Pitching an Idea

[Burley]

I've got a (self-proclaimed) awesome idea for a video game. After fleshing out the story a bit more, I'd really like to pitch it to a production company.
My question is: Has anybody ever done this effectively? How would one go about sending a script/concept to a production label and receiving feedback or credit?

[chiasaur11]

I've got a (self-proclaimed) awesome idea for a video game. After fleshing out the story a bit more, I'd really like to pitch it to a production company.
My question is: Has anybody ever done this effectively? How would one go about sending a script/concept to a production label and receiving feedback or credit?

I think the escapist had an article on this a bit back.

The long and the short of it was "Don't".

[SolkaTruesilver]

I think the escapist had an article on this a bit back.

The long and the short of it was "Don't".

Link? I'd like to read that article..

[chiasaur11]

I live to save thirty seconds of google searching.

Here it it. (http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/issues/issue_221/6582-Why-Your-Game-Idea-Sucks)

[SolkaTruesilver]

I live to save thirty seconds of google searching.

Here it it. (http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/issues/issue_221/6582-Why-Your-Game-Idea-Sucks)

Hey! I googled for 2 minutes before posting my request. I could not find with any combination of "escapist" "video game" "pitching" "proposal" and the such.

[chiasaur11]

Hey! I googled for 2 minutes before posting my request. I could not find with any combination of "escapist" "video game" "pitching" "proposal" and the such.

So I saved you even more time?

Even better!

[SolkaTruesilver]

So I saved you even more time?

Even better!

Not really. :smallfrown: It still was wasted time, and I got nowhere close to the article you linked.

[chiasaur11]

Not really. :smallfrown: It still was wasted time, and I got nowhere close to the article you linked.

Ah. Well, imagine how much longer it would be without the link?

[SolkaTruesilver]

Ah. Well, imagine how much longer it would be without the link?

Universe = ]2m,10m*]

* I would have given up on the article after 10 minutes, but with the penalty of never having found the article. So there is added value to posting the link more than just saved time.

[Vitruviansquid]

Why let someone else make your game when you can make it yourself? :D

[Joran]

The long and the short of it was "Don't".

Well, the long is: "If your idea is that great, make a prototype or a mod. No one is going to make a game based on just an idea, especially if you have no experience in game development"

You can go about it a couple ways:

1) Develop it yourself: Jonathan Blow did with Braid. Jenova Chen did it with fl0w. If you have a lot of time, no money to hire a development team, you can do it yourself.
2) Mod it: Most of the work is done for you; the engine is already there, the textures are mostly there. Some of the most popular games were the genesis of mods: Counter-Strike, Team Fortress.

The article that chiasaur11 linked had a great line: "If you don't believe in your idea enough to move mountains to make it happen, why should you expect someone else to?"

[SolkaTruesilver]

Well, the long is: "If your idea is that great, make a prototype or a mod. No one is going to make a game based on just an idea, especially if you have no experience in game development"

You can go about it a couple ways:

1) Develop it yourself: Jonathan Blow did with Braid. Jenova Chen did it with fl0w. If you have a lot of time, no money to hire a development team
2) Mod it: Most of the work is done for you; the engine is already there, the textures are mostly there. Some of the most popular games were the genesis of mods: Counter-Strike, Team Fortress.

The article that chiasaur11 linked had a great line: "If you don't believe in your idea enough to move mountains to make it happen, why should you expect someone else to?"

... I have no experience in programming.

How hard would it be to learn how to mod Mount & Blade, for example?

[Joran]

... I have no experience in programming.

How hard would it be to learn how to mod Mount & Blade, for example?

Depends on the modding tools. If the developer was kind and created an interface for you to mod, then it could be easy. For instance, I've heard creating your own adventure in Neverwinter Nights is pretty easy. Likewise, creating your own map in Starcraft or Warcraft 3 is pretty easy as well.

If you need to muck around in DLLs and other source code, then you'll need to be able to code.

I know next to nothing about Mount and Blade, but here's a link.
http://forums.taleworlds.com/index.php/topic,8881.0.html

[Lord Seth]

Why let someone else make your game when you can make it yourself? :DThe main problem is that really big games will take a very, very long time to do so by yourself.

