SuperLongDistanceDeliveryService

GameConcept
ThetitleofourgameisSuperLongDistanceDeliveryService.InS.L.D.D.S.youtake ontheroleofownerandoperatorofanIntergalacticdeliveryservice.Theplayersgoalisto transportcargosafelyacrosstheuniverseearningmoneytoputbackintoexpandingtheir deliverycompany.Usingtechwhichsimultaneouslyallowsforhighendsimulationsand calculationandlowfigraphics,weareconfidentthatwecandeliveraproductthatcansatisfy boththegameplayneedsofcoreandcasualgamers,whilealsobeinglowfienoughtorelease onmobileplatformsandPCsimultaneously. LookingatthesuccessofrecenttitlessuchasindietitleFTL:FasterthanLight,and DoubleFineproductionsSpacebaseDF9wecanseeaspaceinthemarketforinteresting,lofi indietitleswithSciFithemesandnovelgameplay.ThePCspaceisgrowingasValvesSteam OSandaffordableSteamMachinegamingPCsaremakingPCgamingmuchmore accessiblewithlowerpricepointsatentry,andAndroid,IOSandWindowsPhoneareallsteadily growingplatforms,withlargepreexistinguserbases.

Research
Playtesting Inresearchingforthisprojectwecreatedapaperprototypetofacilitatecheapandeasy prototyping,wethenplayedtesteditandgatheredevidencefromthesession,thefollowingare theplaytestnotes.
Setup Theplayerisfirstissuedcash.Enoughtobuyaship,acrewmemberandoneupgrade. Ourplaytesterchooseshisship,andasksusDoIfindoutthemissiondetailsbeforeIstart? Hethenchooseshiscrewandupgrade,whichareclippedtotheship,andnamestheship. Theshipsstatsareupdatedwithupgradeandcrewstatsonpaper. Playerisgivenachoiceoflocationsandcargo,andtherewardsandrisksofthesafeandunsafe zonesareexplained. Locationischosen. InGame Playermovesbyonenode.Hereadicerollisusedtocalculatethedangerinthisarea.

Theshipisattacked,andtheplayergivenachoicetofightorflee. Heflees,andmovesontothenextnode.Adicerollheredecidesiftheshipescapeswithout damageortakesahit. Theshiptakesdamagewhileescapingtothenextnode,andshipstatsareadjustedaccordingly. Hereanotherdicerollisusedtodecideiftheplayerisattackedinthiszone. Theshipisattacked,againtheplayerisgivenachoicetofightorflee,andflees. Anotherdicerolltodetermineiftheshiptakesdamagewhilefleeingitdoes,shipstatsadjusted accordingly. Atthenextnode,theplayerhasreachedhisdestinationandisrewardedwithspacedollars,which arecalculatedbasedonthecargoandnumberofnodestheplayermakesthejourneyin Playerfeedback Theplayerlikedthegame,comparingittoresourcemanagement. HelikenedittoCivilisation. Heenjoyedthedecisionbasedtheoryofthegame,forexample,choosingupgradestofight,or boostyourship. Hesuggestedexpansiontoseparatestarsystems,whichwouldentaillongerjourney,higher payoffbutalsohigherrisk. Helikedthattheshipcouldbeattackedinthesafezonetoo,feltthiswasfair. Likenedittoaboardgame

Fromthisplayestwecandrawsomeconclusionsabouttheplayerexperience 1. Theplayerenjoyedresourcemanagement,anddecisionbasedcomponentsofthe game,thisshowsthatafeelingofplayeragencyhasbeenachievedwithinthesystemof thegameandissomethingtobeexpandeduponandnurturedduringdevelopment. 2. TheplayerlikenedthegametoSidMeyersCivilizationseries.Thesegamesarevery popularamongadultgamers(30+)ofallgendersandpeopleinterestedinhistory.This givesusanextrademographictolookintowhenmarketingthegame. 3. Theplayersaidhewouldprefermorestarsystemstoexploreinthegame,expansionof theprototypeissomethingalreadyplanned,andnowwehaveevidencetobackupthis designdecision.

