Hello Again, hope you are keeping well.
All the games I have produced so far, have been done in Unity, simply because I got favourable responses from my posts looking for someone to carryout the specific tasks of doing the logical coding. The tools I gave, was the Logic Charts showing the interactable features and chains, along with the goals of the game, including menu charts that showed the player interaction and options. Some of the physical logic I did myself, including using triggers to change events. However, I cannot code (not will not, cannot).
The Game Rooms, I posted on the Unreal Forums that I was looking for someone to do the coding/blueprints. I had a single response but after showing all the details for the game, including art work, nothing.
Nobody has responded for any of the games I posted. It maybe to do with my philosophy of how I like to do business. Shared risk, shared proceeds.
The revenue streams from the Game Rooms, comes from subscriptions. Each player has an online account, this links leaderboards etc, profile and a forum. Free accounts can only play 4 Rooms (a complete single stage circle. Subscribed players can play all the rooms in the set (up to 16 rooms, or 4 circuits. There would also be a modding feature to advanced subscriptions, whereby using a template to setup their own Rooms, they can host those Mods for sale on a Room Store. 2 types of Mod would be accepted, a 4 Room Mod that can be used by those with a Free subscription (to keep ongoing interest) so they can add to a library. These 4 Room mods would be sold at around (not determined yet) $10 with a 70% split going to the creator/seller. 8 and 16 Room Mods sold for the Paid Subscription, at around (not determined yet) $40 and $70 respectively with the same 70/30% split.
The basis behind the game is to get the best time, along with accolades for achievements on your profile. It is a single player game, but could develop into a group (say 4-6 players) system. In each Room there are switches to pull, buttons to push, items like Keys, Key Cards, Crowbars etc that are needed to open the Door to the next room. The routes require skill, ingenuity and good hand to eye coordination to complete.
There is no set theme to the collection of Rooms, they can also be individual games within the game. The Creator decides what the Room content will be. The Rooms may or may not follow a story. Sometimes a collectable item may not be collectable, unless the following room, or previous one has an interaction that must be completed first (previously unavailable until the next room was opened), which would require going back to the previous room to complete that task.
The mechanics is, on loading the player is in Room 01 of 4, they carryout the tasks required to open the door to the next Room 02. Assuming no further interaction is required, Room 01 is removed. Unless there is interaction in other rooms required, there will be only a single Room in memory during that portion of the Game. Once a final item has been collected that will open the next Room, that will trigger the loading of the next Room into memory/cache prior to the door being opened. Once that door shuts, assuming no further interaction is required, that Room is removed.
There are no restrictions to the size of each Room, with the exception of the construction must align within the quadrant designated and Entrance and Exit doorways align, akin to a jigsaw interlocking within each quadrant baseline (see picture above). The Rooms can be as large on all three axis extending away from the 0,0,0 coordinates within its own quadrant.
A full circuit of 4 Rooms on each layer. So when Room 01 is replaced, it will be in the same quadrant coordinates as Room 01, but have a designation of Room 01a for the logic processes of loading, unloading etc. Right through to Room 01c. Each Room will have its own profile, giving maybe a Timer (restrictive and or accumulative), Items to Collect/Interact with each Room before being able to proceed.
The achievements, times for each Room will be linked to each players online profile and included in a leaderboard. All linked to the Forum, where games can be discussed, future releases, updates and events etc.
The cost for each game would vary depending on content, size and amount of Rooms within the set, 4, 8 or 16. Another factor would be amount of players allowed in each Room (they play as a group within each Room that may require multiple interactions at the same time to complete a task). That would reflect on server load etc. I envisage the game release would only be a single player.
Room Sets could be themed into a Storyline, or be standalone within a set. There are no expectations for creators. Creators will be furnished with tools for their games. A lever will have a designation, so the code would be attached to make it act like a lever and the subsequent action item will change its condition. Pickup items will have their own designation that is indicative of a pickup item that will increase a counter for the accumulative condition. They can provide the Meshes/Materials for their own items within a Blueprint that controls the method and outcome conditions of the item for the logic. These could also be linked with a sound, particle, animation etc.
The content and mechanics of the game are split into 3 basic sections with regard to income for each party involved. Within that percentage there maybe further divisions to other parties that come under that particular discipline. Creator, Code, Host. I see these as 45/45/10% split in revenues after costs/overheads, from all incomes.
Initial investment will come in the form of each party within their own discipline. Overall income will be divided into the % described after Hard Costs, server, advertising, insurance, financial and legal representations, are paid for (Gross Overheads and Cost of Sales). With regard to the cost of a server/webspace and associated costs, this will initially be met by the Host discipline sector, until income is achieved.
Creator: To provide all graphical elements including interactive items, icons, menu layouts/content and storyline, meshes etc that give the visual elements that make the Game.
Check Game submissions from Modders for content, mechanics, logic and compliance before acceptance onto Room Store, ready for sale.
Coder: To provide all the coding elements that link interactions between the logic between the player and scene/Room requirements of the Rooms Profile. To provide all code that will give APIs to the Host team to record player achievements, interactions, times etc. To code the graphical menu components for interaction from the Player(s), Creator and Room Profile. Code the ‘mechanics’ of Room loading/unloading with predetermined conditions of the game play. This must also be linked into modules that any Creator can use as a tool for their own submissions. Logic that can determine the Game Origins before playing, to make sure that the Game Set has legitimately been purchased through the Host or is an Inhouse compilation.
Host: To create a web presence with News, Updates, Storyline Blog, storage for Game Submissions. Mechanics for Sales of Games, both Inhouse and Modders. Leaderboards for different ranks (subscriber, free account, Modders etc. Forums for Product discussions, including Moderators. Set up and run aspects of the Room Store, including revenue streams into core accounts.
That is as far as I got, apart from making a 4 room example of the game, whereby I took assets and even whole builds and used them with bespoke transitions for the Door placements and logic configurations that would make up the Template.
The Business Plan, Financial aspects, Cashflow forecasters would all have to be discussed once the basic group has been assembled. There will be one other element to the 3 core ones, that will be the Company, that will front insurance, tradenames, copyright, legal aspects and financing including taxes. It will take no profit as such but all costs will be met by the income prior to the % split between each core. Each Core will be responsible for all its own costs including labour/hardware/software, local taxations (state tax, VAT etc) etc.
On the other part of your post, I also make a variety of goods (87 packs) that I sell mostly on Unity, but I do sell some furniture both home and garden, along with Ivy themed sets. I also create Ivy growths to other creators models if required and include my own props. Hanging plants which includes a lot of props I have made myself. I sell a lot of Door and Window packs on Unity, but there is already a swamped market in Unreal.
On Unity I have Security Camera sets that are fully working with many features, that I cannot get anyone interested in adding the script logic to the system for Unreal.
The main difference I see between Unreal and Unity is there are far more coders in Unity willing to take the risk of Profit Share, than Unreal.
As far as Flora /fauna goes, I had plans to offer fauna like butterflies, bees etc to go with flower/bush sets, using pathfinding for interaction with set layouts of Flora. Never got off the ground.