I am wanting to start my own game development company and I have a game idea in mind that is not currently seen in the market I want to produce it in. I know that a NDA (non-disclosure agreement) will protect the trade secrets of my company, my question is will it also protect the concept of the game I want to create? Is there a good free resource for NDAs? Also, when contracting others for work on the project, I know I need a collaboration agreement, stating how much rights my company and the artist has to the work. Is there a good free resource for these as well? My last question comes to compensation. Since there is no guarantee on the success of the project or the money it will make. What type of document would I need to setup for compensation that would cover my company if it makes money or does not on the game. Are there any other legal documents I am missing for game development issues? I know the company needs to be registered in the city and state that I live in. Any help would be appreciated.

Check here http://www.gamedevkit.com/

Drim, your moniker sounds familiar, but I can't find any previous posts by you... Anyway, you wrote:
>I am wanting to start my own game development company... Is there a good free resource...

A "company" requires a substantial investment, not only in your time and labor, but in your finances as well. If you can't afford to buy Tom Buscaglia's Game Dev Kit, you can't afford to start a company just now.

I assume your intent in making this game is to eventually make a profit from it (you are not making this as a portfolio piece). That means you are endeavoring to go into business. To make money. There's an old saying: "it takes money to make money." That's the world of business. To belabor the point: you're probably not ready to go into business now, if you can't afford even Tom B's Game Dev Kit.

My recommendation is that you save up your money for a while, then buy it. Business expenses like this are tax-deductible, you know.

It's none of my "business," but how old are you, and what's your current occupation?

Thank you guys for the posts to my question, however I am not interested in buying a product. My question was about free resources and what other documents I need. As for the adage of it takes money to make money, thats not always the case. My age has nothing to do with the fact I want to start my game development company or anything to do with my question about what documents I need. I have experience in running my own company and management level experience in other fields so I am not a young kid wanting to do something because I think it sounds cool. If no one can offer a response to what I am looking for please close and delete this thread.

Quote: Original post by drimitz2009
I have experience in running my own company and management level experience in other fields

Okay, then. You can afford to pay the minuscule amount Tom B charges for his Game Dev Kit. You should find it well worth the money.
You can also call him. He's always happy to talk to those who are just starting out in the game industry. Ordinarily I wouldn't go around telling folks to phone him, but he's made the offer numerous times so I feel safe in suggesting it.

Again I am NOT looking to buy a product. I am asking for FREE resources and the answer to a couple of questions.

You can get some free answers from Tom, without buying anything.
But if you're this resistant to spending a little bit of money for a good legal resource, then...
Never mind. I'm shutting up now. (Somebody make note - "Sloper stifled himself on this date.")


...But here's something I already said last year:

http://www.igda.org/columns/gamesgame/gamesgame_Sep08.php

Mr. Sloper,

I thank you for your responses to my post. I am not resistant to spending a "little" bit of money for good legal resources, however with the current game and the projected sites I want to produce it on, the amount of the kit out weighs the profit potential at this point. All I want to do is develop a flash game where the only revenue will be advertisements and it will be on social networks such as Myspace and Facebook. I just need to know the basics I need to cover the idea, get the work done, and how to split the profits if there are any. I am not trying to do a big 3d project or large scale game. I am not trying to invest a lot of money into it as this is a shoestring budget team.

Thank you,

Jeff

That's not unreasonable; a lot of people I know do cheap, weekend projects for the iphone. But if you're not willing to get something tailored to your needs, and you don't know a single person with a legal or business background who at least knows where to look for this sort of thing, then hopefully this will help you out some: http://tinyurl.com/l79gnl

Just to keep this simple-- if you rely on forms, you may or may not get anything that helps you. If you don't have the financial means to enforce any contract you'd almost be better off just writing down what you guys plan on doing or printing all of the e-mails that confirm what everyone agrees to. The most important thing in your situation is making sure everyone is on the same page. If you can't afford a lawyer to DRAFT an NDA, you can't enforce it. As for percentages, that is truly up to what you guys agree to. If you can't come up with an agreement split it equally by registering the project as co-authors (with everyone's name on the copyright registration) without designating percentages in the supplementary info.

Thank you Mona, You have helped a lot with the questions I originally asked. I never said I didn't have the money for a lawyer to draft the NDA, I just don't want to spend that money on one if it is something I can do on my own. I'd rather put the money toward the game itself. However if it cant be done for free on my then I will look at other options. Its just a lot of money to spend for a game that is free.