At one of the sessions at the past E3, during the question and answer portion, an audience member told the panelists he was developing a game and he wanted to know how he could go about getting it published. He said his company’s plan was to completely finish the game before showing it to publishers. The panelists’ response was unanimous: "This isn’t the right session for that question."

On a regular basis, GIGnews receive emails from developers who are desperately seeking funding and publishing deals. They want publicity. They want advice. Does anyone know anyone who can help? Anyone? At all?

The topic of how developers go about getting published is an involved one and, apparently for many, an elusive one. Rather than trying to cover it all in one article, GIGnews has decided to begin an ongoing exploration of the topic, beginning this with an initial overview.

Setting the scene
This series is not for the person with a "game idea." That is, you’ve got a "great idea for a game", and you want to "sell" your idea? As addressed by game agent Jay Powell of Octagon Entertainment, in a recent GIGnews Q&A, there is very little you can do without the backing of a developer, publisher, or finance group. As Powell explains, publishers and developers very rarely pick up ideas that are not their own. Many larger publishers even have NDAs (Non-Disclosure Agreements) that say they will not guarantee that they do not have a similar idea in the works. Rather, he says, your best bet is to find the financing to pay for the game. Many smaller developers exist that are avidly seeking contract deals. If you have the money, they will be happy to help your dream come to life. The other option would be to use your spare time to create a demo of the game. You could use the advances from a publisher to finish out your team and complete the game. In short, there is very little chance at all of simply selling an idea.

Given that, this is for those of you who are the developers. You’ve taken your game idea and made it a reality. You’ve put together a team that can handle the various elements of design, programming, and art and created a demo. What you need now is a publisher’s money to get the game finished and on the store shelves.

Getting your ducks in a row
So, here you are, a game developer. You’ve got a demo, now you need to get it in front of publishers. Where are they? How do you find them and, once found, how do you present your game? First, before you start knocking on doors, make sure you’re ready just in case someone answers. You don’t want to appear scrambling and disorganized from the outset.

As Powell notes, the more information you can provide a publisher, the better off you will be in the long run. And, what you need, will depend on the state of your project. If you have a very early game for which you are seeking development funding, you will need to show the publisher as much of the gameplay as possible, but the user interface and a technology demo are essential. You should also provide a design treatment that will show your budget, timeline, and the unique selling points of your game. The design treatment should not be a 400 page document, rather, it should be around 15-20 pages that outline the unique gameplay and technology features. This lets the publisher know the time you plan to complete the game and gives an idea of the cost. Finally, let the publisher know about your team. What have you done in the past as a team or individually? If a publisher feels confident that you can deliver a quality game on time and on budget you will have a much better shot at a deal.

With regard to the importance of the size of a development team, says Howard Horowitz, founder of game publisher, Got Game Entertainment, "The team and previous projects concern me more, and the fact that the lead programmer is 100% dedicated to working on my titles, and not juggling a number of titles. The size of the team should also be in line with the size and scope of the detailed game concept. A small team would not be able to handle what is clearly a large project in scope, that is just a set up for failure."

If your title is at beta, says Powell, you are presenting a publisher with much less risk. You should show them the game in its present state, an idea of the budget you are looking for, and a synopsis of the unique selling points. If possible, compare and contrast your title with any of the big sellers on the market right now. Let them know that your game will be a good buy for them and everyone can profit from it.

With both of these scenarios, you should definitely provide the publisher with a walkthrough of the demo you are sending. Always assume that the person reviewing the title has no idea how to play the type of game you are submitting. This will help ensure that no one misses anything that is shown in your demo. It can also help you make a better presentation because the tester will not enter the areas that are not finished yet, or try commands that have not been implemented. And, says Powell, "I always recommend that developers sit down, define their selling points, and structure their demos and walkthroughs to show these off." Publisher Horowitz, notes that he also would like to know about the previous projects the company worked on and how those games were reviewed.

When putting your presentation package together, be sure to proofread before sending it out. Good grammar and proper spelling seem to have gone the way of the dodo bird. Even though you and your buddies communicate just fine, the decision-maker at the publisher may have gone to school when proper grammar still meant something. He or she may be well aware of the difference between "your" and "you’re", possessives and plurals, and, whether it makes any sense or not, "tough" is not spelled "tuff."

In short, if you’re talking about submitting a 15-20 page document, make sure it is clearly and properly written, and easy to read.

While being completely prepared is very important, particularly for those face-to-face presentations Damion Schubert, Creative Director and CEO of Ninjaneering, advises that extreme flexibility is also key. "People sometimes come in late," he explains, "You may need to squeeze in walk-ins, and some publishers have differing priorities. Some presentations will be an hour long, and others will be made 5 minutes long due to unforeseen circumstances. Rather than a formal speech, I’ve found its better to make a list of 3-5 points you want to be sure to nail."

Before learning how to find publishers, and going back to that question from E3, is it wise to complete a game before showing to a publisher? What about the value of getting feedback based on a demo?

According to game agent Powell, having the ability to finance a game through to completion places a developer in a wonderful situation for maximizing their revenue on the game once it has launched. "However," he adds, "I would highly recommend having someone look the game over during development."

A developer can still sign with a publisher but finance their own game. By bringing the publisher on board earlier in the process the developer will benefit from the support of the marketing team. If the marketing division of a publisher has spent significant time with a game they will be more likely to support it heavily than if the game was just "picked up" at the last minute.

