Game Law: So, What’s the Dealio?

Anything involving the business side of game development interests me. I like to be well informed of the inner workings of the industry. That’s why when veteran lawyer Buscaglia discusses how developers should work with publishers on a contract - urging active, intelligent negotiation at all times - I take notes. I want to grow my studio… not have a bad deal with a publisher suffocate it out of existance. Here is Buscaglia’s full article regarding publisher / developer deals and how developers should “deal” with them:

The proper negotiation of a contract is a process that is too often ignored by developers, especially those eager to get a deal. I suspect that part of the reason for this is that the stereotypical game maker neither likes nor enjoys the process.

The harsh reality is that many, if not most, publishers are so used to developers being passive about the negotiation process that they have become arrogant and unwilling to actually engage in a meaningful negotiation dialog with developers.

Instead, they too often become rigid and inflexible when it comes to their contract negotiations. And I suppose this attitude comes in part from, among others, the following factors:

  • An overwhelming financial advantage held by publishers in the relationship
  • Publisher risk aversion
  • The perception, at least, that there are more developers than deals
  • A failure by developers to have or communicate a long term vision for their studio
  • A lack of appreciation of the “process” of contract negotiation
  • Developer fear, rather than appreciation, of being exploited

These factors are certainly not present in every deal dynamic, nor do they apply to every publisher or developer.

Moreover, with the vast array of innovative approaches to succeeding in the industry, even the traditional developer-publisher model is hardly a standard for the way we do business.

However, there may be some value to just accepting the stereotyping for the moment and proceeding with the discussion to see where it takes us and what we can learn in the process… so, shall we proceed?

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Tags: Business, Game Development by DoomSayer
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Controversy In The Classroom: Whose IP Is It Anyway?

Here is an article from Gamasutra that can ultimately effect all past, current, and potential game development students.  I went through DeVry’s Game & Simulation Programming cirriculum, so I have a vested interest in the outcome of this controversy.  Basically, the article states that certain game development schools are saying that any and all student created assets belong to them, and not the students.  The schools won’t ever publish them commercially, but neither can the students.  Last year, DeVry sent me a letter asking if I could release my student created assets so that they could showcase them at GDC.  I never signed the letter.  If DeVry is sending out letters to ask for permission to show our work at public events, that should mean that they feel they don’t own the rights.  If that’s the case, I applaud DeVry.  As for other, more-well-known, game development schools, I present this Gamasutra article in it’s entirety:

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Tags: Game Development, Game News by DoomSayer
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Baby Steps

Since the idea is to start on small projects first and work my way up to bigger and more lucrative projects, I decided to create some content packs for the Torque Game Engine. I’m currently putting my first one together, making sure that each model is professionally complete with LoDs and collisions for players and projectiles, and that shaders are in effect when these assets are used in the Torque Game Engine Advanced. All of it needs to be plug-n-play, drop it in your game and it just works, out-of-the-box experience, whatever you want to call it.

After this content pack, I already have my second content pack laid out, so I’ll just jump right into my next one. My goal is to get some kind of revenue streams in place, even if it isn’t much, so that I can start my indie game studio proper. I’m sure that I won’t be able to find too many developers who will work for free, so I need to be able to offer them something…anything.

We’ll see how things play out. I emailed Garage Games yesterday, requesting more information in regards to content pack publishing. I haven’t heard back yet, but I’m sure they are very busy, so it may take a little while to get a reply.

If I can’t get it published through them, well… I can sell it myself and chaulk it up as a learning experience… plus I get to keep my developer’s abilities sharp.

Tags: Business, Game Development by DoomSayer
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