The document discusses costs associated with game development projects including direct costs like salaries and equipment and indirect costs like rent and utilities. It provides examples of direct and indirect monthly costs for a hypothetical game studio and calculates the cumulative costs over a three month period as the project expenses accumulate each month. The summary explains how a project's budget can be adjusted through changing its scope, schedule, or quality if the original budget is decreased.

1. Session 6
David Mullich
Concept Workshop - Game PreProduction
The Los Angeles Film School

2. Costs
A project’s budget is comprised of two types
of costs:
 Direct Costs: Those costs directly
associated with the project
 Indirect Costs: Those costs associated with
running the company, independent of the
project

3. Direct Costs
Direct costs associated with a game include:
 Team members’ salaries
 Team members’ benefits
 Equipment and supplies purchased for the
project
 Third-party vendors contributing to the
project
 Travel

4. Indirect Costs
Indirect costs associated with a company
include:
 Office Rent
 Utilities (power, telephone, water)
 Business fees and taxes
 Insurance
 Business Development

5. Cumulative Costs
The cost of the project as it accumulates
month by month:
January February March
Labor $2000 $5000 $3000
Equipment $1000 $500 $0
Supplies $50 $200 $100
Monthly Total $3050 $5700 $3100
Cumulative Total $3050 $8750 $11,850

6. Funding Requirements

7. Budget Cuts
If the game's budget is decreased, the project factors that can
be adjusted in order to meet the new budget:
 Scope
 Schedule
 Quality

8.  Your company has the following indirect costs
each month:
 Your monthly salaries are as follows:
 You will need the following people over a 3-
month project:
 Determine how much money you need each
month and the cumulative cost of the project.
Expense Cost
Rent $1000
Electricity $50
Internet $100
Position Monthly Salary
Designer $1000
Artist $1500
Programmer $2000
Position Jan Feb Mar
Designer 1 1 1
Artist 1 3 1
Programmer 1 2 2