Apra Infotech

Apra Infotech began operations as a dedicated offshore development center for language and culutral training simulations in 2008. The US DOD was their primary user and the work focused mainly on AI, Game Play and UI development for Unreal and Unity3D game engines. Getting bored of developing serious games, they began to work on their first casual title "Carmella: The Flying Squirrel" under the studio name MPowered.in. We talk to the lead designer at Apra, Vijay Sinha, about their journey so far.

Tell us a bit about yourself. Where you come from and where do you want to go? Why Indie?

My name is Vijay Sinha, and I wear boxers. I am also the Lead Designer of MPowered, but my role revolves around Marketing and Project Planning as well.

When I was younger, I was always discouraged about wanting to do anything with video games. Up to a point, where I thought during my college days that they were right. I was hoping to study law after I dropped the idea of medicine during my first year stint at Queens College (CUNY). But due to some personal differences with my family dependents, I ended up crying back to India.

It wasn't until I started doing more writing on the gaming industry (local and worldwide), that I ended up working in an outsourced game testing company based in Noida called iEnergizer. Because of this, I was able to see first-hand how a development cycle works, getting to learn the tools and communication methods among the publishers, developers and our own testing team. I also got to work on several high-profile releases from THQ, including KAOS Studios' Frontlines: Fuel of War, Relic Entertainment's Dawn of War II, and Yuke's WWE Smackdown vs. Raw 2009. Although my all-time favorite project till now with them was Asobo Studio's PC game adaptation of Disney and Pixar's UP. Two years later, and I was offered to do the same for Apra Infotech but with a possibility of a more developer-kind of role attached.

Going Indie makes sense in India, because the competition of wanting to create high-profile games and then market them are every bit as rough here as its outside our country. Although on the other hand, I don't feel the creativity here is nearly quite there yet. At least when going independent, you have the chance of gaining the attention of other enthusiasts in your field, and you're not limited to just one market. You can create and sell your ideas anywhere in the world, in the comfort of your zone.

How do you define yourselves as an indie developer?

Trying to do things that are different from the norm and for yourself, and doing it without having to worry about certain specifics (ie. Publishers, sales-targets, etc).

 

 

How did you start?

When I had joined a small software company called Apra Infotech, and even then – things didn't get started until after my first year in. One of those “it sort of happened” kind of things.

What are the various aspects of game development you deal with? Which is your strongest one?

Making decisions and giving ideas on how our game should look, feel and play. I wouldn't know if its my strongest, but I am sort of the one who has to decide on how fun the game ultimately is. It's not easy, haha.

How do you make games?

The development process is fairly democratic here. We start with an idea and then spend some hours discussing it. I then start etching out the game design doc while the the programming team prototypes key elements and the art team starts work on concepts. Technology and platform selection is usually based upon our competencies. So while we are not very happy with Unity3D, we stuck with it for Carmella as we preferred a known devil over an unknown one.

How fun is being an indie developer?

Oh, it has its ups and downs! There's a lot of flexibility, and the luxury of just wanting to make something with a group of like-minded people is an attraction in its own right. You gotta have the right team and enough ambiance sometimes. Not to mention, we love to gorge on food. Mmm, pizza!

What is a usual day for you?

Walk in, greet those who have arrived before me, check my mail for updates on the programming and client end, then jot out what needs to be done for the day through small discussions. If there's a task that requires my personal input, I usually try to get it done ASAP. Other times, I'm busy tweaking my lame levels.

What are the challenges and advantages of your specific medium?

Because I don't consider myself being from a technical background, nor do I carry any scholastic papers depicting any such qualifications – I don't always have an idea if what I want in the game can be done or not. Some times its possible, other times we have to compensate for what simply works, because we ourselves are still in the learning process. But its great to have a diverse group of people, and sharing their every-day knowledge with us. Designing your own game is fun, but not everyone will or can share the same opinion as you. I've yet to feel I can strike the right balance, but I am certainly driven to find it.

What has been the driving force for Apra?

Mostly our common interests, and our love for all that is gaming and otherwise. It helps to have a team that cares about the subject material more than some regular desk jockey. No offense to my fellow desk jockeys. You're all very beautiful people.

Tell us a bit about the games you have developed? How have they performed in the Industry?

