
“We quit our jobs, remortgaged our houses” – how passion made Cuphead a reality - danso
http://www.gamesradar.com/we-quit-our-jobs-remortgaged-our-houses-how-relentless-passion-made-cuphead-a-reality/
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jondubois
I'm tired of all these stories about reckless people remortgaging their houses
to work on a startup. It's as though being reckless is a virtue. It's
encouraging others to do the same and fall flat on their faces.

~~~
TeMPOraL
The startup investment machine needs constant supply of fresh, young, foolish
blood to work. Those stories are not written to help founders live a better
life.

~~~
jondubois
It's scary to think that it's those same reckless people who end up being CEOs
and industry leaders. I guess that explains why the stock market goes through
violent cycles of booms and bursts. It means that everything appears to work
exceptionally well until it all collapses due to lack of long-term foresight.

------
keyle
They will do alright because of the art and the amount of press already
generating sales ahead of time.

That's what you need as an indie developer. A lot of publicity and great art.
It doesn't matter that you essentially reproduce the exact same recipe as any
other Nintendo platformer, as long as you have great art and music, people
will love your content.

Similar to hollywood movies being a rehash of each other with different actors
and a different setting. It's all about the human condition.

So yeah, in the rare case of Cuphead, they will do well. Maybe enough to make
the next one, if they didn't over-extend themselves.

For most small indies though, I can tell you first hand, it's tough.
Especially since the whole Hello Games and No Man Sky's debacle, every 'gamer'
out there is out to hate indie by default. We're scammers in sheep clothing.

~~~
chii
> every 'gamer' out there is out to hate indie by default

that's a bit of an over exaggeration. Gamers hate overhyped, but under
delivered games. It doesn't matter if it's indie or not.

~~~
elcapitan
Agree. I would say that part of that is due to the fact that gaming gets more
open and new concepts and ideas are being introduced, which is naturally prone
to underdelivering first, before becoming mainstream. This is similar to
literature and movies and shows that the medium is growing up.

To some degree this is the result of the formulaic, hollywoodesque way how AAA
games are being made, and the over-stated excitement about even small
developments which indie games feature in terms of gameplay and storytelling.

On the other hand, there is also a significant hipster-ish culture around some
games where "overhyped" really describes it. The documentation of attitude and
lifestyle of the people who write and who play those games seems to be more
important than the games themselves. This is similar to instagramming your own
cooking all the time and instagramming your fashionable hip meals all the
time.

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juice_bus
I hope it pays off for them, I can't help but think of how many other
developers/studios have done the same, but failed anyway.

~~~
Cozumel
Exactly. How many untold stories are there where they 'quit their jobs,
remortgaged their houses' and now they live in a cardboard box under a bridge
and their kids have been taken into care.

Passion is a fantastic asset but a lot of these people confuse it with
stupidity.

~~~
grecy
> _How many untold stories are there where they 'quit their jobs, remortgaged
> their houses' and now they live in a cardboard box under a bridge and their
> kids have been taken into care_

Oh please, stop with the scare mentality.

Even if things go badly they are still educated, hard working people and would
have no problem at all getting an entry level position in one day flat and
living modestly for a decade or so.

They're not going to live in cardboard boxes.

~~~
tunetine
Modestly with an entry level job with kids, no credit, and no place to live?
I'm not sure who is more realistic.

~~~
grecy
They live in Canada. They have healthcare and education. They can rent a
house. They'll be perfectly fine.

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pcunite
One of the most difficult things you'll do to explain success is say, " _I
just happened to be in the right place at the right time_ ". So, lacking that,
_reasons_ must be provided to explain all that work and risk that was taken.

------
tunetine
I'm curious if anyone can provide insight as to what the profits of a
moderately successful game would be. Let's say they've spent $600-700k over
the past three years. Is there any possibility of them saving their homes
without the game becoming a massive success?

~~~
ido
The hope is of course that the game becomes a massive success - to get into
the top 15% of games on steam you only need to sell $50k:
[http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2017-06-26-introversio...](http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2017-06-26-introversions-
latest-game-has-bombed-in-a-big-way)

To recoup $600k and then make another $600k in net profit (to be able to
finance the next game, remember valve's 30% fee & taxes) will require it to
basically be a huge hit in indie-terms.

------
fivedogit
"I maxed out my credit cards, put it all on the hard 8, and won!"

A positive outcome does not equal a wise choice.

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mattbee
I thought this community could recognise passion, hard work & genuine
innovation, but wow, the comments on this thread. This team might not make
their investment back, but they're shipping a game and a work of art in a way
that literally nobody has tried before, and probably nobody will try again.

Cuphead is a bizarre and wonderful experiment in one way, and a classic genre
piece in another. Yeah, you do have to try something different to stand out in
indie games and this team is delivering. I've not been more excited for a
title in years.

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rl3
The art looks even better in motion, as the trailer shows.[0]

The resemblance to the cartoons of the era is uncanny. I really hope Disney
doesn't sue them or something. Hopefully they're on rock-solid legal footing.
In a just world all those copyrights would be ancient and long expired, but
hey—Mickey Mouse is still Disney's IP until 2023, and they'll probably figure
out something to keep it going past that.

[0]
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e5iGwE0XJ1s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e5iGwE0XJ1s)

~~~
icebraining
This gameplay demo seems like Metal Slug on a Disney universe:
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=20Rt7NugRMs](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=20Rt7NugRMs)

...which is actually pretty cool.

------
draw_down
I look forward to seeing it! I still remember seeing the trailer and now
impressed I was, and was recently wondering what happened with it. If it lives
up to its promise it will really be something.

------
booleanbetrayal
Been waiting for this game for over a year ... Think it'll make a big splash.
Best of luck to the team. They're trying something new and injecting some
actual art into the art form.

~~~
djhworld
Been waiting for this game since 2014! Also I'm really pleased it's coming to
PC, I don't own an Xbox One.

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yitchelle
While I like reading these type of posts, and getting inspired by it. I know
that there are many, many more projects that did not make it and forced to
close. Where are those stories? I would to read those and to learn from those.

~~~
taway_1212
Try the gamedev reddit. People regularly post their failure stories there.

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base698
[https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/1827:_Survivorshi...](https://www.explainxkcd.com/wiki/index.php/1827:_Survivorship_Bias)

~~~
unclebucknasty
Wow, that's a _lot_ of explanation for a fairly straightforward concept.

Cool site though. Didn't know it existed.

~~~
SilasX
It just goes to show how much implicit context you have if you get the joke.

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nopit
Never heard of it

~~~
vlunkr
It's not out yet. But if you follow indie games much it's pretty well known.

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dmead
gambling addicts have similar stories

~~~
0x8BADF00D
Freedom has a high price.

~~~
CamTin
Freedom costs $1.05

~~~
polyomino
Damn, I got mine for $2. Shoulda haggled.

