Merchant's Dilemma has gone through about a dozen play-throughs now (along with dozens of hours of thought), and is feeling pretty great for the most part. I may tweak a few things here and there for balance or interaction, but the core rules are essentially done in my mind. Of course I'll try to make it the best it can be in the coming weeks, but I figured it couldn't hurt starting to consider what I'll need when I'm ready to make this a real thing.
Derek mentioned TMG (Tasty Minstrel Games) as one option to consider, and I've seen their name elsewhere as well. Another thing that caught my eye is the FallCon Canadian Game Design Award in Calgary, though I'd have to shoot for 2017 if I wanted to get involved there.
In the meantime, though, a few questions for those of you who have gone through this process before.
- How do you approach a publishing company? I don't see a "Do you have a game idea" button on the TMG website, for example.
- What are publishing companies looking for to get the process started? A cursory glance tells me they'll want a complete set of rules at the very least, but should I be preparing a sheet of additional information as well? What should that contain?
- For that matter, how does the publishing process work? They like the initial look and ask for a copy of the game to try out?
- What kind of percentage should I be expecting to get from a project? I've heard rumours of about 5% - is that pretty typical for a company to offer?
- I understand that a company will essentially want to see a finished product, but is there anything a company will consider necessary? For example, how many playtests does a game need under its belt before it's even considered?
- Assuming a company takes a game on, they'll do all the art, all the formatting, and everything else, right? How much can a game change during this process? How much would I be involved in the process after agreeing to pass it off to them?
- Any other words of wisdom that I don't know to ask for?
Thanks for any feedback you guys can give me on this. To others considering publishing (either with a company or by yourself), feel free to hijack this thread with your own questions too!
Thanks!
Stardust
Derek mentioned TMG (Tasty Minstrel Games) as one option to consider, and I've seen their name elsewhere as well. Another thing that caught my eye is the FallCon Canadian Game Design Award in Calgary, though I'd have to shoot for 2017 if I wanted to get involved there.
In the meantime, though, a few questions for those of you who have gone through this process before.
- How do you approach a publishing company? I don't see a "Do you have a game idea" button on the TMG website, for example.
- What are publishing companies looking for to get the process started? A cursory glance tells me they'll want a complete set of rules at the very least, but should I be preparing a sheet of additional information as well? What should that contain?
- For that matter, how does the publishing process work? They like the initial look and ask for a copy of the game to try out?
- What kind of percentage should I be expecting to get from a project? I've heard rumours of about 5% - is that pretty typical for a company to offer?
- I understand that a company will essentially want to see a finished product, but is there anything a company will consider necessary? For example, how many playtests does a game need under its belt before it's even considered?
- Assuming a company takes a game on, they'll do all the art, all the formatting, and everything else, right? How much can a game change during this process? How much would I be involved in the process after agreeing to pass it off to them?
- Any other words of wisdom that I don't know to ask for?
Thanks for any feedback you guys can give me on this. To others considering publishing (either with a company or by yourself), feel free to hijack this thread with your own questions too!
Thanks!
Stardust