Our first and only game is a static side-scrolling 2D platformer with puzzle elements and a physics-driven approach to accomplishing objectives. Right now, can't say much more than that. But I am certainly liking the look and feel of it. The art is what needs to be there, and it's distinctive enough for others to critique on a production level. Can't comment on its “performance” given its not even out yet!

How critical is DRM ? Is it in your plans?

We really don't care about it that much, I think for us its more important to get our games out in as many hands as possible. Having said that, we are in no way saying piracy is not a a crime and it should not be punished.

How has been the experience so far? Some lessons learned?

Great! Not the smoothest, certainly not the roughest. Again, it boils down to two things for me: not having a technical-enough background to understand problems related to code, and making a game that I personally feel is fun and inviting for everyone regardless if they're completely casual or hardcore fans. There were ideas I had thought of during the earlier days of prototyping, which we felt (at the time) made sense. It wasn't until we conducted a lot of play-testing feedback, and realized “Oh, this makes more sense. Why didn't we think of that?” There are days when you have to go with your gut, then there are days where you have to listen to complete strangers who have only known your product for a whole of five minutes.

Tell us about your business model and how things fit in?

Don't have an appropriate answer on that one. Ask me again after 6 months :)

How has social media helped you?

Social media has definitely made communication easier with the gaming community. Having said that no amount of technology can help something stand out from the noise.

What are the highs and lows of being an Indie Developer?

Lots of leg space, being able to come to office in casual clothes with bad 5'o'clock shadows. Or that could be just me. Lows? Not having my morning coffee before 10 AM. That's when s*** gets real.

Do you think the Indie Game Scene feels something like the Renaissance?

Not really. Well, sometimes. Maybe. I like to pretend that I can draw naked men with the utmost detail!

What would you suggest as the model for indie development? How to survive in the industry?

I don't nearly have enough experience to comment on that one, but digital distribution has certainly paved the way for many of us. To me at least, it's about finding that right niche for yourself, and being able to hold on to it long enough until you can capitalize on it again with something newer, faster, stronger, better. But obviously, it doesn't work for every one. Which is a shame, because there's a lot of talent that seems to go unrewarded at times.

Self publishing, Digital distribution, no more middle men? Any word of advice to up and coming Indies who have dreams of selling their games and getting rich (only to keep themselves in computers, Internet and pizza of course)

Triple-A games aren't a sin, and I wholly encourage any strong-willed individual to give it their all if that is what they feel they should work towards to. Even if the pay sucks, and your superiors think you're a toilet – work hard; learn more and more. Just remember that you don't need a million dollar budget to produce a good quality product, and the decision of utilizing that talent into earning from it is every bit as a learning process as it is making games. Be patient, but be diligent. And for the love of sphinxes, don't stop playing games. Don't live in a vacuum. Socialize with other developers and learn from their experiences.

What should we expect from Apra Infotech in the days to come?

Apart from the newer iPhone and iPod Touch versions of Carmella, we're looking to port over to Android. We're also adding in a new control scheme, as well general tweaks and more polishing to the gameplay experience.

Ironcode Gaming

Ironcode Gaming, Dehradun

Started in September 2009, IronCode Gaming is a company engaged in producing fun filled computer games. With 5 casual games under the belt, the developer has built quite a reputation for casual games. We talk to Pallav Nawani (Developer) about their experiences being an indie.

How do you define yourselves as an indie developer?

I believe being indie is more about passion than about company size or experimentation. What I value most about being an indie is the Independence, being able to do what you want to do without worrying about whether it will sell or what the competition is doing or what is the current market fad.

An Indie doesn’t necessarily have to create something that is non conforming or experimental. He only needs to create the game he/she wants to play.

How did you start?

We have always been interested in games. Before we started full time in game development, I had made two attempts to develop a game.

The story of IronCode started in 2003. At the time I was working at a software company at Bangalore. My brother, who was studying at the time, used to stay with me.

While I was working there, I tried to develop a game engine, but soon realised that I could not do this part time. After working full day writing softwares, I did not have enough energies to continue doing it at home. If I wanted to make a game, I had to do it full time.

It was a few years after the dot-com burst and people were still afraid to start a business that depended on the Internet for revenues. However, since we kept in touch with the online world, we realised that it was now possible to make a living making games and selling them online.

