Table Of Content

GameMarketGuide-00Fnt 8/11/03 4:06 PM Page 1 Game Developer’s Market Guide Edited by Bob Bates GameMarketGuide-00Fnt 8/11/03 4:06 PM Page 2 © 2003 by Premier Press, a division of Course Technology. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage or retrieval system without written permission from Premier Press, except for the inclusion of brief quotations in a review. The Premier Press logo and related trade dress are trademarks of Premier Press and may not be used without written permission. SVP, Retail Strategic Market Group: Andy Shafran Publisher:Stacy L. Hiquet Senior Marketing Manager:Sarah O’Donnell Marketing Manager: Heather Hurley Manager of Editorial Services:Heather Talbot Acquisitions Editor:Mitzi Koontz Associate Marketing Manager:Kristin Eisenzopf Retail Market Coordinator:Sarah Dubois Listings Editor:Don Prues Copy Editor: Tara Horton Interior Layout:Bill Hartman Cover Designer:Mike Tanamachi Indexer: Sharon Shock All trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Important:Premier Press cannot provide software support. Please contact the appropriate software manufacturer’s technical support line or Web site for assistance. Premier Press and the authors have attempted throughout this book to distinguish proprietary trademarks from descriptive terms by following the capitalization style used by the manufacturer. Information contained in this book has been obtained by Premier Press from sources believed to be reliable. However, because of the possibility of human or mechanical error by our sources, Premier Press, or others, the Publisher does not guarantee the accuracy, adequacy, or completeness of any information and is not responsible for any errors or omissions or the results obtained from use of such information. Readers should be particularly aware of the fact that the Internet is an ever- changing entity. Some facts may have changed since this book went to press. Inclusion in this book does not indicate endorsement of an entity by the publisher. Exclusion or omission of an entity is at the request of an entity or its representative. ISBN: 1-59200-104-1 Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 2003105367 Printed in the United States of America 03 04 05 06 07 BH 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Premier Press, a division of Course Technology 25 Thomson Place Boston, MA 02210 GameMarketGuide-00Fnt 8/11/03 4:06 PM Page 3 About the Editor Bob Bates BOB BATES began his game writing career at Infocom in 1986. Since then he has written, co-designed, produced, or otherwise assisted the development of more than 25 games that have won over 40 industry awards, most notably the 1993 Adventure Game of the Year Eric The Unready, and most recently Unreal II: The Awakening. In 1989, he co-founded Legend Entertainment, where he is still an active designer and Studio Head. Bob is a frequent speaker at industry conferences, the co-founder of the Game Designers Workshop (an annual conference of storytelling game designers), and he is also the author of the industry’s best-selling book on game development, entitled Game Design: The Art and Business of Creating Games, published by Premier Press. Acknowledgments M y thanks go to Mitzi Koontz, Emi Smith, and Stacy Hiquet at Premier Press, who dreamed up this project and shepherded it through to its conclusion. I also want to acknowledge Don Prues, my co-editor, for undertaking the Herculean task of assembling the listings. Finally, I have to thank my family—Peggy, Alex, and Malia—for loaning me out on writing projects. —Bob Bates GameMarketGuide-00Fnt 8/11/03 4:06 PM Page 4 About the Listings Editor Don Prues DON PRUES is a freelance writer and editor. He is the co-author (with Jack Heffron) of The Writer’s Guide to Places (Writer’s Digest Books, 2002) and (with Jack Neff) of Formatting and Submitting Your Manuscript (Writer’s Digest Books, 1999). For several years Don also was editor of Guide to Literary Agents and assistant editor of Writer’s Market. Acknowledgments I would first like to thank Andy Shafran for offering me this assignment and for putting his trust in me to complete this book on time. My thanks also go to the crew at Premier Press who’ve helped me in ways large and small: Kristin Eisenzopf, Stacy Hiquet, Heather Hurley, Emi Smith, Heather Talbot, and Kristin Viera. I owe a special thanks to Premier’s Mitzi Koontz and Mark Garvey; both editors were soundboards all along the way and provided much needed guidance. I also want to thank Bill Hartman for his production work, Sharon Shock for the indexing, and Ron Dunlevy for setting up and maintaining our web server. Simon Toner, publisher of GameDaily, was a lifesaver when I needed to track down some necessary people in the industry—he found their contact information when I needed it. Of course, my co-editor Bob Bates gathered the best people in the business to write the articles and he made several helpful suggestions to the book at large. Thanks, Bob. I owe my wife, Jennifer Lile, a big hug for putting up with my mental and physical absence while working on this book. And last, but definitely not