UpdraftKyp Posted September 7, 2004 Share Posted September 7, 2004 For all who've read my profile, you know that I'm trying to start out a new game developer, Updraft Entertainment, and hope to get my greedy little hands on the D&D liscense (spl? ) I am already early in the planning stages for it (for details, the Project Seradu site will be upand running with a link from my homepage soon) and I was wondering the possibilities of me getting the liscense i want..(slim, huh?) anyways, anyone who can help guide me in the right dirction please... MKS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gorth Posted September 7, 2004 Share Posted September 7, 2004 Erhh, not quite sure. But having a track record of skills with D&D stuff might be beneficial and you sort of need to submit something to Atari (being the current license holder for D&D computer games) to evaluate and decide whether or not Atari want's to publish your stuff. If not, then you need a significant million $ amount in your bank account to purchase the rights from Atari But then again, like I said, I'm not quite sure about all the details. “He who joyfully marches to music in rank and file has already earned my contempt. He has been given a large brain by mistake, since for him the spinal cord would surely suffice.” - Albert Einstein Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nik_bg Posted September 8, 2004 Share Posted September 8, 2004 The most important for a business are the clients. In game industry the client in fact is the publisher. When you have idea about a game, the most important is to find a publisher. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UpdraftKyp Posted September 8, 2004 Author Share Posted September 8, 2004 Yes, i agree, but my difficulty lies in figuring out how to get that client, because until i do, i wont have the resources at my disposal to do anything for my plans.... well im going to go and work on the Project Seradu Page. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UpdraftKyp Posted September 8, 2004 Author Share Posted September 8, 2004 I would love more insight eccspecially from Devs..but I want anybody's help... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TentamusDarkblade Posted September 8, 2004 Share Posted September 8, 2004 do you have experience in the game industry? Have you worked on any shipped titles, in any genre? Do you have any Pen and Paper game writing experience? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UpdraftKyp Posted September 9, 2004 Author Share Posted September 9, 2004 do you have experience in the game industry? Have you worked on any shipped titles, in any genre? Do you have any Pen and Paper game writing experience? <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I'm gunna have to say; No, No, and Yes, but only with friends... But I do understand writing, programming, some animations, controls, how to plan well, organization, leadership, and what the CRPRer of today wants; and i think that with the proper budget and if i hire the right people, i think it will be possible Well if the good people at Obsidian were to, you know, nudge the people at Atari to take my submission, and think about it... I'd love to use the new suped up version of the Aurura engine that Obsidian is making, though i'd have to have a few minor modifications... but newayz.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EnderAndrew Posted September 9, 2004 Share Posted September 9, 2004 Here's my suggestion for what it's worth. Put together a D20 supplement and try to publish it. Put together a small mod for an existing cRPG. Use that as a stepping stone towards developing a new cRPG. Look in communities like www.sourceforge.net for programmers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UpdraftKyp Posted September 9, 2004 Author Share Posted September 9, 2004 That sounds pretty cool...but I'm still going to continue my planning... Hum Didee Dum Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TentamusDarkblade Posted September 9, 2004 Share Posted September 9, 2004 I'd recommend that you get a job working as an intern with a local game studio or get a job doing QA work. You honestly need to see how the game industry works before you get too into your project. Also, Ender's right. You should try to get a mod done first. It's good practice for your team, to see where your strengths lie and it also shows that you have teh planning and managerial ability to pull your team together to actually create something. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UpdraftKyp Posted September 9, 2004 Author Share Posted September 9, 2004 good idea, i think i'll have my team work on a neat mod trying to show the Sheneflo Peninsula using the Aurora Toolset, and a fun little one useing the Unreal Engine that is essentially a first person crossbowman experience....but i will still continue my planning on Project Seradu (Web site is started for it, just is from a link on my homepage) How much do normal games cost to develop? How much is the NWN 2 Development cost? How much would it cost to lisence the NWN 1 or 2 Engines? all just questions that popped into my mind... