Forums: Discussions for entrepreneurs and small business.

I just went to a local International Game Developer`s Association event. This is a forum/networking event where industry hopefuls and industry veterans get together to discuss the state of the industry.

One of the biggest problems facing the industry and the fan`s demands for greater content for their 60 dollars. These demands are driving production budgets through the roof and team sizes into the triple digits.

On the flip side, some gamers are getting older and have less time to play games. So basically the guys were talking about making episodic games in way that people would want to play/have time to play. The funny thing is this is what I`ve been working on. Does it make anyone else feel good know that the big guys are scrambling to implement an idea you`re already working on?


-------------------------

Follow the journey of Marvin Hawkins Visual Concepts and Nothing Like It Games at http://gamerdeveloper.blogspot.com/

That`s awesome. 

Was it something that could be protected so that you reap the benefits if the big companies implement your idea before you get it processed?  Can you say Royalties?  I don`t really know about this.

jillybeans

Well not really. You see the game industry is notorious for not being too friendly toward patents or NDAs (if you`re a small party approaching a publisher) To be honest patents for software are a bad idea in my opinion. You can`t really patent an idea for software because somebody can and will do it differently. That being said, however, I`m not too worried about the bigger companies taking my idea for game episodes for two reasons.

Some small, established indie game companies are all ready doing that. And plus the big guys need established hits to stay afloat. They won`t risk thier companies to try to create something that potentially has no market. They usually wait for the small guys to stumble through it and make it profitable. The same thing happend with Cell phone and Casual Games. So by the time they get around to creating Episodic Games with any type of consistency I`ll be way ahead of them. Plus I`ve got a marketing ace up my sleeve that I don`t think anyone is doing.

 

The thing with the big guys is talk is really cheap. It`s cheaper to have the idea. But their implementation is slow and expensive. I think I can use my indie speed to beat em.

-------------------------

Follow the journey of Marvin Hawkins Visual Concepts and Nothing Like It Games at http://gamerdeveloper.blogspot.com/