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 :)