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TentamusDarkblade Posted September 9, 2004 Share Posted September 9, 2004 How much do normal games cost to develop? define normal. A game like Fable cost upwards around a couple million to produce. The games from Spiderweb Software probably cost a fraction of that. There's a pretty big range on what kind of cash you'r going to spend in producing a game. How much is the NWN 2 Development cost?Unknown, but i'm pretty sure that it's gonna cost a pretty penny. How much would it cost to lisence the NWN 1 or 2 Engines? That depends on if Bioware is planning on allowing outside developers to use their engine. Engines, depending on quality and freshness, range anywhere from Free to the 100k mark. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UpdraftKyp Posted September 9, 2004 Author Share Posted September 9, 2004 Normal as in Neverwinter Nights and Morrowind..i dont mean the Spiderweb esque games... i mean with normal graphics for today's awesome RPG B) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grandpa Posted September 9, 2004 Share Posted September 9, 2004 I have a few recommendations/comments/etc, though I'm no dev. 1. Not to offend...Lose the Tripod site. Nothing says 13 year old fan-boy wannabe like a freebie from Tripod. That and their popups/unders are flippin' annoying. For $7.95 a month (one year min in advance) you can get unlimited bandwidth, your own domain name, etc from a "real" web host. The one I have used in the past allowed for scripting in all of the latest formats you could hope to use on your site, and provided both FTP and HTTP up/down. And 30+ email accounts with your domain name. 2. To get your hands on a license (legally) for an existing engine could cost upwards of $1mil per. (Depending on the engine, it's age, and who owns it). Or you could develop you own, which requires time time and more time, and some semblence of skill. You may have that skill, I'm not saying you don't. I sure as heck don't, though....should have studied harder I guess... Some of the older ones are darn near free, but the tech is obviously a bit older. There is a conglomorate of amature developers somewhere on the net that provide a reasonably attractive engine for next to nothing, and they'll host demos and web sites for your game as well...all for a small piece of the pie. I forget what they're called, but it was only like a couple months ago I read about them in one of the rags and visited their web site. Some of the younf people there were making some pretty awesome games. 3. If you have the skills and the time, work for yourself. I know that many people would tell you to go to work as an intern and work your way up, and that's good for some people, but when you look at the list of names in the credits and realize you recognize one, maybe two names, you begin to realize just how many pawns there are in this (and any other) industry. The choice is yours. If it were me, and I was code monkey, I would give it a whirl in my off/spare time. The problem with doing such while working for a developer is that they can claim intellectual property rights to anything you create while in their employ; on or off duty. Can...not to mean they will, but the precedence is there, and it is usually written into your employment contract. (The wife is an HR manager with bucket loads of experience in contractual HR laws). 4. If you are going to go independant, then you will need to come up with something relatively new, or resurrect a once popular demon. The reason being is any D&D-esque title you create will be compared to the biggest titles of the time. A sort-of-like game would sit much better in the minds of the writers and reviewers, from what I've read of reviewers checking out independant houses. And come from no where. Example: Despite some nit-picking save issues, FarCry came out of nowhere with a sort-of-like format and knocked everyone's socks off. Reviewers were like "Crytek who??" Now look at them. Everyone wants to know what they've got planned next. 5. Never, ever, and I mean EVER let anyone tell you that "you can't" or "you will never be able to". If you want it to happen, and you put your mind to seeing it through, you can make just about anything happen. If it carries on for the rest of your working life, excellent, but if it doesn't you won't be sitting on your death bed years from now wishing you had tried. And that's all my 2 cents on this anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UpdraftKyp Posted September 9, 2004 Author Share Posted September 9, 2004 Thank you Grandpa, and I'm actually in the process of working up the funds to purchase and build such a webpage... and i like all your ideas, save the fact that I am still going to get my team to build a couple of mods first, as given the idea from others, just to give them some experience (as im the most experienced with game and programming of the lot) I wonder if you wouldn't mind helping me find a good webhost, for I've actually been trying (though rathr unfruitifully) to learn Dreamweaver, my cousin (member of the team) is rather skilled with it (supposedley)...so we'll se wat happens ther once i get the funding as i am trying to save up to buy myself a nice car....you know the drill...tranportation comes before amatuer bussiness... but newayz..back to work... