Fostering Independent Game Development
Two web portals with very different business models provide a place for independent developers to get their games noticed
As George Carlin used to say, everybody needs a place for their stuff.
But finding a place for game developers' "stuff" -- somewhere where they can show off their wares, get a little exposure and perhaps some cash to boot -- hasn't always been so easy.
In general, the Web portals that are in business to sell casual games aren't interested in fledgling developers. And, until recently, there's been no equivalent of YouTube for games -- a site where anybody can upload a game they have built, have it scrutinized by the gaming public and perhaps make a name for themselves.
Then along came Kongregate.com.
At the moment, gamers can find approximately 960 browser-based casual games on the site, the majority posted by amateur game developers.
"Many of them tend to be teams of two college kids -- one a programmer in, say, a dorm on the East Coast and the other perhaps an artist on the West Coast," explains Jim Greer. "Some of them are older but, if they are older, most aren't making games full-time."
Greer is the company's CEO and co-founder, along with his sister, Emily. This is his 16th year in the games industry, having been at Electronic Arts' Pogo.com Web site for the last 4 and a half, most recently as technical director.
Last year, Greer set out to create a site that not only attracts gamers but gives them plenty of reasons to stick around. Kongregate.com, he says, has been designed to be a social networking site that provides the same sort of accoutrements that make similar Web destinations so enticing.
In addition to playing games and voting for their favorites, visitors can create profiles, hook up with friends, engage in text chat and participate in challenges that earn them points and virtual collectibles.
"There are lots of sites where you can play games and then leave," says Greer, "which, if you can imagine, is sort of like playing World of Warcraft and then having to start from scratch the next time you log on. On those sites, there's no persistence of any kind. On Kongregate.com, however, you get involved in the games and can then show off to all your friends how well you did. Everything you do on our site earns you points, which contribute to your leveling up. Other sites may be fun, but they don't take advantage of gamers' desires to show off and be able to revel in their most glorious moments. Xbox Live lets you do that and that's why it's been so successful."
Kongregate.com formally entered its beta testing phase at the end of March and, while no date has been set for its official launch, it has already attracted half a million monthly unique visitors. The average time they spend on the site is 40 minutes, for which they pay nothing to play.
"We're one heck of a great deal," says Greer, "especially when you consider that if you go to a site like Pogo.com -- where there are also games and buddy lists and badges to collect -- you pay $40 a year to subscribe."
That brings up the question of how Kongregate.com intends to make money, especially since Greer is proud of the fact that he is sharing revenue with the developers who provide him content and still retain their own intellectual property.
Currently Greer has about 400 developers who, on the average, have each posted two to three games. Each month, he divvies up his revenue; each developer's share is based on how many times his game was played and how tightly he integrates his game with the site. In addition, bonuses are doled out to those whose games receive the most votes from visitors to the site.
"The bonuses total about $8,000 a month, and the top game gets $1,500," he says. "It's difficult to say what the average developer receives. I mean, they're not all equally talented; some are really, really good, and some of them are, well, 12-year-olds."