Recently I attended Global Game Jam 2009. It was interesting; I don’t have anything too urgent to report, I’ll make a full, thoughtful blog post about it later.  For now I want to talk about something else.

I was thinking about the question, how does an indie game developer make money?  People have tried all sorts of things.  It seems to me that the best way is selling a product, or perhaps a subscription.  Some people sell advertising on their websites.  Kingdom of Loathing sells in-game items (well, they call it “donations” but it’s basically selling).  They also sell T-shirts.

Some folks take in donations and call them donations, not promising anything in return, except that they often offer a sort of lagniappe upon receipt.  An omake; a bonus, in other words.  For example, Andrew Hussie is a comic artist and not a game developer (well, that can be debated but let’s leave it for now)…If you donate to him, he draws a non-canon comic panel (or strip!) inspired by whatever “prompt” you give him.  And Tarn Adams (“the Dwarf Fortress guy”) will send you a crayon drawing if you donate…plus add your name to the Bay 12 Games Champions List.

Now that, that is intriguing.  It got me thinking of something I could do.  Something I might call…The Roll of Heroes.  (Or something better if it occurs to me.)

The idea is simple: If you donate some money to me (that is, to Chaoseed Software), your name will be added to “The Roll of Heroes”.  This will be a list somewhere with your name on it; probably a webpage listing everyone who’s donated to me.  (Unless you want to stay anonymous–since you’re the one giving me money, I’m more than willing to accomodate!)

The webpage listing is the only reward that is guaranteed.  However…If you have donated, your name is forever recorded as someone who supported me in a very real way.  And I’m bound to remember that.  So just as an example, let’s say your name is “Catherine”.  Completely random, off the top of my head name.  If I’m writing some fantasy world background and I want the name of a revolutionary heroine…I might just take a look at my Roll of Heroes and say “Oh, I can name her Catherine!”.  Or perhaps I might name a city “Catherine-on-the-River”.  The point is, your name has a chance of being immortalized in one of my games.

Of course, it doesn’t have to be a name.  Let’s say you love the number 57 and you give me some money–the 57th Legion repels an invading army.  Or you’re overly enamored of the phrase “Now we’re getting somewhere!”.  If the Roll of Heroes says “Now we’re getting somewhere! — $20″ then I’m going to have characters say it if I can possibly sneak it in.  Or you have a trailhead leading to a website…well, if you have a trailhead, contact me directly and we may be able to work something out even without money.

I should mention that this whole idea is just that, an idea.  I haven’t implemented it yet, and I have to give it some more thought before I actually do it.  I’d welcome criticism, though, so feel free to tell me what you think!