Dhruin
SasqWatch
Yes, you are right - Drakensang cost around half that, for example.
The devil is in the details, though. If you sell this game through Steam / Gamersgate etc, that will cost you 30-40%. If you try to sell retail, you'll need a publisher and after the retail and publisher cuts you'll have nothing left. In fact, few independent developers can stump up $2-4M of their own money - so you need a publisher. But a publisher isn't interested in a measly $4M revenue.
It's not as easy as it sounds. I'm not saying it's impossible but it's hard for a content heavy game like an RPG. That's why it doesn't happen very much.
In my dream alternate reality, someone like BioWare would "sponsor" indie/small/budget projects...but it doesn't happen in the real world.
The devil is in the details, though. If you sell this game through Steam / Gamersgate etc, that will cost you 30-40%. If you try to sell retail, you'll need a publisher and after the retail and publisher cuts you'll have nothing left. In fact, few independent developers can stump up $2-4M of their own money - so you need a publisher. But a publisher isn't interested in a measly $4M revenue.
It's not as easy as it sounds. I'm not saying it's impossible but it's hard for a content heavy game like an RPG. That's why it doesn't happen very much.
In my dream alternate reality, someone like BioWare would "sponsor" indie/small/budget projects...but it doesn't happen in the real world.