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Serious Video Game Pitch

Started by April 05, 2007 06:54 PM
28 comments, last by stimarco 17 years, 7 months ago
I've been working with 2 parters for about a month now, evolving and creating a storyline/gameplay. Long story short... LLC paperwork has been sent in and in 3-4 weeks making it an "official" company. We're finishing a website, working on very detailed storyline, most paperwork is done having to do with gameplay features, multiplayer, ect. In about 1 - 1.5 months, all trademarks, copywrites, legal work should be finally done and the website up and running. Our goal is to pitch what we have to a company (We want to get a parent company). Basically they would fund it, taking % sales, stamping their logo on it, and we'd be a seperate entity still. My question is though... I've been doing Pitch research and can't seem to find the information on how to do it. I found info related to "Personal Submissions" but this would be a serious pitch from our Company. This isn't small.. it is intended for PC first, then console. It has a very strong gameplay but also a very strong storyline to go along with it. Any information would be helpful Thank you.
Thanks,MichaelMD_Enterprise_CD@hotmail.com - PersonalFaramixEnterprise@hotmail.com - Company
Some broad wrote:
>I've been doing Pitch research and can't seem to find the information on how to do it.

Then you must not have found my FAQs 21 and 35.
http://www.sloperama.com/advice/lesson21.htm
http://www.sloperama.com/advice/lesson35.htm

>I found info related to "Personal Submissions" but this would be a serious pitch from our Company.

OK, well, I don't know what you were looking at before. But there probably isn't much of a difference in how to pitch, regardless of whether you're an individual or an "official" company.

-- Tom Sloper -- sloperama.com

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I was waiting for you to respond eventually to something I posted. You seem to be on top of every form.

As for pitching it, I doubt there is a difference between personal and companywise, but was more looking for information to actually get the meeting setup since you have to prove to them that you're not some 16 year old trying to pitch some pacman spinoff they aren't going to care about to hear.

Every major video game had to have a start somewhere. All it takes is the one company to see in the project, to have semi decent sales once released, and the next title that has been arranged can be supported entirely without a parent company. It's a storyline that has never been done with twists just like any other good storyline, and it will have some of the best gameplay available. If you saw the paperwork that we have done so far on it and how it'll look in the end, you'd want to play it. It's going to be a hit, just have to get the parent company first.


Cute joke about the some broad, haven't heard that one 50 times before or being asked if I'm on a broadway show :P.
Thanks,MichaelMD_Enterprise_CD@hotmail.com - PersonalFaramixEnterprise@hotmail.com - Company
Some broad showed up and asked a way out question:

>was more looking for information to actually get the meeting setup [sic] ... since you have to prove to them that you're not some 16 year old trying to pitch some pacman spinoff they aren't going to care about to hear.

Only the first few words of your sentence matter. See the place where I inserted an ellipsis? The part of the question after that ellipsis nobody can help you with. As for the part before the ellipsis, here's what it says in FAQ 21 about how to actually get the meeting set up (note: that's two words):

1. Get a lawyer.
2. Select your target game publishers.
3. Determine the submission policy of your target game publishers.
4. Get the needed forms, addresses, etc.
5. Submit your game.

Which part of that are you having a problem with? Submitting a game is a straightforward business activity. Nobody will assume you're a pimply teenager unless you come across like one. There's no way to tell you how to make people think you aren't one, if you are one. And if you aren't one, why would anybody think you were one?

When you call a new dentist to make an appointment, he doesn't assume you've got a stinky mouth full of cavities and abscesses. He waits to meet you before he makes any judgments about your mouth.

-- Tom Sloper -- sloperama.com

Actually, FAQ 35 covers step four and a half - what to put into your submission. If you do that right, you don't come across looking like a teenager. You've read that FAQ, so where's the question? Just clarify the question (if it's not covered in the FAQs), and you'll get a straight answer.
Still standing by ...

-- Tom Sloper -- sloperama.com

I was taking a nap, been a really busy day. I have a Pitch Document, Design and Prototype Docuement, and just a random one (Has storyline, how it incorperates into the levels, character progessions, Primary Objectives, Secondary Objectives, Upgrades, sample dialog, multiplayer features, all that stuff). Working with my partner who is doing PR work and we're both working on creating the long and painful detailed story that will be used on the copywrite. It's going to take a good 1-1.5 months of our freetime to get it all smoothed out. The LLC paperwork takes a good 3-4 weeks to process anyways before the storyline can get copywrited under the company. After the 3-4 weeks the website should be up and running too. Not terribly worred about things right now, things are running extremely smooth. Been working with a lawyer to make sure papers everyone signs who works on the project free or not knows exactly what to do and what not to do with the information provided and what was created free or not.

Haven't read everything yet, but have been paging through your site. Saw it back in october when I first had the idea with this story. Just haven't done anything with it till the past 3-4 weeks.
Thanks,MichaelMD_Enterprise_CD@hotmail.com - PersonalFaramixEnterprise@hotmail.com - Company
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You don't have to page through the whole site. FAQs 21 and 35 contain the answer to your question. After you read them, if you still have questions, you know where to get more answers.

-- Tom Sloper -- sloperama.com

Quote: Original post by Broadway
I have a Pitch Document, Design and Prototype Docuement, and just a random one (Has storyline, how it incorperates into the levels, character progessions, Primary Objectives, Secondary Objectives, Upgrades, sample dialog, multiplayer features, all that stuff).

You seem to be missing a working prototype. See... Preparing a pitch and Preparing a demo for more info.

Dan Marchant - Business Development Consultant
www.obscure.co.uk
We're combining a lot of steps. When the LLC is finalized by about may 1st, the storyline and all paperwork should be finalized and ready for copywrites, trademarks, ect. From there we were going to start setting up initial pitches with some companies we picked out and while doing that working on a demo. We can get a parent company without a demo, or they may want to see a demo before they parent us. Either way it doesn't hurt to pitch it while working on the demo, since they can just tell us to come back with a working demo and we'll go from there.
Thanks,MichaelMD_Enterprise_CD@hotmail.com - PersonalFaramixEnterprise@hotmail.com - Company
Quote: Original post by Broadway
...We can get a parent company without a demo, or they may want to see a demo before they parent us.
What do you mean by "parent company"? That term normally means a company which owns another subsidiary company. Are you expecting someone to buy your company when it hasn`t done anything (and thus has no value)? Or is it that you are using the term to mean a publisher?

Quote: Either way it doesn't hurt to pitch it while working on the demo
Yes actually it will hurt (if you are talking about publishers). If you read that article I linked to you will know that the demo is the single most important part of the pitch and if you send a submission without one they will realise that you don`t know what you are doing and won`t want to work with you. Once they have that opinion it is almost impossible to change it - even if you later send a demo.
Dan Marchant - Business Development Consultant
www.obscure.co.uk

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