…and I think it would make a great game” I have had quite a large number of meetings over the years that started with that line, both as a publisher and as a developer. My reaction has always been the same; I feel used. From talking to other game people they seem to say the [...]
Grand Theft Auto Syndome is a disorder which afflicts small start-up developers and causes them to believe that their small team is actually five or six times its actual size. As a result they decide that their first project will be a Grand Theft Auto beater, requiring three years development and a $15 million development [...]
The concept of selling game ideas is one that appeals to a lot of people, especially those outside the industry looking to break in. In a recent post over on Gamedev.net (Link) someone once again asked the question of how to go about getting $10 million from a publisher for a game idea (with no [...]
Making games requires creativity and a great game idea is an important part of that. However, starting a company need more than just a great game idea. If you are looking to go the digital download/self publishing route you also need to know how to market your company and your games to customers and how [...]
Let’s assume that you have managed to negotiate a deal where the publisher doesn’t recoup advances (as mentioned here) or maybe you have self-funded development and will be earning a royalty from unit one. It might seem that all is looking rosy is the cash-flow garden. Sadly there is a weed in the flower bed [...]
A sudden change of circumstances isn’t a good reason to start a business (unless you have spent the previous few months planning to do so). Being made redundant can be a stressful event and for that reason isn’t ideal for planning a company. There is a lot of planning and research that should be undertaken [...]
If you want to be a successful computer game developer you need to be bi-lingual. As a developer your native tongue is most likely Creative but when doing business with computer and video game publishers you also need to speak Business. The problem for many computer game developers is that the two languages appears to [...]
Rakkar has posted a blog entry here with some useful advise on how not to outsource. To get my programmers, I posted on a general job site, naukri.com. Lesson one – research: To find game developers go to game dev related sites and ask for recommendations for sites where good outsources can be found (or [...]
The supposed stupidity of others is never a good reason to start a business. I get quite a few start-up developers contacting me for advise. When asked why they are setting up their own business one of the (many) reasons quoted is often “the management of the team we work for are stupid. We know [...]
Pop quiz – Your game costs $1 million to develop (funded by the publisher in the form of an advance against royalties). Your publisher gets $10 (net sales) for every copy of your game they sell. You (the developer) get 15% of net sales. If your game sells 500,000 units how much money do you [...]