#45673 - funkaster - Mon Jun 13, 2005 6:38 pm
Is there any place where I can look at some info about the "commercial risk" of developing a new GBA game? I mean: units sold per continent, perhaps the number of games sold (estimate) per genre, how long does nintendo plan to support the GBA, etc...
I looked at www.warioworld.com, but there's no such information...
Or should I ask directly to NOA?
thanks!
#45680 - Miked0801 - Mon Jun 13, 2005 7:40 pm
You can try NOA, but unless you can prove to them your for real (capitol), they'll probably show you the door. Beyond that, I'd google. Sorry I can't help more...
#45683 - funkaster - Mon Jun 13, 2005 8:02 pm
| Miked0801 wrote: |
| You can try NOA, but unless you can prove to them your for real (capitol), they'll probably show you the door. Beyond that, I'd google. Sorry I can't help more... |
I'm going to represent a enterprise that's (could be) new to the game business, but it's old and have enough money to invest.
#45710 - tepples - Tue Jun 14, 2005 12:06 am
Prove your worth on the PC retail, PC downloadable, Palm OS, or Pocket PC platform, and Nintendo will talk to you.
_________________
-- Where is he?
-- Who?
-- You know, the human.
-- I think he moved to Tilwick.
#45730 - funkaster - Tue Jun 14, 2005 6:41 am
| tepples wrote: |
| Prove your worth on the PC retail, PC downloadable, Palm OS, or Pocket PC platform, and Nintendo will talk to you. |
So, you're saying that not even a mid-size business can develope an official game?
You have to be an old company in the videogame business to be considered by Nintendo?...
What about new companies? they should think in Nintendo after two or three best-seller games released?...
mmm... :-S
#45731 - funkaster - Tue Jun 14, 2005 7:02 am
Well, WarioWorld says it all :-(
| warioworld.com wrote: |
1) A detailed description of your company, including a summary of your software development experience, financial resources and stability and your industry leadership. This information should be in the form of a prospectus, business plan or summary statement;
2) A detailed introduction to your key personnel and developers setting forth any technical, managerial or sales experience that may be relevant;
3) A marketing plan for your proposed products, including targeted distribution channels, advertising commitments, consumer service resources, merchandising, etc.;
4) Any market study information on consumer demand for your proposed product which you may be relying on;
5) A written description of your proposed software product;
6) A complete summary and at least three samples of software programs you have previously developed and upon which you rely for establishing your technical know-how.
|
If Nintendo focus on points 3) and 6), perhaps a new company could be considered...
#46352 - cosmic4z - Thu Jun 23, 2005 3:34 pm
Why even bother approaching Nintendo in the first place?
Plenty of publishers and developers will be interested in you if you can create quality GBA games and you know what you're doing and have experience.
They will be registered with Nintendo to create games on GBA, so you won't need to be.
I guess it's a different story if you're wanting to publish the game youself though!
_________________
Qwak - www.qwak.co.uk | Forum - www.qwak.co.uk/forum/
#46353 - tepples - Thu Jun 23, 2005 3:35 pm
| cosmic4z wrote: |
| Plenty of publishers and developers will be interested in you if you can create quality GBA games and you know what you're doing and have experience. |
How can a recent university graduate gain such experience in this economy?
_________________
-- Where is he?
-- Who?
-- You know, the human.
-- I think he moved to Tilwick.
#46358 - cosmic4z - Thu Jun 23, 2005 5:21 pm
| tepples wrote: |
| cosmic4z wrote: | | Plenty of publishers and developers will be interested in you if you can create quality GBA games and you know what you're doing and have experience. |
How can a recent university graduate gain such experience in this economy? |
Hi tepples,
Where did recent university graduate come from? Is funkaster one?
Anyway ... I guess it comes down to stratagy.
Ensure you can survive on low income for a long period of time while you gain experiece developing games for yourself. Keep learning and gaining experience. Sacrificing short term benefits (like having a disposable income) for long term pay-offs.
Staying determined and focused on your long term goal but make sure you're also enjoying your time in the here and now.
That's what I think anyway.
In reality however ... I think anyone would find it a hard slog and have moments when they question the wisdom of the path they've chosen.
_________________
Qwak - www.qwak.co.uk | Forum - www.qwak.co.uk/forum/
#46469 - FourScience - Sat Jun 25, 2005 5:39 pm
| cosmic4z wrote: |
Anyway ... I guess it comes down to stratagy.
