I'm pretty sure Styg is Serbian and that Valve is only paying taxes on their own cut, not the full sale price.VD is Canadian though. AFAIK the US has no sales tax on online items (though some states might) and there's no reason for them to tax VD's income seeing how he does not live in the US. Valve takes their cut, pays income tax, then pays VD what it owes him out of what it sold. Styg is American so of course he has to pay income tax but VD has no business in the US himself.
I don't think that indie RPGs (I mean proper RPGs) is something you can make a lot of money on. It IS a passionate hobby and as long as it pays the bills (i.e. covers the basic living expenses), we're ok with it.
Trivial considerations compared to old-school RPGs with unprecedented C&CNot trying to pry, but I imagine things like healthcare, children, all around consumer niceties start to beck and call after a while
For me it is because I did it the other way around. I always wanted to make RPGs but I had to provide for my family and climb the corporate ladder. It wasn't easy to give it up but I was afraid of sitting in that comfortable chair for the rest of my life a lot more than I was afraid of quitting and doing what I love on minimum pay. I thought I'd miss it all but I never did. Not even once. Plus I get to keep what's left of my soul.Curious...is that a long term solution though? Not trying to pry, but I imagine things like healthcare, children, all around consumer niceties start to beck and call after a while...is "good enough"...well, good enough for a while?
For me it is because I did it the other way around. I always wanted to make RPGs but I had to provide for my family and climb the corporate ladder. It wasn't easy to give it up but I was afraid of sitting in that comfortable chair for the rest of my life a lot more than I was afraid of quitting and doing what I love on minimum pay. I thought I'd miss it all but I never did. Not even once. Plus I get to keep what's left of my soul.
DoubleBear is giving up on RPGs because it's so hard to make money.With revenue like that it will take them another 10 years to make the next game... with real jobs on the side. They can downscale to 20-30h modules on the same engine over and over again but they still would need assets for new settings, i.e. sub contractor artists.
Double Bear made the right choice, you either do it professionally (make money) or it's just a passionate hobby.
You COULD make a lot more money by having decent combat in future games. Party + lots of gore alone would probably double the sales.
Same here. I'll probably buy a 3rd copy for my friend (in truth, for me but what will I do with all these copies myself). Pretty sure he won't like the game though because he won't have the patience to learn and because of graphics. I won't buy it through BMT though this time because of shitty EU and its shitty policy (34.88 euro instead of Steam's 28 euro).(...) I already preorder AOD by BMT three years ago, but I plan to buy another copy on GOG on the release date. Can't bring the incline without doing some sacrifice
That's what i said. Can't make money, so do something else. Either that, or do it like Vince - as a hobby.DoubleBear is giving up on RPGs because it's so hard to make money.
I thought you meant they did it right because of having a kickstarter and staffing up.That's what i said. Can't make money, so do something else. Either that, or do it like Vince - as a hobby.
This is something that I was quite curious about ever since learning your 'story', but I guess it might be a bit personal so feel free not to answer.For me it is because I did it the other way around. I always wanted to make RPGs but I had to provide for my family and climb the corporate ladder. It wasn't easy to give it up but I was afraid of sitting in that comfortable chair for the rest of my life a lot more than I was afraid of quitting and doing what I love on minimum pay. I thought I'd miss it all but I never did. Not even once. Plus I get to keep what's left of my soul.
just need to tap that Game of Thrones audience. 'Murder. Lust. Betrayal. Few will survive - the Age of Decadence.'
Going with your numbers, 20k/year x 6 x 4 = 480k not 4.8 mil.Vault Dweller Assuming you meet your sales desires in 1 year, i.e. 30,000+ copies sold (and for your sake I hope you do) how can you afford to pay even a staff of 5 full time people, plus yourself, for 3-4 years on even half a million dorra of income/profit?
I know nothing about Canadian wages, but assuming you pay each person $20,000/year (USD) for 4 years, and 20 grand per year without 401K and health insurance/bonuses etc is peanuts in the US, you would need $4.8M to cover their salary.
You're missing the dungeon crawler which is meant to be a sales booster to help us last til the next game is ready to hit early access.Are you hoping that continued sales of AoD over continuing years, after the first, will pay that? Or if I am missing something what is it?
It did. My family is supportive because they know how much it means to me. It sounds simple but it's not. It didn't happen overnight. I thought about it for a year and struggled with the decision. At some point the side hobby became a demanding second job and I knew that I had to pick one thing and focus on it.This is something that I was quite curious about ever since learning your 'story', but I guess it might be a bit personal so feel free not to answer.
How did your family react to your decision ?
Because I guess moving from a high level corporate executive to a minimum wage RPG designer had to have some impact on the living standard of your family, right ?