So we decided that it was the time to take a risk or two. My brother and I established IronCode Software, and we jumped right in. IronCode Software at the time was just a banner under which we made games, it was only in 2009 that we founded an actual company called IronCode Gaming.

How fun is being an indie developer?

You can work when you like, you can work from home or office, or not work at all. The true independence is one of the biggest perks of being an indie.

We can look at our work and take pride in it, because it is we who developed it from start to finish, it is *ours*.

So yes, it is a lot of fun, but it is a lot of work too.

What is a usual day for you?

Well, I don’t have a usual day as such, but on one of the calmer days, I go to office at 9:30, work a little on game design, then perhaps our programmer comes to me and wants clarification on some aspect of design, then I realise that we have just hired an artist to do the comic book cutscenes and I need to come up with the script for the cutscenes and I start working on it, and so on till 6 PM, when all of us stop working and start playing Quake3.

How do you make games?

I come up with a concept, which I discuss with my brother. If we like it, I come up with some basic game design. We follow that up by making the first level of the game. That crystallises our vision and allows us to figure out what kind of game we want to make.

Then I start working on completing the design document and the team starts work on the part of the game that has already been designed.

Tell us a bit about yourself. Where do you come from and where do you want to go? Why Indie?

We hail from the famed Doon valley, once famous for its beauty, and now as our current base of operations.

As I mentioned before, we started in Bangalore, as a team of two. Since returning to Dehradun we have grown to four, and we intend to grow still further, hopefully into a studio capable of consistently creating great games.

What has been the driving force for Ironcode?

First driving factor for IronCode is that we want to be successful and we want to be successful making games. We’re not looking to do outsourcing or other services to bring the revenues in. Our second driving factor is our ambition to grow into a studio that is known for the great games it makes.

What are the challenges and advantages of your specific medium?

One of the interesting challenges is the game design itself. It interests me a lot because when we start from an idea and develop a game around it, we have taken something that is very vague - an idea - and shaped it into something crystalline - an actual game. This is a process that plays out differently for each game.

One of the advantages or characteristics that makes video games different from other mediums is that the player is not just a passive receptor. The player doesn’t have to be satisfied watching the hero in action, the player can be the hero.

How critical is DRM ? Is it in your plans?

The success or failure of a game depends on how good the game is, so DRM is not critical at all. However, if we stop looking at DRM from the angle of piracy prevention, and start looking at it as a value added service to the customer, then it can aid sales.

As a small company there are some practical difficulties in effective use of DRM as a service, so we have tended to be DRM free.

Tell us a bit about the games you have developed? How have they performed in the Industry?

When we started making games, we struggled in the beginning. That’s because we didn’t have the competencies needed to develop a good game. We had no experience in developing game software, game design, game art, marketing - that practically covers everything, doesn’t it?

So our first few games struggled, and we only became profitable when we launched Angkor. Angkor was a bit of a concession to the market, but it was also us raising our hand and saying “we refuse to let the dream fade!” In a way Angkor was a watershed game for us, not because it made a lot of money - it didn’t, but with Angkor we had finally acquired the competence in game development that was necessary to be successful.

With Pahelika: Secret Legends we really raised the quality bar for our games, and it was our most successful game ever.

Looking forward, we have the release of Pahelika: Revelations lined up for August this year. With this game we have again raised the quality bar and we hope it will be as successful as its predecessor.

What are the various aspects of game development? Which is your strongest one?

Various aspects of game development would be game design, programming, concept art, 3D modelling and texturing, dialog/story writing, sound design, music and marketing.

I don’t think I can pick something up and say that it is our strongest point, but I can say that we’re not able to do sound design and music ourselves just yet.

How has been the experience so far? Some lessons learned?

The experience so far has been great and we hope to be able to continue similarly in future. Lessons learnt are many, but ‘never give up’ is the biggest one. Along with ‘always keep learning’ it has ensured that we are still here making games and enjoying ourselves.

Tell us about your business model and how things fit in?

Our business model is extremely simple. We make a game, and then we sell it online. We sell it through our website or through online retailers. Since we do not have the manpower or expertise to operate a online web store, we depend on third parties to do the credit card processing.

How has social media helped you?

We haven’t quite managed to use the social media so far. It appears to us that social media isn’t all that useful, unless you hit the elusive holy grail of your game going viral - then of course, it is the best thing in the world.

