy or can't be bothered to be inventive, to research alternatives, to find solutions to their problems... stop complaining and DO something.

 

 

 

I was aware of the option but import things and I live in a third world country with really no good deals so it's new or nothing. And im younger than 16

 

Thanks for the suggestions but I asked my gramps and he has a spare monitor keyboard and mouse at his office I can take so yeah I'll also build the PC 

[Ryzen4Life]

Thanks for the suggestions but I asked my gramps and he has a spare monitor keyboard and mouse at his office I can take so yeah I'll also build the PC

[WiiManic]

On 8/24/2019 at 4:13 PM, Ryzen4Life said:

So will any program or something such as Microsoft Indie Program as I'm a broke boy with only 300$ bucks in his pocket or if i could secure funding from kickstarter or something 

I expect you'd struggle to get any funding from outside sources that aren't friends or family, just since you've (assumedly) not built anything before. Luckily, dev work is pretty easy on PCs, so you can get away with a normal machine for it.

 

One piece of advice that I've seen be pretty important to first time game makers is to be realistic and start small. By that I mean its nice to try and build the entire massive game you've thought of that you want to play....but even a small indie game is years of work. Starting with a giant game is an easy way to burn out and get nowhere. I've seen so many people go "I've got this notebook with a million ideas for my game that is an MMO version of X combined with Y and bits of Z and its like this other game and ..." and they just never get anywhere since the scope is just monumentally big for a studio, nevermind someone who is starting for the first time.

 

Taking your game idea, pulling out the most core part, the cool mechanic say, and just making that is a good first step. You don't want to make a bunch of art and level designs and this and that for a game that you start making and realise you need 8 years and 80 more people. You can expand the small feature as you go, or if you run out of steam/time you've at least got a cool tech demo that is useful to talk about at interviews and similar.