Well, my game is still in it''s infant stages, but I believe my team has some real skills, and good ideas. Now, the question is, what should we focus on for our demo to the publisher? So far my partener is suggesting that we work solely on getting our idea across (a new concept, mind you), and show off a fairly crude graphics display. Crude meaning an engine with no shadows, is poorly optimized, few pieces of artwork, and special effects left out. Thanks.

Dwarf''s rule of game development:

Never, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever*(N_NEVER/sizeof(never_t))+sizeof(CNeverEver)-never.ever[NEVER]*NEVER.EVER[EVER][EVER][NEVER]

EVER make a game to suit someone else unless you are being paid.

You make the game so that it is fun for you, and I guarantee you that others will like it. You need to ask yourself questions and critisize it like you would any other game.

TRUST THE DWARF... Or I''ll chop yer in half...

~Dwarf

You need to make sure that you have a good balance between concept and technology. A publisher wants to see a promising game concept but it also wants to know that the developer is capable of making the game technically and graphically sophisticated. Of course, if your game is a simple puzzle game for isntance, a publisher won''t care too much if you haven''t taken advantage of the latest 3D technology...
It''s very different if you are using the demo to try and land a job with a development company (which doesn''t seem to be the case with you). In that case, you want to show off your technical skills (unless you are applying as a designer).

Dwarfs point is good (and funny). Do you really need a publisher? The likelyhood is they will only screw you anyway. If you can do the same game on a smaller budget, try financing it yourself.
In my experience budget publishers want a finished game, and Big publishers want a game thats a clone of an existing hit, by people with a list of finished games under their belt.
Rememebr that no publisher on earth was interested in Sim City, and as i recall, that one sold quite reasonably.

http://www.positech.co.uk

Well thank you for your (colorful) opinion But I am making the game the way I like it, and the way others will like it. But a 3-4 year project without a publisher is almost always a wasted effort.

Now maybe I asked the question the wrong way.. sorry, that's my fault. What I meant to ask for is what the publisher would like to see in a DEMO. The final game will include all the special effects, etc, but the funding always comes first.


Alex:
That's kind of what I was thinking. But it's hard to determine where to draw the line. Also, may I ask you what your experience in this business is?


[edited by - hello2k1 on July 10, 2002 4:47:05 PM]

You're right, it is hard to determine where to draw the line. It greatly depends on your game as well. If you are working on a game that you plan to release as a shareware puzzle game, then I'd have to say focus on the gameplay. Nobody is interested in how many cool effects you can stuff into your product (although the quality of the graphics must meet a certain level). If you are, on the other hand, developing a game that you plan on being released by a bigtime publisher (AAA), then chances are that you will want to focus on your technical expertise.

You talk about a 3-4 year project. I highly suggest you work on a smaller project that you can finish in a short period of time. That way, you have something to show publishers in the future, and it can generate a source of income. There's too much risk in planning such a large scale project without having proven yourself able to complete a project.

My experience in the business:
Check out pcgamesforyou.com for more info. That is our developers' portal. We are currently developing our gamer's (and ecommerce) portal, from which we will be selling our first product within the next few weeks (acting as a shareware publisher).

[edited by - alex mcandrew on July 11, 2002 5:19:35 PM]

Wouldn''t the demo (along with network) prove that we can create a game? I plan for the demo to look much like the kind of demo that you would download from a company''s site to test out a game before you buy it. It will have internet capabilities, and one will be able to play online (via a server set up by someone in our team) against others. Don''t you think that would be proof enough that we can make the game?

Also, we are in a way creating our own game type. Do you think that publishers would like or dislike that? On the one hand, it''s new, and has a chance to hit big... But on the other hand, it''s untested, and has plenty of room for failure.

Well, creating such a sophisticated demo will take a lot of hard work, and there''s still the risk that you won''t land a publishing deal (which is very likely). Why would you want to risk so much if you could make a complete game, earn money from it, AND show it off to publishers when it''s complete?

Sure, it''s good if your game is really original. However, originality is not what makes a game sell. You will need to implement the idea well, and make sure that there is a market for this type of game, or else your chances of finding a publisher will be very slim. Regardless, if you are approaching big-time publishers, they will have their own idea of what a marketable game is, whether you like it or not!

Alex McAndrew
mcanda@pcgamesforyou.com
http://www.pcgamesforyou.com

quote: Original post by hello2k1
Wouldn''t the demo (along with network) prove that we can create a game? I plan for the demo to look much like the kind of demo that you would download from a company''s site to test out a game before you buy it. It will have internet capabilities, and one will be able to play online (via a server set up by someone in our team) against others. Don''t you think that would be proof enough that we can make the game?

Well, now you run into a dillemma. By the time you get enough of the game done to create a full demo, there are a few things to consider. Yes, this proves you can probably finish the game. Yet at this point, all you really have left to create is content. Either you won''t have much dev time left to worry about (so why bother trying to get a publisher to fund it), or you are going to have programmers sitting around a lot for a year just doing bug fixes. The other thing is that, as has been mentioned often in this forum, publishers don''t like to sign games that near to completion, as it doesnt really allow them to have much input into the design. A publisher would rather have something less complete that they can help design...something like a tech demo. The problem is, a tech demo does NOT prove that you can complete the game. So instead, they usually look for experience.



Ron Frazier
Kronos Software
www.kronos-software.com
Miko & Molly - Coming July 2002

Actually, I think I went a little overboard with my description. It would be playable, but nowhere near complete. It wouldn't be just adding content.. It would be adding the special effects, optimizing, adding new features, changing gameplay, etc.
Right now there are two developers on this team; myself, and the co-owner. We are both the designers/managers/developers, so there is no chance we'll be getting a break until well after the release.

Alex - You keep talking about working on a smaller project and making a profit off that. Do you think you could elaborate?

[edited by - hello2k1 on July 12, 2002 5:13:07 PM]