How To Sell a Video Game Idea? 351
fobsta writes "Do any Slashdotters have experience of selling video game ideas? I'm an artist who has programmed a rough-as-nails demo and animated a trailer to explain my concept. Obviously I think it's fun, it shows promise, and my friends think it's cool. Who should I pitch the idea to? Existing video games companies, venture capitalists, or what about those dentists who financed the Amiga? Are they still around? I've had a previous idea hijacked, and received no reward for it whatsoever; how can I prevent this happening again?"
Ideas are cheap. (Score:5, Informative)
Really ideas are a dime a dozen. Get a good bit demo code done. Shop it around to some venture capitalists and see what happens.
As to protection. NDAs are about it but if you are not prepared to sue then they are just paper.
The old saying is "Build a better mousetrap and the world will beat a path to your door"
Have an idea about better mousetrap well that is nice.
Re:Ideas are cheap. (Score:5, Informative)
Ideas are a dime a dozen. (Score:5, Informative)
In this industry, you will NOT be able to sell an idea with what you have.
Time, money, resources, staff, all of these are in short supply...but ideas are in abundance in the industry. Everyone in the industry has an idea, but only a rare few will get the opportunities to make their ideas into products.
If you want your idea to come to life, make a prototype and a proof of concept like you've already done, and then polish it to a shine. Make what is called a "vertical slice."
Once you have the vertical slice, create NDA's to cover your idea and work from there.
Four ways to turn your concept into a video game: (Score:5, Informative)
4. Create a polished game and approach (or be approached by) an established studio. Also known as the Portal [wikipedia.org] approach [wikipedia.org]. Also the flOw [wikipedia.org] approach. "Sony Computer Entertainment approached some future members of thatgamecompany after seeing Cloud and asked them to form a company and signed them on to make three downloadable games for the PlayStation 3. Cloud ended up being a game that wouldn't be possible for a company as small as thatgamecompany to make, so they made flOw instead. thatgamecompany was created on May 15th, 2006."
3. Work your way up in one or more established studios towards the role of game designer. The American McGee [wikipedia.org] approach. "McGee began his career at id Software. He worked on such games as DOOM, Doom II, Quake, and Quake II in the areas of level design, music production, sound effects development, and program coding. In 1998, he moved to Electronic Arts, where he worked as a consultant on many projects and also created his own game, American McGee's Alice." Mind you, that can be the long route, assuming you're even successful.
2. Work with an independent group of hobbyists and promise to split the profits once you make money. This is difficult to pull off, because contributors lose interest when things become difficult. This is enough of a problem that I'd rather have one paid contractor with modest abilities than a dozen unpaid contributors with spectacular abilities. Blech.
1. Establish your own company and finance development as a third party. Many small developers bootstrap with smaller projects in niche or new markets, eventually working their way up towards larger ones. The iPhone is potentially an awesome way [tgdaily.com] to get your title out there. Start by developing a finished game that's small in scope, and demonstrates the very core concepts of your idea. Rinse. Repeat.
My favorite is, of course, to take #1 and run with it. Tighten your belt, and pay a contractor with good references to help you bring your idea to light on the platform where the competition is still pretty weak, and the barrier to entry is low. That was the Palm Pilot during late '90s, and is probably something like WiiWare or the iPhone now.
Good luck!
Finish the game first (Score:5, Informative)
As a veteran of the game industry I can tell you - you need to complete the game first. Ideas are a dime a dozen. No one will give you money for development. You need to show them the finished product and ask for them to fund the publishing of it. That's the only way you will be able to acquire money from a publisher, unless you self-publish online or through various indie-channels (XBox Live, Wii Ware, Greenhouse, etc), but of course those still require a completed product as well.
Amateurs (Score:5, Informative)
Then when you have an actual game to speak of, and some indication that it could sell, see about getting a publisher interested in buying the idea from you. What happens next will depend on the type of game we're talking about.
What I've read about game development in the past suggests that your project may well vanish into development hell at this stage, or be pushed out as a diabolical mess which means nobody will ever want to touch your game ever again. And you'll be unable to make amends because you've sold away the "big version" rights. You may make some money back for your time and effort though. The alternative would be to keep it small-scale, on mobile phones or whatever. This would suit many kinds of games. Only if you can manage to turn that small game into your own personal development empire, could you crank out a large-scale game like Halo or whatever.
Moral: the odds are against you ever being able to produce a Halo-style blockbuster, unless you want to get into career game design or are willing to give the idea to someone who is. And even if you're just trying to create one fun little puzzler, it's going to take a lot of time, effort, and cooperation.
Re:Existing process? (Score:2, Informative)
Bullshit.
I had several ideas which i pitched to Venture Capitalists. They all had no problems signing an NDA and even offered to sign one as soon as I approached them.
This is a very common and accepted practice. VCs are looking for good ideas all the time.
Re:Existing process? (Score:5, Informative)
No, the GP is correct, most VC won't sign a non-disclosure. Angels might be more willing, but I doubt it. Ideas are (as has been repeated many times) a dime a dozen.
The fund manager I know says they won't sign because they may also be looking at the very same idea coming from someone else (who may be more fundable), and they don't want to create potential conflicts.
Re:Ideas are cheap. (Score:4, Informative)
Mailing something to yourself is worse than useless. You'd be laughed out of court. There's no legal requirement that letters be sealed. You could just as easily have mailed yourself an unsealed envelope, and put a cd in there at a later time. If you want copyright protection, register it with the copyright office. Really, this mail it to yourself meme needs to die.
Of course, copyright doesn't protect ideas, merely an individual implementation. SO even if mailing it to yourself was worth a damn it wouldn't matter- there's no law against ripping off a game idea. If they use the same character names, plotline, and artwork you might have a case. But taking the idea and running with it is not copyright infringement. If you're afraid of that, get an NDA signed, and hire a lawyer.