MarketingSurvey Asurveywaspreparedanddistributedtoanumberofgamersinordertocollectvaluable informationasregardswhatplatformpeopleareplayingonandwhattypesofgamesthese peoplewishtoplay.Thesurveycanbefoundandcompletedhere[https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/2ZXQ38B] Theresultsofthesurveygavemesomeinterestinginformation,suchas 1. >70%ofthosesurveyedareinterestedonRPGgames,andplatformers,assuchitmay beadvisabletoseeifandwherethesegameelementscanbeimplemented. 2. >70%ofthosesurveyedalsoexpressedinterestinmanagementbasedgames,asthisis oneofourcoremechanicsthisisgoodnewsforus.Weshouldemphasizethisgame elementinbetatestingandmarketing 3. Ahuge100%ofthosesurveyownedlaptopcomputers,and>85%owneddesktops,this showsthatandinstallbaseexistsforPC/windowsbasedgames,aSteam,GMG,or GOGreleasecouldproveveryprofitable. 4. >85%alsoownedsmartphones,howeveronly35%expressedinterestinmobilegames. LookingatthisandthePCnumbersitisclearthatIOS/Androidreleasesshouldfocused onafterthePCrelease,withsomeheavymarketingformobileversions,placing emphasisonmanagementaspectsandnotmobileaspects. 5. Thevastmajority(>75%)spend25eurosorlesspermonthongames.Knowingthisit seemsaAAApricepoint(traditionally~$60)wouldbeabadmarketingstrategy,amore mobilefriendlypricepointof$5$15wouldbebettersuited. 6. >70%professedtohavingmadeinapppurchases(microtransactions),itmaybea goodideatolowertheinitialpricepoint(possiblyevengoingfreetoplay)andseeking monetizationinthisway. 7. Finallyitisnotedthata50/50splitexistsbetweenthosewhopurchaseonline(digital copies)andthosewhopurchaseinstore.Knowingthisitwouldseemthatmakingthe gameavailableinbothformatswouldmaximizepotentialcustomers.

DevelopmentTeamandProcess
Forthisprojectareasonablysmallteamwillsuffice.Iproposethatwewillneedateamof 13peoplemaximum,makingupadministration,artandtechnicaldepartments.Theteamshould consistoftalentedanddrivenindividualswithafireypassionforthedevelopmentofvideo games.Wewouldideallyseektocompleteandreleasethisgameasanindependentproject, freefrominfluenceofpublishinghouses.Thisallowsusartisticfreedomandintegrityoverthe developmentofourgame,andmaximisesourpotentialtakehomepercapita.However,without apublisheronboardwewillnothaveaslargeamediapresenceleadinguptorelease,thuswe willhireamarketingspecialisttopreparemarketingstrategiesandtelltheteamifapublishing houseisultimatelynecessaryforasuccessfulrelease. Theteamswouldbebrokendownasfollows Admin3staff: Amarketingspecialist,taskedwithdevelopingandexecutingmarketingstrategies andhandlinglaunchdetails,Actingasconsultantastowhetherindependant launchisviableorpublishersneedtobecourted. Aparttimelegalconsultanttohandlecopyrightdetailsandtoconferwithother industryprofessionalssuchasrepsfromdistributorsandpublishers. CreativeDirector,thiswouldideallybemyself,actingastheleaddeveloper, handlingtheteamsandconstantlyinterfacingwithAdminandotherteamheads.

Art6staff Twoconceptartistsworkingfromanearlystagedevelopingconceptsforspace shipsand2Dcharacters. One3Dartistsworkinginfromproductionphaseonwardscreating3Dmodelsfor shipsandplanets. OneTextureartistworkingalongsideour3Dartistscreatingtexturesand materialsforthemodels. A2Dartistbringourconceptartist2Dcharactertofinalrealisation. Ananimatorworkingin3Dtocreateanimationsforourmodels. TechnicalDept4staff OneprogrammerwithahistoryofhighlevelC#programminginTheUnityEngine creatingtheunderthehoodsystemsonwhichthegameneedstorun. Oneprogrammerworkingongameplayandeventsscripting,thiswouldideallybe myselfinthisrole. Oneprogrammerworkingongraphicsandsystemsoptimisationduring postproductionphase. Avisualeffectsspecialistcreatingpostprocessingeffects,againduringthe

postproductionphaseofdevelopment. AmobileoptimisationspecialistprogrammerfortheIOS/Androidrelease. ProductionProcessSchedule Theprocessofcreatingthegamewillbebrokenupintopreproduction,productionand postproduction.ThedetailsofwhatwillbedoneandwhenisoutlinedbelowinourGanttchart.

Jan wk1 PreProduction BusinessPlan Spaceship&character conceptdesign Programming+function flowcharts UIdesign Writing+storyboard (flowcharts) Production Creationof3Dassets Creationof2Dassets Functionalandgameplay coding Animation Visualeffect/Post processing Milestonereviews Post_production Optimisation Bugchasing Playtesting Marketing

