Ok so i have my Design Doc all written out and completyely complete. The whole stroy is in there. the dialogue that takes place. all towns and their maps. all characters and thei character sheets. all levels and all details regarding each level. description of all music ill need. and also everything to do with the technical side. what the graphics engine should be capable of doing, what input engine is going to do. what the font engine is going to do...physics...AI ... its all there. and also how all the engines are going to be "integrated" to make the final game. Its an RPG. so my question is. since i dont have the financing and time to do this by myself. do i find a publisher then find a team. or find a team make a little of the game then find the publisher. or do i get a publisher and they provide a list of "team members" (since i dont know very many people) or what?? tell me what happens now? thanks
Al "For us it''s a natural disaster....For him/she it''s a damn memory leak..." [Triple Buffer]|[SCRIPTaGAME]|[My Old Site]

Here's a link to another very similar thread in this forum.
How Do I sell my Game idea...

In short you're likely trying to seel you game idea/design to the wrong people. As the AP so bluntly indicates above, you should be trying to sell/pitch your idea to other developers so that you can get a working prototype. Unfortunatly this is typically a very bleak outlook. If you've designed a game that is supposed to compete with exsisting games in the genere, you will likely not succeed. For one, never having implementd a system like this you are unqualified to estimate how long it will take to actually implement. Chances are, even though you have spent hours and hours on your game design, it will take much longer then you expect.

Because of the commitment required to finish, or even get a working prototype of such a game. Very few, if any developers who frequent these parts are willing to join such a venture. Especially for someone with an unprooven track record.

This is why typically independant projects are formed around a developer who's committed to finishing a project who then asks his buddy to work/help him work on game design.

That said, do not give up (and i'm sure you wont if you actually have invested the time you say you have) there is (small) chance of getting a developer capable of implementing your design and working for free if he REALLY likes your game design. If you didn't have a complete design doc you would have 0 chance of landing a capable developer.




[edited by - Ironside on September 7, 2002 1:32:18 PM]

Its worth pointing out that a good game design and designer ARE worth a lot, even if a simple idea isn''t. Many indie gamers have huge amounts of technical skill or talent but they channel it into a boring FPS or a 3D accelerated tetris clone.
You need to get at least one finished game under your belt, and to be honest an RPG is a big undertaking as your first project.
It might be worth getting involved with people already doing their own RPG, try and help them out, beta test etc, and get a credit as assistant designer or something. Then you have something to show to a coder who is interested in taking on your project.
But in terms of going to a publisher with just a design doc, forget it. Even big well known companies have concept art and a simple gameplay demo when they pitch to the big boys (unless its a guaranteed seller like Tomb Raider XXII etc).
Good luck anyway!

http://www.positech.co.uk

If your design doc is good you will have to show it or part of it to people. If you are an awesome designer I''d be interested.

But I just had a look at your site and you seem to be a programmer. So I guess now you have the easy part a head of you; Coding the game .

yes coding...ive already finished a lot of the engine (there is still some time left). but art work is of more concern to me. the art work is going to be A LOT of work. WAY too much for me to take on by myself. the game engine is being taken care of by me and my friend. its just the art...3d models...levels...textures...that there is no way i can do by myself. the game is just too huge!!. and i dont think id really need artists until the engine is coded too. so everything is ready for them (the artists) to work with.

and i know an RPG is a big challenge. probably the biggest in the game industry. and i have done small mini games before. we're also almost finished with our next release. site below.

so should me and my budy make a small demo (which would probably look ugly because of no "art"work), and then try for a publisher. or would a publisher be willing to fund IF they like the game.
then would i have to find my own team or do they (the publisher) usually have a list of people that would be available to work and we just pick and choose?

thanks for replys so far

and yeah getting credit first is a good idea. but i live on a small island. and there are NO game development companies here or people that are into gamedeving. not for a few 1000 miles i assume. so are there online groups that would let me help them out (for RPGs i mean).

thanks again


Al
"For us it's a natural disaster....For him/she it's a damn memory leak..."
[Triple Buffer]|[SCRIPTaGAME]|[My Old Site]

[edited by - alfmga on September 7, 2002 10:35:38 PM]

[edited by - alfmga on September 7, 2002 10:40:18 PM]

quote: Original post by alfmga
i live on a small island. and there are NO game development companies here or people that are into gamedeving. not for a few 1000 miles i assume.

I don''t know exactly where you are located, but don''t assume that there is nobody around that is into game development. I am helping to put together an IGDA chapter in the Detroit area. I was always under the impression that the only game developers around were Outrage. However, after looking hard for several months in many places, I''ve started to find a couple other big developers, quite a few independants, and a bunch of hobbiests in the area. Your situation may not be quite the same, but I suspect there is a bunch of developers right around the corner "flying under the radar", just like you probably are to them.

With regard to putting together a team, I would say the main goal would be to put together a core team. You already have another programmer and you seem able to design. See if you can find someone to do art and someone good at handling business (very important for winning over a publisher). Then if you can get funding from a publisher, it will be easier to bring in more talent to help with completion.



Ron Frazier
Kronos Software
www.kronos-software.com
Miko & Molly - Taking Puzzle Games to A Whole New Dimension

ok, thanks for the replies.

another thing though. i was thinking of stating out with an established developing company....junior programmer...assistand designer...something small (though i dunno if assistant designer is small), maybe even in QA. so would it be better to apply to some company now and leave my BCS if i get a job, or should i wait and finish my BCS and then apply. remember though that applying to a dev co will involve me switching lives...ill have to leave "everything" behind

thanks again


Al
"For us it's a natural disaster....For him/she it's a damn memory leak..."
[Triple Buffer]|[SCRIPTaGAME]|[My Old Site]

[edited by - alfmga on September 11, 2002 10:05:39 AM]