Perhaps the biggest road block to independent game design is obtaining graphics and other art assets for the game. Supposedly, a vast majority of game projects fail when they get to the point where they need the final graphics. It is fairly common for independent and hobby game developers to make placeholder graphics, but there comes a point in game development where it is time to put the final graphics in. If you don't have the final graphics ready to go when this time comes, the odds of completing your game project are not good.
The problem is that quality art assets are hard to obtain. This does not just include graphics. Art assets can include sound effects, game music, and even custom fonts. Graphics is the big one though, because these are video games. Without graphics, there is no video... Since graphics are the most important art asset of a video game, that is what we are going to focus on here. There are several ways you can get graphics.
The way big game companies get graphics is by hiring graphic artists as regular staff. The game designers tell the artists what assets they need for the game, and the artists produce the graphics and pass them off to the game developers. In there somewhere, the game designers get to look at the graphics during the production process, to make sure they fit the intended style of the game and ask for adjustments. In big companies, graphics are not always finished before they are needed, but graphic artists can make much better placeholders than the typical developer, so they can make sure any temporary graphics are properly formatted and complete enough for development to continue. Of course, having graphic artists on staff is expensive. The typical hobby or indie game developer does not have the money to hire a full time graphic artist.
A more accessible way to get art assets for games is contract work. Contract artists can be found online or at various game and comic conventions. They will create artwork according to the needs of their customer at a fixed price that is agreed upon beforehand. One nice thing about contracting art creation is that asset creation can be spread across multiple graphic artists to speed up the process. Of course, this may result in a collection of assets that don't fit together very well. On the other side though, if time is not the issue, a single artist can be contracted to do all of the artwork, which will generally result in a more consistent style. While some indie game developers may be able to afford to contract out graphics work when hiring a full time artist does not make sense, this is still out of reach of the typical indie or hobby game developer. Contracted art work is still quite expensive, especially for good quality work.
Another option is using stock graphics. Stock game graphics can be harder to find than general stock photography or clip art, but there are still many options. Some companies offer access to a wide variety of artwork for a monthly or yearly subscription, but it may be difficult to find a suitable selection of assets with a consistent style. Other companies offer a smaller selection of complete game packs for individual purchase. Complete game packs can be great, but they are often missing a few assets that will be needed for the game. There are two big issues with stock graphics. The first is consistency. In either case, it may be difficult to find all of the art assets needed for a game, and holes will likely have to be filled. Finding art to fill in any holes can be very difficult without sacrificing consistency. The second issue with stock graphics is that they are unlikely to be unique to one game. A really good art set could end up being used in several games, which can pose a problem when it comes to using style as part of a game's branding. That said, buying stock art and hiring a contract artist to produce assets to fill the holes can be a very economical way to obtain professional game graphics.
There are also free options for obtaining art assets, however they come with their own challenges. The first is using open source graphics. These can be hard to find, and the task can be daunting, however there are still a lot of options available. Open source artwork comes with the same challenges as using stock art, with the added problem of licensing. There are many sources for open source artwork. There is a huge number of small art assets available, but composing a selection with a consistent style is difficult. There are also complete game packs, but they rarely contain everything needed for any specific game. The art is free though, which is sometimes the most important thing. The licensing is a problem, because many sources are not rigorous about making sure all of the artwork they provide is actually free. Some web sites offering open source graphics also advertise graphics for sale, which can get confusing. It is the responsibility of the game developer to make sure the artwork is actually free to use. Further, not all open source art is licensed for commercial use, so it is important to know what different licenses allow. One of the best sources of free game graphics is opengameart.org. This site carefully vets all game assets that are listed, and it provides a lists of licenses for every asset, with a link for each license explaining what it means. It is also a good idea to keep a file listing all of the assets used in your game, with sources (ideally links to download page) and the license you are using each asset under, as legal backup. All of this can make using open source graphics a hassle, but at least you don't have to pay hundreds or thousands of dollars.
The second free option is to get someone you know to do the graphics. This can include contracting to pay them part of the profits, if the game makes any money. If there is any promise of money if the game sells, it is wise to draw up a legal contract for this. Otherwise, just make sure you are clear on what you are allowed to use the graphics for. A friend might be willing to create free graphics for you to use for a school project, but things could get complicated if you decided to start selling the game without discussing this with your friend. The real limitation with this option is that anyone making free graphics for you probably has other things to spend their time on that are higher priority. If something with a higher priority suddenly needs more time, your graphics may never be completed.
The last free option is to make the graphics yourself. Don't try to do this if you don't have any experience with graphic design. This is often the plan for many hobby game developers, and projects tend to fail about the time the developer discovers that graphic design is harder than it looks. If you do have experience with graphic design though, this can be the best option when open source graphics cannot provide the consistency or style you want for your game.
There are a lot of options for getting graphics for your games. They all come with their own challenges, but generally there are at least one or two that will work, if you are willing to make the associated sacrifices. There are a few more good guidelines to improve the chances of a successful game project.
If you want your game to be successful, it is a good idea to get your graphic assets as soon as possible. Obviously, you will need some design first, so you have a good idea what you will need, but waiting for design to be finished is just asking for trouble. It is easy to design beyond your graphics budget, if you are not paying attention to what you need. If you are planning to use open source or stock graphics, you will find it easier to design around the graphics that are available. If you wait, you will very likely find that you need to contract some graphics to fill in things that your game needs that are just not available. If you hire a full time graphic artist, this is not as much of a problem, otherwise, figure out your graphics early on, so you don't get stuck later.
The graphic style of your game is a major factor in how your game feels. You could make a side scroll platformer with mechanics identical to one of the Mario Bros. games, but if you used graphics with a Steampunk theme or even just a more cartoonish graphics style, it would feel like a totally different game. Graphic style can also be an element of branding, not just defining how the game feels. The graphic style in a game can affect how people feel about your company and your brand. If you have to use open source or stock graphics, you will probably have limited control over this, but it may still be something worth considering, if you have the luxury of getting to choose between two graphics sets.
Graphics is not the only kind of asset modern games use. It is the only essential asset for a video game though. Sound effects and game music are also very common in modern games, but finding good audio assets can be more difficult. Many modern games also use custom fonts, and while specialized fonts can be easy to find, it is not always easy to find what you need at a reasonable price. In addition, audio and font also affect how your game feels. The most important thing though, is to make sure you have your art assets available before you need to use them.
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