Games industry veteran Tim Schafer wanted to make an old-school graphic adventure game, but didn't think he'd get any publisher support. So he put the project's fate in the hands of the fans. Tim asked for $400,000 on Kickstarter, a website which encourages people to make donations towards the development of creative projects.
The response was pretty darn phenomenal. The target was nailed in a mere eight hours, according to the Metro. And it didn't stop there. More than $1m was raised in less than 24 hours and the cash kept rolling in.
OK, if you're a recent graduate, your ventures might not attract the same amount of interest and backing at the conception phase - as much as it would be lovely. What we're saying though is using your initiative to set out on your own - even without tons of financial backing - can be a good way of breaking into the industry.
There are so many different routes to market now for self-publishing that with a lot of hard work you can get out there and release your own games, according to Brian McNicoll from Dynamo Games. Even if your games don't take off, you have something tangible to show employers, he says. It's a point echoed by Professor Frederic Fol Leymarie and Professor William Latham in a recent Careers blog. They said: "Whether or not your game has been successful, getting it to market is half of the battle and potential employers will admire your determination."
What else is going to help you be in with a chance of breaking into the industry? From everything from gaining experience to what needs to be on your demo, join a panel of industry experts for advice in a live Q&A on February 21 between 1pm and 3pm. Advance questions are welcome in the comments section below now, and the experts will respond to your questions there.
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Our panel (more names to be added):
Fabio Filasieno is a partner of Forge Reply, a mobile, console, web games development company.
Grant Clarke is a lecturer in computer games development within the Institute of Art, Media and Computer Games at the University of Abertay Dundee. He has a 15 year history of working in video games development.
Mark Hastings founded Guerilla Tea - a company which focuses primarily on mobile games and application development - with three other students during his master's degree at University of Abertay Dundee.
Saint John Walker is Skillset's head of development, overseeing the creation of industry-relevant and up-to-date accreditation systems, course structures, apprenticeship and short courses, qualifications, and ways to package the skills the creative media industries need to compete.
Sofronis Efstathiou is a senior practice fellow for the Computer Animation Academic Group at Bournemouth University. Sofronis previously worked in the film and games industry on projects such as Happy Feet and 300.
Dr Alexandra Psarrou is head of the Computer Science and Software Engineering Department at the University of Westminster.
Andy Tudor is currently creative director at Slightly Mad Studios, overseeing a number of upcoming projects for both consoles and mobile devices.
Chris Kempt is MD and founder of Kempt, a digital marketing agency and specialist in advertising games. Chris is a board member for BIMA, the British Interactive Media Association and also on the board of TIGA, the trade association representing the UK's games industry.
Will Wright is a game designer at Proper Games. Will recently graduated with a master's in Games Development from the University of Abertay Dundee.
Paul Leishman is a recent master's graduate from the University of Abertay Dundee, who has started working as the associate producer at Proper Games.
