We have plenty of things on deck for 2011. While I can’t give you a ton of details, as some of this is still in the staging phase…I can tell you…

Emerald Kingdom will be going into a closed, followed by an open beta. Do not ask us for a date. One thing I have learned is that giving dates is always a bad idea. Right now, StoryTeller is talking to the server, and world development has taken somewhat of a primary seat.

We will be incorporating our art studio as a separate entity. Test Room Thirty Seven. While TRTS will be primarily doing work for Double Cluepon, we also recognize there are a lot of underground game developers who could use professional art services, without having to pay several thousand dollars. I have been tightening up the business model for TRTS, and plan to get it incorporated soon. What does this mean for the underground/indie game developers in Chicago? It could wind up meaning quite a bit actually. Our goal is to provide economical and sliding scale artwork for game developers who can’t draw. One of the things I learned early on, from speaking to other developers (as well as our own) is that some of them would have been making their own games sooner if they could draw, or had access to an artist. Many more would use an art studio, or an artist if it was not stupidly priced. We see a market here. But more than that, we see a community waiting here.

I am personally working on a project to pull indie/underground game development under a more inclusive umbrella. One of the things we have discovered here at Double Cluepon is the rather fragmented indie/underground scene, here in Chicago. We have a number of little groups. That’s okay. But there is no representation, no cohesive underground/indie movement. Like Seattle was for Grunge, Chicago could be for indie games. Chicago is the spot where many game greats were founded. Midway, Williams, Bungie…Some of this has faltered. To that end, I have been speaking with a number of other indie developers, and want to speak to more. Between myself, and some core people we are looking to start some kind of a non profit indie trade group or union. Between folks here at Double Cluepon, and friends of ours in indie games…we think we have a winner here. Please note: we are not looking to form a clique or club. We want an honest to goodness indie non profit. Some of the points I and others have talked about are:

  • To promote and foster underground and indie game development within the Chicago area, without undue influence: We want indies to be able to experiment, explore and create new stuff. There is plenty of time for cookie cutter stuff later.
  • To help indie gamers market themselves to broader markets: We have noted a lot of good indie game devs should definitely have more exposure than they do. One person can have a hard time, however…a group might have a better go.
  • To help indie gamers put together, and assemble tools needed to monetize their efforts: This is a biggie. One thing we have identified, and need to do more work on is helping indie gamers make money from their efforts. One developer we spoke to had serious issues attaching prices to his games. Because ultimately it can be hard to figure out what it’s worth to others, versus what it’s worth to you.
  • To promote connections between artists, sound and music artists, and developers in order to promote better quality indie games: What good is a community if you cannot network with others?
  • To provide a basic infrastructure for all members. (legal, web, protection, representation): This is something so crucial, and yet overlooked. While Tim Langdell has been pushed back, there are always 50 more to take his place. One person facing an idiotic lawsuit is one thing. Facing a whole community is another. Another thing is, simply helping developers get organized, learning how to manage basic business paperwork. How to incorporate, how to LLC, how to set themselves up so they don’t get overwhelmed later on. we think there should be more organized indies, not less. Additionally, Making the industry “safe” for newcomers will help foster its growth.
  • Create an organization with a repeatable model: what we do here should be repeatable in NYC, or LA, or Dallas…or even in places as small as O’Fallon Illinois, or St. Charles, MO. Our organization model should definitely be open source. We should be promoting indies elsewhere, starting with right here. Don’t smack me for the cliche but…it fits: We need to act locally and think globally. If we can make this a successful and independent effort, we need to make sure others can do the same elsewhere.

That said: if you’re an indie game developer in Chicago, and want to know more about this, and perhaps get involved you should email Azrael. ( AT doublecluepon.com ) We definitely want to talk about this idea more. We need more ideas, and we need more eyeballs on this.

In closing, we are ready and waiting for 2011 to come along. We can’t wait.