I do wish the article on The Escapist gave more detail on how to actually get your game ideas into reality.

[kc0bbq]

The main problem is that really big games will take a very, very long time to do so by yourself.

I do wish the article on The Escapist gave more detail on how to actually get your game ideas into reality.Most reputable game companies come straight out and tell you in the company FAQ not to going to them.

If you're not willing or able to do so yourself, outside of getting hired into IP development for one of the companies it's not going to happen unless you're Dhani Harrison. An offhand comment by him in the right place led to a game being made about some band his dad was in for a few years in the 60s.

The only real way is to get the game to a point where you prove your concept and make yourself a target for aquisition, like Condor did, though I imagine Diablo may have been successful anyway. Good game companies are always looking around.

[Trazoi]

The main problem is that really big games will take a very, very long time to do so by yourself.

I do wish the article on The Escapist gave more detail on how to actually get your game ideas into reality.
The article was more an explanation of why bringing a mere game idea to a game developer isn't going to be met with anything more than polite refusal. If you want some more info on ways to become a game designer, Tom Sloper's advice pages (http://www.sloperama.com/advice.html) are a good place to start.

Although really the process is pretty much you expect: learn game dev skills, join a development company, learn the ropes by working on a couple of titles, work your way into a position where you can pitch your ideas for the company or get to the stage where if you leave you can form your own company of skilled developers and get publisher funding.

Or alternatively there's the indie path, which is actually fairly similar: learn game dev skills, make your own development company, learn the ropes on smaller titles that you yourself design, get into the position where you can make the title that you want. More creative freedom but more risk and probably more work.

Or you can just earn a pile of cash doing something else and pay for your own development. Or marry a producer; that could work too. :smallwink:

[Vitruviansquid]

You'd be surprised at the level of competency and success in games made by just one or two people.

Look at Dwarf Fortress, Geneforge/Avernum (actually, I think the guy that makes it works with a small team of 3-4 people), Dominions (made chiefly by 2 people, I believe), and Armageddon Empires/Solium Infernum.

[Triaxx]

And look at the piles upon piles of unmitigated garbage turned out by large studios with huge teams. They don't call it shovel ware for no reason.

Some work can be saved by liscensing an engine for the type of game you want. RTS? Liscense the Moho Engine from GPG, or whatever Blizzard calls it's Star... engine. You'll still need some programming know-how, but not nearly as much as working from scratch. And with only the engine, there's no need to fight with the content already there.

[Lord Seth]

You'd be surprised at the level of competency and success in games made by just one or two people.

Look at Dwarf Fortress, Geneforge/Avernum (actually, I think the guy that makes it works with a small team of 3-4 people), Dominions (made chiefly by 2 people, I believe), and Armageddon Empires/Solium Infernum.I never said a good game couldn't be made by a small number of people. I'm just saying that if the game you want to make is big, expansive, and advanced, you're not going to get far with just a small group.


The article was more an explanation of why bringing a mere game idea to a game developer isn't going to be met with anything more than polite refusal. If you want some more info on ways to become a game designer, Tom Sloper's advice pages (http://www.sloperama.com/advice.html) are a good place to start.Oh, no, I understood he was saying "just an idea isn't going to get anything done" but I was noting I wish he had gone into a little more detail about to what extent a game should be done before people will be listening. A good start? Midway through? Pretty much completely finished? Or, if you want to get into a position where you can pitch an idea (that is, enter the industry, gain experience, work your way up), how would you get into the industry in the first place? I'm not saying a detailed list of information would be necessary, but it would be nice if he went into more detail about what you should be doing, rather than telling you what you shouldn't be doing.

[SolkaTruesilver]

Well, my game idea would need the approval of Games Workshop's intellectual property. It's effectively a game set in the Warhammer Fantasy universe (see Mount & Blade thread).

So I guess if I have a good mod that gives justice to their game, I could go directly to them with a business model, the preview mod, and other elements. They could refer me to another gaming company...

Or I am just having a Make Believe fantasy?

[Gamerlord]

My idea for a video game would not fly, first, it needs to be permitted by games workshop.

