All of this said, don't think that 'creative and managerial' tasks are not vital - especially in larger teams. Personally I desparately need a managerial position (art director / lead art) filled - this revolves around specifying what artists should work on, and isn't exactly a 10 minutes, twice a week job.
If your managerial skills are your strength, make a big deal of them. If you know business (company procedures some legalities) make this known. It's all about selling yourself. Don't say 'I can't code' or 'I can't draw'. What people are interested in is what you *can* do.
The Next Step in Online Gaming (applying a proven business model to a hot medium)
Quote:Original post by _winterdyne_
It's all about selling yourself. Don't say 'I can't code' or 'I can't draw'. What people are interested in is what you *can* do.
Except, of course, that very often "I can't code, and I can't draw" translates into "but I've got this amazing idea... now move, slaves!". For most management jobs in this industry, you're expected to 'pay your dues' in some way, usually by working your way up from junior positions.
Anyways; this is all beside the point for what the poor guy asked (and it's one of the most commonly asked questions in this industry, so I'm tempted to just refere him to Tom's FAQ :) - "I've got this amazing 'secret/revolutionary/brilliant' idea, but I'm scared people will steal it". Reality is that this just doesn't happen very often; this industry is too small for that sort of thing to have any real milage. And unless you can personally fill each niche in your company, you're going to have to disclose it at some point.
As my biz partner said in another forum to the same question "Now.. if your idea turns out to be SUCCESSFULL, then expect to be cloned to death". But you can't really guard against that (dodgy method-patents aside).
So; if you have the money, or the connections, get a team together using F^3 resources (Friends, Family and Fools). Otherwise, go look in the "Help Wanted" forum, but be prepared to answer questions (including "so why is this so brilliant?" and"What's YOUR contribution to this, apart from telling everyone what to do?"). If you expect pure 'future revenue share', expect that any programmers and artists will want to influence where the product goes.
Have fun,
Allan
I'm going to make some generalizations here. As a rule, I don't like generalizations that aren't backed up with either very careful qualifications, or lots of empirical evidence. But I'm gonna do it anyways, because I think the point is important [smile]
There are, essentially, two ways to practically accomplish an idea. You can either do it yourself, or you can inspire others to do it on your behalf.
The first approach requires you to develop the relevant skills, acquire the relevant resources, take the risks, and do all the work. This approach is suitable for things that are genuinely only going to work for the first person to realize them; this approach is vital if competition will destroy the entire point of the idea in the first place. These sorts of ideas are actually very, very rare. In fact, I can't think of any examples (but please don't take that to mean that there are no examples).
The second approach is to inspire others. This means finding people who already have or can easily acquire the relevant skills, and getting them interested in working on your idea. This means selling others on your idea so you can distribute the risk and give everyone an overall less risky venture. This means you distribute the work of implementing the idea so that everyone involved can do it without having to be a superhuman.
This second approach, obviously, does not blend well with secrecy. You'll never reach all of the people you really need if you don't talk about the idea. In fact, entire industries have arisen (and sometimes flopped) because people are so good at selling the idea that people jump on board without even making sure the idea is a good one (typically known as "hype"). The way to inspire is to communicate clearly, passionately, persuasively, and - most important of all - to a wide group of people.
There is an interesting trait of business models that many people seem to ignore. It is very common for people to accept something based on its popularity, or the reputation of those who endorse it. Huge volumes of advertising theory is based on this principle. People, in general, are likely to accept something if A) enough other people accept it and/or B) someone they respect accepts it. The designer clothes industry exists solely because this principle works.
In business models, this is important too. When pioneering a business model, it is typical for people to think that they have to be the first (or only) person using that model, or someone else will somehow get all of the pie. This is rarely true, if ever. The fact is, in business models, people are more likely to accept the model if they see it becoming widespread and popular. This is true both of investors and customers, both of whom will be critical to the success of any business model.
The upshot of this is that, paradoxically, it may be healthiest for a business model to try and get a lot of people on board. Once the model becomes sufficiently popular, and accepted, it is more likely to perpetuate itself and be considered a successful model by both investors and consumers.
