Game Funding - How to Get it for Free - Nerd Age

Some of you who visit our site want game funding. The title of this article is a huge, bold claim. However it is completely possible to gain game funding without any of your own money. You can become one of many game developers using the money of others. So how do you do this? Not only will we go down the steps for you, but we will point out hard evidence of our claims.

Step 1: Make Connections for Future Game Funding

If you make connections, it will help all your other efforts. What exactly does this mean? Making connections that help with game funding is a diverse topic. Here are just a few ways:

• Create a popular youtube channel and personality
• Meet with those in the industry at conventions. Networking is essential
• Create a popular site
• Meet with potential sponsors. Even write to some
• Connect with the media

All of these are quite easy to do. In fact, the really hard part is overcoming your own fear. The industry seems daunting at first. However many of these people were little guys like you. Also, never let a small failure get you down. You may go through many outlets before building a presence. This presence will help your Future Game Funding.

The hard Evidence of Game Funding Point #1

• The Yogscast guys got a ton of support for a game that is basically Minecraft due to their presence
• Many game teams met their future members at conventions or gatherings
• The Fistpuncher crew, among others, gained the support of popular sites such as IGN. This puts them ahead
• Bastion, considered an indie game, was sponsored by Warner Bros. A great game, at that is somehow considered indie still
• We have seen many games featured on this site alone go through Steam Greenlight due to our support and that of others

Step 2: Getting Funding

Assuming that you have followed the previous steps, this is the easy part. There are a few things you can do:

• Make a Kickstarter/Indiegogo/Paypal donate page
• Tell everyone how it is your dream to stand out and make them a game they haven’t seen
• Appeal to classic games and say that you either have someone from them or are working on a game like one
• Have other teams of developers endorse you on your funding campaign

Assuming you have built a decent presence, you should have some money rolling in. However you should pay attention to who donates so that you know your target demographics. If you appeal to the wrong people, you may have some trouble.

The Nostalgia Appeal for Game Funding

As cynical as it sounds, if your game borrows from a popular one that is a plus for you. Is it good? No. But humans are emotional beings. For example, when I heard that Planetary Annihilation was coming out from one of the makers of Total Annihilation, I was stoked. I couldn’t help but be. Is the company making it stellar? No, they have put out some games ranging from bad to okay. But I had to donate on the off chance that such a good game could come back.

No one is immune to this appeal, even those who have scruples. Because we all want to hope for the best on some level. And getting to play a great game again in a new way? Well, who doesn’t want that?

The hard Evidence of Game Funding Point #2

• The Giana Sisters game is a re-do of an older one, and has done quite well
• Many books have been written and studies done on people buying with hearts over heads
• Many crews, including Octodad, got a ton of money from Kickstarter
• However misplaced the affection is, games like Cheetahmen have tons of fans that made a game real

Step 3: Using your Game Funding

Once you have your funding, it is time to finish your team. You need all aspects of your game covered including:

• Graphics
• Music
• Promotions
• Story
• Voice Acting
• Legal considerations

And you need all these bases covered. You can leave out voice acting in some games, but it helps. Fortunately, there are a great many sites to look for talent on. Let us check out a few:

• Other game teams
• Sites such as Elance
• There are even some skilled people on Fiverr
• Calls for action on your Social Media
• Headhunting agencies
• Those who write about games, many small bloggers would love to write for a game

So you have a wealth of places that you can look here. Check them all out when spending your game funding.

Step 4: Actually Making the Game

Once this is all done, you should have the money and staff you need to make the game. This does not mean you will no longer have hiccups. You may need more funding later. But we will have future sections on this. Overall, the hardest part is behind you at this point. Best of luck to you, and remember, it is much easier than you think. Our next chapters will go over making the game and publishing it.