![]() ![]() "As organizations grow, so much of the resources sustain the entity itself. The high production costs associated with producing a graphically-intensive release for a videogame platform like the Xbox 360 means that publishers need to produce a hit. Larger publishers and development studios tend to be more risk-averse and are tied into traditional retail models, such as selling through brick and mortar stores, which can prevent novel business ideas from blossoming. Many independent game developers are trying out novel methods to keep their passions afloat. "The fact that you can get involved with your community of fans to get them into the actual gamemaking process is amazing," he says. He's even contracted his biggest fans, mostly teenagers, to help with the development process. Even after the release is completed, it will be a work in progress as he plans to issue frequent updates to the game as he's been doing for the last six years since starting the project. Fans have been paying $18 for an uncompleted version of the game which picked up two awards at the Independent Games Festival this year. In fact, nearby Phoenix resident Daniel Tabar, head of two-man outfit Data Realms, had about the same number fund his work-in-progress action game Cortex Command over the last year. Swink says that more than that 2.5 million people played their games last year, so finding 5,000 paying members isn't an insurmountable challenge. The office has a mountain unicycling club and most days they only work six hours a day, four days a week. Swink has managed to buy himself a house and he has more time to himself. But far from being a starving artist, Mr. Swink quit his job, moved to Tempe, Ariz., and joined Flashbang Studios to work on his own creations. "I had hair down to my waist and I was getting fat," he says. Swink was working 16-hour days during the hectic end of the production cycle and had thrown personal care to wind. For more than a year, he had toiled in a Los Angeles office complex working on the newest release of skateboarding game "Tony Hawk Underground." As an employee for Neversoft, Mr. Joining Flashbang was a much-needed change of pace for Mr. Kelly argued that such rabid devotees would create outsourced version of the patronage system that's funded artists for centuries. ![]() They can't wait till you issue your next work," he wrote. They bookmark the eBay page where your out-of-print editions show up. They will drive 200 miles to see you sing. "A True Fan is defined as someone who will purchase anything and everything you produce. Kelly argues that artists could make a living with a small group of dedicated individuals who would fund their work. The new business model is a real-world test of an essay published by Wired magazine founder and technologist Kevin Kelly entitled " 1,000 True Fans." Mr. They arrived at what they considered to be a reasonable goal: only 5,000 people every half-year. Swink and his team calculated how many people they'd need to keep a staff of six and cover a $20,000 per month budget. Blurst will also be taking requests from fans to add features over time. ![]() In addition to giving away its games for free, it'll charge $20 for a six month subscription for additional features such as a downloadable version. Later this year, Blurst games will conduct an experiment. The monochromatic game "Paper Moon" is Flashbang Studio's newest release. ![]()
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