Today’s thought is about a niche within a niche. 

Yesterday, I was talking to a chap who’s designed a game, run a successful kickstarter, and sent all his happy backers a copy of his wares. Now he’s trying to find distribution and it’s harder than expected. In fact, all the steps have been harder, and I was wondering why I hear this lament so often. In fact, it’s almost universal among first time designers. Whether it’s getting your game in front of a publisher, running a successful Kickstarter, getting a game produced, or navigating the nightmare of fulfilment, everyone has a tale of how some Boojum snuck out of the shadows and gave them a fright. It’s just games. Why is it so hard? Why is every step more convoluted than it feels like it should be? It all seemed so easy before they had to do it for real.

This isn’t a new thing. In fact, even with the wealth of info scattered along our glorious information superhighway, people seem routinely surprised. Why is that?

I think it’s mainly because your average gamer doesn’t ponder how the sausage is made very often. It’s no great secret, just not a thing people tend to talk about. Far more engaging to discuss the latest expansion for your best-selling game line, your shiny new idea, or even the line of plushies that go with your cosy offerings. Nobody much wants to hear about how awkward it’s been to fight your way through customs. 

Kickstarter’s made the woes of the professional a bit more public as the much requested transparency tends to devolve into the latest thing that’s gone wrong. Usually in fulfilment. And I’m happy to believe these tales as I’ve seen so many similar myself. The number of moving parts to get all this stuff made in the first place, then shipped across the planet is large, and there are many pinch points at which the best laid plans can go awry.  

None of this is likely to be news to any professionals reading this, and yet the neophytes fall down the same holes again and again. It’s tricky to help too. They don’t know what they don’t know, so often walk into the awkwardness before they realise they could ask for advice to get round it. That’s why I was pleased when this chap reached out yesterday. Hopefully I steered him around at least a few of the bigger pitfalls. 

For anyone else, what’s the solution?

Sadly, there’s no golden¹ bullet. The fix requires time and effort. Here are some things you could try:

Ask for help

• There’s a bunch of online groups and fora that have people in who’ve already gone through whatever problem you’re facing. Find someone with more experience than you and ask for their advice.

Research more

• You can never know too much. For example, if you’re working with shipping companies or factories, be clear about their expectations as well as telling them yours. See what experiences others have had with them. Be aware of the world events that may affect moving things across the globe. Consider the problem from different angles, not just your own.

Pad your estimated timeline

• You always need longer than you think, especially if you’ve not done it before. Do this with both internal and public timelines. 
• Give yourself extra weeks or months to deal with unexpected issues. You can put in a bit of time for things you imagine may go wrong, but it’s the unforeseen problems that can really throw you into a spin. Covid and tariffs are two recent large ones, though they’re only the most dramatic. 
• If you end up not needing the time and deliver early, then you’re far less likely to get complaints than delivering late. 

There’s nothing magical about the physical making and shipping of games. They’re just another of the myriad products produced and moved about the world every day. But because they’re games, people seem to have an expectation that real world logistics will somehow be more fun, or simpler, or follow comprehensible rules. Sadly, none of that is the case. 

So, if you find a struggling designer, trying to get his creation into the market, or simply out of a warehouse in Nanjing, why not reach out a hand and offer some help? We were all there once. 

Notes

1: I’m sure these used to be silver bullets, but that’s inflation for you.