Game Design Secrets

Chapter 15

Is Your Game Ready to Get VC or Crowdfunding?

In This Chapter

• Weighing the promises and perils of financing: VCs (venture capitalists) and crowdfunding
• Understanding the best ways to sell VCs on your game
• Learning the best practices for crowdfunded games from successful game developers

Many indie developers assume they’ll need to fund their first game projects with their own money. Often, that’s true, and the easiest way to get started. However, with the right design and “elevator pitch”—Silicon Valley jargon for a short, punchy, compelling summary of the game you’re working on—even small developers stand a pretty good chance to get external funding. That money might come from a venture capitalist or angel investor, if you can convince them you have the talent and track record to deserve their cash. And increasingly, it can also come from a group of people across the Internet, through a process called “crowdfunding.” This chapter will introduce you to these forms of funding and give you advice on going after both.