Bootstrapping with Fun

My company, Multi Axis Games, is releasing its first game in the next few weeks. Details are still kept firmly under wraps to preserve the fun of surprise and discovery, but I will discuss the essence of the event.

Multi Axis Games came together to design and develop massively multi-player online (MMO) games that we believe will revolutionize the industry. We have a stronger understanding of group dynamics and fun than we see demonstrated in existing games which we strive to illustrate through our entertainment products.

Unfortunately, MMO games require an expensive and lengthy development. Given the large number of MMO development projects which large studios in the U.S. have thrown ridiculous amounts of capital at without ever bringing to fruition, investors are reluctant to put money into a U.S. start-up company with ideas for the medium. Because of the profit potential of such games, investments are being made, but they're by and large being infused into foreign development companies.

The challenge for us as aspiring game developers, of the most challenging and lucrative type, is to demonstrate our ability to attract and amuse large numbers of players. If our ideas are appealing and engaging then our financial projections change from being theoretical to predictive for investors. There's no real way to produce a truly engaging MMO without funds and a full time staff, so creativity is a must. Luckily, creativity is our most plentiful resource.

We spent a little time writhing and gnashing our teeth in protest of the inevitable, but quickly settled in for our new mission: we would begin to produce web games. Many ideas were discussed, an iphone game, a flash game, XBox arcade, Wii channel, etc., but the team was dragging their feet; none of the ideas had inspired them.

Then late one evening, my business partner looked up from his computer and said those magic words . . . "You know what we should do . . . " Within seconds the idea he put forth had electrified me so much I was finishing his sentences, explaining the implications of his idea to him. After we'd talked our way around the concept a few times, I shot out an email to Marcia, a programmer I knew could do the backend we'd envisioned. I spelled it out for her: short, sweet, and perfect. She got back to me within the hour. She was full of excitement, her gears already spinning on the plan. We made a date to meet the next morning and lay it all out on paper. The fire had spread.

A few days later was the team's weekly brainstorming session. Marcia and I walked in the room ready to explode with anticipation. We could barely wait to let everyone take their seats before gushing forth with the new design concept. Around the table, eyes glowed and smiles spread. All other half grown ideas were happily discarded in favor of the new project.

It has now been approximately one month since the idea sprang forth. Programming and art have flown from the minds of our team members at an unheard of speed. In a few weeks we will launch our first entertainment product to the public. It will be simple, but it will be fun. We will all have a great time expanding it and writing future expansions for it in the month after it launches, and then we move on to phase B . . .