Distributer info?
Author
It seems to me that most major distributer''s public sites have no information on how to get your games distributed. I can only assume this is some kind of digital Darwinism to prevent them from being bombarded with newbies applying to haver their small projects published.
So I ask, where is all the info hiding? Does anybody know how to find out?
I assume you mean publishers as a whole. I''m sure you know that some publishers distribute your game themselves while others hire other companies to do the actual distribution. Anyway, have you tried the eGames website, Crystal Interactive? Which others did you have in mind? I''ve found there to be ample information out there.
Martin
Martin
Author
Actually I had seen Crystal interactive. They were prolly the only site I saw with any of the info I''m looking for. However, ZI''d rather that not make them my only option... there''s gotta be a trick to this.
Where do larger-than-us development houses go to get published? Somewhere like Activision for purposes of example. How do I go from having this really good game to getting it published by Activision? How do I get in for the presentation, make a phone call, send a letter/email? This information is nowhere to be found, and I''m convinced that that is intentional.
(in case you are wondering, this is just a matter of curiousity. I don''t quite have enough hubris to believem my game would be published by these industry titans...)
Where do larger-than-us development houses go to get published? Somewhere like Activision for purposes of example. How do I go from having this really good game to getting it published by Activision? How do I get in for the presentation, make a phone call, send a letter/email? This information is nowhere to be found, and I''m convinced that that is intentional.
(in case you are wondering, this is just a matter of curiousity. I don''t quite have enough hubris to believem my game would be published by these industry titans...)
Okay, this is according to Andre' LaMothe in Game Programming in 21 Days:
You call the company and ask for a submission packet. Then they send you their terms for submission of the game and an NDA (Non-Disclosure Agreement). You send them the game and in 3 weeks or so they say whether they liked it or not. If they like it they make offers for money.
This is assuming the game's all done then you submit it and everything. I don't think this is talking about the publisher giving you money to actually develop the game.
Hope it helps.
""" "'Nazrix is cool' -- Nazrix" --Darkmage --Godfree"-Nazrix" -- runemaster --and now dwarfsoft" -- dwarfsoft
Edited by - Nazrix on October 9, 2000 4:23:07 PM
You call the company and ask for a submission packet. Then they send you their terms for submission of the game and an NDA (Non-Disclosure Agreement). You send them the game and in 3 weeks or so they say whether they liked it or not. If they like it they make offers for money.
This is assuming the game's all done then you submit it and everything. I don't think this is talking about the publisher giving you money to actually develop the game.
Hope it helps.
""" "'Nazrix is cool' -- Nazrix" --Darkmage --Godfree"-Nazrix" -- runemaster --and now dwarfsoft" -- dwarfsoft
Edited by - Nazrix on October 9, 2000 4:23:07 PM
Hi Landfish,
If you have your heart set on a really big company like Activision publishing your game only one word matters: persistence.
I suggest you just cold call their main office, ask for someone in the development department and have this man or woman agree to you sending in your product for evaluation. NDA or no NDA, this is the best method. After this you call this person to confirm whether he or she has received the product and you politely insist on a date when you can call him or her again in order to hear what he thinks about it. Don''t let yourself be caught by oerators, voicemail or other delay tactics as these guys have a million and one games to look at every week (I know I have) and in this case the person with the most persisting attitude wins. This does not mean they''ll take it, but at least you''ll get an answer out of them. Some people (the polite ones) don''t...
Now the tactics mentioned above do not work with smaller publishers. Companies like eGames (or yours truely) for example have 1 or 2 staff in their development department and they''re already swamped with work. There are no secretaries to go through so you can cut these people a bit more slack. But bottom line is that it''s in your best interest to get a quick answer, but the publisher often doesn''t share this with you. So be persistent!
I hope this has helped you a bit.
Take care and good luck!
Alex
If you have your heart set on a really big company like Activision publishing your game only one word matters: persistence.
I suggest you just cold call their main office, ask for someone in the development department and have this man or woman agree to you sending in your product for evaluation. NDA or no NDA, this is the best method. After this you call this person to confirm whether he or she has received the product and you politely insist on a date when you can call him or her again in order to hear what he thinks about it. Don''t let yourself be caught by oerators, voicemail or other delay tactics as these guys have a million and one games to look at every week (I know I have) and in this case the person with the most persisting attitude wins. This does not mean they''ll take it, but at least you''ll get an answer out of them. Some people (the polite ones) don''t...
Now the tactics mentioned above do not work with smaller publishers. Companies like eGames (or yours truely) for example have 1 or 2 staff in their development department and they''re already swamped with work. There are no secretaries to go through so you can cut these people a bit more slack. But bottom line is that it''s in your best interest to get a quick answer, but the publisher often doesn''t share this with you. So be persistent!
I hope this has helped you a bit.
Take care and good luck!
Alex
My apologies if this has been asked a thousand times before but..
do big companies (you mentioned activision) take any out-of-house products at all?
It seems to me that most of their releases are either done by the company itself or, in some cases by an external development team. But those external contractors don´t work on a "let´s make a game and see who wants it" basis (in contrast to most startups and small-time game designers as you would find here).
So, is there any chance at all that an outside product is published? I´ve done some looking around and some companies explicitly state that they do not want to publish any outside work, if you´ve done some good work you can send it as part of your portfolio, an MAYBE they hire you as a staff member, but other than that...
do big companies (you mentioned activision) take any out-of-house products at all?
It seems to me that most of their releases are either done by the company itself or, in some cases by an external development team. But those external contractors don´t work on a "let´s make a game and see who wants it" basis (in contrast to most startups and small-time game designers as you would find here).
So, is there any chance at all that an outside product is published? I´ve done some looking around and some companies explicitly state that they do not want to publish any outside work, if you´ve done some good work you can send it as part of your portfolio, an MAYBE they hire you as a staff member, but other than that...
Wasn''t Quake 3 published by Activision though? I thought Activision made games and published them...
Activision does indeed take out-of-house games, but uses internal developers often. Usually big publishers such as this emphasize their name over the developer, so you usually hear "Made by Activision." That is one problem with these sort of publishers.
So yes, they will consider 3rd party games, but it is a tiring path to take.
-Ibuku
Crystal Interactive
AlexA@crystal-interactive.com
www.crystal-interactive.com
So yes, they will consider 3rd party games, but it is a tiring path to take.
-Ibuku
Crystal Interactive
AlexA@crystal-interactive.com
www.crystal-interactive.com
Author
Thanks everyone, ''specially Alex. Just the info to sate my curiousity! Like I said, I''m not planning on publication at all, but this is a very good thing to know about in case of windfall, right?
This is turning out to be one of the most helpful forums on the board. Who''d have thunk?!
This is turning out to be one of the most helpful forums on the board. Who''d have thunk?!
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