Wondering about the costs of paying a team to make your game

[Shaz]

That game is right here on RM Web. Seita had a lot of people working on it, and I believe they are going to be paid (or have been) now that the Kickstarter has been funded. That funding will also provide MORE resources (I think - but it's best if you look at the threads yourself).


So basically, I think most of the work that went into the game was voluntary, but everyone who contributed significantly is being paid now.

 

[Engr. Adiktuzmiko]

YANTH started as non-commercial AFAIK... then they decided to go commercial and went up on KS in order to have money to pay for custom resources... anyway, Seita actually wrote a nice article for a successful KS, it might be worth taking a look on it...

how can people make such beautiful game like "You are not the hero" for example where the team is huge

you could also opt to try to make a dedicated team, that will work as one group, share resources/money, and also share on a game's success... though this would probably be best if the team is composed of people you personally know...


else, you might be better off finding commission works

 

[AlanCasanova]

Oh ok! well thank you to everyone!

 

[Meraki]

My team and I are currently working on a commercial project with a Kickstarter planned next month.

What I have done is mostly commissioning.

This way, you pay for one image/music track or whatever it is you need.

When it comes to pricing, it varies a lot, and by that, I mean a LOT!

Depending on the quality you are seeking(and the people you commission), a full-body character image could cost you anywhere from $20-$100.

Music is often paid for based on the length of each track, and the price varies just as much as it does with 2D art.

Mapping, eventing, databasing and scripting are time consuming, and you'd likely look at the same price range as the other things there

So... based on this, it will be very expensive to hire a team to do everything else than writing the story! 

If each map costs you $25, and you need 100 maps, that adds up to $2500

A full soundtrack will be expensive. Let's say $150 per track, and you need 15. That adds up to $2250 

Then you need some character art! Battlers who can also be used as busts or facesets for example. Let's say that each costs you $35, and you need 15. That adds up to $525

Let's then assume that you need some custom scripts. Let's say you need four, and each costs you $30(I haven't done this, so this price is but a guess). That adds up to $120

Based on this, the cost to produce the game would be about $5395  -  and this is pretty optimistic

 

[AlanCasanova]

My team and I are currently working on a commercial project with a Kickstarter planned next month.

What I have done is mostly commissioning.

This way, you pay for one image/music track or whatever it is you need.

When it comes to pricing, it varies a lot, and by that, I mean a LOT!

Depending on the quality you are seeking(and the people you commission), a full-body character image could cost you anywhere from $20-$100.

Music is often paid for based on the length of each track, and the price varies just as much as it does with 2D art.

Mapping, eventing, databasing and scripting are time consuming, and you'd likely look at the same price range as the other things there

So... based on this, it will be very expensive to hire a team to do everything else than writing the story! 

If each map costs you $25, and you need 100 maps, that adds up to $2500

A full soundtrack will be expensive. Let's say $150 per track, and you need 15. That adds up to $2250 

Then you need some character art! Battlers who can also be used as busts or facesets for example. Let's say that each costs you $35, and you need 15. That adds up to $525

Let's then assume that you need some custom scripts. Let's say you need four, and each costs you $30(I haven't done this, so this price is but a guess). That adds up to $120

Based on this, the cost to produce the game would be about $5395  -  and this is pretty optimistic

I would say so that is probably would cost an average of 5000 bucks! Interesting, I actually thought that so would be possible to commission completely a game and still you may make some moneys with kickstarter or something like that, I mean, I think that ask for 6k in a crow founding website and maybe more (adding things like awards or possible improvements) would still give you 1k of profit and your "dream" game realized... Kind of cool if I would have enough money ahahah

 

[Engr. Adiktuzmiko]

Take note that his estimate doesn't even include custom sprites and tilesets...

PS: you could maybe also try to land a job as a storywriter for a game company... 

 

[AlanCasanova]

Take note that his estimate doesn't even include custom sprites and tilesets...

PS: you could maybe also try to land a job as a storywriter for a game company... 

Yeah that right, and I guess you should have some special ability to get a job from a game company as a storywriter, probably you should at least be a almost real writer I guess

 

[Sharm]

Rule number 1 about figuring out a budget for something: add at least 30% to time and money estimates, because stuff always comes up. That means if you expect it to cost 5k and have a kickstarter to raise 6k, you'll likely be short on money not have an excess.

 

[Archeia]

I do know from working outside the RM community too...

1.) A minute track is $20~$25

2.) Professional Pixel Artist Rates are $25/hr

3.) Artworks are a different beast and varies. 

4.) Battle Systems in RM's case, some of them reach $100~$150 minimum depending on your requirements.

 

[mlogan]

I think the overall take away is that there is no real way to answer this question with a definitive answer.  There are too many variables that play into the cost to give you a specific answer.

 

[Zeriab]

4) which goes to show how ridiculous cheap many RM scripters work for.

Should you need to go outside the RM community you can safely multiply the amount by 10.

mlogan is right. It's only when you have finished the game that you know the exact price. Even then it will in all likelihood be different from game to game.

*hugs*