Ensure you can survive on low income for a long period of time while you gain experiece developing games for yourself. Keep learning and gaining experience. Sacrificing short term benefits (like having a disposable income) for long term pay-offs.
Staying determined and focused on your long term goal but make sure you're also enjoying your time in the here and now.
That's what I think anyway.
In reality however ... I think anyone would find it a hard slog and have moments when they question the wisdom of the path they've chosen. |
I'm in my last year of being a CS undergrad (finishing this Fall), and I've taken a good salaried position doing other software development and general IT work at a new company. In my free time I am advancing my game development skills. In a lot of ways my professional and hobbiest experiences are balancing each other out.
It is definitely easier to get a job and gain professional development experience in non-game dev areas. I highly recommend finding work if possible doing anything related to software development (or graphic design if you are an artist). You can work on your other projects in your free time. I have found that I probably want to stick with my present career path (I'm at a really good company) but I am still working on games because 1) they're fun, 2) it's great practice in low-level computing topics, and 3) you never know when you'll run into an open door at a good game company.
_________________
Work in progress: Dual-Soft.com
#46471 - tepples - Sat Jun 25, 2005 6:13 pm
| FourScience wrote: |
| I'm in my last year of being a CS undergrad (finishing this Fall), and I've taken a good salaried position doing other software development and general IT work at a new company. |
I get "Sorry, we went with another candidate" when applying for IT jobs. Heck, I get "Sorry, we went with another candidate" when applying for a position as a cashier in a home improvement store.
| Quote: |
| I highly recommend finding work if possible doing anything related to software development (or graphic design if you are an artist). You can work on your other projects in your free time. |
Unless the only employer that offers you a job requires an "all your IP are belong to us" clause in your employment contract.
_________________
-- Where is he?
-- Who?
-- You know, the human.
-- I think he moved to Tilwick.
#46481 - FourScience - Sat Jun 25, 2005 9:32 pm
| tepples wrote: |
I get "Sorry, we went with another candidate" when applying for IT jobs. Heck, I get "Sorry, we went with another candidate" when applying for a position as a cashier in a home improvement store. |
That blows, I wonder if it's an Indiana thing. Over here in Connecticut I have had my choice of jobs without much effort, and I have low grades at a public university, only network admin experience, but well-presented extracurriculars. I actually put one of my game projects on my resume, in addition to some other "fun" stuff; just listing all kinds of geeky things made me a shoe-in, I suppose.
| Quote: |
| Unless the only employer that offers you a job requires an "all your IP are belong to us" clause in your employment contract. |
That's illegal in some states. It's only reasonable that you sign over rights to the work you do that meets the following criteria:
1) On company time
2) With company resources
3) In an area of industry in which your company engages
IP laws and restrictions vary state-to-state, but no one should force you to sign over the rights to stuff you do in your free time, especially when it's unrelated to your company's business. I actually saw somethings at one interview that seemed questionable, and I made it clear that if I was hired I might need certain clauses of the IP agreement changed. Put your foot down on something like that and a smart manager will respect you. Don't work for the other kind.
That's too bad you've had less than receptive experiences. The other part about getting hired is how you find out about the job. I have never gone with newspaper listings, I only read them to gauge the hiring climate. I got my 2 of my last 3 jobs by meeting people by chance and seizing the opportunity to express my interest in their work. I'm not perfect, I also lost a few chances when I didn't present myself very well. I don't think you need to be well-networked either. I also got an offer that stemed from walking up to a company at a job fair, which placed me in a pool of about 50 interested persons. I noticed an A+ on my resume and it could only be from my extracurriculars, and I pointed my interview tactics on "being challenged" and "interesting work."
I have also tried professional organizations (ACM, IEEE, IGDA), and I haven't even been a member at some events, they still welcomed my attendance.
Oh, and as for getting turned down as a cashier, ouch. Over here you'd have to be really weird to NOT get a job in retail. I worked nights working backstock at Target one semester to pay the tuition. Truck unloading, climbing 15-ft ladders, lifting 80lb boxes off 20-ft stacks... Ugh. One of my greatest motivational experiences.
_________________
Work in progress: Dual-Soft.com
#46706 - sgeos - Wed Jun 29, 2005 7:06 am
| tepples wrote: |
| How can a recent university graduate gain such experience in this economy? |
Keeping making (free) demos and games? TOD is great, but a tetris clone alone is probably not enough.
| tepples wrote: |
| I get "Sorry, we went with another candidate" when applying for IT jobs. Heck, I get "Sorry, we went with another candidate" when applying for a position as a cashier in a home improvement store. |
That's how applying for a job goes. I hate job hunting. Holding a job is easy. Finding one is a royal pain. Potentially more effort is needed than holding a job, and it's unpaid!