What are the highs and lows of being an Indie Developer?

Highs - you get to chart your future course yourself, when you see a great game review, when people email you to tell you how much they enjoyed playing your game, when your game shows up in top 5 of most downloaded/best selling charts, when you play your own game and realise that it is well made game - the satisfaction that brings is out of this world.

Lows - when some idiot reviewer takes your game and trashes it without bothering to give it a proper review, when you release the game and people report back with bugs, when you release the game and it doesn’t sell.

Do you think the Indie Game scene feels something like the Renaissance?

Perhaps. I haven’t really thought about it.

What would you suggest as the model for indie development? How to survive in the industry?

If you can make a good game, then you can be successful selling online. That’s what we do, at any rate. Currently our games are targeted towards the casual market. We make games and we sell on our website and casual retailers like Real Arcade. Other people have sold their games on Steam, XBox Live etc. This is a good model. It works.

What should we expect from Ironcode in the days to come?

Right now we are busy working on Pahelika: Revelations, so in the coming months you are going to see a fair bit of info about that game from us. Beyond that, we are looking to change direction in the terms of games we’re going to make, but that is something we’re still trying to work out.

Self publishing, Digital distribution, no more middle men? Any word of advice to up and coming Indies who have dreams of selling their games and getting rich (only to keep themselves in computers, Internet and pizza of course)

If you have a game that no one wants to play then no matter how you market it, put it on steam etc, it won’t sell. So the first thing you need to have is a good game, and then, you should do it all. That’s right. Self publish online, *and* use middle men to take your game where you can’t take it yourself. Put your game on Steam, Real Arcade, BigFish, Direct2Drive, Impulse, put it *everywhere*. If you can’t get it on Steam yourself, use a 3rd party to do it. If you can’t port it to XBox yourself, give it to some middleman who will port it and give you royalty from Xbox revenues. When your company becomes well known, the need for middlemen is automatically reduced. Till that happens, you need them. You should use them (and abuse them) if you can.

To know more about IronCode and their games check out their website - http://www.ironcode.com/ like them on facebook - https://www.facebook.com/Ironcode.Gaming and of course play their games :)

Over Cloud9

Over Cloud9, Kolkata

Started in late 2009, Over Cloud9 rapidly established itself as a successful hub of RPG games from India. A foray by two sisters, Moumita and Priyanka from Kolkata, Over Cloud9 is a very good example of how an indie studio can build itself a niche of loyal gamers in a brief amount of time. We talk to Moumita on her journey so far.

How do you define yourselves as an indie developer?

I break rules! Being an indie gives me enough freedom to fearlessly explore uncharted waters of gaming and experiment with new stuff because I don't have big money to lose. That way, we indies breath life of innovation, creativity and freshness into new games instead of churning out generic titles.

How did you start?

From the scratch ;) I used to be an RPG lover and started by writing free walkthroughs for them. Then I thought of reselling those same games on my own website with the walkthroughs so that people can get both from the same place. Then was born the idea of creating my own games. And that is how time flew by and here I am now, heading my own business with some decent monthly sustainance from it enough to cover my own costs and help create more games ;).

How fun is being an indie developer?

I work hard and play harder :D The fun part is the freedom of your decisions and learning things through experimentation.

 

 

 

What is a usual day for you?

I wake up at 11 am, check my mails and start working as per my plans. I usually have work scheduled in order of importance and take them one at the time and finish them off. I focus more on keeping track of the current industry trends, working on learning and practising more marketing techniques, creating and fine-tuning the design concepts of my future games, allocating asset creations to various artists or websites, etc. The day ends at 12-1 pm.

How do you make games?

By using game engines LOL. The artwork and music is usually outsourced, the game design, production and marketing is handled by me.

Tell us a bit about yourself. Where you come from and where do you want to go? Why Indie?

When I did my engineering in IT, little did I dream that I would take up gaming as my career. I come from a humble bengali family in Kolkata and currently I'm in Bangalore owing to the needs of my business. I'm more skillfull in game marketing and distribution, however I'm looking forward to playing the role of game producer and help other indies in game production.

What has been the driving force for Over Cloud9?

