Setting the stage - Baseline Key Performance Indicators
While I just started writing about my hobby startup project, I have been hard at work building the first game for some time. Initially I had no plans for treating this like a startup, writing this blog or even releasing a single game. I was simply playing around with Canvas & HTML5.
As a result hereof I was not particularly careful with my time and used quite a lot of it building components I would not have, if I where to start over. However to give a holistic view of how much time I effectively spend I do feel these should be included in the calculations going forward.
Most notably are the following two projects.
- ExtendJS - JavaScript Class abstraction which makes it easier to reuse JavaScript code.
- Game Engine - Lightweight game game engine build on canvas. It works cross device, automatically handles high DPI screens, and is compatible with CocoonJS for mobile distribution.
Sadly before starting writing on this project I did little to no time tracking and will therefore have to guesstimate. I used commit logs, timestamps & old Skype conversations to estimate time usage. Note that we put a $200 value on a work hour earlier.
Development Hours Cost
- Game Development > 62.7 Hours > -$12540
- HTML5 Game Engine > 82.3 Hours > -$16460
- ExtendJS Class Library > 69.3 Hours > -$13860
Other Hours Cost
- Administrative > 9.3 Hours > -$1860
- Blog & PR > 7.7 Hours > -$1540
Expenses Cost
- Stock Photo > -$45
- Domain Name > -$3000
Total -$49305
The largest single expense is a domain name, I will dive into why a domain can be worth $3000 in a future post. Administrative covers things such as setting up hosting, establishing a company shell and filing for trademarks.
All in all, this leaves me -$49305 in red, putting a rather big challenge ahead of me -- this should be fun!