Jan wk2

Jan wk3

Jan wk4

Feb wk1

Feb wk2

Feb wk3

Feb wk4

Mar wk1

Mar wk2

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Mar wk4

CostsOutlined Wages
Usinginformationgatheredonlineandtakingthesenumbersasastandardfor industrywageswewillneedtopayprogrammersapprox$75,000perannum(18,000 eachfor3months). Ourartistwillrequiresomewhereintherangeof$55,000perannum (13,750eachfor3months). Ourmarketingprofessionalwillrequireawageofabout$60,000peryear (~15,000forthe3month). Alegalconsultantwillrequireapprox$1,000dollarsperconsultation, assuming34consultationsandsomecontractdraftingwewillprobably seeintheregionof5,000forthedevelopmentperiod. FinallyIwillbeplanningtopayingmyselfaprogrammerssalaryandrecouping anythingelsefromsaleswithmylargercompanyshares. Usingtheseguidelineswewillneedapproximately$174,000forWages. SoftwareLicensing $3,500Autodesk3DSMaxsuite $3,500AdobeCS(photoshop,illustratoretc.) $1,500UnityPro $500forversioncontrolsoftwareplugins Usingthismetric,weshouldseesomewhereintheregionof$9,000spentonsoftware packages. PettyCash Allowingapettycashfloatof$250perweekfortaxis,dinners(foreveningwhere employeesareworkinglate)andothersuchunforeseencosts,~$3,000pettycash. Bonuses Finallyweallowfora2,0005,000bonusforallemployeesuponprojectcompletion, ~$26,000$65,000forbonuses Marketing Allowingamarketingbudgetof$40,000forTV,radioandonlineadvertisements. Total Overallwewillbeneedingapproximately$290,000tocompletetheprojectasitis currentlyoutlined.

AlternativeCostsOutlined
Ihavealsolaidoutanalternativebudget,withmuchloweroverheads,foruseiftheteam failstosecurefunding,ordecidetoproducethegameindependently. Wages Bykeepingasmallerstaffof5people,allholdingownershipofthecompany,wecould affordtopayourselvesasmallerwageduringdevelopment,withhopeofrecoupingmoreafter release. 2artistsdrawingawageof$2,000forthe3monthsofdevelopment 1Gameplay&systemsprogrammer,alsoactingasAdminandbusiness representative.$2,000 1graphicsprogrammer/technicalartist.$2,000 1Creativedirector,alsoactingasmarketingandadditionalprogramming.$2,000 Legalconsultantfees,~$5,000over3months. Usingthismetricitcanbeassumed$35,000willberequiredforwages. SoftwareLicensing $3,500Autodesk3DSMaxsuite $3,500AdobeCS(photoshop,illustratoretc.) $0UnityFree Usingthismetric,weshouldseesomewhereintheregionof$7,000spentonsoftware packages. PettyCash Allowingapettycashfloatof$100perweekfortaxis,dinners(foreveningwhere employeesareworkinglate)andothersuchunforeseencosts,~$1200pettycash. Marketing Allowingamarketingbudgetof$5,000foronlineadvertisements. Total Overallwewillbeneedingapproximately$50,000tocompletetheprojectasitis outlined.

SWOTAnalysis Aswemovetowardsthecommencementofthisprojectwetakealookatour strengthsandweaknessesandpossibleobstaclestoourventure.Themostconcisewayto visualisetheseattributesofourcompanyiswithaSWOTanalysis.ASWOTanalysislooks atacompanyoranindividual'sstrengths,weaknesses,opportunitiesandthreats.outlining theminavisualchart. Positive Internal

Strengths

Negative
Weaknesses

Astronggameconceptwithsolidmarket Asmallteamwithlittleexperienceshipping research agame. Theabilitytocreatethegamefora fractionofthecostofaAAAtitle Theabilitytocreatethegamequicklyand iterateifnecessary. Alargerequiredbudgetconsideringthesize oftheproject

External

Opportunities
Bringingonboardanexperienced publisher GatheringincomefromPCreleaseto fundmobilerelease Usingmicrotransactiontomonetize developmentoffurthergames

Threats
Apoormobilerelease Anothergameofsimilartypebeingrelease beforeours Becomingthevictimofarandominternet hatecampaign(ithappens!) Runningoutofmoneybeforedevelopmentis finished Notbeingabletosecurefunding

ElevatorPitch
Weareasmall,passionateindiegamedevelopmentteamfromDublin,workingonanew intellectualpropertybasedinapopulargenreandlookingtopushreleaseacrossseveralplatforms. Ourgameoffersauniqueexperiencewhichthrowsbacktothespacetradingandfightinggamesofthe 1980s.Havingconductedmarketresearchtowardsthisgoalweareconfidentthewearecreatingaproduct whichhasapreexistinginstallbasethatiscriticallyundersuppliedwiththetypesofgamestheywantto play. WeplantoreleaseacrossmobileandPCplatforms,bringahardcoreandacasualaudiencetothe gamewiththeintentofmaximizinginterestandsalesacrosstheboard.

AppendixFullsurveyresults

ExampleScreenshots