Things I wish I knew before I started my own indie studio
summary
Started a studio in 2017, launched Fires at Midnight (one‑year side project) on Steam and Epic, then got Cabaret funded by Wings Interactive and shown on ID@Xbox and Sense of Wonder at Tokyo Game Show; an initial ambitious VR prototype failed after trusting partners and burning money. Time splits are concrete: 20% game dev, 27% PR/events and 53% admin overhead. Practical lessons: ship a one‑year scope first, use grants (MDEC, Digital Dragons), prefer revshare if cash is tight, and keep team small (one dedicated programmer on early projects).
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chapters (21)
- 0:00Intro
- 0:51Welcome
- 1:58My previous life
- 2:35How I got into games
- 6:16Backstory about Malaysia
- 9:02I was stubborn
- 11:12I was burned
- 13:22Where theres a will
- 15:03Making the thing
- 24:02Not giving up
- 28:14Telling Stories in Games
- 31:16Money
- 36:17First game
- 40:54Big lessons
- 47:31QA
- 49:08Recommendations
- 50:27Business Plan
- 52:52How partners can betray you
- 54:32How to find and hire partners
- 55:59Equity vs rev share vs salary
- 58:46Core traits
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