(4) Business Parts and Licensing Parts

WHAT IS A GAME MADE OF? >

Business Parts
and
Licensing Parts

BUSINESS PARTS

Making games is big business. Depending on how you look at the numbers, the console game market (hardware and software) along with the PC game market generates more revenue than the box-office receipts of all of Hollywood’s films annually. There are a lot of different business executives who are involved in a game project; here I will present the major roles.

BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT PARTS
Business Development Executive
The business development executive is casually called the “biz dev.”
(* “Biz dev” is the short name given to the business development executive at a publishing company.)

When developers go around pitching games to publishers, they first need to get the approval of the publisher’s business development executive before the game is sent to a green-light committee.
The biz dev person keeps a close eye on what is going on in the industry and is the first to know about games in development that are looking for a publishing deal. The biz dev person often negotiates the key terms of a game publishing contract.


PUBLISHER CEO AND PRESIDENT

A chief executive is responsible for all aspects of the game publishing corporation. Very often this individual has ten to twenty years in the game industry and has a well-developed instinct for making great games (not infallible though). Making sure that your game is visible and impressive to this key executive at green-light meetings ensures the highest level of support the organization can bring to bear for your game.

STUDIO HEADS

Founders, lead programmers, visionaries, game makers, CEOs, presidents, head coaches—whatever you call them, studio heads are the chief decision makers at a game development house. Studio heads generally have five to fifteen years of experience in the game industry and at least one hit title under their belt where they held a strong lead role. Studio heads most commonly come from programming and design backgrounds, although there are some medical doctors of considerable renown running BioWare. Artists are the majority shareowner at id, and Gabe Newell of Valve had an extensive background of software development at Microsoft.

Studio heads decide the fundamental structure and working environment for their studios based on past experience. The studio head is intimately involved when a game project is starting up and is usually the salesperson pitching the game to the publishers. Studio heads are generally the most qualified team leaders in their organization and spend a lot of their time training new producers to run teams and subteams.

LAWYERS

Both the publisher and the developer need the best lawyers they can afford. Each contract is unique, and while a publisher’s contract is the fruit of many painful relationships, the developer should be patient and exercise great care in negotiating terms. This is something you do not want to try on your own.
Lawyers are actually good people who help you understand clearly what a contract is and is not saying. Understanding what you are agreeing to before you sign a contract is a fundamental safety mechanism for both the developer and the publisher.

LICENSING PARTS

Many games are based on licenses such as comic books, novels, movies, and sports stars. In turn, games themselves are licensed to create strategy guides, action figures, T-shirts, and movies.

Publishers may have their biz dev executive manage the licensing of a game, or they may have a full-time staff member for routine licenses such as strategy guides.

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