Hi, I know if I write my own game and find a publisher I can get between 12 and 17 per cent or so. I know the question I'm going to ask is either reasonably sensible or really really ignorant depending on how long you've been in the game business... What if I have a highly original game idea - what per centage would I get if a publisher and games house used my game concept? (assuming that 1. it was a good idea, 2. the games industry did work like this from time to time) I'll duck now while the world of games laugh at me !!

It will depend on the publisher (you knew someone wld say that!) and of course I assume this wld be when your game is finished and not an earlier stage. We have recently signed a contract that will give us a 40% cut of net revenue for a mobile game - but I know that there are others that offer lower as well as higher - its just a matter of seeking out all the publishers you can and gleam what info you can from them. I'm sure someone here may be able to point you in the right direction. Also, not wanting to be negative... but I must in asking.. why do you think you have a highly original game idea?.

Why is it original ?

Well, obviously I haven't played every single game under the sun - but what I can gleen from trawling through games web sites is that we're looking for multipath games more and more - the linear stuff gets boring after a while.
So, I think I have an original game idea, it's multipath and here's the original bit (well I think so at the moment !) - it has no end ! (it's basically a war game..) Obviously to do it myself would be impossible (aren't PS2 games about 60 man years minimum of effort now ?!) - but some games house/publisher may find it very exciting...

thanks for your help..

Quote: Original post by ade-the-heat
What if I have a highly original game idea - what per centage would I get if a publisher and games house used my game concept?
(assuming that 1. it was a good idea, 2. the games industry did work like this from time to time)

You might get a 1-5% design royalty but ONLY if:
i. You had a full, usable design (not just a concept)
ii. You had a industry track record and were selling the design to a developer that knew you and trusted you.

Even then selling designs is very, very rare because most developers have more ideas than they can ever make.

If you don't have an industry track record and contacts at a developer/publisher then the chances are zero. For a full explanation of why read http://www.obscure.co.uk/faq_idea.shtml

Indeed - a never-ending war game does sound exciting (in fact its something we've looked at ourselves) but it would take heaps of effort,time and money to develop. Its an unfortunate thing to say but...... NO publisher/games developer is going to take an 'idea' off your hands - a full design doc and a demo would have to be in place before they would even ask you to come and see them. Even then, its highly unlikely they would do anything with it as most are usually stacked with their own ideas (original or not).

cheers everybody !
I needed a taste of reality !

I'll carry on being a hobbyist for the time being !