How do I sell this?

[sorrowking]

I have an idea for a console or pc game and I need to know how I would go about selling it to a company.I was thinking of doing all the non computer related work such as character designs and profiles,script,back ground design, wepons ,modes of play etc. Pretty much have a game ready to go straight to production.Would this be a good way to do this? :^^;:

[AmishCommy]

i would think that the best way to go about it is to try to put your concept togherther and hen sell it to a bunch of investors. Have them put up the starting cash and you put together a team to create the game. Don't think too many game companies gonna take on a project they're cont directly involved in creating (conceptualizing). Then again, your concept may be strong enough to get some one to spearhead it.

[black_fish]

From my experience in the game industry companies will NEVER look at a project that wasn't designed internally and most often than not companies have only a handful of people who are allowed to be 'creative'.

As Amishcommy said best plan is to do it yourself, which is also the hardest way. You have to think about it in terms of an indie movie.

[sorrowking]

Bugger! I dont have the money to do it myself but it would make a realy good game :rolleyes:

[Calcaneus]

Like others have said, they game companies seldom look outside their organization for ideas. I looked up a small piece about the game industry by a producer at microsoft on penny arcade that I thought contained some support for that idea but after scimming it I can't find it. http://www.penny-arcade.com/news.php3?date=2005-04-08

What I was looking for was a line by someone who said they had worked in the gaming industry for 15 years mostly at one company and he had never been approached for a game concept.

It is a similar in the comic world I gather. One of my teachers is an art director at one company and people approach him all the time by people who have ideas for comics. What they don't realise is that artists in studios are creative people and have tons of ideas of their own that they would love to do. So ideas are easy come.

I suppose if you wanted to sell an idea you would need to present the idea in a very fleshed out manner. I think it would be very hard though. Game companies have their own skilled staff with ideas, like I said. If you want to be a game designer you need to really understand how games work, what is possible, and how things work. It is more than just idea making.

I would suggest getting some experience in the gaming industry first and hold on to that idea and improve on it. It could make a really fine game one day though you may need to break out on your own to do it. I wish you luck.

[AmishCommy]

it's not impoccible. The company my brother-in-law works for started out with a good idea. They got a small team together and fleshed out their pitch, made a short demo, and sold the idea to a big name company. They still have the original team with a ton of new people and are doing it themselves, but the big company is backing them financially. But they got damn lucky.

[Mirana]

Comics are a bit different. A comic company taking a chance on an idea is not out as much money as a game developer. Many comic companies accept submissions from writers and creators.

[MangaCan]

Mirana is correct, Comic Development is low. It cost you time (mostly the artist's time)

But that is not my point... If your game Idea has a strong story base, consider doing a comic or some other medium to tell the story. If people like the story (and by the book) then you can turn to game companies and sell them your concept as you would have a proven product.

I suggest this because it will take less time (in theory) and has lower costs to you, and any investor/developer you link up with.

Regards,

Graeme

[andy__artist]

The chances of you pitching an idea succesfully to a games company externaly is very remote.

Pitching an idea internaly in a big studio and seeing it getting made is just as hard, even when you are in the design department. The smaller the studio the easier it is to pitch an idea, unfortunately smaller studios may not have the resources of the big outfits. Publishers want to make money and if they dont see dollar /pound signs then you'll have a hard time.

To be taken at all seriously you need a working demo showing all the U.S.P of your I.P. otherwise publishers wont even give you the time of day.

One root could be to develop it as a Mod. But it would have to be of the highest quality.

[Qitsune]

Go on the IGDA website, and read this:
http://www.igda.org/breakingin/

This isn't a joy ride.

[sorrowking]

Fair enough but I just wanted to know how these things worked as I had absolutly no idea.Oh well I guess this goes in the "too hard basket" for now....It was a realy good idea too

[black_fish]

If anybody could sell ideas to the game industry maybe there would be some good games WITH ideas instead of the crap we get nowadays (tolkien's ripoffs, too dark corridors shooters, WW2 revivals or gangsta simulations, take your pick), but unfortunately it's not the case so we'll get to play Splinter Cell 8: Still Splinting After All These Years, True Life Of A Gang Member In Cell Block 10: Raped By White Suprematists, or Medal Of Honor 24: How To Kill Nazis In More Creative Ways As Long At It Makes Money For EA....

I wish that the game industry could be more like the comic industry or the movie industry.

[sorrowking]

Maybe one day my friend :\ If I had the funds I would start my own company and then...the world!!!!

[black_fish]

Actually Sorrowking you don't need the money. What you need is:

- a strong concept
- a design doc
- a detailed budget with clearly defined milestones
- a team of people ready to commit WHEN the game is signed
- a demo

That's according to some pros at an E3 conference.

Now the real catch of course is that you have to find people dedicated enough to put some of their free time in a demo.

But if you can achieve that in theory you have a chance.

In theory...

[jfwalls]

Hey Sorrow, I found a game company, www.mauigames.com, that accepts proposals for game ideas. It's a smaller company that does mostly cell phone games, but it looks like they would probably like to expand into the PC/console market.

[sorrowking]

WOOHOO!!!
Thanks guys.I'll remember you all when Im hugely mega ulstra successful :teeth:

[Qitsune]

The thing is, everyone who works in games (from the animator to the programmer, audio guy etc) is full of incredible ideas and most of them can't push them through even tho they already have a proven tracklist and already work in the industry.

What black fish says is only true if you have already developped games professionally and so do most of your team members. I should know, I've started my own game company after 5 years in the industry and even if I have everything Black fish said (and more), no one's offered me any money yet.

[bracomadar]

You could write a screenplay about your idea, which you could try to get turned into a movie, which then would get turned into a crappy video game which you would have no control over, unless your name happens to be Peter Jackson, in which case it would be a good video game ;) All kidding aside, I think that most game companies are yeller, yes, YELLER, and are too afraid to take on an original idea. Most (to me at least) seem to only wanna stick to what has sold in the past (fantasy RPGs and W.W.II first person shooters) :dead: Of course I think every gamer has come up with a good idea for a game that will never see the light of day, but if you got the willpower and energy, I say go for it, unless it’s a fantasy RPG, or W.W.II FPS, in which case NO MORE PLEASE!!!!!