Required Reading (Score:3, Informative)
Required reading for everybody (and their brother) who has a great idea for a game:
"I have a Great Idea for a video game... [sloperama.com] how do I sell it and get rich and famous?"
Network Network Network (Score:3, Informative)
Much like Hollywood, If you can get a basic concept together and get in front of the right eyes, you're in. Brush off your social skills, practice hobnobbing, chatting people up, and getting into networks. Go to GDC at very least, if not other industry events. Find the companies most likely to publish a game like yours, find out who the producers, CEOs, art directors, etc etc are and ... uh ... stalk them. Not really, but know what they look like and make and effort to meet them. Avoid the big names like Will Wright, Shigeru Miyamoto, John Carmack, etc. They have tons of groupies to fight through. But there are plenty of influential people at game companies who are anonymous and would be happy to talk shop for a bit at an open bar at a convention, especially of they are flattered by being recognized.
Subscribe to Game Developer magazine and become visible on their forums. I'm only peripherally involved with game development these days, but I still read it cover to cover. It's one of the few industry mags that has useful insightful information from the front lines.
Though it's still a one in a million chance. Frankly, self publish or forget it. There are lots of venues right now (competitions and the like) for a self published game to get exposure. And put the effort into the art and sound. There are tons and tons of shitty looking games in this space, so do everything you can to stand out. You never get a second chance to make a first impression, and the first impression is visuals and sound, not gameplay. Not everyone who could help you out is going to have a chance to play it, so a compelling screen shot goes a long way. I've seen a games sold on a video mocked up in Premiere and on concept art alone without having a line of code.
Yes, I have given some contradictory advice. But it is a crowded business, getting more crowded every day. There is no one path to success. You need to shotgun it, turn yourself into a blunderbuss loaded with your game. Make it your daily passion and put yourself out there to get noticed. If you don't believe in your idea enough to do that, then file it under "dreams" and move on.
Disclosure: For several years I had the job title "Game Designer" for a small company of industry veterans.
The "mail it to yourself" idea is stupid (Score:3, Informative)
Won't work, never has.
The only way is to give a copy to a lawyer, get them to sign/date every page and keep a copy in their office. You can do the NDA thing as well if you want but in both cases you still won't have much because the company could claim they were already working on something very similar and you won't be able to prove otherwise.
Even better, just trust people. They're most likely not interested in your ideas but if you impress them enough with your enthusiasm and/or artwork you might get a job as a games tester/artist.
You can't protect an idea. (Score:4, Informative)
I'm a game developer with 19 years in the business. I second what everyone else has said about the fact that the industry doesn't buy ideas. Let me also add that you can't protect an idea.
You can copyright a specific expression of the idea, such as a design document, but only that particular text is protected, not the idea itself.
You could try to patent the idea, if it meets the standards for being a patent, but that would make you an evil scumbag. Game ideas should not be patentable.
The one thing you CAN do is treat the idea like a trade secret. Then you can sue your employees if they reveal the idea, and you can sue your competitors if you can prove that they spied on you to get hold of it. But for this to count, you have to actually act as if it IS a secret, i.e., don't tell anyone about it, and keep anything written down in a safe!
Bottom line: if you don't want to be "ripped off," keep your mouth shut. But that won't prevent independent invention. Chances are very good that someone else has had a similar idea, and there's not a thing in the world you can do to prevent them exploiting it... nor should there be.
Re:Ideas are cheap. (Score:2, Informative)
I entirely agree.
The poster should not be thinking about selling a "video game idea", he should think about selling a "video game". Write the game, then think about selling it, either themselves independently, or to a publisher. Don't expect a publisher to give money to write the game though.
Forums like http://gamedev.net/ [gamedev.net] will have far more specialised knowledge and experience than Slashdot. But there are also a million other people there going "Hey, I got a great idea for a game!"
Re:Existing process? (Score:4, Informative)
Even worse, they might already be doing something similar and signing your NDA could mean a lot of hassle for them if you later accuse them of ripping you off.
We always used to show people the door if they started with a load of NDA/secrecy crap. Game ideas to us were dime a dozen and we just couldn't be bothered with it.
Re:Ideas are cheap. (Score:5, Informative)
That said it is a large uphill battle, Publishers are the ones with the money but I would not know where to start to get a publishers interest, and getting yourself heard through the sea wannabe teenager game designers is going to be virtually impossible. You could try venture capitalists but I expect they would not fund someone who has very little/no professional game development experience. Remember only about 1/3rd of games actually make money, it is very high risk.
There is no quick fix for your problem. From what I can see there are 2 ways to go are, strip your game to its very core fun, as simple as can be but is still your game, no feature creep at all. Make a demo, submit it to the Indepedant Games Festival, if it is really good it will be picked up (Look at Narbacular Drop/Portal and The Blob). If the game is small enough, maybe try and produce something for the Nokia Games Innovation Challenge [n-gage.com] or keep an eye out for other similar competitions. You could try and go solo, like Introversion with Uplink, Darwinia & Defcon again if the idea is small enough, but you might have to find yourself a couple of good friends who are willing to starve.
Re:Existing process? (Score:5, Informative)
What are you suppose to do when posts like these get modded +5 informative?
Most VCs do not sign NDAs.
They have no reason to, and signing them is just asking for the unnecessary responsibility of non-disclosure, and be real now, most of the ideas are going to have a lot in common.
Most importantly, if you think VCs are just looking for ideas, then the VC is probably not interested in yours. In all seriousness, VCs invest in companies, not ideas. Yes, you'll need an idea, but without a team, a vision, a market, and a whole lot of other things you probably don't even want to think of, a company will never get off the ground. And a good VC is well aware of that.