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May 2003
Just
who the heck is Jay you say?
Q:
I own the patent, copyright and trademark to a card game
that has been played in casinos internationally for
about six years. It is a head to head game without a
house bank and is easily adaptable to interactive web
play. My question is - where exactly do I fit in? The
game is developed , played and protected. I just need it
programmed by competent individuals who know programming
for the gaming/gambling arena. Can you point me in the
correct direction?
A: Your best
opportunity at this point would be to contact some of
the developers who have worked on similar projects in
the past. Without a publisher on board immediately, you
will be asked to finance the development of the game or
at least a demo that can be sold to a publisher. I would
start with a trip to Wal-Mart or Best Buy to look at the
boxed product and see who developed the game. Best of
luck to you!
Q:
What were the three favorite games you've played in the
last year and what made them the favorite?
A: My top three
games this year would probably have to be NCAA 2003,
Warlords Battlecry 2, and Tony Hawk Pro Skater
4. The same reasoning holds true for each of them,
it's the replayability. The games, or sessions, or
battles are all quite short, but you can play them over
and over for hours on end. It never hurts to see the
University of North Carolina win 6 straight national
championships either.
Q:
What are you looking forward to seeing at E3 this year?
A: This one's easy. Mario
Kart: Double Dash! I bought the Gamecube when it
first came out to prepare for this day ;)
Q:
We are in the process of developing our first game for
the international market and as yet are keeping our
fingers crossed about whether or not any publisher will
want to buy our game. Technology- wise we know we're at
par with the rest, but what about our game story? What
genre will attract the publisher the most? What kind of
a game will they want? Will an action thriller be good
enough, or will a flight simulator be a better choice?
Is there any way to gauge the market?
A: There are very
few ways to easily judge the market, the publisher
opportunities for independent developers has changed
very dramatically in the last six months alone. As this
is your first game, I would recommend to play it safe
for the time being. Don't try to go out and hit a home
run at your first at bat unless you have the backing of
a major publisher already. Stay away from the sports and
racing genres as they are quite overcrowded at the
moment and be sensitive to the prices publishers are
paying for some games. At this point in time, new teams
with no track record are going to have a tough time
selling a seven figure budget to a publisher unless your
entire team is quite experienced.
Need more Jay?
<<<Back
to Q&A With Jay home
 Who
is Jay?
Jay Powell is an
agent at Octagon
Entertainment, a full service agency catering to the
needs of game developers, specializing in the creation
of domestic and international opportunities for game
financing and publishing and finding opportunities in
other medias. Jay has arranged and negotiated numerous
deals in Europe and North America for Octagon's clients.
He has also proven a key evaluator of projects, having
secured some of Octagon's most successful games. With
gaming experience in excess of fifteen years, Jay's
industry insight has been immensely beneficial to
Octagon's clients and publishing partners. Jay's
experience has allowed Octagon to create and maintain a
property evaluation and acceptance methodology that
exceeds the standards and expectations of the
interactive industry. Now, Jay brings his knowledge and
experience to you.
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