Game Design Business: Getting Publisher Attention

Dr. Lewis Pulsipher

Pulsiphergames.comCopyright 2013 Lewis Pulsipher

April 19, 2023

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

http://pulsipher.net/teaching1.htm 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 email – 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 12-18 months ahead

Boardgame Developers

Many publishers will assign a developer to modify your game

You don’t control your own game!– My experiences –see

http://www.pulsipher.net/gamedesign/developers.htm

– See also http://www.pulsipher.net/gamedesign/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?