In short, it would be a TBS game, battles would be fought as faithfully as possible to the tabletop rules, with the rest of the game playing out like a game of total war or other TBS (Recruiting troops, managing kingdom, diplomacy, etc.) Set in Warhammer Fantasy.

Games workshop would never allow it.

[SolkaTruesilver]

My idea for a video game would not fly, first, it needs to be permitted by games workshop.

In short, it would be a TBS game, battles would be fought as faithfully as possible to the tabletop rules, with the rest of the game playing out like a game of total war or other TBS (Recruiting troops, managing kingdom, diplomacy, etc.) Set in Warhammer Fantasy.

Games workshop would never allow it.

Because you are effectively cutting their main source of income :smallconfused: I don't have any programming background, but I studied in finances... I can see a self-defeating project.

My idea would be, on the opposite, actually aimed at making people more likely to buy miniatures. I hope to develop it into a very effective marketing tool for their mainstream business line.

But I need a mod.

[Joran]

And look at the piles upon piles of unmitigated garbage turned out by large studios with huge teams. They don't call it shovel ware for no reason.

Some work can be saved by liscensing an engine for the type of game you want. RTS? Liscense the Moho Engine from GPG, or whatever Blizzard calls it's Star... engine. You'll still need some programming know-how, but not nearly as much as working from scratch. And with only the engine, there's no need to fight with the content already there.

You may not even need to license it to start work. I know the Unreal Engine is licensed free for non-commercial work and that's one of the major engines that development companies use.


My idea for a video game would not fly, first, it needs to be permitted by games workshop.

In short, it would be a TBS game, battles would be fought as faithfully as possible to the tabletop rules, with the rest of the game playing out like a game of total war or other TBS (Recruiting troops, managing kingdom, diplomacy, etc.) Set in Warhammer Fantasy.

Games workshop would never allow it.

I'm not a lawyer, so let's get that immediately out of the way. I don't think you can copyright game mechanics, so one of the things you can do is basically copy the rules of Warhammer Fantasy, as long as you don't infringe on their intellectual property (character designs, logos, etc).

Chaos League was a game very similar to Blood Bowl, created by Cyanide, but didn't require Games Workshop's approval. Cyanide later did the Blood Bowl game. I think there has to at least be some difference though; the unauthorized Scrabble Facebook app got sued.


Well, my game idea would need the approval of Games Workshop's intellectual property. It's effectively a game set in the Warhammer Fantasy universe (see Mount & Blade thread).

Well, there's a Star Wars mod, so I don't think there's much in the way technologically. I doubt you'll get much traction with Games Workshop though, unless you actually had a company behind you. Best you could hope for is to get your name out there and maybe find work in a development company or start your own team.

[Burley]

Well, without giving out a lot of details, my game would need a pretty sophisticated engine. A mix between a Prince of Persia-type engine and a Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time type of engine.

I'm looking for hearty hack-n-slash dungeons, legit-RPG elements (not just item collecting), and strong platfoming. I could survive with Jack & Daxter/Ratchet & Clank style platforming, but PoP is just great fun.

[Joran]

Well, without giving out a lot of details, my game would need a pretty sophisticated engine. A mix between a Prince of Persia-type engine and a Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time type of engine.

I'm looking for hearty hack-n-slash dungeons, legit-RPG elements (not just item collecting), and strong platfoming. I could survive with Jack & Daxter/Ratchet & Clank style platforming, but PoP is just great fun.

I'd suggest first trying a prototype on either a mod or maybe a quick flash game. Maybe you can find a PC game that's moddable that's pretty similar to what you want (although I can't think of one off the top of my head at the moment).

Every game you mentioned is a 3-D style game, but have you considered 2-D? Braid, N+ have great platforming but are 2-D. I'd bet a 2-D platformer is much easier to program than a 3-D one.

[nooblade]

If you want to make something big, but can't program, why not make a pencil and paper game? Most RPG games don't actually have a lot of troublesome math to go about doing just to play, it's mostly just storing positions and then a handful of intergers per actor. But I should hope that you're not making another Bioware game. :smalltongue:

And if you do have a lot of troublesome math, then you're probably closer to knowing how to do some basic programming than you think.


Well, I guess that's not too helpful if you're more interested in selling something than in developing an idea.