Hi, I`ve registered "Classis Pass" at GDC Europe and it is the first time I`m going there. What I`d like to ask is what is the best place/situation for finding publishers while being at the conference. I would of course like to attend a whole-day Tutorial on Tuesday, but only if it would not interfere with "hunting" for publishers. My idea is to demonstrate the game on a notebook during evening parties - is it a good idea ? (Of course I`m not expecting to sign a contract there, but at least a contact or possibility would be great) I would like to avoid a situation after I return from GDC and would be slapping myself "Now, If I KNEW that before.", especially because this whole trip is too expensive for me and I had to take a loan for this (low salaries here in Slovakia from USD standpoint, but on the other hand, that is a HUGE advantage from Budget standpoint), but I strongly believe I`ll make it there. Because, as fas as I understand it, during the day (9.00 - 18.00), everybody shall be scattered through different sessions, tutorials and other stuff, right ? So if anybody has been there already, could you please let me know what does it looke like there ? EDIT : Maybe I should also clarify that, what our team (3 people) is looking for (from financial standpoint), is around 25.000 USD per year of full-time work. So, we`re not looking for AAA funding yet, just budget titles. Or is it wrong place (GDC) to look for Budget funding ? I mean, every publisher should have some budget titles, right ? Also, besides Avenger, I`ll present there another game demo based on Avenger engine, so maybe that`d help too ? Many Thanks In Advance VladR Avenger game

1. Budget funding
I have yet to find a budget publisher that funds development. Most/all require the developer to complete/fund the game themselves.

2. Turning up at a show and hoping to meet publishers is a very bad idea. There is never enough time at shows so if publishers are attending to find/meet developers they will almost certainly be booked up. You need to contact the publishers in advance, fiind out if they are going and then make an appointment to meet with them.

As for presenting your demo at evening parties, that is a bad idea. People spend that time talking to people they know, networking, finding out what others are up to and drinking. Presenting a demo at a show is hard enough. Doing it in a crowded/noisy bar when people are drinking is impossible.

Dan Marchant
Obscure Productions
Game Development & Design consultant

quote: I have yet to find a budget publisher that funds development. Most/all require the developer to complete/fund the game themselves

Sigh. I thought I found pretty much info regarding publishing, but I`m sure as hell that I never noticed that budget games are funded by developers only. I always thought that those games are cheap for publishers, so they fund about a ten or more of them and hope that one pays for the others.

quote: You need to contact the publishers in advance, fiind out if they are going and then make an appointment to meet with them.

Yes, but that means that you get a reply from publishers first. I haven`t tried naming the email header by sth GDC related, so that they at least read it. I`ll definitely try.

quote: Presenting a demo at a show is hard enough. Doing it in a crowded/noisy bar when people are drinking is impossible.

Well, if those partied are held in a bar, I see your point very clearly. I think I saw some shots from those parties somewhere and it was a pretty open and large place, maybe it wasn`t Europe`s GDC, who knows. Well, the photos can`t reproduce the noise level, so if it is as loud as in a regular bar, then presentation is impossible, of course. Oh, well...

And here`s my next question: Are these parties held every night during GDC, i.e. Tuesday, Wendesday and Thursday ? How long do they last ? Is there at least a possibility do eat sth there for free (like some prepared cold-food and such) ?


VladR
Avenger game

I''d agree with what Obscure said. I do have a few other ideas/points though.

1) The majority of attendees at GDCE will be developers rather than publishers. There are some top publishing celebrities giving talks there, but they''re unlikely to be free to talk about publishing. [Unless of course the demo you have running on a laptop totally blows them away within the first 5 seconds].


2) This year, ECTS (European Computer Trade Show, www.ects.com to register for tickets [free]) is running in parallel with GDCE. THAT is where most of the publishers will be, showing their latest games to the industry.

ECTS is like the poor mans E3, there''ll be less on show there than E3, but also the European budget publishers are more likely to be showing there.

Many of the people giving interviews to the press are the same people you need to pitch your team/game at.


3) As Dan suggested, trade shows and conferences are busy, noisy places. You''ve got very little chance of talking to anyone with the any authority to sign/consider your game without a pre-arranged meeting first.
E-mail all of the publishers you''re interested in with a very short and to the point email. Along the lines of "hi I represent blah blah company, are you available for a meeting at ECTS or GDCE ?"


4) US$ 25k isn''t very much to a UK/US publisher, so assuming your financial breakdown and business plan make sense, you''re a very good salesman and your demo looks good you might still have _some_ luck getting at least some of the funding you require. They''d still have to believe 100% in your game though because releasing it would still cost a lot more than that.


5) The parties and pubs are great places to make contacts if you can get talking to people easily. They aren''t the place to do real business though. If at all possible get some business cards printed to give out to people you meet - contacts are everything in the games industry. You probably shouldn''t take your laptop along though most people will be drunk and talking about the days events/business. It''s better to try and arrange a meeting with them the following day. Hiring a mobile phone (if you can roam with your network in the UK) might me useful.


6a) Make contact with ALL your local games/IT industry trade organisations (IGDA chapter, government agencies etc), with other companies in your country (and neighbouring countries).

Quite often there are government/trade organisation sponsored "showcase" areas at trade shows. These usually have a small selection of demo machines where they''ll be happy to show your game demo. This might help attract attention from the press/passing publishers etc.

An example of this was a few years ago, the Korean government had a stand at ECTS where they were promoting games made by local companies.


6b) Likewise, also keep contact with the developer relations people at all the PC hardware manufacturers and API vendors.

They too have demonstration machines and are particularly willing to show any demo that shows off their product.

ISTR The Microsoft DirectX room at ECTS 1999 or 2000 had a small area showcasing PC games made by Eastern European developers.


7) Most of the parties at GDCE and ECTS time are invitation only . You''ll have to keep your ears open to find out what parties are happening and talk to the people on the stands (and any other contacts you may have) to find out if they can get you any tickets. The parties usually do have some sort of food available, though often not enough to counteract the amount of alcohol consumed


--
Simon O''Connor
ex -Creative Asylum
Programmer &
Microsoft MVP

Thank You Very Much S1CA I`ve just printed your massive reply and am going through it step by step. Your knowledge never ceases to shock me. Anytime you reply, it`s grounded, detailed and logical information. Your willingness to help is fantastic.
Will you be at this year`s GDCE or ECTS ? I think I owe you some beers We could have a beer or two (or dozen )

As for ECTS, I didn`t mention it, but of course I`m going there and since they have dedicated rooms with PCs for indies, it will be naturally easier to make some presentation there compared to GDC.

BTW, how long are you with MVP ? Congrats on change


VladR
Avenger game