Schubert advises that all publishers really care about is risk. "Whether it's money, timeframe or marketplace, risk is the reason why they'll say no," he says. "Obviously if you have a game that is on the brink of shipping, that risk is very, very low. Some smaller publishers, in fact, have an entire business model devoted to publishing games that are done or almost done." He also notes that the more risk your company assumes yourself and the closer you get to shipping, the better your negotiating position. If you can get that far, you're much more likely to get a good royalty rate.

Schubert’s company, Ninjaneering, a company of massively multiplayer veterans, most of whom came from Ultima Online 2 is currently pitching a massively multiplayer title aimed at the mass market. Because of the expense associated with MMPs, even the one being developed by Ninjaneering which Schubert notes will be at the less expensive end of the MMP spectrum, the finish the game before pitching approach was not taken.

Furthermore, he says, several additional arguments against going too far past the demo stage can be made. First, along with all the other risks, you're assuming the risk that a publisher will come along at all. Secondly, if a publisher is eyeing a title that can either be adjusted for a license they own, or slid in to fill a specific need, you can find yourself "throwing away" a significant amount of work to meet that need. And, lastly, it has been argued that a publisher is more likely to financially support a game that (a) they have invested more heavily in and/or (b) that they have a greater royalty stake in. Given that a young studio needs to build a proven track record in order to make the next game easier to get, some may find that having that additional buy-in by the publisher is worth it.

"I think there are definitely pros and cons either way," Schubert concludes, "In our case, our chosen genre forced our hand."

All developers learn as they go when it comes to the pitching process. Based on his experience, Schubert offers some final advice, "Be confident enough to answer any question because you have spent the time to think of every question that could be asked. Let your hard work guide you to the right answer! Be sure you have a good public speaker doing your presenting. Get a solid biz dev guy to handle the busywork of preparation and follow up, so that your developers can focus on the all-important demo."

Now, before you have that face-to-face time with a publisher, make sure your "face" is one that can represent your company and your game well. It’s not about physical looks, it’s about smarts and presentation skills. And, okay, a shower and a tucked in shirt.

Attending trade shows like E3, GDC, and ECTS are also ways to meet the right people. E3 and ECTS are about game publishers, so you can bet a few a will be around. Also, the trade show directories provide a wealth of information including key company contacts listed in the body of company descriptions. And, if you’re not already involved in the game development community in your area, such as a local IGDA chapter, you should get that way. Other developers are an excellent source of information not only in terms of getting contacts, but of also in terms of learning which publishers live up to their agreements and value a developer’s property.

French developer Doki Denki took part in last year’s event which ultimately lead to a significant deal with a "leading publisher". Renaudin says the developer had one-to-one 30 minute meetings with publishers for a total of more than 12 meetings in 2 days. "In 30 minutes we had to present our company and excite their interest in one of our projects that we had selected before the event," Renaudin explains. "That was a very good exercise because we had to be clear, efficient, and attractive in the way we presented our project, by extracting the key features of the game. And, when the project is good, 30 minutes should be enough to attract the audience."

Another way for developers to connect with publishers is by using a game agent like Jay Powell of Octagon Entertainment who represents game developers. In short, game agents do the pitching for you. However, much like getting your information in front of a publisher, you must likewise first get it in front of the game agent. Says Powell, "We look for the same information publishers need. Ideally we like to see a playable demo, design documentation, outline and description of the technology used in the game and the features of that technology, and a comparison to similar titles in the genre." He adds that calls or emails prior to submitting a product can be useful to verify the agent is seeking your type of title. He adds, that once your package is sent it is "imperative" that you call to follow up on your submission.

While agents actively seek out properties, they also consider submissions. In either event, Powell assures, the developer is treated equally. "We may not be able to represent all of the titles that are submitted but we try to reply with feedback from our experience to help them along."

Powell finds the most common mistake developers make when approaching a game agent is that they simply have not planned for their game distribution far enough in advance. "We see a lot of submissions that need deals immediately, and we have generated great deals for some of our clients in 1 month, but with more time the terms could have been much better." He adds that many developers don’t anticipate the problems that can arise in localization either. By having a localization kit ready soon, developers can hopefully have a world-wide simultaneous release and eliminate piracy issues. According to Powell, localization kits can also speed up a publisher’s evaluation process.

Note: A localization kit is all of the information that a publisher needs to translate the game into different languages. This can be as simple as a text file outlining the dialogue of the game or a complete package with artwork that needs to be modified, samples of the speech from other versions, etc.

Following up
Finally, whether it’s following up with a game agent following your submission as Jay Powell advised, or following up with the publisher, follow up is key. Don’t just submit your life’s work and cross your fingers. You need to act while your game is still fresh on the publisher’s mind, and to make sure they received everything needed for a good evaluation. For example, if you’ve met with a publisher at E3, the publisher probably doesn’t have time to deal with you immediately after the show as he is catching up on everything else put on the backburner for E3. Damion Schubert suggests emailing first, to give the publishers a chance to catch their breath, but he always says it’s important to be aggressive. Notes Schubert, "It’s far better to be perceived as aggressive than to be forgotten. At least if you’re aggressive, you’ll know they’ll actually talk about you."

AUTHOR BIO
Beverly Cambron is the founder of Rocco Media, LLC, a public relations and marketing firm. She also holds a degree in finance and international business, and is compelled to write the occasional article on a business-related topic so she doesn't feel like she completely wasted her college years. Contact Beverly at beverly at roccomedia dot com.