(It's summer vaction soon, so I'll be out of work for a month and a half. I have to companies that I need to set interviews up with. Should have done it yesterday, but I'll probably do it tomorrow.)
| tepples wrote: |
| Unless the only employer that offers you a job requires an "all your IP are belong to us" clause in your employment contract. |
Read above post on this one. A relative of mine is very fussy about the contracts he signs, but then again, he can be. If this is your only offer, take the job because money and experience are good, but keep looking. I'm not sure that clause in enforceable. Chances are you can probably do your own thing in you free time and not worry about.
Is Robert Half Technologies anywhere in your area? I'm not sure how, but before I left for Japan a Robert Half recruiter managed to track me down. I signed up with the service and then left the country shortly after, so nothing came of it, but it might be worth a try.
They might have something in your area, but in general, to get a good salary you have to be willing to go where the money- ie relocate.
-Brendan
#46729 - tepples - Wed Jun 29, 2005 6:40 pm
| sgeos wrote: |
| TOD is great, but a tetris clone alone is probably not enough. |
More is coming. Luminesweeper is a more ambitious project, involving other artists. Or do you mean something other than a falling block game? If so, what genres should I explore?
No. Indianapolis is two hours away by car, and I don't know how to drive, instead relying on my bike and the city bus system.
| sgeos wrote: |
| but in general, to get a good salary you have to be willing to go where the money- ie relocate. |
If I'm five figures USD deep in student loan debt, how can I afford to relocate?
_________________
-- Where is he?
-- Who?
-- You know, the human.
-- I think he moved to Tilwick.
#46965 - Abscissa - Sat Jul 02, 2005 6:27 pm
| tepples wrote: |
| If I'm five figures USD deep in student loan debt, how can I afford to relocate? |
Heheh, I'm close to six figures...
:(
#46993 - poslundc - Sun Jul 03, 2005 4:41 am
Patience and persistence count for a lot. I was nearly a year out of university before I succeeded in finding anything, and anything turned out to be an IT job at a dating website in a different country.
And that was with a professional engineering degree, the thing which I had been told would be my golden ticket when I first signed onto the programme.
I had lots of near-misses with some really cool companies and I verged on despair many times before my luck finally changed for the better. The best you can do is keep at it, and be willing to make compromises... not forever, but until you can afford to do otherwise.
And yes, get a job, even if it isn't your dream job. Opportunity comes far more readily and easier when you are already employed.
Dan.
#47113 - sgeos - Tue Jul 05, 2005 10:25 am
| tepples wrote: |
| More is coming. Luminesweeper is a more ambitious project, involving other artists. Or do you mean something other than a falling block game? If so, what genres should I explore? |
Anything. Try a simple platformer. Try a simple zelda style game. Forget graphics if you can't find an artist. You can always add art later- pilfer or use solid colored blocks or simple shapes. Think of it this way... do you think it will be easier to find a job if A) you specialize in (falling) block games, or B) you have proven that you can do a bunch of different game types.
| sgeos wrote: |
| No. Indianapolis is two hours away by car, and I don't know how to drive, instead relying on my bike and the city bus system. |
Harsh. That sounds like quite the bike ride.
Can you sign up with Robert Half on line? You'll need to show up once for an in person interview, but after that it's a matter of waiting (hoping) for a placement. I'm not too impressed with job introduction services and temp agencies, but it's better than nothing. If you are unemployed and living with your parents, it's possible that they'll drive you to Indianapolis if it might mean a job. I have not met them, so I don't know, but it's worth asking.
| sgeos wrote: |
| but in general, to get a good salary you have to be willing to go where the money- ie relocate. |
If I'm five figures USD deep in student loan debt, how can I afford to relocate?[/quote]
If unemployed how can you afford not to? If you are lucky the company will pay for you to relocate. If not, I think your first month will cost something like:
2 * rent (first and last month) + greyhound_ticket + food * 30 (days) + misc (suitcase, if you don't have one, etc)
I don't know what those figures will run. You might need to borrow the money before you move, but chances are, you can pay off the expenses of moving after one or two months of working. After that it's money in your pocket, or toward you student loans or whatever.
-Brendan