Created in Unity by Seattle based game developer 4gency, Habitat is currently in Early Access development for PC, Mac, and Linux. 4gency founder/CEO Charles Cox shares lessons learned from developing Habitat from idea to Early Access game on Steam in less than a year. Habitat's development is still ongoing toward a 2015 release but there are plenty of lessons to share! Description of Game: Habitat is a space-themed strategy game that places you in high orbit around a ravaged Earth far in the future. Your survival depends on your ability to sift through centuries of floating space junk to construct a sustainable base. Leading a team of engineers in salvaging operations and construction, you’ll be faced with grim choices where managing your limited resources can mean the difference between life and death. As mysterious and powerful enemies mount attacks against your habitat, you’ll learn to craft kinetic weapons and defend your stellar stronghold. As you fight, explore, and create, you may even learn the truth about the Earth’s destruction and discover the secret to humanity’s survival among the stars.

1. 1
A Pre-Post-Mortem about our Road to Early Access
Charles Cox, Founder/CEO

2. 2
A Strategic Space Survival Game
http://www.jointhe509th.com

3. Ground Rules
‣ Nothing is Final.
• We’re not done yet. Everything can change. Everything
can fall apart. Everything can succeed madly.
‣ Everything is Personal.
• It worked for us. It may not work for you. It may never
work again. And, see Rule #1 (Nothing is final).
‣ Here Be Dragons.
• Perception is tricky. Bias is everywhere. Take with salt.
3

4. So Far…
4
What we’ve done
Team
4
team members
30
yrs. experience
250
sq. feet
Technology
1
major unity rev
18,000
lines of code
50
plugins
Schedule
6
mo. of planning
9
mo. of dev
2
mo. in market
Audience
200
press mentions
13,000
miles of shows
10,000
players
Finances
$100k self-funded
$65k
kickstarted
$50k
in loans

5. The ENVISIONED Road to Habitat
5
Easy Peasy, Right?
Build Prototype!
Leave my job, get my
team, build this thing.
Q4 2013 Q1 2014 Q2 2014 Q3 2014 Q4 2014
Kickstarter!
Show the world, get
excitement, raise a
bunch of money.
Early Access!
Get feedback, make
money to keep studio
alive, court the press.
Release!
We are famous,
people love us,
money, cars, GDC
talks, woot woot.
Pre-Orders!
Gold master, pre-orders,
press
previews, hit for
holiday.

6. The REAL Road-To-Habitat
6
I Dare You To Make Sense of This
Sep
Q3 2013
Q4 2013
Oct Nov Dec
Q1 2014
Jan Feb Mar
Q2 2014
Apr May Jun
POP GDC PAX EAST E3 RTX
Unity 4.3
Failed
Working in the Dark…
Jul Aug
9 (P/T)
1 2 3.75 5
N/A Xbox One
Publisher Steam
N/A
Savings
Home Office
N/A
PC, Mac
Early Access
Humble Bundle
Launch Kickstarter
401(k) Kickstarter
Mouse/KB Only
: )  : (
Engineering
Events
Technology
Team Size
Partners
Sales/Availability
Funding
Office Space
Press
Platforms
Input Devices
Mood
125 sqft Seattle
250 sf
Pre
Prototype 1
Prototype 2 Re-design GDC/KS Proto EA Version
Quit Job!
2x Space!
12 71 59 61
ANNOUNCED
Mouse/KB Only + Gamepad
+ Linux
: :| : ) (O.o) (o.O) (0.o)

7. The Road, Decoded
7
Sep
Q3 2013
Q4 2013
Oct Nov Dec
Q1 2014
Jan Feb Mar
Q2 2014
Apr May Jun
POP GDC PAX EAST E3 RTX
Unity 4.3
Failed
Working in the Dark…
Jul Aug
9 (P/T)
1 2 3.75 5
N/A Xbox One
Publisher Steam
N/A
Savings
Home Office
N/A
PC, Mac
Early Access
Humble Bundle
Launch Kickstarter
401(k) Kickstarter
Mouse/KB Only
: )  : (
Engineering
Events
Technology
Team Size
Partners
Sales/Availability
Funding
Office Space
Press
Platforms
Input Devices
Mood
125 sqft Seattle
250 sf
Pre
Prototype 1
Prototype 2 Re-design GDC/KS Proto EA Version
Quit Job!
2x Space!
12 71 59 61
Mouse/KB Only + Gamepad
+ Linux
: :| : ) (O.o) (o.O) (0.o)
“Maybe This Game will Work.”
NOT WITH THIS TEAM/DESIGN/FINANCES
END OF MILESTONE DECISIONS:
• Leave my job, go full time.
• Detox from big-company think.
• Find a strategy that works.
• Develop on my own. Somehow.

