First of all what is the Icarus Complex?
If you are familiar with the greek mythology, you may heard about Icarus and Daedalus story. Long story short: Daedalus was the person in charge of creating the laberynth that contained the Minotaur; after Theseus defeated the Minotaur and was able to escape, the King Minos though that Deadalus revealed the laberynth secrets and imprissioned him with his son Icarus.
In order to escape Daedalus created two pair of wings made of feathers and wax, for him and his son to leave the island and warned Icarus to not fly too close to the sun nor the sea. But in his excitement of flying Icarus fly to close to the son and the wax on his wing melted, making him fall into his own death.
This story was used as reference for the Icarus Complex, a warning of the dangers of Over-Ambition (Fly too close to the sun). In Psycology it is used how the ambition of a person can surpass the person capabilities, ending in a backlash and failure because they went for more than they could handle.
The complex in the Indie Studios
Sometimes when we start into game dev, maybe as a group of friends or even a start-up we want to creatre THE BEST GAME EVER CREATED, we use as reference our favorite AAA we spended 500+ hours and since the first day we wanted to make a game like that. If it is or was your case, it's nothing to be ashamed, we all being through that, and sometimes more than once (I'm guilty). But we ignore that we are only 5 people working on that game, no money, no time because everybody has another job meanwhile and they are a multimillionare company with lots of stakeholders 300+ employees and 3 years of continous development with almost unlimited budget.
So we start our amazing game, we want hyperrealism, with lots of physics, thousands of weapons, open world, multiplayer and we start developing that amazing game an then it doesn't work, the programmer needs more time, the only artist hasn't finished the main character, not even started doing the clothes, only did the face, the designer keeps adding more and more features. We became Feature-Creeps and missing deadlines. Not even a year and the studio closes and abandons the project.
Well... maybe it is an extreme case but it is to be on the same page of how it can be an "Icarus Studio" to call it some way, and it doesn't even need to be "The Best Game Ever", sometimes it can be seen "do'able" and after a while it doesn't work.
The Ambition Trap
Ambition is a powerful driving force for any creative endeavor, and in the indie game development world, it can lead to remarkable accomplishments. However, when ambition becomes all-consuming and blinds developers to the practical aspects of game development, it can spell disaster. Usually the simptoms of being Overly ambicious on a game development are:
Overextending Resources: One common manifestation of the Icarus Syndrome is the tendency to overextend resources. Indie studios may take on overly ambitious projects with massive scope, leading to financial and time constraints. A small team may dream of creating an open-world masterpiece without realizing the vast efford needed for the task. As the project progresses, it can quickly become unwieldy, and the team may find themselves running out of money or time before completing it.
Feature Creep: It is another pitfall that ambitious indie studios often fall into. In their pursuit of perfection, developers keep adding more and more features to their game, resulting in prolonged development cycles and, in many cases, unfinished projects. While innovation is important, it's equally crucial to set realistic goals and prioritize essential features.
Unrealistic Release Dates: Setting unrealistic release dates is a common symptom of the Icarus Syndrome. Indie developers may announce launch dates to generate hype or attract investors, only to realize later that they cannot meet those deadlines. This not only disappoints their audience but can also damage the studio's reputation.
Financial Ruin: Being overly ambitious can lead to severe financial consequences. Many indie studios invest substantial sums in their projects, hoping for a huge return on investment. However, if the game doesn't meet expectations or experiences delays, the studio can find itself in dire financial straits, sometimes even bankrupt.
The Importance of Balance
Avoiding the Icarus Syndrome doesn't mean blocking your creativity or setting low aspirations. Instead, it emphasizes the need for balance and a realistic management of resources and capabilities. Here are some strategies to strike that balance:
Scope Management: Define the scope of your game carefully. Focus on what makes your game unique and enjoyable rather than trying to include everything at once.
Set no more than 3 Pilars, for what your game stands for, 3 ideas you want your game to be about. Here you will find the soul of the game.
After setting those Pilars of what make your game unique set one mechanic per pilar, that will help to limit your scope into core mechanics.
Develop the game first with the Core. This is Called MVP (Minimal Viable Product), it means to set a bare minimum of what the game must have to be a certain genre or idea.
Milestone Planning: Break down your project into manageable milestones, each with clear objectives and deadlines. This approach helps you track progress and make adjustments as needed.
Use Planning Apps to manage your team and resources for those important dates; like Trello, Hack n' Plan, Jira... Even Excel (or Google Sheets) will do the job.
To know how your team works, the first month of development make the do some small stuff, a proof of concept of a mechanic, a small 3D model, a walking animation, to know how long it takes to them do certain stuff.
ALWAY add some buffers. It means to after a few weeks, plan to have an emergency week if someone takes longer than expected to finish a task.
Know when to quit. If During the MVP or a Vertical Slice (A small level to proof the game mechanics) the game doesnt work or it is taking way longer than expected. You have to know when it's better to cancel the project and start another. It is better to cancel a bad project than continue with it and lose lots of time and even more money for a game that in the end it wasn't even gonna be finished anyways.
Budget Wisely: Allocate your budget wisely and consider the long-term financial health of your studio. Seek funding or partnerships when necessary, but be cautious about overcommitting.
This is why an MVP and a Vertical Slice become handy. Havind a "finished" Demo to give to a Publisher, a bank, a Stakeholder will help a lot to give you some financiation.
During Pre-Production ALWAYS do a Budget Sheet, time is money, the other members of the team not always work for free, programs have licences that might be expensive, going to events is not cheap. Take all of that in mind and add it into an excel to know aprox how much is it going to cost the game to do and how much you need to spend per month/week/milestone
Community Engagement: Involve your community early in development to gather feedback and build excitement. This can help manage expectations and provide valuable insights.
Let's rappidly mention Baldur's Gate 3, they were on demo for a few years, listening to the people on how to become a better game, they didn't promissed things they weren't going to do and set a high bar of quality.
It's a videogame that need to be sold, make sure it is a game for the players, a game they like, so they will buy it. If you are going to make a game that is so niche that only you will play and maybe other 20 people. Get ready to not becoming so rich as you thought.
Be transparent, something we learned after the No Man's SKy/Cyberpunk 2077 era, was that community wants you to be honest, say the things as they are and do not lie or play dirty with them to sell more, because in the end, they are the one who are going to set the most valuable opinnions of your game and one Bad Review cand avoid around 10 Sales.
Avoid your dreams get crushed by yourself
The Icarus Syndrome has claimed the dreams of many indie video game studios, but it is not an inevitability. With careful planning, realistic goal-setting, and a keen awareness of their own limitations, indie developers can avoid the pitfalls associated with excessive ambition.
While aiming high is admirable, maintaining a balance between ambition and practicality is essential for long-term success. Indie studios should remember that it's not just about reaching for the sun but also having the wisdom to stay grounded and ensure their games soar to new heights.
コメント