Hi,

I am currently studying technical computer science at the technical university Berlin. I thought about giving up my studies or pause it for one semester and continue working on my game. I am just not sure if this is the right decision. I am not sure about the risk when I rely on people on kickstarter or indiegogo to invest some money in my project. Is it enough to show a working prototype with some spaceship and character models and some terrain and a little bit gameplay (it's a game taking place in space and on planets) to get my game funded? How much should I expect if I am almost alone working on this and does not have any job experience in game development (well, I have some experience in developing games - I learned it by doing)? Are $35k earnings by crowdfunding realistic? And is it realistic to sell the game (in late alpha/early beta stage) to enough players to live from the earnings and to continue development? Is there a way to find out if there is a market for my game? And how is the game market, does success more depend on luck or more on how good a game is? Or both equally?

A recent screenshot of the game:

Finish school...

You don't have any track record - not even in mods.

Mod developers who I know, did get away with no prototype and a few beautiful videos, but they are well known in the Skyrim modding community.

Mod developers who I know, did get away with no prototype and a few beautiful videos, but they are well known in the Skyrim modding community.

Well, I actually will have something between a prototype and a game when I start a campaign on Kickstarter or Indiegogo. I hope that will be enough to get funded, but I am not sure. I definitively want the viewers to be able to download and play the game as soon as I start the campaign - or even before that. Do you think that's enough or is there still something missing to convince the viewers to back some money or at least share the campaign with friends who may invest some money in the game?

The problem with my studies is that I began in 2011, I am still not finished and I am not interested in some courses (electronics), so I thought about changing (back) to computer science, but I can't do this before the next semester (starting in october), so I have enough time to develop the game. I think I learned enough of computer science/programming to make a game.

I don't know if you can compare the German school system with the American one. I already have an "Abitur", which is a degree that allows me to go to university or start a job training (is this the right word?). When you say "finish school" it sounds for me like "get an 'Abitur'", but I already have one.

Mod developers who I know, did get away with no prototype and a few beautiful videos, but they are well known in the Skyrim modding community.

Well, I actually will have something between a prototype and a game when I start a campaign on Kickstarter or Indiegogo. I hope that will be enough to get funded, but I am not sure. I definitively want the viewers to be able to download and play the game as soon as I start the campaign - or even before that. Do you think that's enough or is there still something missing to convince the viewers to back some money or at least share the campaign with friends who may invest some money in the game?

The problem with my studies is that I began in 2011, I am still not finished and I am not interested in some courses (electronics), so I thought about changing (back) to computer science, but I can't do this before the next semester (starting in october), so I have enough time to develop the game. I think I learned enough of computer science/programming to make a game.

I have been getting good advice from my team (as I'm in a similar position to you), and there are a few rules of thumb:

1). 60%+ of the game should be done.

2). Have at least one of the two: good gameplay, good art. Seeing from the screenshot that you don't have good art, I'd focus on an innovative game mechanic.

There's still the problem of a lack of track record. Successful campaigns tell me that the more you released, even it was just mods, the less you can get away with showing. So if I were you, I'd look into modding first.