Another studio using Vicious Engine is Epicenter. And as lead programmer Gary Kroll points out, the restrictions of the genre force makers to think differently about the development process compared to normal retail releases.

“The most important features are ease of use and stability,” he explains. “Right now, the reality is small downloadable games have small budgets and short development schedules. It’s easier to make a good product in a short time with an easy-to-use engine than it is with one of the premiere engines with all the bells and whistles. The mega engines can be complex beasts that require a lot of attention just to keep stable.”

We shouldn’t assume that all start-ups are looking to buy technology. As Jason Hughes, formerly of Naughty Dog and now president of Steel Penny Games, explains, there can be good reason for studios to create their own.

“My background is in technology and, to an extent, our engine is my guilty pleasure,” he says. “So while what we have today doesn’t compare all that favourably with commercial engines, knowing every inch of the codebase brings its own advantages.”

Aside from available features the other major issue, both for developers and middleware providers, is the cost of access to technology. The budgets for such games are so small and the financial rewards for hits still unproven that developers have little money up-front, so vendors have to offer more flexible rates when it comes to licensing.



“We definitely had to adapt to the smaller budgets, but we also have to be careful that we we’re not losing money through support or training efforts,” says Vicious Cycle’s chief technical officer, Wayne Harvey. “Smaller games just aren’t getting much of a development budget, so that is why we offer a ‘percentage of budget’ program. This has worked well for us by creating happy customers and generating repeat business at the same time.”

“Unfortunately, price is a major issue for smaller studios,” agrees Nathaniel McClure, CEO of Epicenter. “You have to evaluate engine ability and price, which will then dictate how much money is left. But the vendors we have worked with so far, such as Vicious, GarageGames and RAD, have been very flexible.”

Hughes is also sanguine about cost. “I’m not sure we saved any money by building our own technology, but I believe in long-term investments,” he says. “Flexibility is available if the developer can commit more projects to an engine or library, but in terms of sufficiently flexible deals, there is no such thing. If I could pick my perfect deal, it would be paying vendors once we’re profitable, and that’s not very likely.”

Nothing, not even the world of small, downloadable games is that perfect.