Board Meeting

[David Steele]

I was considering sending this as a personal message to @Emurelda , but decided maybe other people might find the learning handy.

Just supposing, hypothetically speaking, asking for a friend, that I had an idea for an exciting board / card / counter game based on using robotic sheep to mine for diamonds on the surface of Mars...

How would one go about getting it published / made?

Are there game agents as well as literary agents? Are there still active games publishers, or has table-top gaming gone away for good?

 

[Emurelda]

Hi @David Steele it's been a while since I've been approached for my consultancy services. I used to charge forthe privilege too .

But generally speaking table-top gaming is not gone away with. It did go through a steep decline but it is now going through a gradual incline especially here in the UK. There are some measuring indicators that show this (see UK Games Expo).

I used to own a small games publishing company. Submissions would be sent to me too!! But being focused on the education STEM sector, it was very niche.

If you are now looking to bring a game to life then it is best to create a prototype and yes game companies do buy ideas. I have a list somewhere which has grown over the course of 9 years since working in the industry. As it changes all the time best to make your prototype and just get it out there, make the connections and decide which route to go through; self-publish or sale to an established company with retail roll-out.

 

[K.J. Simmill]

You can approach game companies like EA but you have to have a working prototype, then again I think that is true for anyone you approach, but don't quote me on that.
http://help.ea.com/en/article/how-do-i-submit-my-idea-for-a-game/
though this thread advises against that and has some step by step guides into what they would do
https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20100208005452AAzzgrV

 

[David Steele]

Thank you.
Theoretical, of course. Asking for a neighbour's dog.

 

[K.J. Simmill]

PS I use EA as an example because I knew someone who worked there, I couldn't be certain if they would deal with non console games, the best way to check who does card games etc would be go into a game shop and see who publishes ideas similar to your own and check out their webpages.

 

[Emurelda]

Thank you.
Theoretical, of course. Asking for a neighbour's dog.

No probs, let us know how your friend's dog unleashes his debut game. Hope he/she find some good leads. It's a dog eat dog industry though.

 

[Jason Byrne]

No probs, let us know how your friend's dog unleashes his debut game. Hope he/she find some good leads. It's a dog eat dog industry though.

HAHAHAHA! Emu. You sly foo'.

 

[Emurelda]

HAHAHAHA! Emu. You sly foo'.

Stop hounding me!

 

[Jason Byrne]

Stop hounding me!

I wasn't-

Oh, I just got it. Hahaha!

 

[Emurelda]

As I am developing a new game I will try to keep this thread updated with the process. More specifically with contacts or at the very least company names.

The main issues are the bookends of the project (I call all my games 'a project'); funding the darn thing to get the idea out of my head and marketing it widely essentially getting it into other people's head. From one head to another .

 

[David Steele]

We were thinking very seriously about a collect - a - card game based on a mobile phone app a month ago. But it's already been done well, se we're on to the next big idea now (what ever that turns out to be)

 

[Emurelda]

We were thinking very seriously about a collect - a - card game based on a mobile phone app a month ago. But it's already been done well, se we're on to the next big idea now (what ever that turns out to be)

Well at the risk of sounding like I'm encouraging you..why give up on an idea? Couldn't yours have a special something that the current one doesn't? It might be aimed at a different market or a different take on something. So many products on the market surely there's room for more why else are people creating stuff all the time.

I'm trying to get something similar for science aimed at kids card game with virtual play. Darn hard to design but fun attempting it.

 

[David Steele]

To be honest the biggest detractor for me on that idea was the amount of artwork required. It would be significantly more than I was able to produce, in terms of volume at least. We would have to out-source the production and that would require overhead.
We're very interested in the idea of a territories game at the moment involving NFC tags which are set up in a playing area so that teams can effectively control a region by making contact with it. We feel it has a lot of potential for schools, but it will require all players having access to an NFC Android phone and not breaking them when they slip over in the mud...
I did consider putting a proposal together for Reebok / Adidas to sell the game as a one-off product using custom-designed bracelets, but it's not exactly easy to get their attention!

 

[Jason Byrne]

As I am developing a new game I will try to keep this thread updated with the process. More specifically with contacts or at the very least company names.

The main issues are the bookends of the project (I call all my games 'a project'); funding the darn thing to get the idea out of my head and marketing it widely essentially getting it into other people's head. From one head to another .

You just don't stop! You start to build success in one concept, and begin to germinate the next! That's how you know you'll continue to keep your forward momentum — you never sit back and say, "I'm done."