Blog
Harnessing Regret
I know this is a development newsletter, but stick with me for a moment, and let's please talk about an old friend I have had to discuss a lot with various clients over the last year: regret.
Pitch Template
A bit of a different post, and it took a bit longer to put together. I hope you'll all agree it's worth the wait: a ready-made pitch template, with the blessings of folks working at several indie studios of all sizes, and folks working at two dozen publishers.
The Publisher's Lie
There's one lie between game developers that has been repeated so often, so frequently, that it has now become all but truth. It is a simple lie: publishers fund indie games.
Milestones
In my consultancy I've received quite a few questions about how to set up your milestones for an optimal development cycle. Very frequently, these questions come from young producers, or producers moving into the games space from other industries - who are often taken aback by how different creative production
Upfronts, Guarantees, Recoups
Revenue share. It's a commonly asked question: what is a good revenue share? How do you navigate who gets what? And how much can & should you negotiate your revenue share?
Saplings
A few years ago, I noticed that most of my metaphors about game design mention trees. I didn’t think much of it at first – after all, why would my choice of words matter that much – then again, I routinely give talks on the importance of precise language both in representation & communication.
Prototypes & Vertical Slice
Most indies mix up the purpose of the Prototype and the Vertical Slice, and lose out on a lot of time and money in doing so.
Anti-Bullet-Points
I end up teaching one simple pitching trick often enough in consultancies that I'd thought I'd write about it: to ask yourself "would anyone ever claim the opposite"?
Marketing: A Plan For Beginners
There are two marketing-related questions I get at least once almost every week in consultancy calls: "how do I start marketing my game" and "when do I start marketing my game".
Min-maxing
People often think that running a business means "minimizing risk while maximizing opportunity". I don't think that's a smart way to run a business, and especially not if you're relatively new to entrepreneurship. I say: pick one.
