Birth of a Game Studio: A Look at Prophecy Games
Written by Anthony Perez
If you’re a big fan of videogames, you will almost undoubtedly come to a point in your life where you think you could actually help develop a great videogame. And a fraction of you will do so by embracing that passion and pursuing that dream. But what if you succeed? What if you can say that you contributed to the creation of highly acclaimed games like Freedom Force, Tribes Vengeance, Command and Conquer: Generals, and Lord of the Rings: Battle for Middle Earth?
Well, then maybe you’ll be ready to start your own studio. That’s the conclusion reached by the folks behind the brand new development studio, Prophecy Games. But their journey to create their dream game, Under Pressure (check out our exclusive first preview), hasn’t been so easy for the Australian-based developer.
“[Starting a new game studio] is incredibly difficult,” says Andrew Smith, CEO of Prophecy Games. “I could not even emphasize how hard it is to actually get a game startup going. And there are some nights where I’ve been struggling through and I fantasize as to what it was like to just turn up 9-to-5 and collect a paycheck and do my work and not have to think about this grand plan.”
Despite having all of the experience listed above and a group of developers who previously worked at Irrational Games – the studio that would later become known as 2K Boston (modern day 2K Marin) and developer of BioShock – Smith’s struggles in creating Prophecy Games is a sobering, daunting, and perhaps inspiring one.
Birth of a Game Studio
So, why would a group of guys working at a talented development studio that produced highly acclaimed games want to start their own company?
“It mainly comes down to the fact that if you’re working in another studio, you’re working in another man’s house,” said Smith. “So the culture, the way the games are made, who has creative control, how the creative direction is handled; these are all things that have kind of been predetermined before you ever turned up. Which is great when you’re getting your feet, but when you’re talking long-term thinking, ‘Well. I’m going to be doing this for the next 10 or 20 years,’ you start to think, “Is there a way I would prefer to be making these games?’”
So, with nothing more than a vision and a few other team members, Smith began the first order of business: raising money. After unsuccessfully trying to raise the funds from venture capitalists – private companies that specifically invest money into new “start-up” businesses – Smith tried his only other option by sending out applications for small business government grants.
“About 75 percent of every application we submitted was rejected outright,” said Smith. “So we got used to hearing people say no a lot.”
But rather than sulk over their failures, Prophecy followed up with the groups that denied their applications in order to find out what went wrong. Did Under Pressure, as their sole game in pre-production, not sound compelling? Was there no interest in video game investments? Was their business plan no good?
“Actually quite positive improvements to the Under Pressure concept came out of feedback from, of all places, these government grants,” said Smith. “And you’d think that’s not exactly the first place you’d look for games-based industry knowledge but they often did raise quite valid points.”
In the end, the federal government contributed $70,000 while the Australian Capital Territory government added another $250,000. While impressive, it still pales in comparison to the costs of modern game development since developing a demo to show to potential publishers can cost anywhere from $500,000 to $1 million. And without a publisher, you can’t sell a game in stores.
Still, that money gave Prophecy the confidence and momentum it needed. Soon after, they were expecting to land yet another large government grant. Smith and his crew hit the ground running hard, planning further expenses and getting a bit ahead of themselves when that large government grant they were so sure about suddenly disappeared. With few other options, Prophecy had to scramble back to venture capitalists.
Finally, with things looking down and a giant obstacle in their way, their private investor came in the form of a familiar face.
“The guy who ended up becoming our investor is actually someone I’d worked with for some time,” said Smith. “And it just sort of came up one day and he was incredibly impressed with what we were doing and wanted to invest and we were sort of like ‘*gasp* Okay, cool!’"
Written by Anthony Perez
If you’re a big fan of videogames, you will almost undoubtedly come to a point in your life where you think you could actually help develop a great videogame. And a fraction of you will do so by embracing that passion and pursuing that dream. But what if you succeed? What if you can say that you contributed to the creation of highly acclaimed games like Freedom Force, Tribes Vengeance, Command and Conquer: Generals, and Lord of the Rings: Battle for Middle Earth?
Well, then maybe you’ll be ready to start your own studio. That’s the conclusion reached by the folks behind the brand new development studio, Prophecy Games. But their journey to create their dream game, Under Pressure (check out our exclusive first preview), hasn’t been so easy for the Australian-based developer.
“[Starting a new game studio] is incredibly difficult,” says Andrew Smith, CEO of Prophecy Games. “I could not even emphasize how hard it is to actually get a game startup going. And there are some nights where I’ve been struggling through and I fantasize as to what it was like to just turn up 9-to-5 and collect a paycheck and do my work and not have to think about this grand plan.”
Despite having all of the experience listed above and a group of developers who previously worked at Irrational Games – the studio that would later become known as 2K Boston (modern day 2K Marin) and developer of BioShock – Smith’s struggles in creating Prophecy Games is a sobering, daunting, and perhaps inspiring one.
Birth of a Game Studio
Andrew Smith, CEO of Prophecy Games
“It mainly comes down to the fact that if you’re working in another studio, you’re working in another man’s house,” said Smith. “So the culture, the way the games are made, who has creative control, how the creative direction is handled; these are all things that have kind of been predetermined before you ever turned up. Which is great when you’re getting your feet, but when you’re talking long-term thinking, ‘Well. I’m going to be doing this for the next 10 or 20 years,’ you start to think, “Is there a way I would prefer to be making these games?’”
So, with nothing more than a vision and a few other team members, Smith began the first order of business: raising money. After unsuccessfully trying to raise the funds from venture capitalists – private companies that specifically invest money into new “start-up” businesses – Smith tried his only other option by sending out applications for small business government grants.
“About 75 percent of every application we submitted was rejected outright,” said Smith. “So we got used to hearing people say no a lot.”
But rather than sulk over their failures, Prophecy followed up with the groups that denied their applications in order to find out what went wrong. Did Under Pressure, as their sole game in pre-production, not sound compelling? Was there no interest in video game investments? Was their business plan no good?
“Actually quite positive improvements to the Under Pressure concept came out of feedback from, of all places, these government grants,” said Smith. “And you’d think that’s not exactly the first place you’d look for games-based industry knowledge but they often did raise quite valid points.”
In the end, the federal government contributed $70,000 while the Australian Capital Territory government added another $250,000. While impressive, it still pales in comparison to the costs of modern game development since developing a demo to show to potential publishers can cost anywhere from $500,000 to $1 million. And without a publisher, you can’t sell a game in stores.
Still, that money gave Prophecy the confidence and momentum it needed. Soon after, they were expecting to land yet another large government grant. Smith and his crew hit the ground running hard, planning further expenses and getting a bit ahead of themselves when that large government grant they were so sure about suddenly disappeared. With few other options, Prophecy had to scramble back to venture capitalists.
Finally, with things looking down and a giant obstacle in their way, their private investor came in the form of a familiar face.
“The guy who ended up becoming our investor is actually someone I’d worked with for some time,” said Smith. “And it just sort of came up one day and he was incredibly impressed with what we were doing and wanted to invest and we were sort of like ‘*gasp* Okay, cool!’"
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