least, I am indebted to Tara Horton for helping me throughout this book, from researching to copy editing to formatting to proofing to phone calling—she did it all, and I am so grateful for her invaluable assistance. —Don Prues GameMarketGuide-00Fnt 8/11/03 4:06 PM Page 5 About the Contributors DAVE ASTLE received his bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from the University of Utah, where he specialized in graphics, artificial intelligence, network- ing, and compiler theory and design. He has been programming games profession- ally for several years, and is currently a senior engineer in the Gaming and Graphics group at Qualcomm Inc. He is the co-founder and Executive Producer of GameDev.net, the leading online community for game developers. He is the co- author of OpenGL Game Programming, has contributed to several other game development books, and has spoken at industry conferences, including the Game Developers Conference. When not absorbing radiation from his monitor, Dave enjoys music, reading, skating, collecting rhinos (not real ones… yet), and playing with his five kids. He lives in San Diego, California. NOAH FALSTEIN is the President of The Inspiracy (www.theinspiracy.com), a consult- ing firm specializing in game design and production. Since 1980, Falstein has been designing and managing entertainment and educational software for companies such as Williams Electronics, LucasArts Entertainment, The 3DO Company, and Dreamworks Interactive, and has worked on everything from toys to CD-ROM games to edutainment to motion simulators. He is also the game design columnist for Game Developer magazine, judge for various award programs, and the former Chairman of the CGDA. The Inspiracy does original design, tutorials, and design review for both established game companies and those looking to apply game design technique to education and corporate training. KENN HOEKSTRA has a Bachelor of Science degree in English from the University of Wisconsin–Whitewater. He has designed 3D game levels for Raven Software’s Take No Prisoners, Hexen II: Portal of Praevus, HexenWorld, and Soldier of Fortune: Gold Edition. He has served as Project Administrator for Heretic II, Soldier of Fortune, Star Trek: Voyager–Elite Force, the Elite Force Expansion Pack, Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast, and Soldier of Fortune II: Double Helix. Kenn has written several game manuals, the official Soldier of Fortune Strategy Guide, the screenplay for Soldier of Fortune II: Double Helix, and has published several articles on the games industry. He is currently working on Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy, Quake IV, and X-Men: Legends. Kenn lives in Madison, Wisconsin, with his wife, Michele, and his Jack Russell Terrier, Toby. GameMarketGuide-00Fnt 8/11/03 4:06 PM Page 6 6 About the Contributors The infamous FRANÇOIS DOMINIC LARAMÉE, of Montréal, Québec, has been plaguing the game industry for over a decade. As a programmer, designer, producer, studio executive, and writer, he claims over 20 published game credits of dubious value. He is also the editor and principal author of two game development books, Game Design Perspectives and Secrets of the Game Business, and has published over 80 articles in a variety of print and web markets. When he isn’t busy trying to eke out a mar- ginal living as a freelance game developer, he moonlights as a comedy writer and collects graduate degrees in computer science and business administration. A specialist in game industry careers, MARC MENCHER has helped thousands of job seekers land jobs with the hottest gaming companies, and is the author of Get in the Game! Careers in the Game Industry. Before joining GameRecruiter.com, he worked for game companies such as Spectrum Holobyte, Microprose, and 3DO. Marc served as President of the International Game Developers Network, then as an advising board member for the following year. He is a regular speaker at International Game Developers Association (IGDA) events around the country, and was a featured panelist at E3 2002. His articles have been featured in GIGnews.com, Gamasutra, and GameWEEK. Currently, he is working with the IGDA on chapter development and with Games-Florida, a non-profit organization formed to assist the interactive multimedia industry in the state of Florida. STEVE MERETZKY has been a game designer since he wrote Planetfall for Infocom in 1983. He has since designed nearly 20 games, working for companies including Legend, Activision, Disney, Hasbro, and THQ, and working on games as diverse as Zork Zero, Yahtzee, Sinistar Unleashed, and Superhero League of Hoboken. He is currently Creative Content Director for WorldWinner.com, a unique site where players can play games of skill in tournaments for cash prizes. Steve was a charter member of the International Game Developers Association, and served on its Board of Directors for two years. Steve went to MIT, where he majored in late-night Hearts. He currently lives in the Boston area, with his wife and two children (who he tries to keep as far away from computer games as possible, with no noticeable