Armageddon Empires, developed and published by Cryptic Comet
It's been almost three weeks since we unveiled our plans
to add a select group of columnists who would contribute monthly posts
to Level Up. Today, we're pleased to introduce our third columnist:
Bill Harris of the blog Dubious Quality.
"Smart and caustic" is how we described Harris' writing when he made
his Level Up debut last fall with a provocative post titled "How the Videogame Industry Shot Itself In the Joystick--and Why the Wii Has Stopped the Bleeding."
The Austin, Texas-based analyst (who does not cover videogames in a
professional capacity) will share his thoughtful, acerbic and often
contrary observations with the Level Up faithful in a monthly series
titled 180 Degrees.
In his first column, which we're presenting to you in two parts, Harris
speaks with designer and developer Vic Davis about the unusual path to
success for his independently released turn-based strategy game
Armageddon Empires, complete with charts derived from sales and site
traffic data that Davis helpfully provided. For some excellent insights
into how an indie developer can overcome the challenge of reaching an
audience, read on.
***
On July 18, 2007, Vic Davis and Cryptic Comet released Armageddon
Empires, a turn-based strategy game in a post-apocalyptic setting.
There was very little pre-release publicity, which is not unusual
for an indie game. And like most indie games, the initial interest in
Armageddon Empires steadily dropped in the first three months following
release.
At this point, Armageddon Empires was on a very traditional arc for an indie game. This arc would end, soon, in game death.
Then, a funny thing happened. It didn't.
Instead, Armageddon Empires became the surprise indie hit of 2007,
and sales have continued to increase into 2008. What made this game
different is an interesting case study for indie developers who are
having difficulty getting traction with their own games. I interviewed
designer and developer Vic Davis, who shared his insight on the process
of getting an indie game noticed.
Part One: Pre-release
You're 39 years old and you're tired of working for someone else, so you decide to make a game. That really sounds quite insane.
After I got out of the military I had intended to go back and work
in the intelligence community when I finished my graduate degree. After
my first child was born, though, I started re-evaluating priorities. I
wanted to control my own fate and make my own decisions. I also had to
come to grips with the fact that I enjoyed work more as a craftsman
(even if digital) than a leader.
What made you decide to get into gaming development?
To read Part I of Harris' column in its entirety, click on the link below.
