Some background: I graduated college a little over a year ago with an Economics BA. I have the start of a career in game development; I did level design and scripting on a work-for-hire console license, which went six months from contract to ship. (Not a sane schedule.) There was stress, long hours, a month of working weekends, but I'm fine now; and the game shipped.<p>Since then the company hasn't gotten new gigs to support its staffing, so they had to let me go. Both the founders said they'd have me back in a heartbeat; I can probably find a job in gaming again with some time. I'm also working on some open source game tech ( http://gamesc.sourceforge.net/ ) - If I had to point to one technical skill I'm best at, coding is probably it.<p>However, starting a startup intrigues me more than game projects, and this seems like the time to consider it seriously...but although I'm in the Bay Area, I don't have connections in the startup world, and I really want to tap into that experience. Also, being deeply into games, I'd like to stick to that topic for business ideas. I don't know if I could buy into any old web app. Working on any old game is better, but only a little bit. I'm really keen on finding something innovative to do in the sector(business-wise) and a team to do it with; something that's really disruptive. I think it's possible. But I don't think I can do it alone.<p>I guess my question would be: What would be the right steps to take, to meet the kinds of people I want to meet that would work together on this kind of startup? Staying in the industry <i>might</i> be the way to meet the people I need. But I'm not convinced it's the best, or the only option.
I just got home from the Hackers and Founders Meetup 20 minutes ago. And, I started the group because I wanted the exact same thing: To hang out and talk with people who are serious about founding startups.<p>We get together in the Bay Area every two weeks to hang out, have a tasty beverage and talk about startups, the web, stuff we read on Hacker News, etc...<p>We've had between 20-30 attendee's the past few meetups, and people really seem to enjoy it.<p>Our next get-together is going to be a little different. The founders of Heysan and Snipd have agreed to give a presentation. So, there will be a 1-1/2 hour presentation and we'll be adjourning to the hotel bar after that for socializing.<p>Anyway, the address for the meetup is <a href="http://www.hackersandfounders.com" rel="nofollow">http://www.hackersandfounders.com</a><p>If you're interested, stop by or drop me a line. I'll buy you a drink.
If you like games, then do games, don't do web apps. Web apps are good for stuff that needs the web, but for stuff for whom the web is just a nice thing, but not neccessary, web apps are often not the best solution. It's easier to sell desktop software than web software.<p>And another important thing: Don't start a business from a position where you have little money. It will make you cut corners for the sake of making money, and you will not like your product as much as if you had time to really craft it out. So I advice you to find a job which is stable and does not take too much time, then develop your game on the side.<p>Game programming takes looooong, and nobody will finance you while you try to make a game. Get a job, do it on the side. It's the adult thing to do. Anyone who tells you to quit everything you have and play the lottery with your life savings probably has something to gain by you doing this.
Go work for a start up. It's the best place to meet and learn from talented developers, founders, VCs, well-connected board members, etc. Build and keep those relationships.<p>Brainstorm ideas and then sleep on them.<p>Hack on the weekends.<p>And then when you're ready, make your move.
pffft.. screw startups, go work with the best people in the business on one of the best projects out there, Bioshock 2. 2K Marin are looking for level designers.<p><a href="http://www.2kmarin.com/" rel="nofollow">http://www.2kmarin.com/</a><p>tell em Jay from 2K Aus sent ya.
Hey rtf, I'm in the Bay Area too. There are _tons_ of meet ups, hackfests, and user group meetings you can go to.<p>SupperHappyDevHouse is coming up this Saturday (Oct 3rd) and the Hackers & Founders meetup is Oct 16th.<p>Usually the goal of these meetings isn't to find another founder though, it's just to have fun by hanging out and sharing interesting ideas w/ like minded people.<p>I think it might be a good place to start though.
You might want to try your hand at iPhone games. There's currently a lot of room in the industry for new players. It has low barriers to entry, yet people are seeing a huge return on investments, and you can get projects out the door in a smaller time frame than most games take to develop and market. To me, it seems like the perfect space for a new business with little capital and lots of skill. I'd even say its perfectly suited to you. You can learn a new language and practically make yourself golden when it comes to being employed if your venture doesn't work out, because there's huge demand for iPhone programmers.
<i>"... the game shipped ..."</i><p>Bummer. This highlights a problem making games. Revenue is project based and a bit like farming a crop. Miss the schedule, a hardware release, market and you don't get paid as much.<p><i>"... What would be the right steps to take, to meet the kinds of people I want to meet that would work together on this kind of startup? ... I'm in the Bay Area ..."</i><p>A job for "Gabriel Weinberg's" AskYC Archive ~ <a href="http://www.gabrielweinberg.com/startupswiki/Ask_YC_Archive" rel="nofollow">http://www.gabrielweinberg.com/startupswiki/Ask_YC_Archive</a> look under Founders
Thanks for your comments, everyone. I'll start following up on specific comments shortly, but some general thoughts:<p>My reasons for wanting to go for a new business have to do with the calcified nature of the development process; now that I've "seen the elephant" in this side of the business it's all much less interesting, and it won't get better just by changing my employer. It won't get better by going indie, even. I want to go beyond shipping products and find the next level - the franchise, the organization, whatever term might apply.<p>So in that sense I'm not worried about the product idea, just the process - the potential of changing and improving it. That's where I think the startup world has something to offer.
Well you can try doing one of those mobwars type games. Some of them are profitable, just come up with a good idea, and make some good images(most of them have crappy looking images).
Do you have money saved up? If so budget that to work on your ideas and network for 3 to 5 months. If not, get another job.<p>Networking in the valley is not that hard. You can establish a pretty decent network within just a few weeks. My email is alaska.miller@gmail.com, I'm in Cupertino, let's get in touch.