Game developer Gone Home spent $140,000 to make the game but didn’t make any money

Developer Johnnermann Nordhagen just released his latest game, a take on American folklore, this February. Prior to launch, initial predictions showed that his game would be able to attract a decent audience, but contrary to my expectations, Nordhagen’s game was really not very successful in terms of reviews. on the commercial side. When interviewed about the success and shortcomings of The Water Taste Like Wine game, Nordhagen said he has yet to earn a dime from his game.

However, that does not mean that the game has not sold a single copy, instead Nordhagen has not received any money after paying all of his contractors and collaborators. Nordhagen says he spent nearly $140,000 out of his own pocket to pay his collaborators.

“So far, I have made 0$ from my game. That sounds like a pretty high number, but considering that this game took 4 years to complete. Compared to the $120,000/year salary of a 15-year veteran in an AAA studio, this number is even smaller! And if you include the specific hours to make this game, according to my estimates, I have earned about $ 0 / 1 hour. Not much at all, really!”

“And if you include the $140,000 that I have paid out to my contractors and collaborators, you’ll see that it’s probably not really worth it from a financial point of view. Maybe I have to wait a little longer to get the Juicero I want.”

From what Nordhagen has said, it seems that the commercial prospects of Where The Water Taste Wine are actually quite “bleak” and “scary.”

“At the end of the day, it’s amazing how a game has garnered a lot of press attention, won multiple awards, has an all-star cast and compilation, and features a guest star. famous to fail miserably like this. And that gave me goosebumps,” he wrote.

Nordhagen says his finances will remain “OK” for the time being. He also said that he still doesn’t own a home and that he only has to pay his own bills. In addition, he also recently moved out of San Francisco, one of the most expensive places to live in America. Nordhagen still has money in the bank, and he seems to be quite optimistic about his future, saying his skills will help him pay his bills. Although his title was a commercial failure, Nordhagen says he’s glad he had the opportunity to work — as well as pay — with all of the voice actors and editors.

Nordhagen is also a veteran of the gaming industry, having worked as a software engineer and online QA analyst for Sony before joining 2K Marin as a programmer for BioShock 2. Co-founder of the studio Gone Home (now Fullbright) before founding Dim Bulb Games.

As for his future plans, Nordhagen said that he will continue to create indie games, but it is not yet certain whether this will make him a lot of money. The failure of Where The Water Taster Like Wine is perhaps the alarm bell for a difficult time ahead for the indie game market.

“WTWTLW could have been a non-commercial game, but if it were, the game would have to be something very different. It wouldn’t be complete, and without the collaborators like now, I can’t pay people who can’t work to share the revenue or who lack love for the game. I was able to develop this game as a side project, but in reality I spent 4 years on it. Basically, I’m not sure if games like this can continue to be made in the current market?

Still, Nordhagen believes that the experimental titles will still be able to succeed, although the lack of return on investment will put some people off. “I believe that some projects by small studios will continue to be successful. And I also wish that it would be easier.” he said.

So why are things not so favorable with Where The Water Taste Like Wine? Nordhagen thinks it’s because the game is “too big” and has too much ambition for one person to execute. Gone Home took 1 year and 9 months to make, while Where The Water Taster Like Wine took 4 years. Nordhagen also says that the PC game’s control mechanics have been optimized for the gamepad instead of the mouse and keyboard, not to mention that both of the game’s lead artists left the project when things were just getting started. shaped head. Nordhagen also admits that at first he didn’t have the knowledge to deal with problems during development. Furthermore, he also admitted that the game could have been better had it been tested more before its release.

Nordhagen emphasized that while sales could have been better, he still doesn’t see this as a failure or a “bomb”. He remains proud of the game’s outstanding art style, and is grateful for the support from publisher Good Shepherd. Nordhagen also said that he is happy and proud to be working with the team of voice actors and editors that he has assembled to create the various stories in the game.

Also in his post, Nordhagen said he will not give up on attracting new players. In fact, he has a lot to prepare to be able to attract more new players. For existing players, a patch will be released this week with new functions to help players get acquainted with the game and understand its special. In addition, one more patch will make the late-game experience more attractive. And this May, more content, including new sprites, will be released.

Source: Gamespot