Welcome to the games industry! It's an ever-changing world where competition is fierce, publishing platforms and business models come and go (crowdfunding has appeared and seemingly peaked in just a few years), whole genres of products disappear (only to be revived or reinvented 15 years later), and big publishers and small independent studios alike fight for an ever-limited resource: player attention. We're often giving away more and more (if not all) of our content for free, hoping to monetize users later down the line.
At the time writing, Valve's Steam dominates publishing on PC, while Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo keep fighting for their share of the console pie. Exclusively handheld consoles are on the back foot, quick being replaced by phones and tablets. The mobile industry itself is all but dominated by Google's Play Store and Apple's App Store and while the mobile market keeps on growing, it has become much, much harder for small developers to break through and make a profit. User acquisition is extremely challenging (read: expensive) and lack of support from the platform holder can sink your profitability. Premium (paid-for) mobile games are a minority, and most financially successful products are what we consider freemium or free to play. In this crowded market, games are becoming more and more expensive to make, market, and operate. What worked in 2010 works no more; the best bet for small groups of indie devs is now with Steam, though that market has also been flooded with the introduction of the now-defunct Steam Greenlight. According to the data exposed by http://steamspy.com/, there were 379 games published on Steam in 2012; by 2016, that number grew to 4,207. Developers now face a market that's increasingly hit-driven, and unless you sit on a billion-dollar brand such as FIFA or Call of Duty, playing it safe is no longer an option. If you do not adapt and innovate quick enough, you're sure to face commercial failure. As the stakes go higher, teams either balloon out of proportion or grow ever leaner.
Now, the reality might have sounded a little grim, and make no mistake, while it's very difficult to make a great game, it's even harder to make it successful. But for those who keep on trying, for those who do not hold back and surrender after their first, fifth, or even twentieth canceled or failed game, this can be the best industry on the planet and within it, being a game designer can be the most rewarding and fulfilling job.
We'll start this book by delving briefly into the basic machinations of the games industry, exploring game design roles and responsibilities, production methods, and development milestones. There's a lot to cover, and probably much more exciting stuff to follow so... Are you ready? Let's begin!