Dreams, blatant day dreams! Games allow my imaginations to run wild and do something out of the blue. They are my best possible manifestations of creativity and innovation.Gaming is an unusual and unexpected career for me, it just 'happened' to me. I usually plan my career and other stuff, but this was just a development of my love of games into a reality.

What are the challenges and advantages of your specific medium?

You won't like me start my rantings now ;) The challenges are many, yet there are many advantages also if one can grasp it. I have discussed it elaborately in my recent blog post citing my own experiences, pitfalls and learnings - Life of an Indie (Part 1)

How critical is DRM? Is it in your plans?

I have never used DRM in any of my games and neither do I plan to. The reason - I searched for cracks/hacks of each DRM I know and I found all of them are available in pirated websites. If they can't protect their own software using their own DRM from pirates, how can they protect my software? Pirates will always find a way to pirate a game if it is popular enough. So why punish the innocent customers with complications or keys and registration processes, when they are willing to buy my game? I don't want to waste my money and time on it. Honest customers, who really liked your game will always pay you, the non paying ones will never pay even if you design the world's impossible-to-crack DRM. I trust my customers and they trust me. Piracy alone cannot kill my business. If my games are good enough, they will always generate revenue for me.

 

Tell us a bit about the games you have developed? How have they performed in the Industry?

So far I have developed only one game for the PC platform, which is a 2D RPG. I don't want to mass produce games for sustainance, which is why I have other games on my website for that purpose. I want to create good commercial games (no oxymorons intended), so I'd rather create a budget, plan my schedules and spend time in developing a good game that would give me back the time and money I invested in it and earn me the supreme satisfaction of entertaining my customers with something fresh, creative and engaging.

What are the various aspects of game development? Which is your strongest one?

I'm sure developers don't just want to develop good games, they want to earn money too. So they have to plan their project even before thinking of a game. The game development is not limited to simply game production, the pre-production and post-production processes are very, very important. The success of the entire game depends on the pre-production, when one decides what demography he wants to target, what platforms, genre and configurations. That is because the graphical enhancements, the game style and the content heavily depends on that.

The entire production will now realize this plan. When the game is halfway complete, one should start creating a buzz about it and it's expected release date. Marketing is involved in every phase of the entire development cycle. Once the game is completed, then starts the post production work, which mainly includes a thorough testing on various configurations, bug fixing, release and promotions, getting reviews, submissions to portals,etc.

My strongest is pre-production and marketing.

How has been the experience so far? Some lessons learned?

The experience has been a mixed bag so far. I learnt from my mistakes, but feel that I'm on the right track and with hard work and dedication, I can achieve what I dream of.

Tell us about your business model and how things fit in?

That's a trade secret ;) I keep trying new stuff, so it is a flexible one with the basic structure of production and commerce woven in.

How has social media helped you?

Social media has helped me receive potential audiences and to keep my recurring players and customers up to date about what is going on. It is easy to inform all my members about any update, game releases, etc just by one single message instead of sending a time-consuming newsletter which some might consider intrusive. There are many other developers who have earned viral popularity and huge success using the social media, though I think I haven't exploited social media much yet.

What are the highs and lows of being an Indie Developer?

This is a long long answer which I have ranted and cheered about in my blog. In short, quoting an anonymous author- an entrepreneur is a person who works for 16 hours a day to avoid working for 8 hours for his employer. Being a indie gives a lot of freedom of expression in terms of never-before game ideas and general way of life and business.

Also since an indie doesn't have very advanced system or technology to work with, his games usually require moderate system specifications which means he has a larger market capturing potential than AAA titles who make high end games playable only in high end systems.  But during the starting phase, the amount of hardwork and research that needs to be done to kick off to success can be very challenging and demotivating.

Unless you know your market and the marketing tactics, no matter how good your game is, you are doomed. However, once you know what you want, plan well and learn to use the media properly, success will kiss your feet. Keeping an indie business running is more difficult than starting it.

Do you think the Indie Game Scene feels something like the Renaissance?

No. There may be huge changes in the gaming scene in general with huge advancement in technology, artwork, music, marketing channels, etc, still the way an indie conducts his business in terms of delivering game remains the same. The audience awareness has increased, but it doesn't helps much if the indie games do not keep up to the quality standard like it's bigger competitors.

What would you suggest as the model for indie development? How to survive in the industry?

