For many developers, putting together a video game requires years of effort, resources and deep pockets. Studios likeRockstar Games, which poured $260 million into the acclaimedGrand Theft Auto 5, employ thousands of people - not just programmers, but marketing and finance specialists too. Not all game studios have the security of a billion-dollar net worth, though. For devs like Burgos Games, the studio behind upcoming indie puzzle-platformerNeko Ghost, Jump!,it’s an uphill battle for recognition, success, and profits amid the deluge of AAA content.
Burgos Games creative director Victor Burgos feels that pressure acutely. As a Marine Corps veteran and a new father, he has mostly self-funded his indie studio with a little help from crowdfunding service Kickstarter. Although it’s only been available forEarly Access on Steamand the Epic Games Store around a month, Burgos Games’ first major step into the industry is struggling to find its footing. Game Rant spoke with Burgos about its development process, cash flow, and how he believes the definition of ‘indie’ is changing.
RELATED:Bendy and the Ink Machine Didn’t Stick the Landing, But Thrives on Atmosphere
Neko Ghost, Jump!, Early Access Titles Rely on User Reviews
The average person might reasonably assume that an indie developer with a game for sale on Steam would primarily gauge their title’s success based on the amount of cash it rakes in. However, Burgos said it’s a bit more complicated.
“Reviews are also a huge weight on that,” he said. According to Burgos, Valve’s games client assigns “tiers” to titles based on the number of user reviews they have. That determines how visible a game is to someone browsing theSteamstore. While a game’s financial success does matter, Steam’s algorithm takes reviews into large account. ForNeko Ghost, Burgos Games’ feline-themed platformer, it’s been difficult to break through the lower tiers of Steam’s visibility matrix - though the game hit its first tier of 10 reviews “two or three days” after it went live on January 11.
“I noticed a big bump in my visibility, because people were able to see it on their discovery queues and stuff like that.”
Steam’s algorithm also takespositive versus negative user reviewsinto account. Games with an ‘overwhelmingly positive’ review rating will be more visible than ones that only earn the ‘positive’ designation, Burgos said.
SinceNeko Ghostbecame available through Early Access, it has only clocked 21 reviews - the vast majority positive. Despite that, Burgos said he’s “antsy” to get to the next tier. “The more reviews, the better, and obviously the better the reviews the better.”
Neko Ghost, Jump! and the Almighty Dollar
Positive reviews don’t just help indie games likeNeko Ghostget to the top of Steam’s Early Access storefront. They also help developers recoup development costs and improve their titles.
“If the game was doing super well, say, if I had made 10 grand on day one, or in the first week or even in the first month, I could reinvest that into the game and make it even better,” Burgos said. As of Game Rant’s talk with Burgos,Neko Ghosthad only madeabout $2,500 in Early Access sales. That’s barely enough to cover the mortgage on Burgos' house, he said, let alone to pay the eight contracted developers who are working on the game.
Burgos Games got a bit of overhead during the development process thanks to Kickstarter and grants. Burgos said he crowdfunded around $20,000 forNeko Ghost, although that sum ended up being a bit lower after Kickstarter took its cut. The studio also got another $20,000 from Epic MegaGrants, a funding award offered by Epic Games. That money onlycovered the studio’s development costsfor around four months, Burgos said. “I’ve been basically paying out of pocket, from my personal savings.”
Part of Burgos Games’s struggle is that it self-publishedNeko Ghost. “It’s kind of stressful as an indie developer, because if you don’t have a publisher then you can’t count on their funding, or external funding. I feel like, from a gamer’s perspective, they don’t understand that.”
RELATED:6 Beginner Tips For Grapple Dog
Neko Ghost, Jump! and What it Means to be ‘Indie’
Since he began as an indie developer in 2019, Burgos has had a gripe with the gaming industry. “Originally, being indie meant you didn’t have a publisher,” he said. Now that norm is changing.
So-called “indie publishers” such asDevolver Digital, which has backed hits likeEnter the GungeonandHotline Miami, are making it more difficult for smaller studios to get noticed, Burgos said.
“Any game they back is going to make a ton of money. How is it fair to compare a game from Devolver Digital’s portfolio versus a first-time dev that is self-funded?”
Contributing to that problem is how games media covers the industry, according to Burgos. “If you look at any tier-one outlet, if you look at the front page, it’s usually big AAA games or big indie games that have huge budgets,” he said. That issue has caused some indie devs to move away from trying to get press coverage on their titles and focus more on “content creators and influencers.” Those avenues give indie studiosaccess to large fanbaseswhere their content can potentially be viewed by a lot of people.
Despite that, the press isn’t totally out of the question for indie developers, Burgos said. “It’s still a piece of a puzzle, you’re still getting eyes on the game. But it’s like one of those things where you maybe don’t focus 100 percent on it.”
Neko Ghost, Jump!is currently available in Early Access for PC, and is in development for PC, PlayStation, Switch, and Xbox.
MORE:Neko Ghost, Jump! Lead Victor Burgos on His Experience as a Military Vet Turned Game Dev
