Hi everyone, this is my first post. I'm new to the board and not exactly sure if this is where I should post this question. But it seems the closest place. Essentially what I would like to know is this...what is necessary for pitching or selling a game concept? Here is exactly what I mean: I have what I think is a great idea: 1. I plan to write up a detailed outline of the concept. 2. As I am primarily a 2D artist, I will draw up character profiles and concept sketches of the environments. 3. Also, I would be able to make up a Flash trailer to flesh out the look and feel of the game, but this will not be interactive. Unfortunately, as I have no knowledge of 3D art or coding/game development, I won't be able to provide a working demo. I'm guessing that game proposals are hard enough even with working 3D demos. Can you even submit what is essentially just an idea? If so, who would accept them? Thanks for any pointers. -john

I'll be the first to reply, but I'm sure others will with probably more detail.

Short answer: No.

Longer Answer: Ideas are truly dime a dozen. Due to legal issues, money issues, and the previous statement, most game companies are not going to pay you for your idea. And I only say most because I don't want to say none though that's closer to my guess.


That said, I think you should just see about learning more about creating 3d art (if that's your thing) or programming and try to put together a team to work on the game. That's probably your best bet and will most likely (if you stick with it) be more rewarding for you personally. I'm not trying to knock your enthusiasm or your idea, but this is the way it all seems to work.

Well, I suspected as much, but in lieu of definitive answers I thought I'd post here anyway.

So essentially it's the same as trying to break into any other industry. It makes sense.

Thanks for the response, though.

With what you can make, it should be possible to get some programmers to help you. Start a small team and make a demo, or self publish. Try to stick with programmers who have finished projects in the past and can show them to you, no matter how small the project.

exactly how good of a 2D arist are you? Currently working on/running a project with getting a website up and an eventual demo with my partner and myself based on a storyline I wrote months ago. Already have detailed level designs, character progression, rough pictures of what the character would look like, ect. Let me know

Thanks
Michael

MD_Enterprise_CD@hotmail.com - Personal Email
FaramixEnterprise@hotmail.com - Company Email

Moved to the Business forum. Also, read this.

It depends on exactly who you are wanting to pitch your idea to. The problem is that the value of your idea depends heavily on what you can bring to the developement of the game. It's essentially a risk-benefit comparison; the people you are pitching to will be weighing up the benefits they get from using your idea over the risks it might flop.

The problem is that game concepts on their own are worthless to the people you are pitching to. Everyone has game concepts of their own - I've currently got a file of two dozen that I maintain. You'll need to provide something else to win people over.

If you are wanting to pitch your idea to an established game developer or a publisher, then you'll need to provide evidence that you've got the ability to bring the game through. This usually means experience in game development and a well crafted demo. You can sell ideas without a demo, but you'll have to have a stellar track record to make up for the risk - for example, you're Shigeru Miyamoto or Will Wright. Or you've got something else of great value you could bring to the team - such as you're J.K.Rowling. But unless you've got some big asset you can bring to the team they won't even bother reading your idea; it's just too much of a risk for the benefit it's like to bring given they've all got great ideas of their own.

Now if you want to pitch your idea to a small hobby team, that's a different story. You've got a skill you can bring to the team - you're a 2D artist. If you can sell your artistic skills more than the idea, then you could attract competent programmers to help you out. You'll probably have to aim for an indie game; something simple to release for free or to sell over the Internet. But I'll have to stress again that rather than the idea you'll have to sell the valuable asset you bring to team and your ability to see the project through to completion.

Best of luck!

John wrote:
>what is necessary for pitching or selling a game concept?

Read FAQ 35. http://www.sloperama.com/advice/lesson35.htm

>I'm guessing that game proposals are hard enough even with working 3D demos.

Yes. Read FAQ 11. http://www.sloperama.com/advice/lesson11.htm

>Can you even submit what is essentially just an idea?

Read FAQ 50. http://www.sloperama.com/advice/lesson50.htm

>If so, who would accept them?

Many people will accept amateur submissions, many will not. There is no list anybody can give you. (Note: getting the submissions greenlit for production is an entirely different matter.) You've already been referred to FAQ 1 by the moderator of the forum where you originally posted. And you didn't ask, but I haven't even mentioned FAQ 21 yet: http://www.sloperama.com/advice/lesson21.htm

Thanks everyone for your responses. I definitely appreciate you all taking the time to offer me pointers. I've learned much in just a few posts.

I think I'll pursue this just to see how far I can get with it, and just get the idea of money out of my head and have some fun with it as a side project. I've been looking for a reason to learn 3D art, so I guess there's no time like the present.

The coding may be another story. I know html, &#106avascript and php (and a smattering of java), but for some reason, learning C or C++ seems fairly intimidating to me. Is it something I can learn/compile on the Mac? Or will it cause me problems to be Mac-based?

Well I'm sure the answer is in some of the links that some have provided for me. I'll start digging through those more thoroughly.

Anyway, much thanks again to everyone who has responded so far.

Quote:

Original post by JGstyle The coding may be another story. I know html, &#106avascript and php (and a smattering of java), but for some reason, learning C or C++ seems fairly intimidating to me. Is it something I can learn/compile on the Mac? Or will it cause me problems to be Mac-based?

You can of course develop C/C++ code on the mac, but making it cross-platform is going to be a problem. And you won't be able to use DirectX either. If you're gonna do this for fun, I'd recommend sticking with Java, which is easy to get into and plenty powerful, plus you said you already have experience with it. Grab the LWJGL library, grab the OpenGL redbook, and start getting your hands dirty. You can do this on the Mac and your code will run on Windows essentially without modification. If you really do want to go the C++/DirectX route, you will need an x86 box with Windows on it.