Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!van-bc!root
From: bhenning@bhami.vnet.van-bc.UUCP (Bill Henning)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga
Subject: Questions, questions...
Message-ID: <1633@van-bc.UUCP>
Date: 19 Dec 87 01:50:19 GMT
Sender: root@van-bc.UUCP
Lines: 56

Hello comp.sys.amiga

   I  have  a couple of questions that I am hoping some of you may be able to
help me with.  If you can help, please send me e-mail, and I'll summarize the
respones if there is sufficient interest.
   Basically,  I  would  like  some  pointers  on how to try to market a game
(arcade  style,  generally  non-violent, currently three screens are _almost_
working,  and  I  will  probably  end  up with 10 to 20 screens, with several
levels  of  difficulty.   The  two  people I showed it to so far liked it and
thought  that  it would be fun to play when completed.  I would prefer not to
descibe  it in more detail right now.  [note:  it IS multi-tasking friendly -
does  not hog resources, free's up everything on exit - as an example, so far
I've  only gotten one GURU from it - and that was the very first time I tried
to  run  it])for  our  favorite  machine.  So far as I can see, there are two
basic routes open to me:
   I  can try to sell it mail order on my own - this would almost surely mean
that  I  would  sell  relatively  few  copies, althought probably at a higher
profit/unit than with a software publisher.
   The  other method is to see if there is a software publisher interested in
publishing this - but for this I would need to know which publishers are most
likely to consider a game submitted to them - and are not likely to file them
in  the  nearest  handy  trashcan.
   Granted  that  without  seeing  the  potential product there is no way the
potential  market can be evaluated, I would still like some idea of what sort
range of royalties and/or other types of payments one could expect.
   Given  that  I  am  almost  certainly  better  off  trying  to  go with an
established  software house, how should I approach such a firm?  For example,
should  I  send  a  letter  describing  the  game first, and ask if they were
interested?   Are  non-disclosure  agreements  a  good  idea, or are they not
needed?   Should I not send a letter first, but send a disk with a letter, or
a  videotape  with  a  letter?   I believe that I should have a fully working
version  [although possibly with not 10 - 20 screens] by the end of next week
[Do  I  ever  wish I had started early enough to have it out by xmas - but my
university courses were keeping me unduly busy.]
   I  would  really  appreciate any and all replies / suggestions etc., and I
promise not to pester anyone who responds with many more questions.

                                                                  ...Bill

p.s.

  Is  it  just  my  newsfeed  or  is comp.sys.amiga traffic really down to 30
articles  or  so per day?  What happened?  Did the net.gods impose a limit on
the  number  of  articles  carried  in  this newsgroup?  If not, I can safely
assume that some site upstream of my amiga is having problems.

--
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