It is difficult to discuss business strategies within such constraints. There are many successful models which developers have discovered. The most notable ones are as follows:

1. Make a free game and put it up in your own website. Spread the word about the game and once popularity picks up, you already have a ready market to launch a commercial game. Your existing players will know the type and style of game you make from your free game. They happily buy it as soon as it releases, so there is no wait period after releasing your next game which can be commercial. Examples of developers who have followed this model and become successful are- Amanda Fitch (amaranthia.com), Damien Aldorlea (aldorlea.org).
2. Start selling other developer's games on your site and release indigenous products which has to do something with those games (reviews, game hints, walkthroughs, cheats, etc). Like for me, I had started writing walkthroughs for RPG games I played. At that time, very few people used to sell or do walkthroughs for indie games like those. Because my walkthroughs were free to use, players used to come to my site to read it and saw similar games hosted. Gradually they started buying my products and other games hosted as they already had trusted and tested my products. That is how my business started and has come a long way ever since.
3. Build a gaming community where players can discuss, play or submit their games or other games they like, reviews, trailers, news, previews, videos, mods, etc . That way, in short time a lot of interested players will start referring more players and like-minded friends they know to the site. Then you can create and start selling your own games in such communities or sell other developer's products whose games are featured or discussed in that forum, or games which are similar to those. There are many other ways you can earn from such communities apart from selling any gaming product like renting advertising space, etc. Examples of such communities are plenty like ModDB, etc.
4. If you are a programmer, create your own game engine in your spare time (may be during weekends or free time after work) and make a "freemium" business model to sell it, or you can go the usual licensing way. That will encourage people to buy your engine, make games with it, sell it and you can earn revenue from licensing it. Also you can create your own games with it. Examples of indie developer are few, but nevertheless worth mentioning- Game maker,Indie Game Engine, NeoAxis engine, etc.
5. If you know sufficient advertisers who are interested to sponsor or put ads in your game, then you can give away your game for free and earn from the ad revenue. This is the most popular adver-gaming business model which has been employed by many many bigger companies also these days. The only problem at the beginning is to get advertisers interested in putting money in your game and tracking the impressions/clicks rates. Examples: games like Oblivion, Angry Birds, etc have in-game advertising.

Survival in the industry: There is a very simple answer for that- Marketing, marketing and marketing! Also know your competition and know your market. These three are the only ways to SURVIVE in the scene.

What should we expect from Over Cloud9 in the days to come?

More games. And with some more successful titles we will be venturing into different platforms, new gameplay ideas, etc.

Self publishing, Digital distribution, no more middle men? Any word of advice to up and coming Indies who have dreams of selling their games and getting rich (only to keep themselves in computers, Internet and pizza of course)

Initially, getting your game more exposure and popularity is quite important than merely selling. Middle men like game portals serve a good platform for that purpose. Their revenue distribution to developers are really low, but the return are high even with low percentages of profits earned. Middle men can't really be obliterated, especially indies, because they do not have enough funds to do immense marketing all over the world.

Digital distribution is the best way for quick selling than retail marketing when it comes to games as delivery is simple and easy for softwares. However, no marketing channels should be ignored if you want to be popular. Because it is popularity that makes a game sell more than it's quality (yes a sad truth). I have seen loads of crap getting sold at exorbitant prices just because they were published by huge companies. So, you need to grab any source of marketing you can lay your hands upon if you are thinking of long term presence in the industry.

 

Pyrodactyl Games

Started in 2011 in Jaipur, Pyrodactyl Games is making waves of its own. Their first game A.Typical RPG was included in the top 5 RPG games at IndieDB's IOTY 2011 and they recently announced their second title - C.R.A.B. We talked to Arvind about flying dinosaurs that shoot flames and everything Pyrodactyl.

How did you start?

It's kind of a long story - I got my first PC in class 8th, and I spent a lot of time playing games on it. I took the C++ course in class 11-12 and made a huge dopewars clone in about a month. I just felt at home programming games, so I took Computer Science as my branch in my college. The studies were pretty boring and irrelevant but I finally had internet! I got hooked on the source modding scene at moddb, which resulted in me being a programmer in a few mods. After a while though, I really wanted to see if I could make it as an indie developer, and the rest is still work in progress :)

How fun is being an indie developer?