8. The Road, Decoded
END OF MILESTONE DECISIONS:
• Get people! Even temporary!
• Think through the numbers.
• Scope it, sell idea to people.
• GET BACK TO BASICS.
8
“I KNOW this Game Will Work! Somehow.”
JUST NEED TO START ALL OVER. ALSO YOU HAVE NO JOB.
Sep
Q3 2013
Q4 2013
Oct Nov Dec
Q1 2014
Jan Feb Mar
Q2 2014
Apr May Jun
POP GDC PAX EAST E3 RTX
Unity 4.3
Failed
Working in the Dark…
Jul Aug
9 (P/T)
1 2 3.75 5
N/A Xbox One
Publisher Steam
N/A
Savings
Home Office
N/A
PC, Mac
Early Access
Humble Bundle
Launch Kickstarter
401(k) Kickstarter
Mouse/KB Only
: )  : (
Engineering
Events
Technology
Team Size
Partners
Sales/Availability
Funding
Office Space
Press
Platforms
Input Devices
Mood
125 sqft Seattle
250 sf
Pre
Prototype 1
Prototype 2 Re-design GDC/KS Proto EA Version
Quit Job!
2x Space!
12 71 59 61
Mouse/KB Only + Gamepad
+ Linux
: :| : ) (O.o) (o.O) (0.o)

9. The Road, Decoded
END OF MILESTONE DECISIONS:
• Be sloppy in coding.
• Be ruthless in feedback.
• Have a buddy. Show results.
• Force yourself with dates.
9
KEEP ITERATING. GO FAST! BREAK THINGS!
Sep
Q3 2013
“Look! It’s Fun! Kinda.”
Q4 2013
Oct Nov Dec
Q1 2014
• Announce, KS, GDC
Jan Feb Mar
Q2 2014
Apr May Jun
POP GDC PAX EAST E3 RTX
Unity 4.3
Failed
Working in the Dark…
Jul Aug
9 (P/T)
1 2 3.75 5
N/A Xbox One
Publisher Steam
N/A
Savings
Home Office
N/A
PC, Mac
Early Access
Humble Bundle
Launch Kickstarter
401(k) Kickstarter
Mouse/KB Only
: )  : (
Engineering
Events
Technology
Team Size
Partners
Sales/Availability
Funding
Office Space
Press
Platforms
Input Devices
Mood
125 sqft Seattle
250 sf
Pre
Prototype 1
Prototype 2 Re-design GDC/KS Proto EA Version
Quit Job!
2x Space!
12 71 59 61
Mouse/KB Only + Gamepad
+ Linux
: :| : ) (O.o) (o.O) (0.o)

10. The Road, Decoded
END OF MILESTONE DECISIONS:
• This prototype is expendable.
• It shows possibility.
• Need legitimacy! (Xbox One!)
• Get a publisher, this selling is exhausting.
10
Sep
Q3 2013
Q4 2013
“Holy crap we have to show this at GDC”
MAKE IT BEAUTIFUL! HAVE A PITCH! SELL!
Oct Nov Dec
Q1 2014
Jan Feb Mar
Q2 2014
Apr May Jun
POP GDC PAX EAST E3 RTX
Unity 4.3
Failed
Working in the Dark…
Jul Aug
9 (P/T)
1 2 3.75 5
N/A Xbox One
Publisher Steam
N/A
Savings
Home Office
N/A
PC, Mac
Early Access
Humble Bundle
Launch Kickstarter
401(k) Kickstarter
Mouse/KB Only
: )  : (
Engineering
Events
Technology
Team Size
Partners
Sales/Availability
Funding
Office Space
Press
Platforms
Input Devices
Mood
125 sqft Seattle
250 sf
Pre
Prototype 1
Prototype 2 Re-design GDC/KS Proto EA Version
Quit Job!
2x Space!
12 71 59 61
Mouse/KB Only + Gamepad
+ Linux
: :| : ) (O.o) (o.O) (0.o)

