For the graphics I began by simple searching for 'video game 2d artist', and just browsed through portfolios. Eventually I realised that I was getting a lot of the same style of artwork, which wasn't what I was looking for, so I changed tack and started looking at 'classical' illustrator portfolios which resulted in a much more diverse set of artwork. After that I simply stumbled upon Eva Galesloot's portfolio (http://cargocollective.com/skwirrol) and knew it was an awesome fit.
Marketing wise, I honestly did terribly at getting any coverage on video game websites. I think my success came from targeting a very specific niche, i.e. BMXers, which led to me getting good coverage on those websites. For my next game I'll be trying again to get some traditional games coverage, but I'll be spending more effort on cycling journalists than video games journalists.
I can't really answer your question directly since I'm in UK, but I can say that once the game had some success I went straight to an accountant to form a Limited company.
That accountant now deals with the money side of things, so I can stay focused on the games (plus I'm terrible with money). That separation of concerns is, I suspect, a lot easier when there's only one person in the business!
Additionally I didn't do much in terms of legal contracts with the first game (mostly stock assets with just the character art being commissioned), but for my new game I've had a lawyer draw up contracts for any major pieces of work.
No problem! However when this last appeared on HN that was taken to mean the project was a failure, which I'd disagree with.
'New car money' doesn't mean buy a new car and nothing else - it just means I'm not living in a penthouse apartment! I've been fortunate enough to earn enough to quit my 'real' job and make games full time, which is the ideal outcome as far as I'm concerned! I'm not rich, but I'm doing what I love, so I'd count that as a resounding success. :)
Didn't expect to see this pop up again! I'm Adam, the guy that wrote that. Happy to answer any questions anyone has.
Since writing that I've gone full time making games and I'm just finishing up the follow-up game, 'Pumped BMX 2'. You can see some clips on my instagram account: http://instagram.com/pumpedbmx
For the graphics I began by simple searching for 'video game 2d artist', and just browsed through portfolios. Eventually I realised that I was getting a lot of the same style of artwork, which wasn't what I was looking for, so I changed tack and started looking at 'classical' illustrator portfolios which resulted in a much more diverse set of artwork. After that I simply stumbled upon Eva Galesloot's portfolio (http://cargocollective.com/skwirrol) and knew it was an awesome fit.
For my latest game I'm working in 3D so I looked at lots of portfolios on Polycount (http://www.polycount.com/forum/).
Marketing wise, I honestly did terribly at getting any coverage on video game websites. I think my success came from targeting a very specific niche, i.e. BMXers, which led to me getting good coverage on those websites. For my next game I'll be trying again to get some traditional games coverage, but I'll be spending more effort on cycling journalists than video games journalists.