Market-Driven vs. Passion-First: A Tale of Two Approaches

I had the pleasure of attending a rather brilliant session at the Binus Game Dev Club recently. It was a proper deep dive into how we actually get these games off the drawing board. We had two industry giants sharing their notes, and though they seem to be coming from different worlds, there’s a lot we can learn from both. Here’s a quick summary of the chat for those who couldn’t make it.

Koh Chris (Toge Productions): The Market-First Approach

First up, we had Chris from Toge Productions. He’s a firm believer in the Market-Driven way of doing things. His process is quite methodical: you start with market analysis, move into the development cycle (GDLC), share your progress through devlogs, and finally publish.

The core idea here is that you really ought to think about marketability before you even write your first line of code. Chris pointed out that many developers jump straight into creating their dream project without checking if there’s actually a crowd waiting for it. For an indie studio, this is about sustainability—making sure the game can actually support the people building it.

Dharma Santosa (Garena Indonesia): The Passion-First Approach

Then we heard from Dharma over at Garena, who offered a bit of a different perspective. His view is very much Passion-Driven. He suggests that the best games often start with a genuine love for the craft—playing games, enjoying them, and then building something you personally find brilliant.

Dharma’s take is quite encouraging, really. He reckons that if you truly enjoy playing the game you’ve made, there are bound to be others who’ll feel the same. From an investment point of view, he’s not just looking at the spreadsheets; he’s looking for uniqueness and that “interesting” factor. Whether it’s just squares or circles doesn’t matter as much as the soul of the game and how well you deliver it.

The Conclusion: Finding the Balance

So, what’s the takeaway from all this? It’s not necessarily a case of one being right and the other wrong. It’s more about where you are in your journey.

Toge’s approach is a vital survival guide for indies where the margin for error is razor-thin. You need that market validation to keep the lights on. Garena, on the other hand, is looking for that next big innovative spark—the kind of “moonshot” thinking that often comes from pure passion rather than following a trend.

The “sweet spot,” I reckon, is starting with that authentic spark of passion that Dharma talks about, then using Chris’s market logic to help it find its feet. It’s about building something you love, but making sure you’ve got a plan so the rest of the world can love it too.

Hope that’s a helpful summary for everyone! Right, I’m off for a cuppa.