11. The Road, Decoded
END OF MILESTONE DECISIONS:
• Charles on selling full-time. KS, Pub…
• Code for the Early Access audience.
• Scope down, down, down!
“Rebuild the entire game.”
NO MORE CHARLES CODE.
11
Sep
Q3 2013
Q4 2013
Oct Nov Dec
Q1 2014
Jan Feb Mar
Q2 2014
Apr May Jun
POP GDC PAX EAST E3 RTX
Unity 4.3
Failed
Working in the Dark…
Jul Aug
9 (P/T)
1 2 3.75 5
N/A Xbox One
Publisher Steam
N/A
Savings
Home Office
N/A
PC, Mac
Early Access
Humble Bundle
Launch Kickstarter
401(k) Kickstarter
Mouse/KB Only
: )  : (
Engineering
Events
Technology
Team Size
Partners
Sales/Availability
Funding
Office Space
Press
Platforms
Input Devices
Mood
125 sqft Seattle
250 sf
Pre
Prototype 1
Prototype 2 Re-design GDC/KS Proto EA Version
Quit Job!
2x Space!
12 71 59 61
Mouse/KB Only + Gamepad
+ Linux
: :| : ) (O.o) (o.O) (0.o)

12. 12
What I Started With…

13. 13
June 2013 (Slideware)

14. 14
July 2013 (Concept Art)

15. 15
Aug 2013 (CANCELED PROTOTYPE)

16. 16
Sep 2013 (JUST LEFT MY JOB)

17. 17
Oct 2013 (Slideware Again)

18. 18
Nov 2013 (Screw it, I’m coding it)

19. 19
Dec 2013 (Maybe I got something..)

20. 20
Jan 2014 (Real coder in the house)

21. 21
Feb 2014 (Prior to announce)

22. 22
Mar 2014 (20 gfx plugins later)

23. 23
Apr 2014 (Kickstarter! Publisher!)

24. 24
May 2014 (Start Over for Steam!)

25. 25
June 2014 (In Progress…)

26. 26
July 2014 (Early Access Launch)

27. 27
…and where we are now!

28. Where Did We Know It Was OK?
28
Sep
Q3 2013
Q4 2013
Oct Nov Dec
Q1 2014
Jan Feb Mar
Q2 2014
Apr May Jun
POP GDC PAX EAST E3 RTX
Unity 4.3
Failed
Working in the Dark…
Jul Aug
9 (P/T)
1 2 3.75 5
N/A Xbox One
Publisher Steam
N/A
Savings
Home Office
N/A
PC, Mac
Early Access
Humble Bundle
Launch Kickstarter
401(k) Kickstarter
Mouse/KB Only
: )  : (
Engineering
Events
Technology
Team Size
Partners
Sales/Availability
Funding
Office Space
Press
Platforms
Input Devices
Mood
125 sqft Seattle
250 sf
Pre
Prototype 1
Prototype 2 Re-design GDC/KS Proto EA Version
Quit Job!
2x Space!
12 71 59 61
ANNOUNCED
Mouse/KB Only + Gamepad
+ Linux
: :| : ) (O.o) (o.O) (0.o)

29. How We Did It: Kickstarting
29
Pro Video
Shot at Museum of Flight. Ended up replacing in last
week.
NEXT TIME: More research on successful game KS
videos.
Showable Game playable. Showable. Animated GIFs, screenshots.
NEXT TIME: Need a lot more GIF-able moments.
Sane Target
$50K, based on research of avg backed projects. Got
$64K
NEXT TIME: If we need KS, we better ask for a ton.
Prime Pump
Announced + showed at GDC before KS. Got friends
ready.
NEXT TIME: Ensure KS isn’t 1st time folks hear about
us.
Updates Had 12 over the course of the campaign.
NEXT TIME: More. Challenge people. Have arguments!
Development None during this time. 100% of time on KS raising.
NEXT TIME: Nope, still correct.







30. How We Did It: Developing
30
Agile Weekly sprints. Bug lists. Everyone in same room.
NEXT TIME: Get rid of JIRA earlier. Ugh.
Fail Fast
Stuff that sucks = gone. Doesn’t need to be done, just
fun.
NEXT TIME: Less time building “systems” until fun
proven.
No GDD I made a doc once. Nobody read it.
NEXT TIME: Prettier slideware. MAYBE.
Limited QA Hurting us more now, but no dedicated QA (yet).
NEXT TIME: Start QA earlier.
One Tech Picked Unity. Mold game to constraints of engine.
NEXT TIME: More napkin math on engine constraints.
Limit
Optimization
Work on middle-of-road hardware, only fix noticeable
blips.
NEXT TIME: Nope, firm believer in this.







