This post has been a long time coming. Without an update for so long, I'm sure our fans and subscribers have been wondering what's going on. Don't fret, for I am here to tell that progress is afoot.
To be brief, our offices have been in the progress of moving from Seattle, Washington to Wareham, Massachusetts. This was largely due in part to the majority of our team (that would be 2 out of 3), lived on the east coast. Massachusetts is where I also grew up as well, so I had little problem in making my decision to be with friends and family while we worked on furthering the business - and furthering it we have.
I am proud to announce that amongst other things, we are in communication with a web site designer to give our page a fresh look, and a distributor who could very well help us get our finished game to market. Most importantly of all, progress is being made almost every day, and my ball of excitement for this project just keeps on growing.
With that said, I want to thank everyone who reads our blog for their interest, and please, stop by again. For now this site will be under maintenance until further notice - but I promise you that bigger things are looming overhead.
Thanks again.
PAX '09
If you've never been, then you don’t know what you’re missing.
I would consider the Penny Arcade Expo the biggest video game convention in the United States, now that E3 has tailored itself to the business side of the industry. During this past Memorial Day weekend, I was in gamer heaven. It's too bad that while I was there, I was working, but I still enjoyed that too.
While you're there, you can play games before they come out, get loads of free schwag, and listen to major players in the industry give their advice and thoughts on where we're going next. There are also some pretty awesome bands, some who play covers of classic game songs.
But I barely even touched a controller (though I did beat a developer at Nintendo in Capcom vs. Tatsunoko)! Instead, I went to ever conference that I could get my hands on. The two most important ones were Game Design 101 and Legal Issues in Contemporary Gaming.
In Game Design 101, one of the speakers was Richard Garfield, the creator of Magic: The Gathering. He probably had the most to contribute, but all of the speakers touched upon the basics. They talked about how to weed out all of your bad ideas from the good ones, how to build a solid portfolio, and how important having a prototype is to pitch your idea. While all of this felt like common knowledge to me, I know that everyone there had varying levels of experience, so I waited patiently for the Q&A session.
When that time came, I wasn't shy at all to ask exactly what I needed to know. I said that I have a game design that I'm working on, a team that I'm putting together, and that we're getting ready to incorporate. My exact words were, "So where does the money come from?" At that point, one of the speakers replied with, "Come and talk to me after we're done. That is what I do."
That was how I got our first meeting with an investor. Before I get into how that meeting went however, allow me to mention the second big conference.
In Legal Issues in Contemporary Gaming, there was a table of lawyers talking about what difficulties you might face in designing your own video game. The most important of them all was Tom Buscaglia. He calls himself the Game Attorney, and rightly so. His firm is tailored to indie game developers (like us) just starting out.
The most important thing that I learned there was how easy it was to screw yourself over in a simple agreement. It was cool to see that these group of guys actually wanted to look out for us. So, much like I did in Game Design 101, I told them that I was ready to go with my project, and asked what would be the next step for me to take. I got the Game Attorney's business card, and now have someone who can help us cover our backs.
Besides these two conferences, there was a lot more that I did, and a lot more that I learned. While I could go on and on about what happened at PAX, I'd like to keep the blog focused on the project for our game.
If you want to see pictures of some of the cool things I saw, you can check out the PAX '09 gallery at either my facebook or myspace page, whatever suits your fancy. In my next couple of posts, I'll go into our first meeting with the investor, more details of what we're working on, and why we added the Hey Ash, Whatcha Playin'? link to our website (which you should be clicking on)!
I would consider the Penny Arcade Expo the biggest video game convention in the United States, now that E3 has tailored itself to the business side of the industry. During this past Memorial Day weekend, I was in gamer heaven. It's too bad that while I was there, I was working, but I still enjoyed that too.
While you're there, you can play games before they come out, get loads of free schwag, and listen to major players in the industry give their advice and thoughts on where we're going next. There are also some pretty awesome bands, some who play covers of classic game songs.
But I barely even touched a controller (though I did beat a developer at Nintendo in Capcom vs. Tatsunoko)! Instead, I went to ever conference that I could get my hands on. The two most important ones were Game Design 101 and Legal Issues in Contemporary Gaming.