success). As Program Director of International Game Developers Association (IGDA), JASON DELLA ROCCA oversees the day-to-day running of the IGDA giving particular focus to outreach efforts and member programs and working to build a unified game development community and provide a common voice for the development industry. Jason and the IGDA deal with such diverse topics as the education of the next GameMarketGuide-00Fnt 8/11/03 4:06 PM Page 7 About the Contributors 7 generation of game developers, dealing with the concern over violence in games, diminishing the impact of exploitative software patents, and working to attract more women and diverse cultures to game development. Jason also oversees the running of the Game Developers Choice Awards, an annual industry event that rec- ognizes and rewards outstanding achievement within the game development community. Jason has been a member of the game development community for many years, and has spent time at Matrox Graphics, Quazal, and Silicon Graphics. Jason can be reached at [email protected]. ASHLEY SALISBURY is an attorney who has worked for some of the interactive industry’s biggest names and properties. After graduating Harvard Law School, she worked in McKinsey & Co.’s organization design practice before starting a consult- ing firm providing product development, business strategy, and legal services to clients, including Intel and Univision.com. She has produced multi-million dollar software entertainment projects and has lectured to film producers and television network programming executives on leveraging brands in digital media. Before co-founding Powerhead Games, JASON SCHREIBER was most recently senior producer at GT Interactive Software where he was responsible for managing the Unreal franchise, Wheel Of Time, and the New York product development depart- ment. Before joining GTIS, Jason worked at Acclaim Entertainment, Hi Tech Entertainment, and Simon & Schuster (1987!). JOHNNY LEE WILSON earned his Ph.D. in Old Testament Studies from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in 1981. He joined the staff of Computer Gaming World in 1986 and served as editor and editor-in-chief for over a decade. He is author or co-author of a number of books including: The SimCity Planning Commission Handbook, The SimEarth Bible, Sid Meier’s Civilization or Rome on 640K a Day, Civilization: Call to Power, and High Score: The Illustrated History of Electronic Games. Dr. Wilson is president of Paizo Publishing, LLC, publisher of Dragon, Dungeon/Polyhedron, and Star Wars Insider magazines, and a member of the board of directors for Turbine Entertainment, developers of Asheron’s Call, a new Middle Earth online game and the Dungeons & Dragons online game. He lives in Bellevue, Washington. GameMarketGuide-00Fnt 8/11/03 4:06 PM Page 8 Contents at a Glance Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xii Section I Articles about the Industry. . . . . . . . . 1 The Business Side . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Breaking into the Game Business . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Getting a Job in the Game Industry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 That First Assignment:How We Did It . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 Before You Go Freelance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 The Freelancing Life . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63 The Pros and Cons of Using an Agent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77 Working with a Recruiter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89 The Game Developer’s Bookshelf . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97 The International Game Developers Association . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115 IGDA Curriculum Framework—The Study of Games and Game Development . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125 Your Design in Computer Game History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133 Understanding and Negotiating Contracts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149 Intellectual Property Laws . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175 GameMarketGuide-00Fnt 8/11/03 4:07 PM Page 9 Contents at a Glance 9 Section II The Companies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201 Publishers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203 Developers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 259 Contractors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 501 Distributors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 575 Game Recruiters and Agents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 597 Schools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 627 Industry Events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 675 Section III Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 691 Organizations of Interest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 693 Websites and Magazines of Interest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 697 Index. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 707