31. The Tech Details (Unity 4.5)
50 total, 25 still used. Key ones:
Exploder, SpaceGraphicsToolkit.
31
How The Software Works…
Graphics Physics Plugins
DX9-level (no DX11). Forward
rendering. Static + Dynamic
Batching. Diff+Spec+Illum maps
In-box PhysX. Numerous
problems, solved by fiddling w/
values until it “looks right”. 3x
solver iter count.
DaikonForge, GoogleFu,
Worth it!
Source Control Dev Environment Hardware
Self-hosted VisualSVN on Azure-powered
Windows Server 2008
R2 box. No Bitbucket!
Windows 8, UnityVS,
Bugtracker.NET on SVN box.
Coded on Mac too but CR/LF
was a bitch.
1-2 year old gaming laptops, one
MacBook Pro, one 3-year old
Linux box for testing. Middle of
the road!
SVN
WHY U NO STANDARD

32. The Unity Tech Graph
32
If I Could Pick Only One Of Each…
Positive Factors
Strength
Negative Factors
Weakness
Opportunity Threat
External Factors Internal Factors
JUST #!@$@ WORKS.
EVERYWHERE.
DON’T GO OUTSIDE
OF THE ROPES.
DOUBLE DOWN ON
EMOTION, NOT TECH.
IF PLUGINS BREAK,
WE’RE HOSED.

33. How We Did It: Publishing/Releasing
33
Vertical Slice Only built what we needed. Focused on polish.
NEXT TIME: More playable, less talk.
Had a Pitch
What it is, why it’s different, how it plays, what we will
add.
NEXT TIME: Was lucky someone was bringing pubs
around.
Lawyered Up
Publisher agreement negotiations ~ 1 mo. and cost
$2000.
NEXT TIME: It will cost more because we won’t be
small. :P
Went on Road Got a booth at GDC. Even before we had a playable.
NEXT TIME: Enter more contests!
Kept Passion Four days, having to stay positive, excited. WORTH IT.
NEXT TIME: Make sure 3 people at all confs if possible.
Courted > 1
6 interested. 4 NDAs. 2 sent term sheets. Picked 1.
NEXT TIME: Get 10 interested. That was too damn
close.







34. Controversial Calls!
34
Charles calls audibles. Like, all the time.
Cancel 1st Prototype “Everyone knows space games need to be true 3D.”
Leave Job “Everyone knows you don’t leave your job ‘til you get a
hit.”
Set a “Low” KS Target “Everyone knows you need to ask for EVERY cent you
need.”
Get a Publisher “Everyone knows a true indie never signs with a
publisher.”
Go to Early Access “Everyone knows Early Access games cannibalize
sales.”
Rewrite After GDC “Everyone knows you should never throw away code.”

35. Are We Off Target?
35
Yes and no.
Schedule Slipped four months. Still alive!
Team Had to shut down Team A, spin up Team B.
Understaffed.
Finances Made Kickstarter, just barely. All savings gone. Loans
ho!
Partners Signed a publisher, with Xbox, with Sony, with Steam.
Technology Unity 4, baby! All the way.
Mood We made it to revenue. We’ll make it the rest of the way.







36. So…What Now?
Late Market
DLC, sure but expect only a 30%
attach rate on DLC1, maybe 10%
on DLC2.
Tablet+Mobile is a crapshoot –
but there’s some potential for
paid games to come back on the
AppStores. We’ll try it.
36
Follow the Rogers Curve.
Keeping the Lights On
Stay relevant, drive sales with:
• Features that get attention
• Reach-out to streamers
• Discounts (careful!!!)
• Press (well, kinda)
The Chasm
(WE ARE HERE)
Early Market
50% of our KS backers haven’t
even played the game.
Press is bored of Kickstarters.
Stay local, stay with your
networks.
IndieGoGo NoNo. Only 10% will
get funded vs 47% on KS.
Launch and Sales
This is the big question mark. Sure, we’ll
load up on ads. We’ll sim ship on all
platforms. We’ll blah blah blah…
We have our minimum forecasted sales
based on what we know. We budget to
that.
Kickstarter Early Access Launch + Console Steam Sale!!! iPad Version (AMIRITE)?

37. If I Could Change One Thing…
37
I’d want more courage.

38. Things That Matter More Than Opinions
38
Burn Rate. Making Actual Progress.
Market Research. Getting Visibility.

39. 39
charles@4gency.com