Serious question:

[BigDaddyCool]

How would one pitch idea's for video games to game design companies?

[Kalyx triaD]

Bad news; almost never happens. But there are venues...

The way things are currently its the number crunchers and coders who get to pitch game ideas. It happens within developers mainly and they try to get a publisher to back whatever idea it is. Your past successes help publishers back your project. So yeah, you wanna go to videogame school, graduate, get hired at some developer, and riff ideas at the water cooler. But...

Microsoft's recent XNA(?) developer kit gives small garage teams a chance to whip something up for XBLive Arcade. That is an American Idol sorta way to get noticed nice and quick. Who knows; a publisher digs you, you get funding for a larger project, and there you go. Then again, you'll still need to know how to crunch numbers - or atleast have a team who can and will crunch whatever you're selling. The tools you get isn't the Unreal Engine but its something.

Another way that's kinda crazy is to send mail, seriously worded mail, to a developer and pitch something. They might want something serious, like an entire Game Document, if you want them to look through it. Game Docs are essentially the game you're talking about on paper. Gameplay, visual concepts, the fuckin menu, all of that. A good way to practice is to take any game you have and try to word it on paper. This is similar to sending studios screenplays - but I imagine you have a better chance at scoring a game than selling a script.

[BigDaddyCool]

I'm a number cruncher...but something tells me you aren't talking about accountants.

[Kalyx triaD]

I'm talking coding, buddy. And its a universally panned part of development.

XNA Site (http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/xna/default.aspx)

[Kalyx triaD]

I have ideas out the wazoo, but I need crunchers and tools. I could learn to crunch myself, and probably will, but there's no I in team. As in I don't need to code all that shit.

[BigDaddyCool]

So you are telling me I should have stuck with computer science in college? Shit.

[Kalyx triaD]

Yep. Math too.

Just like... find a nerd. When my comic group found an artist it was a match made in heaven. He was looking for writers. So I imagine there's code-savy dudes who lack vision.

[jcmoorehead]

Another way that's kinda crazy is to send mail, seriously worded mail, to a developer and pitch something. They might want something serious, like an entire Game Document, if you want them to look through it. Game Docs are essentially the game you're talking about on paper. Gameplay, visual concepts, the fuckin menu, all of that. A good way to practice is to take any game you have and try to word it on paper. This is similar to sending studios screenplays - but I imagine you have a better chance at scoring a game than selling a script.

I would not advise this method, most companies will ignore these types of letters as they generally don't accept user submitted ideas. Best bet is to try to get a job within the industry or to do what Kalyx said and try your hand at creating/coding your own small games to get yourself noticed.

@Kalyx, Coders generally don't get to pitch game ideas it's a designer or team of designers which do that. We just tell the Designers/Artists to fuck off or that what they want can't be done. :P

XNA is something I haven't tried yet properly but would like to, as it stands I'm a C++/DirectX Programmer with limited Unreal2003 Experience.

[Destor]

Kidnapping is your most realistic avenue.

[Kalyx triaD]

Looking over the site, seems like a sweet deal. TPWW should like... do something.

[Kalyx triaD]

I would not advise this method, most companies will ignore these types of letters as they generally don't accept user submitted ideas. Best bet is to try to get a job within the industry or to do what Kalyx said and try your hand at creating/coding your own small games to get yourself noticed.

@Kalyx, Coders generally don't get to pitch game ideas it's a designer or team of designers which do that. We just tell the Designers/Artists to fuck off or that what they want can't be done. :P

XNA is something I haven't tried yet properly but would like to, as it stands I'm a C++/DirectX Programmer with limited Unreal2003 Experience.

We have a coder.

[BigDaddyCool]

Fine, fuck it. I'll just get rich selling beer and owning a resturant. Then self finaince a small game studio.

[Kalyx triaD]

I have thought on a most tantalizing Justice League game.

[Kane Knight]

Fine, fuck it. I'll just get rich selling beer and owning a resturant. Then self finaince a small game studio.

Sell your idea as a book, then shill it to a video game designer.

[BigDaddyCool]

Quit trying to get me to write. :mad:

[Kane Knight]

I don't need to. You obviously arleady do. :kiss:

[BigDaddyCool]

Already did and gave up. :mad:

Get your tense right.

[Kane Knight]

Already did and gave up. :mad:

Get your tense right.

You obviously didn't give up.

[Funky Fly]

Kalyx means code monkey when he keeps saying cruncher.

[Kane Knight]

Kalyx means code monkey when he keeps saying cruncher.

Common mistake. By the way, in the Music forum when I was talking about Timpani, I meant singer.