I have a game idea

['Press Start']

As the title says I have a game idea but:-

• I can't draw
• I can't program

It's simply it just the idea, the seed from which everything else grows. How do I go about pitching it to a house and how do I ensure they don't say F off then make the game?

BTW it would be an iphone/touch game.

[Flabio]

Hardly any developers take outside game concept pitchs anymore, they're a bit of a legal minefield.

['Press Start']

What about Apple themselves? what if the game used technology only found in the touch and iPhone? Assuring sales of the hardware as well as the game?

[Flabio]

I'm not aware of Apple having released ANY games on the iPhone.

Find some friends and make it, basically.

[Kaido]

I'll be the first to hold my hand up and say we tried to build an ntsc game but failed because, unfortunately, we (possibly the royal we) didnt have enough developer hours to put in.

A game requires a large amount of unpaid hours put in by a competent developer, or a large financial risk paying developers, testers, marketing, etc. i think something like 'angry birds' can be built on an open source engine in three full weeks because it doesn't contain much functionality that wasn't already in the engine. (15 man days = £4,500)

I'd say to work out whether you are technical enough to learn how to program yourself, (in which case a simple game you feel passionate about is a great personal project, but bear in mind that android, windows, blackberry and iOS are all different skillsets) or whether you have the marketing skills to sell the idea to someone with the money to risk (or of course the money yourself to pay for the development etc)

EDIT: If you're going to try marketing you can write the idea up, recorded post the idea to yourself and keep the sealed envelope as a legally viable record of the idea being yours on this date, should you feel the need to sue someone for copyright infringement at a later date

['Press Start']

I'll be the first to hold my hand up and say we tried to build an ntsc game but failed because, unfortunately, we (possibly the royal we) didnt have enough developer hours to put in.

A game requires a large amount of unpaid hours put in by a competent developer, or a large financial risk paying developers, testers, marketing, etc. i think something like 'angry birds' can be built on an open source engine in three full weeks because it doesn't contain much functionality that wasn't already in the engine. (15 man days = £4,500)

I'd say to work out whether you are technical enough to learn how to program yourself, (in which case a simple game you feel passionate about is a great personal project, but bear in mind that android, windows, blackberry and iOS are all different skillsets) or whether you have the marketing skills to sell the idea to someone with the money to risk (or of course the money yourself to pay for the development etc)

EDIT: If you're going to try marketing you can write the idea up, recorded post the idea to yourself and keep the sealed envelope as a legally viable record of the idea being yours on this date, should you feel the need to sue someone for copyright infringement at a later date

Thank you for the advice. I never realised posting yourself something could act as a copyright. My idea is very simple....I think. The idea could easily be made an app that is not game related too. I guess I need to investigate iOS programming.

PS: What is open source? a free programming engine that works on any operating system? (I realise I could google it but I like speaking to people on here!)

[Kaido]

Yeah there are some engines (someone mentioned the unreal engine UDK on here the other day) that are free to use under some legal restrictions. Also most programming languages are free to use and have free editors available, although iOS can only be developed on an apple and requires a few more quid to get onto the store. You could take a look at XNA using C# (although it runs on the xbox its poorly supported by msft) or another common language like Java and see what you can learn.

[egparadigm]

There's an interesting article in EDGE this month about the new Net Yaroze program from Sony in Japan. It's called PS Camp. Unlike the original Net Yaroze or XBLIG it doesn't require any programming skills from the originators. They just turn up and pitch the idea to Sony and then get an external developer to come in and help them realise their concept. The prototypes are then judged under various categories and a selection is made and they go into full production.

Don't think there's anything quite like that in the west, but it's a great program and Sony should be applauded for reaching out in this way.

[Kaido]

Do sony pay for the prototype development? That sounds like a very good deal, as developers are not the most imaginitive of people

[GluedOnBeard]

I posted about the UDK just the other day as someone mentioned. Given it now has iOS support and you can develop it without needing a mac up until testing and submission. You can make a game entirely using kismet and not know a shred of programming, buuut that depends on what you are trying to achieve. You may have to use bits of Unreal Script which is not too easy and there is a steep learning curve on the engine itself.

I am starting a game myself right now in it, just in the planning stages but feel some things will be really easy to achieve with the engine and should look graphically sound too. I will fall down on character models though as I simply can do anything but people!

I would have mentioned the likes of Unity too but that costs.

Good luck either way!

[Kaido]

I've seen theres rumours of android support coming too, which would make it a great platform for a commercially viable game

[Sketcz]

It's simply it just the idea, the seed from which everything else grows.

No offence, but ideas a dime a dozen-squared. Even if you could draw and program and made a prototype on PC or any platform, there's no guarantee you'd be able to finish it and find a publisher for some kind of iDevice.

Your best hope would be to make a complete game for PC, release it for free and then wait as no one pays attention. I say this an unpublished book author and maker of incredibly ****ty homebrew games.

No one in the big world cares about what the little guy does. It's all about name recognition. The rare exceptions like Cave Story and a few games on iDevices, are indeed the rare exceptions which give people false hope that anything they do can be noticed or become worthwhile. Save yourself the heartache and lock all your creativity away in a box, use whiskey to numb the urges, and settle down in your role as a consumer and worker drone.

Not that I'm a bitter, resentful, hate filled bastard or anything.

[toythatkills]

"I failed, so will you!"

[Sketcz]

"I failed, so will you!"

In the unlikely event I ever have kids, I'm going to drum that mantra into them from before they can walk.

In truth I never wanted to make successful games, but the book publishing world has taught me never to trust anyone involved in anything. From what I've seen first-hand the games industry is as bad if not worse.

[GluedOnBeard]

It is pretty bad but at the same time if you have a good idea and people like it, then why can't you have a bit of your own success? I agree mainstream yes but things like iOS it is down to you to get it out there and get noticed non? I know not if but when I finish mine I will post it everywhere I can think of and get people trying it out, a demo for free on there also helps. I think the first UDK game on iOS did this and it was done fairly well.