Look at pay-for-each-song music services. Such services existed as far back as the late 90s, to the best of my knowledge. Yet it took until 2005 for iTunes to really explode, and make the notion seem natural in the minds of the general public. Arguably there are some market forces at work here (like the whole state of the music industry in general), but it is important not to underestimate popularity. I personally think iTunes succeeded almost entirely because of Apple's involvement, and its ties to the iPod phenomenon. The pay-per-song music sales model is now considered viable, and even vital, in the music industry, to a degree that it simply never was before.
Business is littered with similar examples. Sometimes, the power of simultaneous adoption is so huge it actually creates historial landmark manias that have profound consequences on the economies of entire countries, and even the entire world.
One happened a few years ago. You may have heard of the "dot-com bubble."
Secrecy isn't necessarily the most effective road to success.
There are, essentially, two ways to practically accomplish an idea. You can either do it yourself, or you can inspire others to do it on your behalf.
The first approach requires you to develop the relevant skills, acquire the relevant resources, take the risks, and do all the work. This approach is suitable for things that are genuinely only going to work for the first person to realize them; this approach is vital if competition will destroy the entire point of the idea in the first place. These sorts of ideas are actually very, very rare. In fact, I can't think of any examples (but please don't take that to mean that there are no examples).
The second approach is to inspire others. This means finding people who already have or can easily acquire the relevant skills, and getting them interested in working on your idea. This means selling others on your idea so you can distribute the risk and give everyone an overall less risky venture. This means you distribute the work of implementing the idea so that everyone involved can do it without having to be a superhuman.
This second approach, obviously, does not blend well with secrecy. You'll never reach all of the people you really need if you don't talk about the idea. In fact, entire industries have arisen (and sometimes flopped) because people are so good at selling the idea that people jump on board without even making sure the idea is a good one (typically known as "hype"). The way to inspire is to communicate clearly, passionately, persuasively, and - most important of all - to a wide group of people.
There is an interesting trait of business models that many people seem to ignore. It is very common for people to accept something based on its popularity, or the reputation of those who endorse it. Huge volumes of advertising theory is based on this principle. People, in general, are likely to accept something if A) enough other people accept it and/or B) someone they respect accepts it. The designer clothes industry exists solely because this principle works.
In business models, this is important too. When pioneering a business model, it is typical for people to think that they have to be the first (or only) person using that model, or someone else will somehow get all of the pie. This is rarely true, if ever. The fact is, in business models, people are more likely to accept the model if they see it becoming widespread and popular. This is true both of investors and customers, both of whom will be critical to the success of any business model.
The upshot of this is that, paradoxically, it may be healthiest for a business model to try and get a lot of people on board. Once the model becomes sufficiently popular, and accepted, it is more likely to perpetuate itself and be considered a successful model by both investors and consumers.
Look at pay-for-each-song music services. Such services existed as far back as the late 90s, to the best of my knowledge. Yet it took until 2005 for iTunes to really explode, and make the notion seem natural in the minds of the general public. Arguably there are some market forces at work here (like the whole state of the music industry in general), but it is important not to underestimate popularity. I personally think iTunes succeeded almost entirely because of Apple's involvement, and its ties to the iPod phenomenon. The pay-per-song music sales model is now considered viable, and even vital, in the music industry, to a degree that it simply never was before.
Business is littered with similar examples. Sometimes, the power of simultaneous adoption is so huge it actually creates historial landmark manias that have profound consequences on the economies of entire countries, and even the entire world.
One happened a few years ago. You may have heard of the "dot-com bubble."
Secrecy isn't necessarily the most effective road to success.
Quote: The solution is not to hide your idea.
So true. An idea for a game is no different than an idea for a business. You need people to take turn at poking holes into your idea. Either you plug all the holes and your idea soars, or it's so riddled with problems that it sinks faster than the Titanic. Either way, you need to know this *now* before you invest into it. It's just basic risk management.
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