How to Start a Video Game Company

If you have thought about starting a video game company, then there are certain things that you will need to think about before you put your plan into action. This will allow you to get a clearer picture of what exactly you would like to accomplish in the field of video games. Here are some things to consider when you are developing your project.

·         Think About What Platform You Will be Doing Game Development For

In the video game industry, there are three major platforms: the PC, game consoles and mobile devices. If you want to make video games for gaming consoles, you should know that you are going to be fighting an uphill battle. This is because the market is already highly controlled by some very established game development companies and game development for consoles needs to be licensed by the manufacturer of the console, which is very difficult to achieve. You are much better off starting out by creating mobile or PC games.

·         Think About Who Will Be On Your Team at First

While it is possible to start a gaming company alone, you are much better off if you have some other people with you, this can help with certain tasks such as Video Game Testing. Even if they can't work full time, it is much better than working alone, as you will be able to share the tasks involved in creating your first video game with them. Of course, once your company expands, you can add more people to your projects and even hire a full time staff. When you are starting out, you may want to partner up with a few people who are passionate and motivated about creating video games.

·         Get All the Necessary Tools

Basically, the only actual tool that you will need for game programming and creation would be a computer that is relatively powerful. Depending on the type of games that you will be creating, you will need some additional tools such as graphic design programs, software development kits, 3D modeling software, programming tools, etc. While commercial software can be used, if you are on a limited budget, you will often find open source alternatives. For example, instead of using Photoshop to create some graphics, you can use GIMP which is free and has very similar functions to Photoshop.

·         Consider Partnering Up With Some Other Companies

Even the biggest video game companies delegate and outsource some of their tasks, such as game QA. You too can delegate some tasks to freelancers or an outside firm if necessary. For example, if the people in your team are all highly skilled in programming but are not so good with graphic design, you can hire another service provider who will design the graphics for the video game for you.

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