In Game Design 101, one of the speakers was Richard Garfield, the creator of Magic: The Gathering. He probably had the most to contribute, but all of the speakers touched upon the basics. They talked about how to weed out all of your bad ideas from the good ones, how to build a solid portfolio, and how important having a prototype is to pitch your idea. While all of this felt like common knowledge to me, I know that everyone there had varying levels of experience, so I waited patiently for the Q&A session.
When that time came, I wasn't shy at all to ask exactly what I needed to know. I said that I have a game design that I'm working on, a team that I'm putting together, and that we're getting ready to incorporate. My exact words were, "So where does the money come from?" At that point, one of the speakers replied with, "Come and talk to me after we're done. That is what I do."
That was how I got our first meeting with an investor. Before I get into how that meeting went however, allow me to mention the second big conference.
In Legal Issues in Contemporary Gaming, there was a table of lawyers talking about what difficulties you might face in designing your own video game. The most important of them all was Tom Buscaglia. He calls himself the Game Attorney, and rightly so. His firm is tailored to indie game developers (like us) just starting out.
The most important thing that I learned there was how easy it was to screw yourself over in a simple agreement. It was cool to see that these group of guys actually wanted to look out for us. So, much like I did in Game Design 101, I told them that I was ready to go with my project, and asked what would be the next step for me to take. I got the Game Attorney's business card, and now have someone who can help us cover our backs.
Besides these two conferences, there was a lot more that I did, and a lot more that I learned. While I could go on and on about what happened at PAX, I'd like to keep the blog focused on the project for our game.
If you want to see pictures of some of the cool things I saw, you can check out the PAX '09 gallery at either my facebook or myspace page, whatever suits your fancy. In my next couple of posts, I'll go into our first meeting with the investor, more details of what we're working on, and why we added the Hey Ash, Whatcha Playin'? link to our website (which you should be clicking on)!
Thinking Ahead
Before any tangible work gets posted to the blog, I'd like to discuss what has been completed so far. There was a tremendous amount of planning that went into the project, and as a result, I'd say that we are very prepared for the days to come.
One of my first courses of action, was to find out how we were going to sell this thing once it was made. I was debating whether or not to get a license from Wizards of the Coast. I figured that if I made a video game using their 4th Edition rules for Dungeons & Dragons, not only would it be the first, but I could also create the sourcebooks for them as a follow-up to a fledgling career.
As it turns out, I know someone who works there. During my days as a student at the Art Institute of Seattle, I was under the tutelage of a Stephen Radney-MacFarland. If you don't recognize the name, he's the writer of the Save My Game articles on the Dungeon & Dragons website. Yes, he was really my teacher. So I gave him a call at Wizards' headquarters, and asked him for some advice.
Unfortunately, he didn't know a specific person for me to turn to, but he did inform me that Wizards of the Coast is a subsidiary of Hasbro. I in turn called their customer service line, and was then directed to a somewhat hidden page of their website, buried deep in their FAQ section. There I found a list of game brokers, outside companies from around the world that Hasbro uses for new game ideas.
You always have to go through a third party nowadays. It's impossible to talk to the companies themselves.
The list was extensive, but I called a few that were located in the United States. I got a hold of a couple, and I discovered what it was that we needed to make business happen--a demo. If you want to make anything in this world, be it a video game or an action figure, you need to have a prototype.
I also discovered that along with a 60/40 split of the royalties (in our favor), the broker will set up a test group for your product, as well as marketing services, if you opt for them. I think we can do most of that for ourselves. Besides, I know a group of friends who would be terribly disappointed if we didn't tap them for our playtesters.
Most importantly though, all of this research has reminded me of one thing, and that's to think small. We now have a set goal to accomplish, without having to create a grandiose design that would make our heads spin. Even if we don't get the Wizards license, there's still video game publishers to go after, and consoles to download from.
But with that said, pre-production has officially started. Concept art is being drawn up, and the general outline is being written. We'll show you a few finished pieces as they come to fruition.
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