Basics of Starting your own Game Studio

[@channyh.221B]

- "So I finally joined a club." - "Oh nice, which club?" - * proudly * "The BiteMe Games Bookclub." Also, congratulations on your subscribers nummers, it keeps getting up at a very steady pace.

[@Surkk2960]

The more I learn about the business side of game dev, the less I feel like I'm ready to make a full game.

[@jeremyjohnson9609]

And that's ok! Just jump in. Get started. That's the only way you'll ever make a game.

[@ChristopherCricketWallace]

I'm embarrassed to say that THIS is the reason that I haven't started for years. The taxes concerns alone paralyze me.

[@tlothompson6935]

I'm the complete opposite. I have started multiple startup businesses and learned everything there is to know about starting a business. However, I have no skills when it comes to game design.

[@Dailyfiber_98]

I’m going to try and market my very first game and I encourage you to do the same. Is it going to be mediocre and get bad reviews? Sure, but I see it as a learning opportunity for the sales side of things where I have no experience.

[@Surkk2960]

@@Dailyfiber_98 Well good luck to you, hope it goes better than expected :3

[@blakeearth]

Very excited for this book club idea!

[@ReadingOcelotl]

Masters of Doom is really fun to read about seeing the progress about id software and basically the birth of a studio in the early days of game dev. Its not so much a practical guide but its inspiring though and written well that it basically turns the pages itself. I usually reread it on a long flight 😆

[@bitemegames]

As someone who adores boomer shooters, it was one of the first books that I've read, and John Carmack is one of my idols (even though I don't program). I've actually covered this book in an ancient "top books for gamedevs" video, I think it was our 4th upload. -M

[@bananaArt741]

Totally gonna buy this book. Sounds like a great resource!

[@megasupernewbie]

this is great thanks for sharing books with us

[@mindyourlanguage2066]

I like this "book club" idea. Here's one on writing that I think could be interesting to discuss: "On Writing and Worldbuilding, Volume I" by Timothy Hickson. Cheers!

[@joshuadillon8893]

I don't know what books are out there that I need to be looking in to. I would like to. Thank you for making this video, looking forward to the other installments.

[@KaitheArtGuy]

I fall into the Early Access mistake category you mention around 9:55 I started early access this year with less than 500 wishlists, maybe around 10-20 people playtesting. Is there still hope to grow an audience? How much does that hurt my numbers if I'm planning on working on the game for probably another 3-5 years?

[@meowshroomstudio]

Thank you for sharing those! I am trying to launch my game studio in US and yes those legal issues and all sorts of health insurance really drives me nuts. Really curious how international teams work and how do they choose which country to register their business.

[@GES1985]

Can you personally "rent" out the PC to make the games with and the office space used to make them in, to the game studio?

[@BTrainStudio]

My favorite gamedev books is blood, sweat, and pixels. Jason also wrote Press Reset. I highly recommend those books. Blood, sweat, and pixels is about how the industry come up with a game idea and create it. Press Reset are stories of what happens after failure and where those developers go. If you do a book club, I'd love to join. I need to read more books overall.

[@GeryNH]

Thank you for the recommendations :)

[@bitemegames]

It's actually one of the first gamedev related books, and I covered it in an ancient (I think our 4th upload) video! -M

[@denkkab1366]

Dumb/basic question maybe, but about financing: if I have some pocket money I am willing to invest into my own studio, is there something I need to take into account or can I just transfer the money to the studio's account and then whenever I want, transfer all/some of it back to my personal account if I decide I don't need to spend (all of) that? Or do I lose something due to taxes etc. if I did that without some considerations?

[@bitemegames]

In Belgium at least, putting money into the company is no problem, I can literally just do a bank transfer from my personal account to the business account. Getting that same money out once it's in there isn't as easy however, and is subject to tax. -M

[@denkkab1366]

@@bitemegames thanks, that was kind of my thought as well, but great to get confirmation (at least regarding Belgium, but I think same applies here).

[@BrianIsMakingGames]

@@denkkab1366 if you are in the US realize the rules actually differ a lot depending on the type of company (LLC, LLP, S Corp, C Corp, etc) and also vary based on which state(s) you register your business in. As a general rule though, yes adding money is pretty easy (but there are tax considerations for that too depending on timing). Taking it out...varies a LOT on the tax rules. So if you are serious about starting... a quick intro call with an accountant is absolutely worth it. Doing it wrong can pierce the liability shield (which granted for a game company probably isn't the end of the world....but still better to do it right)

[@bruceburnett5372]

Read?...who has time to read? Just slows me down... kinda like stop signs. I ignore them too. Lol.. You're not the first to recommend his book.

[@Dailyfiber_98]

Audiobooks are a solution to your “stop signs” lol.