SunSword's Edge

I often consider going off and starting my own project one day in the future (what game developer doesn’t?), but this is a damned hard industry to break into. That’s why I’m constantly surprised and reassured by the number of indie projects out there, particularly in the online field. On the other hand, I’m relatively dismayed by the number of those projects that are fundamentally flawed from the get go. How do these projects get 3 years into the making, with millions of dollars blown, and be so totally broken?

Projects that I have to reject usually fall into one of the following categories:

1. kookie idea+poor execution or


2. Slightly off-target idea+poor execution


3. reasonable project just not right for our publishing portfolio

Let's start with #1: kookie idea+poor execution

It might seem like this is two categories, but only on the rarest occasion have I run into "kookie idea with great execution." Generally, I get an email or voicemail that says “We’ve got this great idea with “Project X!” We have a playable demo and we’d like you to check it out.” 45 minutes later, having downloaded the game, installed the demo, I’m scratching my head thinking, “WTF? Who thought a Massively Multiplayer Parallax Side-scroller featuring bikini-clad amazons who strive to build monuments to Zartoid the Almighty by creating 10 trillion clam pies was a good idea? And more importantly, how did they get it funded to the point of a playable (almost) demo???”

A phone call or email later and I have to deliver the bad news. I suppose I don’t even really have to respond to all of these pitches. But I figure if you’ve got a team of 40 people, you’ve spent three years on your game and run out of money, the least I can do is call you up and find out what you’re thinking. Maybe I’m missing something. Usually not…

#2 Slightly off-target idea+poor execution

This is another common one. Perhaps the game isn't such a bad idea. It's a fresh idea in the me-too wasteland of Fantasy MMORPGs. With a little sheparding, perhaps they could change a thing here or two about the concept and it would be a great idea. But they've been working on the game for SEVEN years and it looks like it should have shipped 5 years ago. Oh, and it crashes constantly, there are obvious bugs all over the place and it runs at 10 frames a second on my monster machine. AND they only need $3.5 Million and 18 months to finish...

Finally, and perhaps hardest of all. #3 A good idea/solid development, but it's just not right for the portfolio. Happy to point them to another publisher and put in a good word, wish I could help them finish. Hate to let a good game slip buy, but as a publisher, having the right projects in the right cadence is essential.

Anyway, I've had to say "no" a lot in the last year. And I thought I'd just share the fact that it really is the toughest thing I have to do, even if it's transparent to most people around me and particularly to players.

I just hope after I get done saying "yes" to this next project, I'll have the opportunity to say it a lot more to many more teams.