📄 lonewolf.htm
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This Article Is Taken From <A HREF="http://www.perplexed.com/GPMega/">The Game Programming MegaSite</A>, A Definitive Resource For Game Developers!
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<H3 ALIGN=CENTER><font color="#FFF700">A</font><font color="#FFEF00"> </font><font color="#FFE700">L</font><font color="#FFDF00">o</font><font color="#FFD700">n</font><font color="#FFCF00">e</font><font color="#FFC700"> </font><font color="#FFBF00">W</font><font color="#FFB700">o</font><font color="#FFAF00">l</font><font color="#FFA700">f</font><font color="#FF9F00"> </font><font color="#FF9700">i</font><font color="#FF8F00">n</font><font color="#FF8700"> </font><font color="#FF7F00">a</font><font color="#FF7700"> </font><font color="#FF6F00">W</font><font color="#FF6700">o</font><font color="#FF5F00">r</font><font color="#FF5700">l</font><font color="#FF4F00">d</font><font color="#FF4700"> </font><font color="#FF3F00">o</font><font color="#FF3700">f</font><font color="#FF2F00"> </font><font color="#FF2700">P</font><font color="#FF1F00">a</font><font color="#FF1700">c</font><font color="#FF0F00">k</font><font color="#FF0700">s</font><BR><FONT SIZE=-2>By: <A HREF="mailto:ghowland@lupinegames.com">Geoff Howland</a></FONT></H3>
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<P>In the 1980's and before it used to be that hit computer games could be and were often developed by a single person. Every year more is expected from current games, their graphics must be up to par, their sound must be good enough to keep it immersive, gradually the bar has just been raised higher and higher. A lot of people have said that the time of a single programmer developing a computer game has passed and a new terminology has been created for those that attempt it, a lone wolf.</P>
<P>The first question that should be asked is, "What exactly constitutes a lone wolf?" By strict definition it would mean a single person doing everything that is needed for the completion of the game. For this article however I am going to expand the range to those people who are working in extremely small groups and do not have currently have outside funding or a publisher. Everyone just mentioned falls in to the same category in that they will all face the same problems and issues when trying to create their game.</P>
<P>This article is written for the experienced programmer who is deciding to try to create a commercial quality game.</P>
<H3><FONT COLOR=YELLOW><I>Pre-Game Publishing Deals</FONT></I></H3>
<P>One way to finish your game is to get a deal with a publisher who will provide you with resources, monetary and sometimes otherwise, to help you complete your game. A lot of people are looking to do this, and no one likes to hand out money, especially if they're not confident in your ability to be able to make it back exponentially.</P>
<P>One way to get a publishing deal is by making a demo of the game or a video animation of it. I would not suggest the video method since it does not give the publisher any tangible proof that you can complete your game. Go with the demo and make it as functional as you can.</P>
<P>If you aren抰 capable of building a demo then you had better hit the books and practice until you can, no one is going to give someone who can't do the job any money.</P>
<P>How to contact publishers?</P>
<P>The best way I have found is just to email them. Go to their web site and look for an email address for submissions. If you don抰 see an email address for submissions then email their tech support or webmaster and ask them what it is. I have usually gotten them like this, but not always on the first try.</P>
<P>When you do get the correct email address you don抰 want to tell them in 50 pages of glorious email about your game, they probably won't read it. Just ask them if they take games in the genre you are working on (shooter, racing game, etc.) and specify the platform (Windows 95/98, Macintosh, Console). This way you will know if they are interested in your type of game. A lot of publishing companies are only looking for specific kinds of things, such as First Person Shooters on the Playstation. They have marketing goals and if your game isn't in line with them they aren't interested.</P>
<P>What do you do after you find out they may be interested in your game?</P>
<P>Find out where their Non-Disclosure Agreement's (NDA) are. If they are up on their web page then download them and <I>READ THEM</I>, then follow their directions that they should have included on procedures for submissions. If they don't have procedures or you don't understand them then email the submissions address again and ask. If they get your demo but do not have a proper NDA signed they will not review your game to avoid lawsuits.</P>
<P>Am I risking anything by signing an NDA? Am I safe?</P>
<P>This depends on the NDA and the people your sending it to. NDA's are always written to protect the publisher, some NDA's will also include terms to protect you as well so that the publisher cannot talk to others about your game. There is a safety in here but if someone reads an idea of yours and it melds with their own ideas you will not be able to sue them for it. In the NDA you will sign that you understand that the publisher may already be working on a game like yours and that you do not have the right to sue them for it.</P>
<P>There is always a risk in showing someone else your work, when you are unknown you are much less likely to have anyone try to steal your ideas. If you become successful then you will have everyone who wants to make a game trying to steal, borrow or imitate anything that you produce. </P>
<H3><FONT COLOR=YELLOW><I>Contracts</FONT></I></H3>
<P>Contracts decide how much money and control you are going to have on your project. It is a common practice for publishers to take the intellectual property (IP) rights for the game when you sign the deal.</P>
<P>What this means is that they own the rights to the title, any sequels, any advertising they want to do with it, spin-offs, action figure lines, everything. If you think about the implications of you developing say the game Command & Conquer. If you had signed the IP rights over to the publisher they now have a very hot commodity on their hands, and you don't have anything except the right to <I>maybe</I> develop the sequel to it.</P>
<P>Just owning the name Command & Conquer is worth a ton of money for any sequel since it is almost guaranteed sales. Unless you are starving for a contract you should not sign over your IP rights to your prospective publisher.</P>
<P>If you haven't already read the 10 Commandments on What Makes a Good Deal from Gathering of Developers (g.o.d.), then go to their site and take a look now. There is a lot of information in this article that describes different aspects of contracts as well. The article is at:</P>
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