Game Design Business: Getting Publisher Attention Dr. Lewis Pulsipher Pulsiphergames.com Copyright 2013 Lewis Pulsipher

August 14, 2015 Note about the slides  Slides are provided primarily for those who want detailed notes later, not as an accompaniment to the talk  Consequently, they are “wordy”  Available at  Or just go to pulsipher.net (not.com) or pulsiphergames.com and look for teaching material

Who am I  Designed my own games while a teenager  Began playing commercial wargames in 1963  Played the original Atari 2600 and have played some PC games heavily, but rarely play any video games these days; never owned a game console  My favorite game is “the game design game”

Who am I  Designer of several commercially- published board wargames (most recently January 11), more games to come  Active designer of board and card games (playtesters solicited!)  Book “Game Design: How to create video and tabletop games, start to finish”, McFarland (booth at GenCon)  Wikipedia: Lewis Pulsipher; Britannia (board game); Archomental

Some of my games

This is about business, not game design per se  But if you want to make money as a freelancer, you’re in business for yourself  This talk is about presenting yourself to publishers, being professional, getting their attention (in the right way!) –Which many “designers” fail to do  (For game design itself, see my book)

Reality Checks  Many publishers exist largely to self- publish their own games  Publishers get hundreds of inquiries each year  You’re special to your family and friends, you may have been told in K12 that you’re special, but you’re NOT – until you prove it  You have to do something GOOD to separate yourself from the herd

Reality Checks 2  Recognize that your “great idea” is probably not that great, not that original, and not that interesting to other people  Furthermore, publishers want finished games, not ideas – ideas are easy, finished games are much harder

Characterizing Publishers  the “Biggies” –Have own design staffs –Have many full-time employees –Many will not accept outside submissions  Up-and-coming –Run as a business, not a hobby –Often fail, occasionally succeed –Often accept outside submissions –Often no full-time employees  Hobby publishers –More likely to accept outside submissions –Often have been publishing a long time –Have few full-time employees  Self-publishers/small publishers –Tend to publish their own games –Rarely make money –No full-time employees –Even FFG (now over 90 employees) started in games as a self-publisher

What about the biggies?  In general, the really big companies (FFG, WotC, Hasbro, etc.) have staff to design their games.  Virtually all will require you sign a statement relieving them of all liabilities  At least one only works through agents  In USA, Hasbro owns all the traditional boardgame publishers such as Milton Bradley, Parker Brothers, Avalon Hill

Do I need an agent?  Big publishers use agents to “weed out” many of the weak designs  But you need an agent only if required by publisher  Yet, I used one for my first game back in the 70s, in England –Unfamiliarity with the country –I could meet and talk with him locally (we were in London)  Shady “agents” abound –Don’t ever use an agent who wants a fee “up front”

What about “evaluators”?  “Evaluators”—who are they, what do they know? Nothing special—if anything at all.  No one can tell how good a game is, even after playing it. –Experienced people can eliminate the obviously weak games (which is most of them) –But after that, it’s really hard to figure out –If it wasn’t, publishers would make a lot more money!  No one knows if a game will be a “hit” (GMT story, Twilight Struggle, Alan R. Moon and Ticket to Ride, etc.)  So don’t pay someone to “evaluate” your game

What about those who do accept outside submissions?  They get hundreds of queries a year  If “they don’t know you from Adam”, how much attention will they give you?  Respect them for what they have done. They don’t have to respect you until you show you’re worthwhile!  Don’t expect much satisfaction from – I rarely get a reply

“Stars in your eyes”  Inflated expectations – “stars in your eyes” – will quickly destroy your credibility –“Seven years and a million dollars”  Publishers don’t have time to deal with unrealistic dreamers!

Realism  When you start to design games, you won’t be much good at it  You won’t make a lot of money  You need to design and complete games  Don’t worry about someone “stealing your game”  Design a game, not a story  Don’t patent your game  Don't spend much money on making a playable tabletop prototype

Realism II  Be professional, polite, punctual, and persistent  Don’t even think about requiring the publisher to sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA)  Avoid hyperbole (excessive exaggeration)  You will never be finished with a game  Real designers work on many games at the same time - at least, until they have a contract  Patience really *is* a virtue  Intentions versus Actions

How do I establish my credibility?  Volunteer to man booths at cons  Write articles or blog posts  Make variants/mods and publish them on the Web  Have a decent Web site  GM at conventions  Be a part of the publisher’s game communities

Submitting Games  Read the publisher’s requirements –Some require you to sign a form and seal it in an envelope –Some won’t accept unsolicited proposals at all—this is common  Expect it to take a long time  Expect to get rejected –May have nothing to do with how good your game is –Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings novel rejected many times!  Expect publication to take a long time-- publishers schedule months ahead

Boardgame Developers Many publishers will assign a developer to modify your game You don’t control your own game! –My experiences –see developers.htm developers.htm –See also designingvsdevelopment.htm –Some publishers are different (e.g. GMT)

Online resources  Boardgamegeek.com (along with sister sites for RPGs and video games)  Sloperama.com – good advice about getting into the video game industry  Board game designer’s forum  GameCareerGuide.com (video games)

Questions? Comments?