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Indie development studio Bithell Games have launched a new book to help people interesting in running a games studio. The new book, The GameDev Business Handbook, has been written by Michael Futter, who was previously news editor of Game Informer Magazine.
The new book is designed to aid and help people who are interested in running a video games studio away from the creative aspects such as coding and design. Featuring over 25 developers and industry professionals all sharing their insight and experience, the book aims to guide the reader through media relations, legal issues such as contracts and intellectual property and help with budgeting and financing.
“As we spoke to people about The GameDev Business Handbook, it became clear that there is a need for this kind of resource,” said the author of the book, Michael Futter. “With the help of people like Vlambeer’s Rami Ismail, Romero Games’ Brenda Romero, Capybara Games’ Nathan Vella, attorney Ryan Morrison, and many others, we’ve put together a guide people will hang onto and reference throughout their careers.”
“I am incredibly proud to help bring Michael Futter’s work to game developers,” added Bithell Games founder, Mike Bithell. “One of the great privileges of running a slightly pretentiously self titled company is having the power to make things you hoped had existed on your way up exist. I wish I’d had access to the insights and structure that this book lays out. I’m excited to see how the world reacts to what’s been created here.
"As we’ve built our business, we’ve run into our fair share of roadblocks, confusion, and outright terror," a statement from the FAQ for the book said. "Books we’ve read on this subject are out of date (what even IS digital distribution?) and aggressively tough to read. We wanted the book we needed all this time to exist, and thanks to our lucky run, we had the resources to make that happen. Michael Futter was born to write this."
The book is currently up for preorder digitally for $19.99 and in print for $29.99, which is available at the Bithell Games Website. The book will be available via Amazon in the future as well. As well as the book, the digital edition will also come with interactive worksheets to help readers get to grips with some of the book’s ideas.
Bithell Games is the studio created by indie developer Mike Bithell, following the success of Thomas Was Alone. The studio has been working on a new game and most recently released Volume and Volume VR for the PlayStation and Windows, EarthShape for the Google Daydream and text-based Subsurface Circular for Windows
