Hello, i am from Russia. I am lead designer of our indie project. Here is info about it. http://zzr.screensworld.com/2.htm Please help me to write a short business letter to publishers. That is my variant: --- Hello! We finished our game. Here is demo. link Here is information about game. link We want to discuss with you possibility of publishing this game. We wait for your reply. ---- If english your native language, please help me to correct it.

I'm not native english, so I wont try to make your letter worse ;), but don't worry that much about your language. It's for sure nicer to have it perfect, but as long as they understand you, they will tollerate your language errors.
You can maybe start by saying that you represent the game developer xyz from Russia (just like here) and you'll get additional tollerance.
In the end, they want to know your product and what state it is, that's like 98% of importance, compared to 2% to your letter etc. Because they get a lot of letters of people that have nothing to show and want a contract, you have something to show, that's a big Plus!

Additionally, maybe, if you are not that fluent in english, make rather a good powerpoint presentation with just 3 points per slide, but with screenshots of the game features in the background, with comparisions to competitors and your advantage.

game looks great! good luck ;)

Are these publishers folks that you've had any contact with before? The format of your letter will vary between old and new contacts.

What level of publishers are you trying to contact? The likes of EA, or smaller publishers that handle lots of indie games? Approaching one of the big mainstream publishers isn't very likely to pan out (though it can't hurt to try), but there are a number of publishers that publish indie titles through various means.

Also, what platform(s) does your project support -- certain publishers might not be interested in certain platforms, or might only be interested in certain titles on certain platforms -- For example, a big publisher like EA doesn't really put out indie-level stuff at retail, but they might be more interested if that title were targetting digital distribution like Xbox Live Arcade, WiiWare, or the Playstation Store.

Finally, you might choose not to go through a traditional publisher at all -- and instead approach Steam, Greenhouse Games, or some of the other digital distribution psuedo-publishers directly.

That is first time when i contact with non-russian publishers. It's small indie game ( u can see screens and video ). I got list of value publishers, about 30. Usa, German, Poish etc, and digital distrib like -play-publishing-.
And list of super cool publishers like Activison or Ubi or Steam, but 99% they never answer me.
Platform - pc.
actually I just need normal short letter like - Oh hi! I made a game! I wanna u to be my publisher. Is it possible, dir sir?
but without mistakes and with normal style. If somebody help me it will be great.

Quote: Original post by toopercox
And list of super cool publishers like Activison or Ubi or Steam, but 99% they never answer me.

If I was a publisher, and you sent me an email along the lines of "Hi, I made a game! publish it for me plz" as you propose, I wouldn't answer you either. I'd probably just delete your email without bothering to even click the link. If you kept sending them, I'd mark them as junk and blacklist you.

You need to be more professional. As a publisher, at the very least I would want to know:

1. Who are you? Who is your team? What is your track record?
2. Why are you contacting me? Why me specifically, as opposed to another publisher?
3. What role are you expecting me to play? If the game is finished, are you just after marketing and distribution? Or are you planning to secure funding for additional platforms?
4. Why do you think I will be interested?
5. What is the game? Don't make me click on a link that could lead to any virus infested hellhole on the internet. At the very least, give me the basic idea of the game.

You still have to keep it short and sweet, as no-one is going to want to read novel-length emails from random people. However, it shouldn't take more than a couple of short paragraphs to get that basic information across.

Also, tailor your letter to each company you apply to. Don't spam a standard letter to everyone in a kind of shotgun approach.


EDIT: this thread may also be useful to you.

[Edited by - Sandman on July 22, 2009 4:10:43 AM]

Sandman, you are right. When i send mail to russian publishers i used document template for developer ( with game info, system requirements, and other ) from 1c company. But i cant find some standart document template english language. Anyway i must use help of russian professional translator.

How about something along these lines, although you would need to customise it as appropriate to your game, company, and the publisher:

Dear (publisher name),

My name is (full name) from (developer name), and I am emailing to discuss the possibility of a publishing contract for our recently completed (prototype, demo, full game?), Zip Zoom Racer. The game is (briefly describe the concept for the game). Its target platform is (target platform), and we have already completed a fully functional (have you completed a prototype, demo, full game?). We firmly believe that (why is the game going to be successful?). Prior to the creation of Zip Zoom Racer, our team has experience (doing what?).

Screenshots can be found at (URL) and a short gameplay video is available at (URL). If you require any additional materials, feel free to ask. Looking forward to hearing from you.

Best regards,
(full name).

You should also verify that you are following their submission policy.

* Some companies refuse to look at your information until after you have established a business relationship.
* Some companies require you to call them first and get a real human contact before you send them stuff.
* Other companies have online submission forms to fill out, optionally with a short submission agreement that must be signed and faxed/mailed to their office.



If you do not know their submission policies, your first contact with them should be to ask for their preferred submission method.

Quote: Original post by frob
You should also verify that you are following their submission policy.
* Some companies refuse to look at your information until after you have established a business relationship.
* Some companies require you to call them first and get a real human contact before you send them stuff.
* Other companies have online submission forms to fill out, optionally with a short submission agreement that must be signed and faxed/mailed to their office.
If you do not know their submission policies, your first contact with them should be to ask for their preferred submission method.

Absolutely. http://www.sloperama.com/advice/lesson21.htm
And see the Obscure.co.uk FAQ on this as well.

Quote: Original post by toopercox

I like your video, but I think it could stand to have more in-game content and less "trailer" stuff. If it was just a couple of minutes of in-game footage (only - with maybe text overlays to exlain what's going on - the shrinking and growing features seems interesting) then I think that would better than a "trailer" style video with only a small amount of in-game footage.

Maybe also a video of a complete track - or a couple of complete tracks - to show that you've already got a complete game. Just showing a couple of seconds from each track means you might only have that couple of seconds worth mapped out, if you know what I mean.

It's a cool looking game, though. Is it PC-only, or will it run on other platforms (for example, XBLA)?