While catching up on my reading I came upon a post entitled Bluff on Pierre-Alexandre Garneau’s blog. The topic was the concept of bluffing in games with a mention of one of my favorite games of the moment, Texas Hold ‘em Poker. Now oddly I used to hate Poker, almost as much as I hated negotiating Publishing contracts. In Texas Hold ‘em Poker you can’t see all the cards the other players have in their hand. I always preferred Blackjack because you got to see the cards you were playing against.

Then one day something strange happened. I suddenly started to enjoy negotiating contracts and playing Poker, exactly because I couldn’t see all the cards. I realised that when negotiating a contract you aren’t the only person who can’t see all the cards and, just as in Poker, it’s far easier to negotiate on a set of weak cards if people can’t see them. Of course that isn’t much use to you unless you also realise that Publishers actually want developers to negotiate. Sure, the first draft contract that a publisher sends out come from the draw marker “for idiots” – but that only applies if you actually sign it. Publishers are in business to grow their business and if that means taking advantage of a developer that doesn’t know better then that is what they will do. It’s nothing personal, just business. However Publishers are also smart enough to know that their business will do better in the long run if they don’t work with too many idiots.

A developer who negotiates a better deal for themselves (better than the “idiots” contract at least) will be less likely to make stupid mistakes, hopefully more financially stable and at least stay in business long enough to finish developing their game. So, if you want to do well in the development business, better break out the cards and start practicing your Poker.