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TentamusDarkblade Posted September 9, 2004 Share Posted September 9, 2004 Game Developer Network Gamasutra Total Gaming Network these sites should provide some more information for ya. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UpdraftKyp Posted September 9, 2004 Author Share Posted September 9, 2004 thanx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UpdraftKyp Posted September 10, 2004 Author Share Posted September 10, 2004 anyone good at dreamweaver? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aaron Contreras Posted September 10, 2004 Share Posted September 10, 2004 anyone good at dreamweaver? <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Your expectations and goals sound a little unrealistic, especially if you are asking for help with an HTML editor. Take your time, go to college, meet a girl/boy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TentamusDarkblade Posted September 10, 2004 Share Posted September 10, 2004 you've got the right passion, but you don't have even the rudimentary knowledge you're going to need. Make a mod or too, create a super basic game like light cycles or space invaders, get a job with a game company...any of these things would offer you a huge step forward. There are always spots open for scripting interns and level design interns at game studios around my area, so i'm pretty sure you could find one around yours. I've been in the game industry as a QA tester on both the publisher and development side for 3 years. I'll be moving to design at the end of this year. Everyday i learn something new about the industry and i know i'll continue learning more as i go along. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guaigean Posted September 10, 2004 Share Posted September 10, 2004 Ok, well, I know what I could lend you of knowledge from my studies. (Which are continuing). First, learn code from the ground up, and that means losing the GUI generators like Dreamweaver/Visual Studio. They'll help a lot once you know the basics, but they can obscure a lot that you will need to know. Secondly, if you're seriously wanting to get into 3d games, I'd suggest a course in Linear Algebra and Calculus based Physics if you haven't already taken these. Granted I'm not a fully employed game programmer yet, but I've already seen the benefits in my personal projects. And maybe send your artists through a course on Maya or 3dStudio Max. Lastly, maintain focus. Serious programming ventures cannot and should not be taken lightly. They will not happen overnight, so don't expect them too. As long as you understand that it will be a long process, and you are willing to put in for the long haul, you may do just fine. Good luck, as I fully understand the task you are undertaking. I'm also in the works of developing an indepedent game, and so I empathize greatly with you. Hopefully it works out for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UpdraftKyp Posted September 11, 2004 Author Share Posted September 11, 2004 Now just because i do not know html does not mean i and programming deficient..i am a master at visual basic, not too great an accomplishment i kno, and i am on thwe road to mastering C++, but guess what...im not the guy who programs anymore...im the designer dude...but like grandpa (the poster not my actual grandpa) said, im not going to let any somments get me down... -se im smiling Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guaigean Posted September 11, 2004 Share Posted September 11, 2004 Wasn't meant to get ya down, was honest suggestions. If you aren't coding anymore, then maybe they could help your coder. Maybe ya missed the point where I wished ya good luck and hope ya do well... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TentamusDarkblade Posted September 11, 2004 Share Posted September 11, 2004 well, if your leading a project...you've just stopped being a designer and have become a producer. First step you should work on is how you project yourself to others. Slow down, take time to spell and form your sentances. Stop using shorthand netspeak like "neways", just say "Anyway". I still stand by saying that you should intern at a game studio first, but if you're still gun-ho then go look at the Totally Gaming Network link i posted before. They offer free engines and offer publishing solutions to small, independent studios. You should be able to get some of the tools you'll need there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UpdraftKyp Posted September 11, 2004 Author Share Posted September 11, 2004 I apologize for my misuse of the grammactical skills I have gained on the internet. I am going to use those links, but by any chance do any of them have a link to a graphics engine? Anyways, I'm going to continue on my design ideas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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