It's quite fun for me, since I really like programming. It feels really great to think of ways to implement cool stuff in your game, get feedback from players, and best of all, you are your own boss!

What is a usual day for you?

I think I work on my games for about 8-10 hours per day. I don't keep track really. I also check tigs, moddb, reddit, facebook and my email in between. And sometimes I remember to eat things. Did I drink water today? Let me check.

How do you make games?

I make games by writing code in C++ and compiling it. The compiling process is done by writing the code in a word document and emailing it to Bill Gates, who generally replies with the executable of the game in about 30 minutes. This also means I cannot code on a Sunday, since Bill isn't in his office on Sundays. Too lazy if you ask me.

What has been the driving force for Pyrodactyl Games?

I just want to make the games I want to play. Getting a few friends and fans along the way is an added bonus :D

What are the challenges and advantages of your specific medium ?

You have to compromise on your intended vision for the "best game evar" into something you can actually make in a realistic time frame and budget. The market is incredibly competitive too, and gamers are very demanding about what should and shouldn't be in a game. Specific to India, there are very few developers here (especially in Jaipur), so it makes collaborating on projects very difficult.

How critical is DRM ? Is it in your plans?

I don't believe in DRM. I don't think I'll ever use it willingly, but sometimes publishers force your hand, so you can't really do anything about it.

Tell us a bit about the games you have developed? How have they performed in the Industry?

Well, so far I have made just one game called "The A.Typical RPG", which is about a bunch of friends slogging through college. This game was a great lesson for me, as I learned a lot of things while making it, as well as from the players. It has done fairly well, enough to support me for my next big venture.

What are the various aspects of game development you deal with? Which is your strongest one?

I'm a programmer, and I can do a bit of web design. I'm definitely a better programmer than an artist. I tried making music for my games by singing into a mic, but let's just say that certain municipal laws have ended my musical career for now.

How has been the experience so far? Some lessons learned?

It's been mostly good, with a lot of lessons learned. I have had teammates simply stop responding or not working on quite a few projects, which has led me to be very picky about the teammates I choose to work with. Dealing with negative reactions takes getting used to, but it's equally important to learn from it and not just ignore it.

Tell us about your business model and how things fit in?

My business model is explained in the following steps:

1. Make game
2. Sell game
3. ???
4. Go to step 1
5. Profit!

How has social media helped you?

Social media is great for spreading news about your games, and good blog posts about development help a lot in attracting people too. But it's equally important to not be too social media active and actually put time into making the darn game. Now if you will excuse me, I have a facebook notification here - I'll be back in a sec.

What are the highs and lows of being an Indie Developer?

High: It feels great to complete a game and release it. Being in charge of your own destiny is great. Collaborating with great people and receiving recognition is awesome. I also get to decide my own work hours!
Lows: When starting out, it can feel pretty soul crushing when nobody is interested in what you do. There are times when struggling over a huge bug or problem can get to you and you fall into a pit of despair and think becoming emo is a legitimate life choice. And I get really angry when teammates ditch me or just disappear.

Do you think the Indie Game Scene feels something like the Renaissance?

I have learned from Assassin's Creed that the Renaissance was just a bunch of dudes running around and stabbing each other with hidden blades. For the record, I haven't had a fellow game developer try to stab me for about 2 months now, so I think things are quite un-renaissance here.

What would you suggest as the model for indie development? How to survive in the industry?

I think releasing titles quickly is key to indie survival, unless you find the proverbial goldmine like several indies have had. Surviving is about keeping yourself afloat to keep making games, and about avoiding the velociraptors that roam on the street. However, if a flying dinosaur on fire approaches you, it's okay, because that's just Pyrodactyl and we are better than those velociraptors.

What should we expect from Pyrodactyl in the days to come?

More games! Bigger and better than before!

Self publishing, Digital distribution, no more middle men? Any word of advice to up and coming Indies who have dreams of selling their games and getting rich(only to keep themselves in computers, Internet and pizza of course)

Digital distribution is definitely the way of the future. As to budding indies, all I have to say is : make games! You definitely shouldn't think of getting rich when starting out (if you are in it for the money, then I would suggest investment banking or something). You have to devote enough time to hone your skills. It's a rewarding field if you have the will to see things through till the end.